Sigma has a long history as a lens maker, having been founded over l years ago. In the film era it was best known for relatively inexpensive lenses that undercut the photographic camera makers' own equivalents in terms of price. But this has changed over the part decade or so; while other companies have shifted manufacturing to cheaper locations such as Red china and Thailand, Sigma has stubbornly refused to move from its manufacturing plant in Aizu, Japan. This ways it tin no longer compete in the aforementioned mode on cost lone, and it'southward therefore switched its focus towards higher-value offerings.

Over the past few years nosotros've seen increasingly aggressive concepts announced from the company'due south blueprint studios. The original (and recently-replaced) 30mm F1.iv EX DC HSM has long been ane of our favourite lenses for APS-C SLRs, and the 50mm F1.four EX DG HSM grabbed our attending back in 2008 due to its sharpness at big apertures. Virtually recently the 35mm F1.iv DG HSM impressed us with its exceptional optical quality at a very competitive price. This all bodes well for the visitor'southward latest offer - the tape-breaking 18-35mm F1.viii DC HSM, which is the starting time constant F1.8 SLR zoom lens to hit the market.

Sigma'due south choice of F1.8 equally maximum aperture isn't a coincidence; information technology ways that the lens will offer the same control over depth of field as an F2.8 zoom does on full frame. What'south more, combined with an APS-C sensor, the system will also offer finer the same light-gathering capability as an F2.8 lens on total frame. By this we mean that information technology volition be able to project an image that's merely over twice equally bright onto a sensor that's slightly less than one-half the expanse, meaning the aforementioned total corporeality of light is used to capture the image. This is of import as it'due south a major determinant of image quality. Essentially it ways that APS-C shooters will be able to utilise lower ISOs when shooting wide open up in low light and get similar levels of image racket, substantially negating i of the key advantages of switching to full frame.

Equally we'd expect at this level, the lens uses an ultrasonic autofocus motor for fast, silent focusing. It's compatible with Sigma'southward new USB dock which allows you to fine-tune autofocus behaviour in much more item than the AF microadjust corrections institute on SLRs, which should help get the best possible focus accuracy and make the near of the big aperture. It also incorporates several of the thoughtful blueprint touches that nosotros were impressed by on the 35mm F1.four, including an improved AF switch, and a large grip area on the base of operations of the barrel for meliorate handling.

The lens's 27-53mm equivalent focal length range is obviously a little limited, but should yet exist rather useful for such applications as hymeneals and events photography. So while it may non quite match the capabilities of a 24-70mm F2.8 on a full frame SLR, for existing APS-C users information technology should offer something very close. Crucially, at a street toll of effectually $800 / £650 at the time of writing, for existing APS-C shooters information technology'southward an awful lot cheaper than buying a 24-70mm F2.8 and a full frame SLR to go with it.

Overall the 18-35mm F1.8 is a really intriguing product, and we applaud Sigma for pushing the boundaries of lens design ahead of the more bourgeois camera manufacturers. Only can an F1.8 zoom really deliver good results? Permit'south find out.

Headline features

  • 18-35mm focal length (approx 28-50mm equivalent)
  • Extremely fast F1.8 maximum aperture
  • Ring-blazon ultrasonic focus motor with full-fourth dimension transmission override
  • Initially available in Canon EF, Nikon F and Sigma SA mounts; Pentax Thou and Sony Alpha to follow

Angle of view

The pictures beneath illustrate the focal length range from wide to telephoto (on Canon APS-C, i.6x). The 18-35mm covers a modest 2x zoom range.

18mm (29mm equivalent) 35mm (56mm equivalent)

Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM specifications

 Date introduced  Apr 2013
 Street Price (August 2013)  • $800 (U.s.a.)
• £650 (UK)
• €850 (European union)
 Maximum format size  APS-C
 Focal length  xviii-35mm
 35mm equivalent focal length (APS-C)  • 27-53mm (one.5x)
• 29-56mm (Canon one.6x)
 Diagonal angle of view  76.v° - 44.2°
 Maximum aperture  F1.8
 Minimum discontinuity  F16
 Lens Structure  • 17 elements in 12 groups
• 5 SLD glass elements
• 4 glassmold aspherical elements
 Number of diaphragm blades  9, rounded
 Minimum focus  0.28m / 0.92ft
 Maximum magnification  0.23x
 AF motor blazon  • Ring-blazon Ultrasonic Motor
• Full time manual focus
 Focus method  Internal
 Zoom method  Rotary, internal
 Paradigm stabilization  No
 Filter thread  • 72mm
• Does not rotate on focus
 Supplied accessories*  • Front and rear caps
• Lens hood LH780-03
 Weight  810g (28.6 oz)
 Dimensions  78mm diameter x 121mm length
(3.ane x iv.eight in)
 Lens Mount  Catechism EF, Nikon F, Pentax G, Sigma SA, Sony A

* Supplied accessories may differ in each state or area