Question A Day: Sigma Lenses
Q: nosmokewithoutpryor asked:
Hi Tamara!
Question. Do you know anything about the Sigma HSM lenses? I have a Nikon D60 with the kit lens, and I also bought a “prime” lens (because I heard those are great at giving me that fuzzy, bokeh effect). I do like the prime, but it’s a manual focus lens, which I’m finding to be a big pain in the toosh.
I was reading about these HSM lenses by Sigma - there is one that’s an F/2.8 18-50mm for only $199, which seems really cheap for a lens! Do you know anything about them? Are they any good? For someone who is just an amateur photographer taking pictures of her baby for the most part, would that suffice just as well as the $400-500+ versions?
Thanks!
Henna
A: Hi Henna! Thanks for the question!
Let’s see… The prime you purchased, I’m guessing is the 50mm manual focus? I can understand the frustration of that, considering you’re dealing with a mobile subject and you want to snap fast.
I personally haven’t used any Sigma lenses but a friend of mine has and he says they can pack a beneficial punch to your bottom line, you just have to know what you’re getting into.
Essentially, third party lenses are going to generally be less money, but they’re going to lack a certain finesse that you would get with a lens from the same manufacturer as the body by default. That said, lenses are one area in photography where you really do get what you pay for, so buy the best lens you can afford. The nice part is that lenses don’t really lose their value if you treat them well, and so you can always sell or trade them in for an upgrade as your budget allows.
The reason prime lenses have such a great reputation for their depth of field and bokeh blur is that, by design, they can achieve a much wider aperture than their multi-length counterparts. The beauty of this 18-50mm is that you’ve got a nice wide aperture at any of those focal lengths, whereas other zoom lenses in that range tend to offer a spread (as in, you can get f/2.8 at 18mm but only say f/3.5 or smaller at 70mm, etc.)
The reason the HSM 18-50mm is less than other lenses is that it is specifically formatted for crop sensor cameras (such as yours) and won’t work well with full frame professional cameras. Because of this, the lens can be designed slightly differently.
Because I’ve yet to play with this lens hands on, I can’t offer a guaranteed review. Based on specs alone, I think if you’re taking personal photos of your little jam face, this lens should most definitely work. The nice wide aperture allowance is going to allow you flexibility with lighting and depth of field, and there is some room for play on your focal length. Just be mindful that the 18mm is going to funkify faces just a bit, heading into the fish eye/slight distortion realm, so be sure to know what distance from your subject you’re most pleased with the results by.
Hope that helps!
xo, Tamara
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