Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX DG Macro Review
the feel
I’m relatively conservative with my lens purchases and generally tend to examine an outstanding deal earlier than investing money into images to make sure I’m going to get something a good way to be helpful to me. That is my first Sigma lens, and this EX DG version has the “crinkle” finish that Sigma is placing on its trendy lenses. It has a tactile and “costly” experience which I like. The lens is small, compact and light and the focus limiter switch and the AF/MF transfer have a precise and firm feel whilst operated while the point of interest ring is not overly damped; it feels easy and operates appropriately.
Focusing
As is somewhat typical with Macro lenses, auto awareness on the Sigma 50mm f2.8 EX DG Macro isn’t always specifically short, and it is a bit “commercial sounding” even though it appears to paintings correctly and I have had joy capturing moving bugs with car recognition in windy situations. The focal point limiter is actually your pal whilst the usage of this lens, it lets in you pinnacle prevent the lens hunting through it a whole focal variety that is extensive, and it enables to prevent the lens attempting to find focus in low light. The focus ring, as I referred to in advance, is easy and turns thru about 270°, so it permits excellent quality tuning. The lens, however, does not have full-time guide focusing, which is universal on more high priced lenses. Given that the lens has a focal length of 50mm, the minimum focal distance is at about 20 cm, which means that the front detail is inside some centimetres of your item, which glaringly makes photographing insects a little more tremendous challenging!
picture satisfactory
naturally, the most crucial part of any lens is the first-rate of the image it produces, and it’s far in this area that this lens absolutely shines, the excellent of pictures it produces is definitely lovely! I’ve most effective had this lens ten days, and I have now not taken it off my digital camera, whilst conditions are properly this lens produces the fine of pics I have excited by my Canon 450D. Having stated that once situations aren’t the gold standard, it still produces wonderful nice snapshots despite the fact that focusing in low mild situations while near a picture is pretty gradual. I don’t take pleasure in a host of technical exams of my kit. I stick it on my camera and take images and judge it from my very own reports, the opinions are high-quality, and I am a confessed pixel peeper* and for me, the consequences are fabulous.
*Pixel Peeper: one who view photographs at far too high-quality a magnification!
price
At the time of this record, this lens retails at around £260, a full £ sixty-five cheaper than it is herbal competition, the Canon EF-S 60mm f2. Eight Macro and £ ninety-five inexpensive than the Tamron 60 mm – f/2. Zero Di II LD macro lens. Which, for me, made it a key winner within the conflict for my tough-earned coins and the truth that it has not been unmounted from my digicam considering I purchased it likely approach that I am happy about my purchase!
evaluation
There are more than a tiny annoyance with this lens, the first being which you can not shape a lens cap whilst the usage of the lens hood that’s an evident flaw in its layout and secondly the very near focal distance at 1:1 macro. The focal distance is made from the 50mm focal period, so you could face similar hassle with any of its competition in this range. Photograph sensible, it’s far stellar, genuinely sharp, wide open and insanely sharp stepped down beyond f5.6 or so; it has incredible colour rendition and is a neat, tidy macro lens that works as a fantastic 50mm walk around lens too!
