Please keep reviewing older canon EF lenses that needs updating! Us canon users don't have many lens options currently, so lenses like the Sigma Art EF lenses and stuff would be awesome for us!
I don't think I've ever bought a lens without first watching your reviews. You've done a landmark job of documenting lens performance, and saved a many of us a lot of work and frustration. Thank you. One comment on this video, though: Unless two or more items in the image chain have nearly equal resolution, the end resolution of the system will be almost completely determined by the lowest resolution item in the chain. Camera lens>sensor>monitor screen>human eye, for example. If a lens provides excellent resolution at, for example, 20 Mpixels, putting the same lens on a 50 Mpixel camera cannot produce lower resolution. So I think I disagree with your statement that your high resolution sensor degrades the sharpness of the lens.
Would be super nice for canon to open up for third party lenses. I believe one day sigma will manufacture a version for mirrorless, hopefully for all brands.
And the outgoing version actually has full frame coverage from 27 mm to 35 mm so I would really love to see an updated version that tries to see how much full frame coverage they can get across that entire range.
i dunno why they haven't. for aps-c it's definitely doable, and Tamron released a 35-150 f2-2.8, f2 through 85, then 2.8 to 150... i guess folks wanna sell as many lesser lenses as they can before bringing out stuff that will kill sales of older designs.
I don't use to comment on videos and the very few comments I made was to ask for this, some time ago. I was surprised and really happy when I saw this review as first recommended video! Thank you, Chris! And continue these amazing reviews (I watch every single one of them)! Cheers
this is one of the most classic lenses i’ve never owned i recently had a videographer film something for me & he had this glued to a black magic camera the results were lovely ✨
@@znub206 I hopefully get my R7 tomorrow, I grew up with a 500D so the improvements are a bit staggering. It will be interesting to feel the difference between the R7 and R10 compared to the leap from the 500D.
This is why Chris Frost is the one to listen to... because others have been praising this lens in very recent videos. For Canon R7 owners, these are setting people up to wash their money through the toilet. Thanks for the save, Chris. This is why I pay for your content, keep it up!
Thanks for revisiting this one. Did get it for my 90D and also am still satisfied to is it on my R7, for Video. Have not found a good alternative yet to be honest, well, at least not for the price. Would love to see an update, but currently canon is blocking other companies for RF mount. Have a nice weekend, cheers.
Huh, this was very well timed, Chris. I was just about to sell mine after moving to full-frame a year ago. In fact, I just rewatched your original review yesterday, and I did some test shots today. To be honest, I never understood why this lens was so hyped. It always looked kind of soft to me, even after I spent a whole day on calibrating the autofocus. In video, I always heard the focus motor, unless I used a lavalier microphone. In retrospect, part of my experience seems to be a consequence of mounting it on a 90D, which also has a 32.5MP sensor.
Heard a lot about this one! I've moved on to full frame but it seems like it is still good (for video at least). Very cool. However, I'd still also love to see a Tamron 17-28 2.8 review, can't imagine that hasn't popped up in the comments a lot!
I have both lenses and I use for video with my a7iv the sigma have that 3d pop like the 55 1.8 from zeiss and the af works great not like the new lenses like the tamron but it can keep the subject. It struggle a bit with low contrast situations .
@@christopherfrost the thing about tamron 17-50 f2.8 VC is that it's pretty bad wide open, however when stopped down it is on par or better that the sigma 17-50, which is better wide open and thus generally liked more than the Tamron. It would be lovely to see the VR version of tamron 17-50 retested, since it might be the best budget option for those in need for maximum sharpness and those ready to stop down for that
@@sunlbx but the sigma is not much more expensive, at max 100$ more than the tamron, so why not just get the sigma which has better sharpness at that wide aperture? and the sharpness stopped down of the tamron is not better than the sigma
Just bought this for canon c100 mkii. When using clog no joke....... Take picture in raw looks exactly same as video with the lens. Very sharp lens. I used canon 3ti raw and compared video on c100 mkii and sat back and said to myself when photos can match video you got something special. This lens when set right with correct exposure this lens is great. By the way quiet with continuous af in c100 mkii.
I really miss mine. I sold it when I upgraded to full frame. Really wish I had kept it as it's still useful for crop video options or used on my M50 I picked up now.
I've had one of these sitting in my lens collection since it came out I originally used it on my 7D, Since then I moved to FF but still have my little M5, This lens combined with the Viltrox speed booster gives me a f1.2 18-35, I often consider selling it but it's such a great lens I can't bring myself to do it
Aaaah ! Finally now we have this review. Hats off to you Chris. However slightly disappointed with the sharpness of lens on R7. But at the end it is what it is. Please review R7 with the Sigma 50-100mm also some day. Thanks a bunch. Highly appreciated. Love from India. TC
I've owed this lens for 8 years now and will never get rid of it. Moved from Canon systems to Fuji and via the Fringer Pro adapter this works just perfectly, as well as native lenses, on my Fujifilm X-H2 with it's 40MP sensor. Yes, at 100% zoom you can see it's slightly softer than the very best of the best Fuji primes but the Sigma 18-35mm is still sharper than 99% of other lenses out there. It's incredible and always been known to compete with primes. More than capable for 4k/6k/8k video work. Buy it used and you won't be disappointed!
