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Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 Art Series Lens (Nikon or Canon) - $710 + Shipping @ CameraPro

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Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8 Art Series Lens (Nikon or Canon) - $710 + Shipping @ CameraProAffiliate
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Alzori on 16/06/2015 - 21:23 camerapro.com.au (554 clicks)
Last edited 17/06/2015 - 00:15
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Hi guys, I was about to post a deal for this lens that I bought at JB but ended up finding it cheaper here when checking the competition :P Ah well, spread the love. Shipping estimate was $17.50 to me in Melbourne, I don't know if it varies.

From my research leading up to the purchase, this lens mostly goes for $900 or so in B&M stores in Australia. Imports run about $800 including postage. The best I had seen for Australian stock had been CameraPro when I looked, but they were $749 + shipping then. I ended up buying it at JB-Hifi. There's one store on Elizabeth St that has a much larger range of camera gear than a regular JB-Hifi, and they're selling it for $749.

Here's a good review by Chris Frost, there's plenty more on YouTube to watch if you want though.

From my short time playing with it I think it's a pretty nice bit of kit :) Takes some great photos in mediocre lighting settings and is fairly easy to use. Build quality is fantastic but it's quite heavy.

Note: lens is suitable for crop sensors only, It won't work right on a Canon 5D for example. Thanks ms

EDIT: For some reason the search page is returning no results now, so here are the direct links. Changed main link to the Canon model.

Electrical & Electronics Camera Lens Sigma

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closed Comments

  • Dealayed on 16/06/2015 - 21:33

    It's a fantastic lens but never been tempted to buy it.. the slightly slower but lighter sigma 17-50 f2.8 for half the price is an excellent alternative..

  • revivor on 16/06/2015 - 21:37

    Good lens OP!
    I myself just bought a Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 lens 2 weeks ago for a bargain for $390 at Camera House with 2yr warranty . It was on special. Very happy with the lens and the price! Got some excellent long exposure shots during Vivid Sydney.
    http://www.camerahouse.com.au/products/Standard/Sigma-AF-17-…

    • Alzori on 16/06/2015 - 22:11

      A fantastic lens too! I am glad it's working well for you.

    • rxjb on 16/06/2015 - 22:44

      i am looking at this lens or the 18-55 nikon f2.8, but for the price, people seem to favour the sigma or other third party lenses. If you could walk me through your thought process, it will make mine easier too. Thanks.

      • Major Mess on 17/06/2015 - 01:55
        +1

        Very good corner to corner sharpness. Fastest wide angle lens available. Downside is crop sensors only. Also being crop the bokeh effect must be multiplied by the crop - really only available at the 35mm end anyway.

        28mm on my crop camera is the widest top quality lens I own, and have been trying to decide on a wide angle solution over the last month or so. I was tempted by this lens. But will be going full frame, and have settled on the Canon 16-35mm f4 which has way better full image sharpness then the Sigma on crop anyway. It just means stopping action becomes a bit more difficult, but it will mostly be used for landscape and static shooting anyway.

        Have a read of this review, or others. Just stay away from the Ken Rockwell site.
        http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-18-35mm-f-1…

        • Alzori on 18/06/2015 - 11:25

          Could you expand on the Ken Rockwell comment please? That's a genuine question; if there's something wrong with his reviews I'd like to know before reading more of them :)

        • Evil-Elmo on 18/06/2015 - 12:02
          +1

          @Alzori:
          It's probably just because he's very opinionated. I personally find them interesting, as they add another perspective and usually suggest alternatives worthy of consideration, but I'd never consider them as definitive.

        • Alzori on 18/06/2015 - 12:09

          @Evil-Elmo: Cool, thanks for the explanation.

        • Major Mess on 18/06/2015 - 15:58

          @Evil-Elmo: No he is not. He is just an idiot. That is the excuse you see all over the web. Or that he makes silly and wrong statements technically, or generally, on purpose to stir up traffic for his website ad revenue. I think he just doesn't care what he states, with the benefit of controversy and traffic to his site.

          Others say his incorrect statements are tounge in cheek. Well, how is anyone to know with no punch line. If he does, to mislead people new to photography is simply evil.

          eg I have just decided on the Canon 16-35mm f4, and made the mistake of reading his review. Everyone in the photographic world agrees a 24-70 equivalent lens is the best for a general lens. This lens has great corner to corner sharpness, as good as primes(I have primes to take me from 35mm to 70mm). On a canon crop at 1.6x it becomes 25.6-56mm. It doesn't quite cover the long end, but anyone considering the lens for it's image quality, and considering the price, will be aware of that and probably have other options. They could also be looking to eventually go full frame.

          -This is Ken's quote on the 16-35 on a crop body.
          "This works on all Canon EOS cameras, meaning all Canon DSLRs and all Canon 35mm EOS autofocus SLRs.

          While it works on all these, this is a full-frame lens and it is silly to use it on Canon's APS-C cameras. For these cameras, even the 18-55mm kit lenses work better because of their broader zoom ranges more appropriate for those cameras.

