LIGHTWEIGHT BUT PACKING AN ALMIGHTY PUNCH!
It has been a while since I last shot with a crop sensor and decided to test out the new Sigma 18-50mm Contemporary lens on a Sony A6000.
Although this lens does fit my full frame A7riii, I wanted to see what sort of images I could get with this extremely lightweight combination. The A6000 with Sigma 18-50mm lens weighed in at just 634g which is actually lighter than my A7riii without a lens! This coupled with the fact that most “beginner” crop sensor cameras usually come with an 18-55mm kit lens suggested to me that the Sigma 18-50mm would be a perfect upgrade.
The focal range is extremely versatile and allows you to shoot wide or tight to get different perspectives of your subject without having to change lenses. For a photographer who likes to travel light, it is a perfect combination. Add in the fact that it is also a fast lens with a maximum aperture of F2.8, and you can use it for portraits, street, cityscape, landscape, travel, weddings, hiking, vlogging and even astrophotography.
SIMPLE BUT STURDY DESIGN
As soon as you hold this lens, you are amazed at the compact design. It measures 75mm long and even when zoomed to it’s maximum focal length only another 25mm is added.
There are no additional buttons on the lens such as for autofocus or image stabilisation. Simple but effective was clearly on the agenda here!
The focus ring is typically smooth and uses an internal focusing system which I found to be quick and painless.
Inside the lens are 7 diaphragm blades and it has Sigma’s multi-layer coating on the outside to reduce any flare (scattered light when shooting something bright like the sun).
The diameter is 55mm for lens filters.
It is partially weather-sealed with a rubber gasket that prevents water splashes and dust from getting in.
Image Quality
I went out rooftopping in Dubai to test the image quality and was extremely impressed with how sharp this compact lens was. Shooting between F8-F11, you can see from my images below that the details, contrast and edge to edge sharpness were top class. There was also little evidence of vignetting and my edits below were very quick on Lightroom:
How about distortion and bokeh?
Barrel Distortion was slightly noticeable on the edges when shooting at 18mm but relatively easy to correct in Lightroom. Adjusting the focal length to the longer end of the range eliminated this and you can see below in this image taken of DIFC at 50mm that the buildings are all pretty straight and vertical:
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Sigma 18-50mm DC DN Contemporary lens is the perfect upgrade for someone who has just bought their first camera but wants to replace their kit lens. It is excellent value for money with very good optics, trademark Sigma sharpness and can be used across all styles of photography.
It is perfect for shooting in low light with it’s fast F2.8 aperture and at F8-F11 for cityscapes the images were sharp, contrasty and vibrant. Distortion was slightly noticeable when shooting at 18mm but easy to correct in Lightroom or Photoshop.
The weight and size of the lens means that this coupled with a crop sensor camera such as the Sony A6000 is a big selling point. You can carry this combo around all day long with a total weight of just 634g and it is perfect for those travelling or hiking that want to take great shots but not carry around 2kg of gear!
This lens currently retails at DH1875 and you can purchase your copy at MK trading in Dubai using my 10% discount code (STEVIE10)