Hello there! I have been considering getting this Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for my X-T5 with adapter for photography. Perhaps do you have a gallery with sample images taken with your X-H2 and this lens? There are little to no videos of these old Sigma EF lenses adapted onto modern Fuji bodies.
Nice review as always, I’m using it with my SD Quattro and Quattro H with their über demanding Foveon sensors and it’s razor sharp, guess at the time Sigma really optimized its design for those cameras.
I’m awaiting delivery of this lens for my R7 so this video helps me ground-truth my expectations. I’ve only been exploring the mirrorless world for about 6 months so I think the user will be tested more than the lens in my case. Thanks for the in-depth review!
I have the lens for years now and use it on Canon 90D ; same sensor as R7, and I mean it performs far, far better than what you have demonstrated here...surprising!
It's a fascinating lens. I originally had it on my 90d, then used it a bit on my R7. Tried it for the first time on the R6 Mark II yesterday (it automatically put it into crop mode). I need to pull out my old Rebel XT and see how it looks on it! :)
Can you still put the R6 II back into full frame with this lens attached? Canon forces APS-C lenses into crop mode but previously some Sigma DC lenses "escaped" this and could still be used on full frame.
@@synura8086 Tried it on the R6 Mark II and it forced crop mode. One thing to consider though is I have a faint memory of reading that it might be controlled by the lens firmware meaning an older firmware on the lens might give you that option. Could be worth a try. Mine is relatively new and I do not have the lens dock so not something I can test.
@@NobleEndeavours123 Thanks for your reply! Now that you mention it, I faintly remember people saying that newer firmware locked the Sigma lenses into the Canon forced crop mode. It's a shame for some special applications, like using cheap APS-C ultrawide lenses or reversed lenses on full frame.
@Noble how do you find the autofocus compares between mirrorless and DSLR for photos (through the view finder)? I'm running an 80D and whilst the 18-35 (and 50-100 Art) helped me secure some paid work, the DSLR autofocus misses regularly (even with countless firmware adjustments I've made with the USB dock). Given mirrorless cameras use a different autofocus system than DSLR, I'm hoping that an R7 will be a cheaper upgrade path than also having to replace my two Art lenses.
Nice little sneaky photo of Korea at 4:45, I was there from August 29th to the 12th of October with the wife. Drove 4500km, Suwon, Jeonju, Busan, Sokcho, back over to Seoul and back home to Suwon. I took a nice 240mp pixel shift photo of Kaesong North Korea in the DMZ with my Riv haha. Love your reviews as always Chris!
Thanks for your lovely videos! I really appreciate your efforts to bring us so nice and standardised revies! Do these results concern also to canon eos 90d?
Really excellent review, Chris. I've often considered getting this adapted for my X-T4, but having seen your results I might keep my eye out for the XF 16-55 instead.
I would say on the 26mp sensor, the softness will be far less of an issue. The 16-55 is great, but doesn't come close in terms of apertures, I'd recommend you go for some primes instead, if primes are workable for you. Viltrox make a good set that Chris has tested.
My first mirrorless camera was a Panasonic GH4 and then a GH5. I remember it was popular with some to use the Sigma 18-35mm on those cameras with a Metabones Speedbooster for general purpose video work and often if you asked what a good standard zoom lens would be to use on the GH4 or GH5 for video, at least one person would suggest the Sigma and a Speedbooster. I have never went down that path and have mostly stuck to native MFT lenses.
A great lens i had for quite some time on my 9 year old D5300. On the 24MP sensor image quality was very good wide open to pretty fantastic at F2.8. Especially for astrophotography a real gem as it shows very little smearing. I was only let down by it's autofocussing speed. At newer cameras it probably a lot better but on my old cam it was often quite slow and missed focus here and there. On the used market the price is also a lot lower. It can be had for under 400 Euros in good condition. The last time i looked i saw even someone selling it for 320 Euros!
Great re-test and surely the trick is to match the resolution of the lens to that of the sensor. If you have this lens on your 12-24 sensor the lens can even at full aperture give you great results on an A3 print. At higher resolution sensors it struggles but on an A3 print at a normal viewing distance (say 1.5-2x the diagonal ) I doubt anyone will be able to distinguish any difference. All you need to bear in mind is that having really high resolution sensors requires very expensive lenses and nobody will notice any difference.(forget the argument about cropping! If that matters why buy a zoom which does it for you?)
