sigma announces apsc 18-35 f/1.8 zoom

[AccentAE86]

Awesome. Finally someone is pushing the boundaries.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/04/18/Sigma-announces-worlds-first-F1-8-constant-aperture-zoom-lens

I always wondered why nobody pushed the optical boundaries of zooms for the smaller sensor format.

[blitz]

Olympus did a good job with 4/3 lenses (2f zooms and telephoto), but no one else seemed to care.

Very cool to see.

[AccentAE86]

Well, the oly lenses were actually based on ff designs with extra optics to compress it into the 4/3 sensor, kinda like how the metabones speed booster works. Which is why they are huge like 2.8 ff zooms.

this sigma is a ground up design made specifically for apsc, taking advantage of the smaller imaging circle of apsc in its optical design and light pathways.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Just saw that, freaking cool!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Wow - street price at launch will be $800 USD. That seems crazy cheap considering the optical performance looks excellent.

http://fstoppers.com/price-finally-announced-for-highly-anticipated-sigma-18-35mm-f1-8-dc-hsm

http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=1609

[AccentAE86]

Will this also be one of those lenses that you can hook up to your computer so you can calibrate the lens yourself? That would be killer. And holy shit what an amazing price!

I'm gonna guess that they'll follow up with a 35-70 f/1.8 or something like that. How awesome would that be for a two body shooter?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by AccentAE86
Will this also be one of those lenses that you can hook up to your computer so you can calibrate the lens yourself? That would be killer. And holy shit what an amazing price!

I'm gonna guess that they'll follow up with a 35-70 f/1.8 or something like that. How awesome would that be for a two body shooter?

According to Sigma's product literature (http://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/cas/product/art/a_18_35_18/features.html), it will be compatible with the USB dock thingy.

Almost makes me wish I still had a modern APS-C body, haha.

[D'z Nutz]

Sigma's USB dock thingy™ is so cool. And so cheap.

I hope someone comes up with a way to calibrate OEM lenses someday.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Does the sigma dock allow you to set separate calibration values for every focal length and focus distance combination? If not, you're probably still better off just making sure you have copy that works well with your camera body.

[blitz]

It does. For zoom lenses it's a matrix that you can adjust.

[Mitsu3000gt]

That's pretty good then! Seems like this was a smart move for Sigma given every third party lens manufacturer's reputation for "bad copies" and the like. Hopefully they see a lot fewer returns and can keep prices down as a result.

I'm also loving the new look/coatings sigma is putting on their lenses. The old light grey rough coating on their EX lenses looked so cheap in my opinion. They also seem to make a lot of lenses people ask for but never get from Nikon/Canon, for example a stabilized 17-50/2.8, this 18-35, cheap 400-500mm options, etc.

[D'z Nutz]

It's not just for calibrating but also for optimizing the lens for your needs. You can make the AF faster and optimized for certain distances or if you're using your lenses for videography you can slow it down for the nice, gradual focus you see in video.

Very cool idea by Sigma!

[Mitsu3000gt]

^^^ I did not know that, I thought it was just AF fine tune. That's pretty cool you can customize certain lens characteristics to suit various needs. I think most lenses could benefit from that. For example on something like the 105VR, you could speed up its focus for portrait/action and slow it back down for macro.

[blitz]

$858 at TCS, not a bad markup for Canada.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Lens prices in Canada are typically extremely reasonable compared to much of the world, and often significantly cheaper than the USA. Camera bodies too. Seems to be one of the very few things that are cheaper in Canada haha.

$858 seems like a fair price for that lens.

[blitz]

Canon and Nikon lenses yes, but Sigma has always been more expensive in my experience. The 50mm 1.4 was $150 more at TCS than BH Photo, and it was only a $500 ish lens.

[Mitsu3000gt]

If anyone is seriously considering this lens, it is getting outstanding reviews. It's the best performing APS-C zoom DXO has ever tested. I'm also impressed it keeps a T stop of 1.8. Looks like Sigma has another winner:

http://www.dxomark.com/var/ezwebin_site/storage/images/media/images/versus33/86684-1-eng-US/Versus3.jpg

http://www.dxomark.com/var/ezwebin_site/storage/images/media/images/versus4/86696-1-eng-US/Versus4.jpg

VS Nikon 24/1.4:

http://3.static.img-dpreview.com/files/t/TS560x560~95ebad109eed4da9ade720469a854e71

Lenstip and SLR Gear reviews very positive as well:

http://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test=obiektywu&test_ob=374

http://slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=1609

[clem24]

Hahaha almost glad I still have my D200..

[kvg]

It should be coming for m43 as well:thumbsup:

[dirtsniffer]

everyone hurry up and buy one, so I can buy a used one..

Cause I can't afford that :(