Sigma 18 35mm F1 8 DC HSM A Review | 54 Data compared

The Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM is an outstanding, innovative zoom lens designed specifically for APS-C sensor D-SLR cameras, eliminating the traditional need to choose between a flexible zoom and a fast prime lens. Priced reasonably at a direct cost of $799 (and found for around £556), it provides consistent, prime-lens sharpness throughout its entire focal range. Lab testing showed the lens records an impressive 2,383 lines at f/1.8 at the 18mm setting, peaking at 2,690 lines at f/4 when zoomed to 24mm. Available across multiple camera systems—including Canon EF-S, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sigma SA, and Sony A—the lens offers an 18-35mm zoom range (equivalent to 27-52.5mm in full-frame) that effectively replaces three classic prime focal lengths (28mm, 35mm, and 50mm) while capturing up to six times more light than a standard kit lens. Despite its stellar performance, the lens does have notable physical and technical drawbacks. Its primary downsides include a large and heavy build—measuring 4.8 by 3.1 inches and weighing 1.8 pounds—and a completely modest 1.9x zoom ratio that lacks optical stabilization. Optically, it exhibits some wide-angle...

The Photography Life review deems the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art a game-changer for APS-C shooters, highlighting its historic, constant f/1.8 aperture as a top pro, delivering exceptional low-light performance and bokeh. The lens offers stellar, prime-like center sharpness, combined with robust, high-quality construction. Conversely, the review notes the lens is very heavy and bulky, sacrificing portability. Other cons include inconsistent autofocus accuracy on some DSLRs and the absence of a weather-sealing gasket, alongside weaker corner performance at 18mm.

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens is recognized by The Digital Picture as a pioneering zoom featuring a constant f/1.8 aperture, offering exceptional, prime-like image sharpness across its range and robust build quality with internal focusing. Performance highlights include quick, quiet HSM autofocus, effective control of barrel distortion at 18mm, and a versatile, bright maximum aperture ideal for low light and videography. Conversely, the lens is limited by a short 18-35mm zoom range (equivalent to 28.8-56mm on APS-C) and is designed exclusively for APS-C sensors, resulting in significant vignetting on full-frame cameras. While generally sharp, mild pincushion distortion appears from 28mm to 35mm, and the autofocus motor can produce subtle noises during final focus adjustments.

The Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens for Canon is a highly disruptive, high-grade zoom designed specifically for APS-C format DSLRs, offering an equivalent focal range of 29-56mm. It makes history as the fastest zoom lens made for DSLRs, achieving a stellar DxOMark score of 25 points and matching or exceeding the optical quality of expensive, high-end full-frame primes like the Carl Zeiss 18mm f/3.5, Canon 24mm f/1.4L II, and Sigma's own 35mm f/1.4 Art. The lens delivers exceptional corner-to-corner sharpness at 18mm even wide open at f/1.8, boasts an impressive 1.8 T-stop transmission score that makes it highly appealing to filmmakers, and exhibits beautifully controlled distortion, lateral chromatic aberration, and softly gradated vignetting. On the downside, this optical excellence comes with notable physical compromises. Weighing a hefty 810 grams (28.6 oz.), it is quite heavy and bulky for an APS-C dedicated lens. Additionally, it completely lacks built-in image stabilization and features a somewhat narrow, limited zoom range compared to its standard f/2.8 competitors. There is also a very minor 5% drop in sharpness in the outer fields when...

The LensTip review for the Sigma A 18-35 mm f/1.8 DC HSM highlights it as a revolutionary, record-breaking zoom lens designed for APS-C sensors. Testing on a Canon EOS 50D body revealed sensational, "prime-like" image resolution in the frame centre. At focal lengths of 18-24mm, the lens achieved an unprecedented record resolution of 55 lpmm when stopped down to f/2.8 and f/4.0. The performance at 35mm remains excellent, reaching 53 lpmm at f/4.0. Even on the edge of the frame, the lens easily exceeds decency levels at all focal lengths wide open, maximizing around 45 lpmm. Additional pros include its solid build quality, silent and highly accurate autofocus (under 4% misses in studio conditions), well-corrected spherical aberration, and relatively low distortion (-2.46% barrel distortion at 18mm) for a fast zoom lens. However, the review exposes some distinct compromises and downsides. The most critical flaw occurs with ghosting and flares; while manageable wide open, stopping down the aperture produces severe flares and artifact streaks that persist even when the sun is outside the frame, making the included lens hood mandatory. Furthermore,...

summary of the review: The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a highly innovative, beautifully constructed lens designed specifically for APS-C crop-sensor cameras, offering a uniquely fast, constant f/1.8 maximum aperture across its entire focal range at an excellent price point under $800. The reviewer praised its robust metal and rubber build, functional internal zoom design, and beautiful, fluid bokeh. Optically, the lens delivers quality sharpness—particularly in its sweet spot between f/5.6 and f/7.1—and stands out for its exceptional control of chromatic aberration, showing virtually no purple fringing even when shot wide open in studio environments. However, the lens is not without its flaws, as it exhibits minor micro-ghosting at wider apertures and can suffer from flaring when back-lit by particularly bright lights. It is also physically larger than comparable kit lenses, lacks auditory focus confirmation beeps in certain auto-focus scenarios, and occasionally experiences front-focusing issues (though this can be corrected using Sigma's USB Dock software). Additionally, the reviewer questioned the overall utility of the narrow 18-35mm focal range (roughly a 27-52mm full-frame equivalent) and noted it lacks...