Yeah! I always use a difusion filter with this lens. I really love how portable it os on a small set. Just one lens, sometimes anamorfake adapter, vir always with a difusion filter.
Yes, the 32.5 mp sensor is indeed a "beast" as far as gobbling up lenses, as Christopher says. I got tired of waiting for the next "7" iteration and bought an M6 Mkii three years ago. I still love this camera, BTW, which remains extremely underrated. With the right lenses, the cropping for distance and macro work is amazing because of the sensor, and the size and weight are wonderful. I still have the 18-35 reviewed here because there really is no other comparable low-light zoom option. I would be very interested in knowing from Christopher, either posted here or in a video, which lenses he has found that do live up to the demands of the 32.5 mp sensor.
Currently really sharp on R7 are new RF L lenses like 70-200 (4 and 2.8), 135 1.8, 50 1.2, 16-35 4, 15-30 2.8 and 28-70 2.8. Old L lenses just suck on R7 (tried 70-200 2.8 non IS, 16-35 2.8 and 85 1.2. Quite new 16-35 F4 is really good, maybe newest ones like 70-200 2.8 III or 400 f4 DO could perform well too)
i'm convinced that the canon adapter is playing the main part in the lack of sharpness, etc. i used this lens (SA mount adapted to Sony for my a6400). It's still the sharpest, most pleasing lens I've ever used, and the eye-af worked perfectly. just like chris, I regretfully sold it and have missed it ever since. the only drawback for me was the weight at times. actually tipped my whole tripod over one night and fell 4 feet to the ground onto the concrete below. not a scratch on the lens or the camera body though:) amazing lens-will definitely revisit one day:)
uff, that's a bit sad, thou it will do great on older cameras i guess... I hope canon finally opens up their mount, i want that lens on a mirrorless camera. Tamron and Sigma make so many interesting lenses. Thanks for revisiting this lens, great to see where its limits are today!
@@definitelyhexed Yeah I've been considering this again. Will save up 🙌 Also funny you replied to this now. Just a few hours ago I rewatched this video thinking if I should get it
Sweet, I just go this for my r7. Shutter shock is a big issues on this camera. Only in electronic i get perfect sharp shots, or if i use above 1/200 shutter speed in mechanical. Should make more videos about the shutter shock on the r7.
How do you like that lens/camera combo? Chris eluded to the R7 being too pixel hungry for this lens, but I’m curious to hear your opinion as I’m in the market for a fast wide angle zoom for my R7. Thanks!
I have a love-hate relationship with it. It's super heavy, but it's also unique for what it is. Beautiful rendering, super fast, internal zoom, and actual *real* manual focus for video (instead of focus by wire). But you also have the option for decent AF when you want it. Haven't been able to bring myself to sell it.
i really doesn't care about weight of lenses, probably because ive been working photo journalism over 4 years with heavy dslr L lenses and FF bodies, so when i was invited to work in a wedding they gave me an 80D with a 18-35, including the grip. That was like a normal combo for me in terms of weight, but a revelation of my new favorite lens so far. i bought the lens last year ❤️.
@@pabloalvaradolopez3941 I used to shoot with a 5D + 70-200 f2.8 frequently and didn't have any problems. But things change haha. Especially dabbling in MFT, then seeing things like the Sigma 18-50 f2.8. For me, it's getting harder to justify the extra weight (unless it's needed for sports, etc). These small lenses and bodies are putting out excellent quality. Sure, I use the 18-35 for "serious" jobs, but for lower key stuff, I don't reach for it as much.
What kind of documentary was that in Korea? The Moonies maybe? I would love to see that. That should be fascinating. I’m sure you did as good of a job with the documentary as you do with lens reviews. Shining a light on the good and exposing the bad.
On the tests, did you use electronic or mechanical shutter on the resolution charts? I notice some possible shutter shock at slower speeds with mechanical.
Chris, nobody sell this lens. I finnaly managet to got one for myself almost 1.5 years ago and it's awesome. I've also tested it with a speedbooster (for video), got some issues, but it was my fault. If You're interested I can retest it on my M50 MK1 without these mistakes.
I first tested this lens on a Nikon D90 that I used with a 50mm f1.8D, which was already a really sharp lens. I couldn't believe how sharp it was, I still think about going back to apsc just to use this lens again, but this time with a Canon 70D or something like that for video making.
