Sigma 50100mm F18 Dc Hsm Art Lens for Nikon

The Sigma 50-100mm F1.viii DC HSM Art ($ane,099) is a premium telezoom lens, aimed at photographers working with APS-C SLRs. It's designed effectually the same principle as the standard 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art ($675.00 at Amazon) zoom, and is likely to appeal to the aforementioned demographic. It's a bright lens, maintaining an f/1.viii aperture throughout its range, that makes no compromises on image quality compared with shooting prime lenses. That requires quite a flake of glass, and when coupled with a tough build yous've got a big, hefty lens. It omits image stabilization and is on the pricey side, but optical performance is superb. It's an fantabulous option if you're in the market for a wide-aperture telezoom for your APS-C SLR.

Design

The l-100mm F1.eight ($675.00 at Amazon) is a big lens. Information technology measures 6.7 by 3.seven inches (HD), weighs 3.3 pounds, and supports 82mm front filters. The barrel is a mix of metal and polycarbonate, with a metallic tripod collar that rotates and locks into position every ninety degrees. A reversible lens hood is included, along with front and rear caps and a carrying pouch.

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The overall package feels pro-grade, and the heft ways it'southward best paired with a higher finish APS-C SLR. Entry-level bodies like the Nikon D3400 ($675.00 at Amazon) are typically small and lite, and won't pair well with a big, heavy lens like the fifty-100mm. Simply the 50-100mm is a fine match for larger bodies like the Canon 80D ($675.00 at Amazon) and Nikon D500 ($675.00 at Amazon) . Sigma sells the fifty-100mm for Canon, Nikon, and Sigma SLRs. Pentax and Sony versions are not available at this fourth dimension.

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When paired with an APS-C photographic camera the lens covers a field of view roughly equivalent to a 75-150mm zoom on a full-frame arrangement. That's not a lens yous usually see—pro-grade full-frame zooms are typically 70-200mm designs, similar the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS 2 USM ($675.00 at Amazon) .

I didn't find myself missing the boosted telephoto reach, but I wish that Sigma had somehow been able to add some wide-angle coverage to the zoom. For the correct photographer, the 50-100mm could pair with the Sigma eighteen-35mm every bit a solid ii lens kit, and if the wide end of the l-100mm was closer to the 35mm mark, you could cut downwardly on lens changes in the field. That said, if you're an event photographer working with a two camera kit and haven't moved to a full-frame system, the l-100mm is a fine option for portraits.

The lens has 2 command rings, one to accommodate the zoom and another to focus manually. Its zoom is internal, so there'south no extension when adjusting the focal length. The zoom ring is covered in textured rubber, sits at the heart of the barrel, and is marked at 50, 60, 70, 85, and 100mm.

The manual focus band is finished in the same texture, and located just behind the front element. It focuses to 3.1 feet (0.95-meter), which captures images at upwards to i:six.7 magnification. Information technology'south definitely not a macro design; if that'south what you're afterward, yous may want to consider pairing it with the Sigma 17-70mm F2.eight-4 DC Macro OS HSM ($675.00 at Amazon) , equally at that place aren't a lot of telezooms out there with strong macro capabilities.

Image Quality

I tested the 50-100mm with the 20MP Catechism EOS 7D Marker II ($675.00 at Amazon) . Focus is very quick—the 50-100mm takes advantage of the 7D'due south loftier-speed shooting capabilities. Our examination re-create of the 50-100mm was slightly off in focus when working at the 100mm end of the range, but a quick adjustment with the Sigma USB Dock ($675.00 at Amazon) resolved the issue. The USB Dock is an inexpensive accessory that lets you fine-tune performance of select Sigma lenses.

At 50mm f/ane.8 the lens scores 2,236 lines per picture show meridian on Imatest'south center-weighted sharpness test, better than the 1,800 lines we look for in an image. Image quality is fairly consistent from edge to edge, with the periphery of the frame lagging behind the average score by about 200 lines.

There's a modest comeback at f/2 (2,412 lines), and more than palpable increases at f/2.viii (two,512 lines), f/4 (2,539 lines), and f/5.6 (2,519 lines). Diffraction cuts into sharpness at narrower settings, starting at f/viii (2,414 lines). But it's only an effect of note at f/11 (two,177 lines) and f/16 (i,780 lines).

The lens isn't quite as well-baked at 75mm f/1.8—it shows 2,062 lines there, with edges that are just above our sharpness cutoff (one,861 lines). There'south small-scale improvement at f/ii (2,139), but both the average (two,473 lines) and border (2,112 lines) scores show more significant gains at f/2.8. The lens continues to ameliorate at f/4 (2,579 lines) and f/5.6 (2,594 lines), before dropping in fidelity at f/viii (2,480 lines), f/eleven (ii,219 lines), and f/16 (1,833 lines).

At 100mm f/one.viii the zoom scores two,214 lines on the center-weighted evaluation, with strong performance right up to the edges of the frame (2,062 lines). As with wider focal lengths, at that place's improvement every bit you stop down—2,254 lines at f/ii, two,464 lines at f/2.8, 2,580 lines at f/4, and 2,595 lines at f/5.vi. We see the same drop-off every bit you lot narrow the aperture further to f/8 (ii,505 lines), f/11 (ii,240 lines), and f/16 (ane,860 lines).

Distortion is well controlled. There'due south less than 1 per centum visible at 50mm and 75mm. Y'all do go about one.iv percent pincushion distortion at 100mm, which volition give direct lines a slight inwardly curved appearance. Information technology's non enough to be consequential for most images, but architectural photographers should make sure to use a profile correction to images in Lightroom ($675.00 at Amazon) in gild to eliminate the modest distrotion.

Corners are dim, about 2.2 stops (-ii.2EV) behind the center of the image, at f/1.8, throughout the zoom range. The deficit is cut to most -1.5EV at f/two and is not at all relevant in field weather condition at narrower apertures. The slight vignette upshot can also be corrected in Lightroom, either via a lens profile or via the vignette control.

Conclusions

The Sigma 50-100mm F1.8 DC HSM Art is a lens that is without a lot of contest. Most APS-C telezooms are narrow aperture designs, like the mutual 55-300mm f/three.5-v.6 variety arranged with entry-level SLR kits. Zooms that step up the quality from kit options are typically wide or standard angle designs, as the size and weight reward is more significant at that end of the spectrum.

So the 50-100mm stands alone in the market. Its wide aperture design gives you but about every bit much control over depth of field when shooting with an APS-C camera as you would get with a comparable f/two.eight zoom on a total-frame system. It'southward a excellent performer, although 1 that comes without image stabilization and doesn't offering quite every bit much coverage range as we'd like to see. But if y'all're dedicated to an APS-C SLR system, and are looking for a short telezoom to cover events and requite you some freedom in framing portraits, the fixed f/1.viii design and excellent sharpness delivered past the the Sigma fifty-100mm are very appealing.

Thanks to Lensrentals for supplying the lens for this review.

Sigma 50-100mm F1.8 DC HSM Art

The Bottom Line

The Sigma 50-100mm F1.viii DC HSM Art is an highly-seasoned lens for APS-C SLR owners who want a bright telezoom, but it's on the pricey side.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/sigma-50-100mm-f18-dc-hsm-art

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