Sigma to Unveil a Crazy Fast 50-100mm f/1.8 Art Lens

[nerwin]

Honestly, this sounds too good to be true. A 50-100mm f/1.8 constant aperture lens?! f/1.8 at 100mm will be interesting, but you'll end up stopping it down to at least 2.8 because nothing will be in focus haha.

What do you guys think about this new lens? Only downside is that its for APS-C sensor cameras only.

Sigma to Unveil a Crazy Fast 50-100mm f/1.8 Art Lens

 

[pixmedic]

wuh?
seems like a great low light event lens... just be careful with that DOF!

 

[Derrel]

I just happened to see this a few minutes ago, and looked at the Japanese site that leaked the news. This lens has some good stuff it would seem! A 21-element, 15-group design,I believe it's 3 FLD low-dispersion optical elements, listed as internal focus, listed as internal zooming, tripod collar, about 1490 grams in weight (3.28 pounds), $1500 price. If it is actually internal zooming, perhaps the lens will not change overall length at all when zoomed, which would be nice, and might, I emphasize might, have something to do with making the lens more water-resistant more easily, in engineering respects.Can't be sure on sealing/weather proofing from what I've seen; that's not a big issue to me,personally, but many people kvetch about that, so who knows what Sigma's sales and engineering goals were when designing this lens WRT to sealing against the elements.

The lens looks nice in the photo, and since it's an Art series, you know it will have that solid, smooth, cool, sort of "expensive" feeling in the hand. Cosmetics, aesthetics, and tactile qualities are all things Sigma has emphasized to a high degree in their new Art series lenses, which look, and feel very nice, and also match the looks of 2010's-decade cameras.

I can TOTALLY see the appeal of a 50-100mm f/1.8 lens for APS-C cameras. A really FAST lens like this could be useful, really,really useful, and when stopped down to f/2.8 it might offer really good optical performance. With the short lens lengths, and narrow ratio, just 2:1 and NOT overly long, it might keep chromatic aberration super-low, which would be a plus.

 

[Dave442]

I guess for those new 80D and D500 owners. Love to see new lenses like this.

 

[cherylynne1]

For APS-C, this might be the new version of the ultimate portrait lens. Pretty excited to see how the tests are on it.

So many new announcements this month! Especially on things that people have been waiting on for years. The 2016 "Best of" reviews are going to be crazy competitive!!

 

[jcdeboever]

$1500 is a lot of cheddar for a little better.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[pixmedic]

For APS-C, this might be the new version of the ultimate portrait lens. Pretty excited to see how the tests are on it.

So many new announcements this month! Especially on things that people have been waiting on for years. The 2016 "Best of" reviews are going to be crazy competitive!!

ultimate portrait lens?
Good Lord, why?
I never did portraits at f/1.8
I actually like more than just my subjects nose in focus.
I hated portraits where the face was in focus, and was OOF by the time you got to their ears.
almost as bad as baby portraits with a shallow DOF.

all my portraits were f/4 and up.
portraits at f/1.8 or f/1.4 are for those people that finally get a fast lens and are so excited about it that they have to shoot everything wide open. (and for those that think bokeh is a process of aperture size instead of lens construction)
just because you can shoot at f/1.8 doesn't mean you should shoot at f/1.8

 

[Derrel]

$1500 is a lot of cheddar for a little better.

Well, I don't think I agree with that sentiment, since f/1.8 in ANY zoom lens for APS-C
currently means Sigma's other f/1.8 lens, and then THIS specific 50mm-100mm f/1.8 zoom, also an Art series. And f/1.8 in a zoom lens actually leverages what an APS-C shooter can create with a zoom lens. This lens is basically one and one-third stop faster than any zoom for an interchangeable APS-C camera from the camera makers--so it gives a 1.3 EV ISO and or speed advantage in tough conditions; it gathers more light, which can boost low-light focus performance; it gives shallower depth of field which boosts autofocusing performance by giving more "in-focus" and more "out of focus" feedback to the AF system; this is a zoom lens that is on the cutting edge of lens technology. There is nothing else comparable.

