( 26 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 17 2009
I am only casual photographer / at best a Prosumer, but I read alot of reviews and forums(flickr). I weighed the benifits/flaws and picked this lens. I am happy with this choice. Pro's -Built well -takes better pictures than my D90's kit lens. -fast -quiet and fast AF Cons -zoom ring rotates opposite nikon len's -manual focus ring moves with AF, can not manual ajust in AF mode. i dont like flash in most situations. I like the look of natural light. So i wanted a fast lens for indoor shots. I did not want to spend I also wanted something I could use for macro pictures. Although this was not my main purpose. which is perfect because im not going to buy a dedicated macro lens. I dont need some wicked sweet macro lens. It does what I expected. no problems at all yet with AF or picture quality. I only have taken about 200 pictures. If i dont update this I continue to have no problems. Highly recommended.
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Posted: Jul 29 2009
Like many who have posted here, I chose the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM as an affordable alternative to the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX. I wanted a decent low light lens for my Nikon D90, with more flexibility than my Nikon 50mm f/1.8D prime lens, and more sharpness and less bulk than my Nikon 18-200mm VR. After reading the various comparisons between the Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 and the Sigma, I decided to go with the Sig (probably because I already have the Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8, which in my opinion is a little slow in auto focusing, slightly noisy, and not quite as sharp as I had hoped). After putting my new Sigma to work over the weekend, I'm confident that I made the right choice. If the Nikon 17-55 is $1,000 dollars sharper than this lens, someone is going to have to prove it to me. This is easily the sharpest lens in my bag, and thus far I haven't experienced any front focusing issues, as indicated in many of the pro and customer reviews on the Net. The lens is slightly wider in size than the Nikon 18-200mm vr, solid and weighty (18.9 ounces according to the specs), but feels just right in the hand. Perfect for low light situations, it is also an attractive looking lens, which comes with a beautiful, well-made lens hood, and an adequate, if somewhat ugly, square case. The lens lock, which appears to also be a standard item on the Tamron as well, is something that Nikon should consider incorporating onto their lenses (some of which are notorious creepers). All said, the Sigma is slowly becoming my favorite walk around lens. My only regret so far is that it doesn't have some variation of vibration reduction, although, as you can see from this image ([...]), I was able to get a fairly steady hand held shot at f/14.0, 0.3 sec, at 22 mm, without VR. Admittedly, I am not a professional, so I'll stay clear of the finite technical aspects. But as a serious hobbyist, looking for new ways to improve, the Sigma 18-50 mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM seems to be a good deal for the price.
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Posted: Jul 16 2009
Pros - I had few lenses before, this is the first one I'm really happy with, it is sharp at any ange, I have a fixed 50mm lens, which is extremely sharp and bright, and 24mm lens fixed, this lens get the same results as the fixed lenses, When it gets really all the way to 18, it's slightly changes, otherwise, this is a perfect lens! Cons - like lenses of this kind, a little bit heavy
