I tested the sharpness of this lens in a number of situations, and found it to be pretty consistent and sharp at all focal lengths and apertures. Yes, it is most certainly sharpest between f/5.6 and f/7.1, with the best image quality at a wide angle produced at f/2.8. However, it still performs pretty well at f/1.8, just maybe not quite as good as many of us were hoping. It certainly is softer than the 35mm f/1.4, but is markedly better than any other variable focal length kit lens in this range that I have used. The HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) ensures a silent, high-speed AF function. Optimizing AF algorithm, smoother AF is achieved. It also enables full-time manual focusing capability which allows sensible focus adjustment by simply rotating the focus ring. The manual focus ring feels beautifully smooth, and rotates about 110 degrees from infinity to closest focus. The finely-ridged rubber grip is about 26mm wide. In this set of evaluations, we’ve compared the Sigma zoom with the highest performing full-frame primes of the same focal lengths – 18mm, 24mm and 35mm. While it might seem a little unusual, the lenses (all high speed models) reflect the state of the art in that format and when mounted on an APS-C DSLR offer the same angle of view (at each focal length) as the Sigma.

Need the speed? Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM in-depth review Need the speed? Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM in-depth review

Vignetting is remarkably low for such a fast lens, reaching just 1.3 stops wide open at all focal lengths. It also essentially disappears by F2.8. Overall it's unlikely ever to be problematic in real-world use. Oversampling 5.1K to 4K is apparently less taxing on the camera than 8K to 4K, so the R5 does not heat up or require periodic cool downs as it does when shooting “4K HQ” video. The only limitation with “4K Crop” then is the R5’s 30 minute record time limit, which is standard in all their non-cinema cameras. Downsides of the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 In the fourth sample we've zoomed in to 35mm and placed the sun just outside the frame. The lens does particularly well here at maintaining contrast and shadow detail. One point implicit in all of these discussions is that we're examining images for pixel-level sharpness, which is a hugely demanding criterion. Images don't necessarily have to be this perfectly focused to be entirely acceptable when viewed on-screen or made into in anything other than very large prints. So while accurate autofocusing is highly desirable, slight misfocus doesn't necessarily spoil a photograph completely. This is where each individual photographer has to make their own decision about what they're prepared to accept, based on personal experience and preference.The 18-35mm is remarkably sharp even wide open at F1.8, and in the wider half of its range (18-24mm), there's no measurable increase on stopping down (i.e. the lens is effectively diffraction limited). At the longer end (28-35mm) there's a slight improvement in sharpness on stopping down to F4, but in practice it's unlikely to be especially noticeable. For an F1.8 zoom, this is little short of astonishing. Comparing the 18-35mm on a mid-range APS-C body to the Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 on one of the latest, similarly enthusiast-focused full frame DSLRs, there's essentially no difference in overall bulk. The small differences in weight and and length between the lenses make no appreciable difference to the handling, either. The main difference lies in the 18-35mm's internal zoom design, whereas most 24-70mm F2.8s extend substantially on zooming. Autofocus A feature worth commenting, which is also related to lens brightness, is that the brightness and maximum aperture-value remains constant regardless of focal length used. This makes it easier for you as a photographer. No matter if you are have the focus ring and focal length at18mm or at35mm the aperture value can bef/1,8.

Lensa Sigma 18 35 Mm - Tokopedia Lensa Sigma 18 35 Mm - Tokopedia

The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM impressed us hugely when we reviewed it at the end of last year, and is probably the sharpest 35mm F1.4 prime on the market. When tested on the same camera, the zoom may be just fractionally less sharp at large apertures, but you probably wouldn't see any difference in real world shooting. The zoom also has slightly higher vignetting and distortion, but lower chromatic aberration. From this data, you'd be hard pushed to see any meaningful differences between the two in side-by-side shooting. Remember this is the 18-35mm's weakest focal length. Compared to Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC USD Just like CA and vignetting, distortion is nicely controlled, although not eliminated altogether. We see a bit of barrel distortion at focal lengths wider than 24mm, but less than we might normally expect from a zoom. At 18mm, there is about 0.5% of barrel distortion in the corners while only 0.3% for the average across the frame. At 24mm, the average distortion approaches 0%, yet we start to see a bit of pincushion distortion starting to appear in the corners. Oddly, as focal length increases from 24-35mm, the average shows a very slight increase in overall barrel distortion, while the corners experience a noticeable increase in pincushion. However, the pincushion distortion at 35mm is not extreme – we measured less than -0.5%.

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In shooting with the lens, I found that it shows a lot of detail, but most of the super fine detail is only visible at the sweet spot apertures between f/5.6 and 7.1-8. One of the great things about the 35mm f/1.4 was the super fine detail that just seemed to pop out of the lens at any aperture. Though the 18-35mm does perform admirably, it doesn’t really give us those amazing details that I personally am used to seeing with the top-of-the-line Sigma glass. I suspect micro ghosting is the culprit. This issue is made more complicated by the less sensitive and smaller APS-C sensor. It’s hard for me to really be able to judge the lens on its own merits because of the limitations of the sensor.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART Review - DustinAbbott.net Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART Review - DustinAbbott.net