In addition to being cutting edge technology and specifications, it is ALSO the equivalent of a 50mm f/1.8 lens, a 58mm f/1.8 lens, a 75mm f/1.8 lens, an 85mm f/1.8 lens, and a 100mm f/1.8 lens. It is, in effect, fifty different lengths, all of f/1.8 speed. Price-wise $1500 is reasonable considering it as if it were a 50,85,and 100mm f/1.8, three primes, BUT, in one, single barrel, internal focus, and all capable of being mounted on a tripod or monopod right at the back of the lens, with a rotating tripod mount.

Having the rotating tripod mount at the back of the lens puts this lens into immediate contention as a portrait/fashion/event lens that is actually much more convenient than using a 50,85, and 100 or 105mm prime lens trio. INSTANT vertical or horizontal capture switching, without the need to re-jigger the tripod or swap out the 50 for the 85 and then the 85 for the 50, and so on, ad nauseum. Like cherylyne1 wrote, "For APS-C, this might be the new version of the ultimate portrait lens." This lens basically brings a tripod mount to the 50,85,100mm lens lengths that do not have that feature, along with the same f/1.8 lens speed.

Ultimate portrait lens? Heck yes, I can see that for some people. And once again...this seems to be an ambitious design and with f/2.8 being 1.3 stops down from wide-open, and with 3 FLD elements, and with a modest 2:1 zoom ratio, the image quality at f/2.8 could possibly be BETTER than what ANY Canon or Nikon zoom can deliver at f/2.8 or f/3.2 or f/3.5 or so.

 

[cherylynne1]

Whether or not it should be used wide open is a different topic, I think....I was just saying that I think most APS-C users have a favorite portrait lens like the 50 1.8, 85 1.8 or 100/105/2ish, and this is like having all of them in one.

If not for portraits, I think it's somewhat of an awkward length for a fast zoom...too narrow for most indoor or landscapes, and too wide for many sports and wildlife.

 

[pixmedic]

Whether or not it should be used wide open is a different topic, I think....I was just saying that I think most APS-C users have a favorite portrait lens like the 50 1.8, 85 1.8 or 100/105/2ish, and this is like having all of them in one.

If not for portraits, I think it's somewhat of an awkward length for a fast zoom...too narrow for most indoor or landscapes, and too wide for many sports and wildlife.

whoops. my bad.
focal length wise, this will be an amazing lens on a DX body for sure.
buuuuut...again, for portraits specifically....a 50-150 f/2.8 is already around and covers all the perfect portrait lengths.
for me anyway, anything under f/2.8 and you start getting too shallow a DOF for portraits. especially if you have more than one person.

 

[Derrel]

Hopeful thought: this lens might be able to cover the 5:4 crop ratio of the pro Nikons that offer that, and maybe some other alternate, smaller-than-24x36mm capture sizes, in which case it might be very useful for FX Nikon shooters and also high-end Canon body shooters.

Second good thought: Zoom lenses that have 2x ratios are often fairly high in performance. Nikon's old 75-150 f/3.5 Series E zoom was always a super portrait lens, and the Kino-Precision made Kiron-branded 70-150 was also one of the best optical performers of its entire era.

Since the lens does not cross over from wide-to-normal, or wide-to-normal-to-tele, and is basically an "all-telephoto" design for APS-C...and with a $1,500 price tag, and 3 FLD elements, this thing could actually be a VERY high-performing zoom lens, and the best part is the 50mm bottom end, which is what makes the 70-200/2.8 zoom danged near useless inside of 15 feet under so many shooting situations; the 50mm short end ELIMINATES the need to swap the 70-200 out for the 24-70 or 17-50 all the time.

 

[jcdeboever]

$1500 is a lot of cheddar for a little better.

