My first encounter with a SIGMA DC Lens was with the 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC. Attracted by its affordable price and lightweight, I purchased this lens. Using this lens, I was totally fascinated by the sharpness and clarity of the images. Since then, I always carry several SIGMA DC lens to photograph from an actress to landscapes. Recently, SIGMA released 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC. The expected large aperture of F2.8 over its entire focal length will enable us to use this lens more effectively. Needless to say, I went off to the dealerÕs shop, expecting this must be a good-buy lens.

18-50mm F2.8 EX DC

I attached this lens to a Nikon D70. Equipped with this lens, the viewfinder becomes much brighter. The quality of the image is of course sharp, same as that of 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC. In addition, this lens has another feature, expressing the delicate image. For example, the 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 expresses the sharpness of the image by rough figures. This 18-50mm F2.8-EX DC enables us to express the image by accumulating the soft lines. SIGMA offers us a very attractive line up of lens, which differs in not only brightness but also the image of the lenses.

At the wide-angle, take images sharply. At the tele-angle, graduate the background moderately. This is how to enjoy a short zoom lens. At the widest angle of view with large aperture, the peripheral quantity of light might be diminished, but which can be offset by the large F4 aperture. Then, the real value of this 18-50mm F 2.8 EX DC will be revealed. If you want to utilize the effect of aperture at the telephoto setting, take photos with a large aperture. At the 50mm of the focal length, the angle of view will be approximately 75mm equivalent. As this focal length is not too long, I used the telephoto settings for snap shots. The brightness of the large aperture contributes to taking photographs of various situations effectively. It is generally known that the effects of the use of the large aperture are blurred background and high shutter speed. In addition, this effect will work well with the electronic flash. Choosing the programmed AE will widen the choice of aperture, which will have more chances to utilize small electronic flash by not requiring a great deal of light. The programmed AE mode decides the value of exposure on the basis of the large aperture. Therefore, a few steps of the aperture will be an absolute advantage under these conditions.

After finishing the photo shoot in Hawaii, I was surprised that there were very few NG shots. The images taken under the dark light, which would have been blurred by the normal short zoom lens, came out pretty well. Soft and solid images taken at the telephoto setting were just as I expected. You might think that these two lenses compete with each other. But, the feature of these two lenses differs. For example, SIGMA 18-50mm F3.5 Ð5.6 DC is lightweight and compact. I would say that SIGMA 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC would be suitable if you want take snap shots. For more professional shots, I would recommend SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC. I would like to make best use of these two lenses for distinct purposes, which are fortuned choices given, by SIGMA, for us.