          On APS-C, this is a normal, not wide angle lens. For a wide angle lens on APS-C cameras, use the Canon 10-18mm EF-s. It costs only one-fourth as much, and goes much, much wider than this lens does on those cameras."

          -"silly", oh really.

          • The lens starts at 25.6 equiv. which is wide. It's just not ultra wide anymore. It's not a normal, but does cover it.

          • The 18-55, yes that gives a better range, but this is a completely different class of lens, and you already got it with your camera, or you can buy them for $40-$50 vs $1000+ for the L lens.

          • The 10-18, is said to have good image quality, but again a different class and only covers 16-28.8 equiv

          -All retailers are corrupt except for his approved sellers. It's at the top of all of his reviews. Sure other reviewers have links that get them a kick back but they don't state it like this.

          "This free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of buying elsewhere. Never buy at retail, since unlike milk or DVDs which are sealed, Canon doesn't seal its boxes so you can't tell if it's a used lens."

          Ken Rockwell only shoots jpeg basic so more pictures fit on his card. "The Normal and Large jpegs takes up too much room and takes longer to transfer and for email, and they look the same."
          Have a look at Jared Polin's rant on you tube.
          KEN Rockwell is Dangerous to Photography - 39 minutes in.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I38q5Ad5GaM
          RANT Ken Rockwell says “pros only shoot in Pro mode, that’s why it’s called Pro mode
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfXL63R5JQE

          For quick Canon and third party lens reviews, have a look at
          http://www.the-digital-picture.com
          His Lens comparison tool is handy.

          DXOMark's new tool is good for comparing resolving power for lenses on different bodies. Just don't look at their overall score for lens or bodies, it's not meant to score the overall product like other sites.

          Any other site is better for reviews.

        • Evil-Elmo on 18/06/2015 - 16:12

          @Major Mess:
          Wow - is there a TL;DR version? :)

          I never said the guy was a genius, or that he's always right. He's certainly opinionated and I can see why many wouldn't like his opinions, but he often raises some valid points when it comes to the bigger picture. No I don't adopt his philosophies (at all) but just because some of the stuff he says is rubbish doesn't mean all of it is.

          Edit: He has a point on the 16-35mm f4L on crop bodies. It's a fantastic lens (I've used it on a FF body - if I had a FF body this would be a definite purchase), but really designed for full frame. A kit 18-55mm is no comparison (agreed) but I think there are better options for crop, such as the Canon 17-55mm f2.8 or this lens. Both are quicker with exceptional sharpness.

    • CVonC on 16/06/2015 - 23:30

      Nice! I see they finally got stock from CRK.. Cos the canons were out of stock practically everywhere in april/may.. I was able to find one at discountcameras.com.au for $343 delivered.. and then TRS'd it!

      Love the lens! Didn't even use my $80 nifty fifty while holidaying in Thailand last week lol

  • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2015 - 21:45
    +1

    I think this is for crop sensor cameras. Bought it for my 550d. Despite numerous visits to CRK, the focussing issue could not be resolved. Returned it in the end.

    • Alzori on 16/06/2015 - 22:06

      Oh yes! I forgot to mention this - crop sensors only. I'll add that to the post :)

    • Dealayed on 16/06/2015 - 23:10

      Most lenses with such apertures tend to have back/front focussing issues..

    • Major Mess on 17/06/2015 - 01:58

      You can plug it into the Sigma USB dock to adjust the focus to suit your camera. This is a big advantage on entry level DSLR's. Top end bodies have micro focus adjustment you can make in camera to compensate.

      • [Deactivated] on 17/06/2015 - 08:59

        You can plug it into the Sigma USB dock to adjust the focus to suit your camera.

        Tried everything but the lens would not play well with my camera body.

        BTW, the dock is a another cost to add on top.

      • Evil-Elmo on 17/06/2015 - 09:22

        I've got a 550D and a Sigma 30mm f1.4 A and had the same problem. I ended up buying the USB dock ($80 delivered brand new from ebay) to try to fix it.

        I spent a few hours trying to correct the focusing issues and it's still not focusing right. One of the distance settings was going up to +18 (which still wasn't as good as manual focus for my target - but getting close - and I suspect this extreme setting has pushed the other distances out of 'alignment').

        I'm unsure whether there is a problem with the lens or whether the 550D just isn't up to the task of fine focus at f1.4. For the record I only used centre focus point for the entire exercise. Unfortunately the 550D doesn't have AFMA, something I will definitely be looking for in my next body. I have no such problems with my Canon lenses including 17-55mm f2.8 (admittedly it has a larger depth of field).

        I really like the potential of the 30mm f1.4 lens, as it can take great photos when the focus is right, but I am concerned about the focusing of Sigma lenses as a result of this.

        This is just my experience with a different Sigma lens and should not detract from the deal itself. I have read many a review which gives the 18-35mm very high praise. If I didn't have the Canon 17-55mm already I would certainly be keen to try one of these.

