Perfect for a wide range of photo and video applications including landscapes, portraits, street photography, architecture and events, and it can also be used for macro-style close-up photography owing to its maximum magnification of 1:2.8 that allows a minimum focusing distance of just 12.1cm. Autofocus is exceptionally fast and quiet thanks to the lens’ stepping motor, which can be particularly useful for shooting video, or for capturing fast-moving subjects.
Large F2.8 aperture and superb image quality
The SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary covers 27mm to 75mm in the 35mm format and has a wide aperture of F2.8 throughout the entire zoom range.
This makes it easy to achieve blurry backgrounds, which is ideal for shooting attractive portraits and close-ups. The bokeh is smooth and attractive so doesn’t distract from the in-focus subject.
The lens’s three high-precision glass-moulded aspherical elements coupled with the minimisation of the total number of elements yields superb optical quality without excessive weight, and the use of in-camera aberration correction further eliminates optical imperfections such as distortion and vignetting.
High contrast results with vivid colours
The optical quality of the 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C is exceptional, with high-contrast, ultra-sharp images all the way to the extreme corners of the frame, and even wide open at F2.8. Colours are vivid and rich straight out of camera.
Controlled results with little flare or ghosting
Along with its anti-ghosting design, Super Multi-Layer Coating and SLD glass, ghosting and flare are very well controlled to produce high-contrast results even in strongly backlighting. This yields punchy, high impact images in all lighting conditions.
A lightweight and compact body ideal for mirrorless cameras
The SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary is remarkably compact, matching the portability of APS-C mirrorless camera bodies. This makes it a perfect workhorse lens that is ideal for general day-to-day use. The lens is currently the smallest and lightest in its class (at time of writing), boasting a maximum diameter of 65.4mm, a length of 74.5mm and weight of 290g (L-Mount version), yet still maintains a constant aperture of F2.8.
To keep the lens as light as possible, SIGMA constructed the body from carefully selected materials. A polycarbonate called Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) was used for the construction of the barrel, which is sleek, robust, and importantly has a thermal conductivity close to that of aluminium. This ensures stable performance and good operability when used in changing temperatures. By using metal for some of the internal structure, the parts could be much thinner and have a higher rigidity, ensuring the lens can stand up to frequent, heavy use.
Supports a wide variety of shooting situations
The SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary has fast and near-silent AF that makes it perfectly suited to a range of photographic applications, including shooting in quiet environments, recording video and capturing fast-moving subjects. This has been achieved by using a stepping motor as the AF actuator. Since it is small and lightweight, it can be used flexibly in situations such as handheld shooting, which requires high mobility, gimbal shooting, one-man operation video shooting and vlogging.
With an emphasis on making the lens as versatile as possible in a wide variety of shooting conditions, SIGMA designed the lens with a minimum focusing distance of 12.1 cm and maximum magnification of 1:2.8 at the wide end, making it ideal for close-ups. Combined with the pocketable full-frame SIGMA fp, the total weight is only 712g, and it can also be useful as a sub-lens for full-frame cameras (used in crop mode) to keep weight down.
Short focusing distance for close-up detail
An impressive minimum focusing distance of 12.1cm at the wide end of the zoom range (a working distance of 4.7cm) up to 30cm fully zoomed in allows you to capture subjects close-up in incredible detail.
This gives a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.8 and makes the lens ideal for shooting macro-style images of flowers, insects, textures and products.
Perfect for portraits
The mid-range focal length of this lens, coupled with its exceptional image quality, makes it ideal for portrait photography. At the tele end, it offers the perfect field-of-view for head and shoulders portraits, allowing you to achieve a flattering perspective on the face. Zoomed out to 28mm, it’s ideal for full body shots such as environmental portraits.
The wide and constant F2.8 aperture allows for a shallow depth-of-field, which helps the subject to stand out. Attractive, smooth bokeh ensures backgrounds are not distracting.
Light but tough polycarbonate petal hood included
Included in the box is a petal-style lens hood (LH582-02) that will help to reduce flare and ghosting when shooting into the sun or other bright source of light. Its tough but ultra-light polycarbonate design can also help protect the lens from damage if dropped.