Well, I don't think I agree with that sentiment, since f/1.8 in ANY zoom lens for APS-C
currently means Sigma's other f/1.8 lens, and then THIS specific 50mm-100mm f/1.8 zoom, also an Art series. And f/1.8 in a zoom lens actually leverages what an APS-C shooter can create with a zoom lens. This lens is basically one and one-third stop faster than any zoom for an interchangeable APS-C camera from the camera makers--so it gives a 1.3 EV ISO and or speed advantage in tough conditions; it gathers more light, which can boost low-light focus performance; it gives shallower depth of field which boosts autofocusing performance by giving more "in-focus" and more "out of focus" feedback to the AF system; this is a zoom lens that is on the cutting edge of lens technology. There is nothing else comparable.

In addition to being cutting edge technology and specifications, it is ALSO the equivalent of a 50mm f/1.8 lens, a 58mm f/1.8 lens, a 75mm f/1.8 lens, an 85mm f/1.8 lens, and a 100mm f/1.8 lens. It is, in effect, fifty different lengths, all of f/1.8 speed. Price-wise $1500 is reasonable considering it as if it were a 50,85,and 100mm f/1.8, three primes, BUT, in one, single barrel, internal focus, and all capable of being mounted on a tripod or monopod right at the back of the lens, with a rotating tripod mount.

Having the rotating tripod mount at the back of the lens puts this lens into immediate contention as a portrait/fashion/event lens that is actually much more convenient than using a 50,85, and 100 or 105mm prime lens trio. INSTANT vertical or horizontal capture switching, without the need to re-jigger the tripod or swap out the 50 for the 85 and then the 85 for the 50, and so on, ad nauseum. Like cherylyne1 wrote, "For APS-C, this might be the new version of the ultimate portrait lens." This lens basically brings a tripod mount to the 50,85,100mm lens lengths that do not have that feature, along with the same f/1.8 lens speed.

Ultimate portrait lens? Heck yes, I can see that for some people. And once again...this seems to be an ambitious design and with f/2.8 being 1.3 stops down from wide-open, and with 3 FLD elements, and with a modest 2:1 zoom ratio, the image quality at f/2.8 could possibly be BETTER than what ANY Canon or Nikon zoom can deliver at f/2.8 or f/3.2 or f/3.5 or so.

I was being silly. Good comeback though...[emoji41]

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[DarkShadow]

Looking a the picture the lens looks really well made.I am really am a huge fan of Sigma Lenses.I never had a art lens but on my third big lens and been very pleased with IQ and build quality.3.28 pounds is almost the weight of my sigma 150-600 which is right around 4 pounds.

 

[runnah]

50-100 1.8

Aps-C

 

[Derrel]

My questions would be: how large is the image circle's diameter? Will it cover say, the 5:4 aspect ratio of FX Nikon or FF Canon?And who says APS-C is "just" 1.52x for Nikon or 1.6x for Canon? There have been and still ARE cameras that offer more than one capture size on DX-sensor cameras.

50 x 1.52 =76mm using the full sensor area of a DX camera, like a Nikon D7200
100mm x1.52- 152mm, using the full sensor area of a DX camera like a Nikon 7200.

And then, 76mm x 1.3x crop of Nikon DX on say a D7200, gives a FOV equivalent of 98.8mm at f/1.8 at the short end
At the long end, we'd start at 152mm x 1.3x FOV crop of a DX-sized sensor for a 197.6mm f/1.8 lens at the long end.

On Nikon APS-C cameras like the D2x, which offered a 2.0x FOV crop of the APS-C sized sensor, this lens would provide the field of view equivalent values of a 152mm f/1.8 lens to that of a 304mm f/1.8 zoom lens.

As APS-C sensors go up and up and up in pixel count, the need for a lens that delivers higher MTF becomes a big issue; if a lens is really high-performance optic, and the sensor is good too, and has a high MP count, the smaller image made by using a 1.6x crop or 1.3x crop or 2.0x crop might become a viable option for some users.

This lens has "the future" written alll over it.

Wondering about the focusing motor: could this possibly be some kind of STM, silent-focusing lens that might also make a kick-ass video lens? Not enough information at my disposal to know, but again, right now, today, for Nikon DX users who'd be willing to set their APS-C sensor Nikons to the 1.3x FOV crop of DX...the FOV equivalent of 98mm to 198mm at f/1.8 makes this look interesting.