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART is a groundbreaking lens for APS-C (crop sensor) cameras, being the first zoom to offer a constant f/1.8 maximum aperture. This "Global Vision" design features a premium build with internal zooming and focusing, ensuring the lens length does not change during use. Optically, the reviewer found it to be exceptionally sharp even at f/1.8, outperforming top-tier competitors like the Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 in both clarity and contrast. Its low vignetting and high magnification of 0.23x make it a versatile tool for portraits and near-macro photography, effectively acting as a bundle of high-quality prime lenses in a single body. However, the lens is not without significant drawbacks, most notably its inconsistent autofocus accuracy on DSLR bodies like the Canon 70D. The reviewer noted that focus often "jumped around," leading to a low hit rate in demanding situations like portraits or moving subjects. Physically, the lens is large and heavy, weighing 811g, which is comparable to full-frame 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses. Additional cons include a limited zoom range (equivalent to roughly 28-50mm), flare resistance that isn't...

The Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM is a groundbreaking crop-sensor (DC) lens featuring a constant f/1.8 aperture across its entire zoom range, designed to cover a medium-wide to normal focal distance equivalent to 27–52.5mm on full-frame cameras. In performance testing, the lens delivers exceptional, razor-sharp image resolution that outclasses competing lenses like the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 and Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8, reaching its absolute sharpest peak at f/4. It produces beautiful, uniform background bokeh via its 9 rounded diaphragm blades and excels in minimizing optical flaws, showing remarkably well-controlled barrel distortion, minimal lens flare, and highly suppressed purple fringing and chromatic aberration compared to its peers. Structurally, it boasts a premium build with a pleasing rubber grip, internal zooming that keeps the lens size constant, a surprisingly low 72mm filter diameter, and a quiet, rapid Hyper-Sonic Motor (HSM) autofocus system. However, the lens has several distinct drawbacks, most notably its lack of built-in image stabilisation, which makes it less than ideal for handheld video work. At 800 grams and over 12 cm long, it is physically heavy and bulky, handling more...

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens is a highly refined, professional-grade zoom lens designed for crop-sensor (DX/APS-C) cameras, filling a critical gap left by first-party manufacturers like Nikon. Priced at US$799, its biggest advantage is its groundbreaking, constant f/1.8 maximum aperture, which effectively compensates for the one-stop low-light disadvantage that crop sensors have compared to full-frame bodies. Optically, the lens delivers exceptional, prime-level sharpness in the center—even wide open at f/1.8—and utilizes nine special glass elements to significantly minimise longitudinal chromatic aberration, astigmatism, and coma. Furthermore, it features an internally zooming and focusing chassis made of a durable thermal compound, and its HSM focus motor is remarkably fast, tracking moving subjects with ease. Despite its stellar central performance, the lens carries notable optical and mechanical drawbacks that users must navigate. Its 18-35mm focal range is relatively narrow—translating to a 27-52mm effective full-frame range—which makes it a slightly wide-to-normal zoom rather than a true wide-angle option. Visually, the lens exhibits clear barrel distortion (2%) at the wide end, pincushion distortion (1%) at the long end, and a heavy 1.3-stop...

The DPReview evaluation highlights the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art as a groundbreaking APS-C lens, offering exceptional, prime-like sharpness across the frame even at F1.8 with minimal aberrations and a solid, high-quality build. While it provides fast autofocus via the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM), the lens is notably large and heavy, with a restricted zoom range (28-50mm equiv.) and potential for inconsistent AF accuracy on certain DSLR bodies.

The PCMag review highlights the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM as a groundbreaking APS-C lens, awarding it an Editors' Choice for delivering prime-level sharpness and a constant f/1.8 aperture in a zoom format. It offers exceptional resolution, robust construction, and compatibility with the Sigma USB Dock, making it highly versatile for both photo and video. Key drawbacks include its heavy, bulky design, a restricted 1.9x zoom range, and a complete lack of optical image stabilization. Furthermore, users must handle significant barrel distortion at 18mm in post-processing, as the lens lacks built-in automatic correction profiles.

This review highlights the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens (tested on a 24-megapixel Nikon D7100) as a "game changer" for APS-C sensor cameras. The lens delivers exceptional image quality and center sharpness even at its maximum f/1.8 aperture, generating a beautifully soft background blur that rivals more expensive and heavier full-frame systems. It features a premium, matte-black construction made of Thermally Composite plastic to keep weight manageable. Built with professional standards, it boasts an internal focusing mechanism where the length remains completely unchanged during zooming and focusing. Additionally, the autofocus system is praised for being fast, highly accurate in low light, silent, and fully manual-override capable. It is highly resistant to flare and shows minimal chromatic aberration, making it excellent for HDR, street, and concert photography. The core advantages (pros) of this lens include its unprecedentedly high and constant f/1.8 brightness, very high image quality that meets or exceeds fixed focal lengths, and a full-frame equivalent bokeh quality. On the downside, the primary disadvantages (cons) are its somewhat limited zoom range—covering a view angle equivalent to only 29-53mm...