Sigma 18-50 f2.8 Fujifilm Initial Impressions
In this blog I will give you a brief overview of the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 zoom lens for Fujifilm X mount. I had an opportunity to play with this lens for a few days and I can share some feedback.
Build Quality
Overall this lens seems to be solid despite the plastic body. The body is made from plastic with a satin finish that seems to be prone to scratching quite easily however it does feel well built. The zoom function is well damped with no play or slip. The focus dial is also well damped and feels nice. The lens cap feels a little cheap however. There is a gasket around the mount for weather sealing too.
Ergonomics
There is some good and bad news. The bad news is that there is no aperture ring. For some people (including me) this is a deal breaker especially on an all purpose lens like this. I rely on the aperture ring to help pre-set the camera when entering a new environment and without it I would need to switch the camera on, change the aperture and switch it off. It’s simply not as practical. Now onto the good news, this lens is incredibly small and light weight. It is smaller and lighter than my 33mm Fuji prime and when fitted to an XT5 makes for a crazy compact yet powerful package.
Image Quality
Image quality is extremely good at all aperture values and is as good as the 16-55 even at f2.8. The image is sharp, clean and with great colour rendering. Below you can see some samples of this lens at 50mm at f2.8 both in the centre and at corners. Sharp as anything and nothing more to say.
Autofocus
Overall the autofocus is ok apart from one big issue. If you’ve focused on something, the moment you zoom in or out even slightly, the focus is completely thrown off. It can then take the camera a while to regain focus because it would be so far out. For photography this is a pain and can result in missed shots. For video this can be annoying as well. Other than that the focus is quiet, quick and accurate for photo and video. The one huge bonus is the extremely close focusing distance which for a zoom is impressive.
Summary
Overall this is an amazing little lens and a great alternative to the Fuji kit lenses or a lightweight alternative to the 16-55. My main issue with this lens is lack of aperture ring, although I understand this is subjective and many wouldn’t care. The second biggest issue is the focus completely going crazy the moment you zoom in or out. The focusing issue I hope can be fixed with a firmware update (Fuji did this to their lenses). Other than that this is a crazy good lens for the money, size and weight and out of all Fuji zooms on the market now, it’s the one I recommend to everyone despite the two drawbacks just mentioned.
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