This situation, for me, keeps the lens under the glass ceiling that exists right above the “prosumer” level of equipment, and for this lens I think that’s perfectly acceptable. It’s not designed, I don’t think, to be pro glass. It’s designed to give those higher-end consumers a lens that looks great, shoots well, produces images vastly superior to competitors in the focal range and offers a uniquely wide-open aperture. For that, it easily stands out as a top contender for APS-C camera owners looking to get something far better than a kit lens at a focal range that usually screams “beginner.” I would recommend this lens over the Canon 18-55mm any day of the week. In conclusion, this is a groundbreaking lens no matter how you look at it, and I applaud Sigma for taking a chance and thinking outside the box. I do feel that it is has paid dividends here. The image quality from the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART lens is exceptional in every facet, and the fact that Sigma managed to go a full 1 1/3 stops wider than other zoom lenses while still nailing the image quality is a huge achievement in engineering. The next review on my list is the brand new full frame 24-35mm f/2 from Sigma. Sigma’s Achilles’s heel of focus accuracy persists with the 18-35mm, but I do think that many people will find the lens good enough to endure a little tweaking to get it right on your body. Pair this lens with a good telephoto and you would have an excellent kit that would offer premium image quality on the great APS-C bodies available to consumers right now. Above all, though, I commend Sigma for taking some chances and swinging for the fences. I’m reminded of the quote from Norman Vincent Peale, “ Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.“ Pros:The lens is initially available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts, as tends to be the case from Sigma. Sony and Pentax models will appear later. Every time I review a Sigma lens I will be closely looking at the AF (autofocus) performance. I’ve rarely had a problem with HSM motors when it comes to sound or speed (they are amongst the quietest focusing lenses that I’ve encountered and generally quite fast), but I have major concerns when it comes to AF accuracy and consistency. The Sigma 150-600mm Sport was the first Sigma lens that I walked away completely satisfied from when it came to its AF performance. I’m afraid the 18-35mm ART didn’t impress out of the box. My review body is a Canon EOS 70D, and trying to use my typical AFMA program ( Reikan FoCal) produced such variation that an automatic calibration simply didn’t work (the program gave up). I did a semi-automatic calibration using my own eyes, and discovered why. Just when I thought I had a value zeroed in, the results would jump around. The focus peak looked like a yo-yo. I’ve never had such a difficult time calibrating a lens before. From a qualitative perspective, there is little difference in image quality between 5.1K and 8K when downsampled to 4K. To demonstrate, below is some “4K Crop” test footage using the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 on the EOS R5. Sample 4K Crop footage using the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 on the Canon EOS R5 When pinning down what's going on here, we have to draw a distinction between focus accuracy and consistency. Point an SLR at the same subject and autofocus 10 times while looking through the optical viewfinder, and it'll probably give 10 slightly different results. How close it comes on average to focusing correctly defines the accuracy, whereas the spread of focus distances describes the consistency. Despite Sigma alerting us that the prototype's fit and finish aren't up to final production standards, the zoom and focus rings are buttery smooth, with nice, wide rubbery-ribbed grips. The zoom ring is very well dampened, with a firm feel when rotating the ring that stops short of seeming stiff. There's about 45 degrees of rotation from 18 to 35mm, a pretty short throw, but it didn't feel tweaky in use. The barrel doesn't extend while zooming, so there is no chance of zoom creep. The focusing ring at the far end of the lens has about 120 degrees of rotation and will rotate continuously, although there are soft stops indicating the approximate near and infinity focusing limits. The focus indicator ring will rotate slightly past the close and infinity focusing mark indicated on the lens. The zoom ring is about 3/4 inch wide, and the focus ring is larger at about an inch. There's also a nice array of fine non-rubbery ridges on the underside of the lens barrel between the rings for added grip. The lens also features a mechanical manual focusing switch, located on the left side of the lens barrel.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1,8 DC HSM Art Review - Lensora Sigma 18-35mm f/1,8 DC HSM Art Review - Lensora

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 conservative camera manufacturers. But can an F1.8 zoom really deliver good results? Let's find out. Headline features Against the slower Sigma, the 18-35mm is considerably longer, and weighs 40% more. However, its more substantial build makes it more akin to the aged Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G, compared to which it's only 1cm / 0.4" longer, and 7% heavier. I certainly wouldn’t recommend buying this lens if you only have a full frame body, obviously, but if you happened to also have a full frame body and didn’t have a 35mm prime this might prove a useful bonus. The Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC USD is probably the best value fast 'normal' zoom for full frame cameras, and like the Sigma 35mm F1.4, we had no hesitation in awarding it a Gold Award in our recent review. Not only does it offer built-in image stabilization, optically it comes as near as makes no difference to its Canon and Nikon counterparts, which are both much more expensive. Because the Sigma is an APS-C lens, full-resolution 8K video isn’t possible. The R5 automatically removes 8K options from Movie Record Quality when mounted. Final thoughtsWith the introduction of this model, Sigma has the best performing zoom of its type. The DxOMark score of 25 points puts well ahead of both the full-frame Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM and the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD (though bear in mind those lenses become the equivalent to a 38-112mm on a Canon APS-C body). The 21mm-wide zoom ring has a pleasant, fluid movement. It glides smoothly without any play and feels correctly damped, giving a real impression of quality. It rotates 50 degrees from 18 to 35mm, with additional markings at the 20, 24 and 28mm positions. Many of you might have been swayed by images posted that were taken prior to the final release of the lens. I’m really not sure why Sigma gave the thumbs up to posting images because they 1) were not done with the final release of the lens and 2) if the images appeared soft (which they did), they could only hurt the general opinion of this lens. At best they could have looked good, but would that have made a major difference to users? I feel like it was an unnecessary risk.