Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

This lens works fairly well as a walk around on my Canon 50D. Pictures come out pretty sharp. The sweet spot that I experienced was between 5.6-8.0 Towards the wide end there is some noticeable vignetting, but nothing major that bothers me or can not be removed in post processing. If your budget is tight, I would highly suggest purchasing this over the Canon kit lens equivalent. The build quality is much higher than the canon 18-55; it has a metal lens mount instead of the plastic one on the 18-55 and doesn't feel as if I could break it during normal use.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

Finally got to use the lens for some pictures of my son and his rugby team. Posed pictures not action. Another person was using some other kind of lens and was having trouble focusing and had to stand much farther back to get the team in the picture. I took about 75 pictures at different speeds and was completely pleased with the lens. I'm a 40 year amateur photographer and am glad I added this lens to my inventory.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

i needed a lens w/ a 2.8 aperture & i wanted to step up from the kit lens.
when i was researching the lens & found out it was a 2.8 lens 4 under $200
i jumped right in...keep in mind the 2.8 aperture is ONLY @ the 18mm end. the aperture does get smaller once you zoom in.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I needed a wider lens for my Rebel XTi as I only purchased the body a few yeas back to use with previously owned lenses. This lens seems to be better built than the Canon kit lens (more solid and metal mount vs plastic). I also liked that it us faster at f2.8-4.5.

So far I've used mainly indoors. Wide aperture and stabilization a plus. Gives decent background blur and I have the option to shoot without flash.

Surprised to see it is sharper than my EF 28-105 3.5-4.5 II USM in the 28mm to 40mm range. About the same at 50mm.

The HSM is slightly louder than USM but much quieter than a micro motor.

This is a great budget lens.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

The sigma 18-50mm is a great alternative to the canon kit lens 18-55. The low aperture gives a great falloff and exposure in most situations. F2.8 is held to about 21mm. Lens retains the same length regardless of focal length. Focus Ring is extremely smooth. Built for APS-C sensors, so there is no crop factor. focus distance at 50mm is great. Construction of casing is top class in my opinion. Focus can be a bit slow in low light but what can you expect, its low light. All in all this was a great Purchase and I can't wait to recruit more sigma lenses to my arsenal.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

For the price it is a good lens but it lacks a lot in sharpness. The auto focus seems to physically jerk back and make a clicking noise.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

When I first asked a professional photographer about what equipment to buy when first starting out she said, "Whatever you do, DON'T BUY A CAMERA WITH A KIT LENS, you'll just throw it away." I was glad that I listened to her. The specs on this lens are unmatched in its price category. Very versatile focal length with image stabilization. I don't like using a flash so the f/2.8 feature is great in low light and was something I would not compromise. The f/2.8 also gives a depth of field that other f/3.5 kit lenses will not. I've had this lens for three years now and have taken portraits with it that have paid for the price of the lens many times over and when traveling, I never thought to myself, "if I only had my other lens…"One of the down sides of the lens is that it is not for full frame cameras like the 5DMkII. If you plan on upgrading someday, you will need a different lens to cover your needs in this focal length. It will also not hold to f/2.8 through the full focal length range, but you can't expect a[$] lens to do everything a $1,100 Canon lens can do. I've learned to deal with this issue by walking a few steps further. So, until you can justify shelling out $1,100 on a lens, this is a really great alternative.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

Very happy with this lens. The focal length is so versatile for a 1.6X camera. Photos have been extremely sharp, even wide open in low light on a first-generation Digital Rebel. Great value. Must-have replacement for the kit lens.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I owned the canon 18-55 (with and without stabilizer), the Sigma version is bigger and heavy but has a nicer manual focusing. This lens looks and feels more like a real lens compared to the toy like canon alternative. On top of everything it is more luminous and has a similar price.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

Bought it as my entry into dSLR with Canon T2i. Being a newbie and still learning I can't say I got a good point of reference. Still want to share my opinion b/c a lens in this price range would probably be considered by people like myself.
I would say that after few weeks of experimenting I found the AF to be pretty quick in good light, but it sometimes has difficulty in low light.
The build quality / feel is good - feels solid for its size w/o being too heavy.
I think I will have a lot of good experience with it as I learn more, but I can already tell t hat if I will want to move up to the next level (let's called it; serious enthusiast) - I will probably need to replace it with something better.

Still for the money, it is great and good for general picture taking.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I love the auto-focus and image stabilization features. The focus is fast and accurate.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

Works good with my 50D and t2i, dosent presents chromatic aberration.

The OS on video helps marevelus.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

Great Lens. Sharp, light easy to use. Very pleased

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I'd give 4.5 out of 5 stars if it was an option so it has the benefit of the doubt at 5. For [$] I couldn't find a better spec'd lens. I'm on a tight budget and needed something to pair with my EOS T2i so far I have zero complaints. I've done some landscape and urban photography and I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. I'd consider myself a learning amateur photographer.The OS is perfect until about 1/10 of a second exposures then you need a tripod, however, for me is usually easier to use anyway and I get better shots. I have a hard time holding dead still when decreasing shutter speed anyway. Having f/2.8 is definitely a big plus with this lens. I was taking photos indoors of some family and the photos were terrific. Haven't had the opportunity to experiment at night yet.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

First impression is much better than 18-55mm Canon's lens kit.

The focus is faster and quieter, one of the most important things for me, specially if you'll use for Video recording. Also minimum focus distance is 11.8' (30cm) which is great.

The optical stabilization is also nice.

The aperture range is really better than Canon's lens kit 18-55. OK is not f2.8 in all the range, but that's why is cheaper than those L series. 18mm at 2.8 is perfect for indoor shots.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

The first time I used this lens was to take pictures of a Priest get ordained to Bishop. I used it with the 580ex ii. Worked great with a Canon 7D.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I have no bad things to say about this lens. It's a great zoom lens for the money and it has a pretty wide aperture for a zoom lens. Works great in low light without having to use a flash. I needed a fairly inexpensive lens for a trip on the fly. I am completely satisfied.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

This is simply an amazing lens for the price. I got it for my travel to France, Spain, and Italy. The Wide angle was perfect for all the tight alleyways and big buildings. Also, it is built tough for a cheap lens. All the people around kept bumping into it and it was still extremely fast to auto focus. The zoom and focus is all internal so dust is not a huge problem. The only downside is that you cannot manual focus with auto focus on. The upside is that the focus ring locks up in autofocus so it is difficult to mess up the autofocus. In all, for [$], the lens is an amazing product from Sigma.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

This is a great wide angle lens that is versatile so you don't have to keep changing lenses. Compared to other canon lenses it is relatively inexpensive.

Comments about Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM Zoom For Canon D-SLRs:

I needed an cheep wide angle lens to compliment my Canon 50 1:1.4 and 100 1:2.8L macro. I used ones Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and didn't like it. So, I got Sigma DC 18-50

The lens has unbeatable price tag, looks and works better than Canon kit lens since it's faster and sharper and even comes with dedicated hood. It also has a central pinch lens cover, Canon doesn't make it in 67 mm., at least I believe so.

The autofocus is dead on with my 7D. The lens is pretty sharp and OS compensates for the lock of speed.

Attention! Apparently HSM system isn't exactly like OSM. It does not allow you manually adjust focus while auto focus is ON. However, it's is not a reason to reject this very lens, which focuses fine by itself:)