Lens Comparison for Sigma 18-250

I got my Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom Lens a few days ago, but it has been really raining here.

So I did a really crude lens test. I have what I consider to be some excellent lenses in my arsenal. My normal walk around lens is a Tamron 28-75 f2.8. I bought this lens when I got my first Digital Rebel 300D, and it has proven to be all that I hoped for. It gives me wonderful photos.

I also have a Canon 70-200mm f/4 L that I got for doing telephoto work. I am just an amateur, and I can’t afford the really expensive glass that professional photographers use, but these lenses, as I said, are very good.

So, I took some pictures in my house using all three lenses, hand-held, in a dimly lit room. As I mentioned, this is a crude test, but the results surprised me. I was hoping that the new Sigma lens would do as well as the other two, but the new lens was head and shoulders better than either of the other lenses as you can see from the image on the right.

I attribute the success of the new Sigma lens to the Optical Stabilization, which neither of the other lenses has. These photos were taken at 1/4 second exposure time.. a fairly impossible shutter speed for me to avoid blurry pictures due to my inability to hold the camera steady.

I have taken a few other photos – displayed below. They are not contest winners, but a quick selection of unedited images to demonstrate that the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Zoom Lens is fully capable of being your every day walk around lens. I am hoping to get some more comparison shots in the next few days to see how the Sigma matches up to my macro lens.

f16 1/10sec 18mm ISO 100

f10, 1/50sec ISO 200

I was hesitant about ordering this lens, thinking I might be sending it back, but it is a keeper. I highly recommend it as an excellent all purpose walk around lens.
More about the Sigma 18-250 at www.digital-photographic-resources.

• Image quality is always the top consideration.
• Must have good wide angle range – 18mm preferred
• Must have good long range – 200mm minimum
• Image stabilization is preferred
• Wide aperture for good shutter speed – 2.8 would be ideal, but that is quite costly
• Fast focus
• Not so expensive I have to take out a second mortgage on my house

The Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 satisfies every one except the f/2.8, but that one feature would raise the price to over $1000, so I will have to forgo

the 2.8 aperture.I have been using the Tamron 28-75 lens as my walk around lens for about 4 years now – no complaints from it – it has served me well, and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. But I am a gearnut, right. It’s a cross I must bear. It’s how I am put together. So I search for good cameras and lenses.

I was considering the Tamron 18-270 because it has some very good press and user reviews. And, of course, my trusty Tamron 28-75 has been absolutely awesome. But when I started reading the user reviews about the Sigma 18-250, I could not disregard it as the next possible walk around lens for my Canon 30D.

Here are a few of the comments from the folks that bought this lens at Amazon.com and B&H Photo that have helped me come to my decision that the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 lens is the right walk around lens for me:

“The cost of the Sigma lens was more than $300 less than the Nikon lens while the quality of the pictures is comparable to that of the pictures taken by the Nikon lens.”

“Overall: Images sharp, great all-in-one lens, just as good as Nikon’s 18-200 if not better in image quality, focus speed and of course, zoom-range! I’ve replaced my Nikon all-in-one with this one, and I have no regrets…”

“I recently bought it to replace my Sigma 17-70mm and Canon 55-250mm IS lenses. This 18-250mm is very much like the 17-70mm in overall quality. It is of high quality! I’ve used it mostly so far for night photography and also for fast action, and wildlife (crocodiles in Jamaica; can’t trust that ear to ear smile of theirs). All the pictures I shot with it were hand held and the OS system performed flawlessly…Also, I’ve checked its macro ability, and found it to be approx. 1:2.5, far better than Sigma’s very conservative spec. Very highly recommended!!!!”

There are actually a few lenses I have found that have very good user ratings as “all purpose” or “walk around” lenses. You can see them at www.digital-photographic-resources.com.

Happy Shooting!