        • mingofmongo on 17/06/2015 - 11:41
          +1

          I can highly highly recommend Reikan Focal software for helping to automatically identify the correct focus adjustments - and it can automatically set them up in your camera if supported.

          Definitely worth the money.

          http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/

        • Evil-Elmo on 17/06/2015 - 11:54

          @mingofmongo:
          I have thought about it. I've read some mixed reviews (mostly positive though) and thought I'd wait until I had a body with AFMA before revisiting.

        • mingofmongo on 20/06/2015 - 08:31
          +1

          @Evil-Elmo:
          Even without AFMA on a per-lens basis, most non-pro bodies have AFMA on a per-body basis. There's potentially some value in using FoCal anyway, as if you have three lenses whose focus is out by +6, +10, and +12 then in theory all three lenses would obtain sharper focus with +9 or +10 than they would at 0. But I guess it's just as likely you'd have three lenses at -6, 0, and +6 in which case you'd only make an adjustment if one of those lenses was your most frequently-used lens and you were willing to sacrifice sharpness on the other two.
          I'd previously used a Michael Tapes Design focus calibrator and hated using it - just too manual and too much bother. FoCal is basically 'set and forget'.
          I leave my camera on a tripod connected to my computer, pointing at the (supplied) target illuminated by a 500W lamp, and it takes about 5 minutes per lens. (More if you do it for different focal lengths for zoom lenses, which is a good idea but does complicate things when your 70-200 requires +2 at 70mm, +10 at 135mm, and 0 at 200mm)
          Can't imagine why there'd be a mixed review of this software - it simply works, and works well. I heard about it from the martin bailey photography podcast - he dis an entire episode on it.
          These days I use my mirrorless EOS M3 a little more than I use my 7D, and of course you don't need to do AFMA when using contrast-detect or on a mirrorless camera!

  • DarkNexy on 16/06/2015 - 22:10

    Amazing lens. My favourite at the moment.

  • impoze on 16/06/2015 - 22:36

    great lens for crop sensors or mirrorless bodies with speedboosters

    • Major Mess on 17/06/2015 - 01:59
      +1

      Yeah except the AF is either really slow or not working - plus the adapter costs $600.

      • impoze on 17/06/2015 - 10:08

        for video work, we mainly use manual focus, but yes, AF with any speedbooster is terribly slow

    • [Deactivated] on 17/06/2015 - 08:27

      I was not happy with the results on my Pana G6 with adaptor. Ended up selling to a usa guy on ebay for a profit. (Happy with profit, lol).

  • monkp on 16/06/2015 - 23:10

    Just noticed that they have best price on Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art in Oz too!!

  • aec on 17/06/2015 - 07:07

    i was thinking to replace my 1635 with this lens, then realised its not a fx lens.

  • kevitkotw on 17/06/2015 - 14:37

    I love this lens.. It is my most used lens on my camera. Recommended highly!

  • Pidim on 17/06/2015 - 16:49

    Does anyone have any experience with this 18-35 F1.8 vs the Sigma 17-50 F2.8? I've been looking at this lens for ages but cannot make up my mind on which would be better. It's mainly for event shooting - eg weddings, parties etc (kind of part time job as a student)

    • Alzori on 17/06/2015 - 20:31

      Well, I can't compare them but I can say I got this lens in a large part to be able to shoot better at not-so-well lit events, hence leading me to pick based on aperture.

      The 17-50 I'm guessing would still be quite capable in this setting, remembering that it has image stabilisation (where the 18-35 does not) to help you lower the shutter speed in place of a wider aperture. The extra focal length in both directions would certainly allow more versatile use.

      Here's a review comparing the two (and some other ~18-55mm lenses): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3UfbsdfUu8

      • Pidim on 18/06/2015 - 09:09

        Thanks for the youtube clip. Very informative. It certainly makes the 17-50mm very compelling given it's almost half the price of the 18-35mm. Given that bokeh is good in both, I'm now wondering whether F2.8 with OIS will give me the same in not so well lit events as a F1.8 without OIS.

        • Evil-Elmo on 18/06/2015 - 09:35
          +2

          To some extent it will depend on how much your targets at events are moving. OIS is better for still subjects, whereas higher aperture allows a higher shutter speed which can help prevent motion blur of moving subjects.

        • Pidim on 18/06/2015 - 10:50

          Mainly still subjects, but I'm wondering on whether F2.8 would have the same colour saturation in low light

    • Major Mess on 18/06/2015 - 01:14

      I take it you have a crop camera? Completely different class of lens. As mentioned above, I am going for the Canon 16-35mm f4 for it's even better edge to edge sharpness etc. But I am also going full frame shortly, so if on a crop camera, all reports seem very positive for the 18-35, and this price is pretty good. I suggest calling your local camera shop to get a price match. If you have a Camera house near you they should be able to beat it. To many camera shops have disappeared, so it's good to support the smaller guys.

      • Pidim on 18/06/2015 - 09:10

        Yes, I have a Nikon APS, so will have a good look at this. Thanks.

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