Hey Chris, big fan of yours for over 10 years now. I like your technique in testing lens sharpness. But may I suggest, using Nikon cameras instead. My gripe with Canon is that aside from them making their own sensors, their sensors a one smaller than your standard crop 1.5 sensors (mostly Sony, only other brand is Fuji), second they still do not remove tha AA filter - I believe this is a number one factor that this lens performs a tad bit lesser in sharpness. If you look at DxoMark and compare the same lens on the Nikon mount versus the Canon mount, The Nikon mount (D7100 24MP) is able to resolve 17MP of the sensor vs the Canon mount (760D 24MP) which resolves 16MP of the total sensor resolution. Whether this difference is perceptible in real applications (I doubt it) is another questions, but in terms of pure resolution performance, I believe this lens is more capable. I wish Sony made a 32.5mp sensor with no anti aliasing to truly judge this lens in higher megapixel sensors. I do know the Tamron 85 1.8 VC is able to resolve full resolution (36MP) of the D810 and 44 MP of the D850 45MP sensor while it only resolves 38MP of the Canon 5DS R(50MP). These examples tell you the Canon sensor does have an effective resolution of a lens common to multiple eco systems.
Thank you for all your thorough, well organized lens reviews, Chris, but this time it's not clear whether you recommend this lens for Canon r7 or not. I'm pretty satisfied with my Canon 17-55mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f4 is usm, both of which I think are less sharp than the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 that you just reviewed. Am I wrong? Are there other parameters we should consider as well?
be nice to see sigma fill in the ƒ1.8 zoom gap between the 18-35mm and 50-100mm first, thats a lens i've been wanting for a long time, 24mm/35mm-50mm ƒ1.8 one of the reasons i stuck with the M50, at 24mp its good enough, going to a 32mp+ i wonder how many of my existing ef ef/s lenses would cope with a higher grade sensor lol
Should I buy the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8? I'm really thinking of buying one. Your comments will confirm my answer. I have the Canon 90D (32.5MP) and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L and I want to add a lens that covers wider angles. Do you have other recommendations or is that the best lens for APC-S sensors like the 90Ds. It's the largest aperture lens that I know and the build quality/design looks lovely. I love how it looks! I would love to hear some of your opinions/answers! :)
I own and love this lens (as well as the Sigma 30mm APC-S) but now have a full frame 6R and a Sigma 24-70 EF so I guess they are redundant (since they are the full frame equivalent of 28.8mm - 56mm, and 48mm). I used them with my Canon 7D, which produced such drastically better images and vid, it made me realize how lousy the kit lens was. But I love the 18-35mm SO MUCH that I'd almost never sell it even so!
It is great lens for video. Can be adapt to many systems. And sharp enough for 4k. And even just stop down to f2.0 produce better image at 24-35mm range.
What do you mean like sharp enough for 4k? I was thinking to get sigma 18-50 2.8 for video work only. I thought that it doesn't matter too much while filming. Could you please expand 🙏
Now... Is it worthing to buy a nikon-to-fuji fringer adapter for my 18-35 to fit my XT4 or... buy a Viltrox 27mm f1.2. instead ? Opinions are welcome. Great review Christopher
Too bad this lens can't be updated and then released for APS-C mirrorless including RF. I'm sure modest updates to the optics and such would make this a killer on the Canon R7, Fuji XT-5, Nikon Z50, Leica CL, Sony a6700, etc. Really cool and versatile lens. Thankfully this original version is still very good though.
I heard that with this lens you have to disable the R7 internal stabilisation, otherwise you have serious problems with the sensor. Do you have this problem too ?
I have just purchased this lens and am looking forward to using it for astro work, and it looks like a good general lens to. Your video suggests that you know your church and theology well. Are you, by any chance, a priest or minister? Thanks for a helpful video despite not having a limited technical knowledge.
It's surprising it's not made it to Sony or Fuji isn't it? All it essentially need a tube to correct the flange distance, a different mount, and the ability to communicate with the bodies in question. I'm sure if they just did that, even without touching the optics - it'd sell. I've seen many sony and Fuji users pay 100s more for an adapter just to use this lens as it is
On one of the FB groups we had a few "h8a's" (perhaps trolls?) who were bashing everyone who uses it as a "noob". I will say that I'm not one to follow the crowd and don't just automatically like what everyone else does. But the appeal of this lens is undeniable. There's a reason for its popularity and I've seen some absolutely wonderful footage produced from this by folks who would NEVER be mistaken for "noobs"!!! BTW Christopher Frost, I'm wearing my "The CHOSEN" hoodie today and actually bought it in Atlanta (4,500+ seat Fox Theater) at the premiere of season #3. I assume you've watched/promoted this show! It's an amazing evangelistic tool.
This lens was designed by Sigma to go with their Sigma dp Quattro Foveon camera originally. The sd Quattro still outresolves the R7 and it's measly 32.5MP for fine detail reproduction handily. While it's true that Canon most certainly released much better glass for their mirrorless cameras that resolves better at larger apertures, who really cares about soft corners at f1.8?
Hello! With these results, does it mean that the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 performs "better" on a lower MP camera? I have a Canon SL3 (250D) and that Sigma lens. If I get the R7, would I get objectively worse performance? Or would it be the same unless I zoom in too much?
It’s more that you would be leaving some of the canon r7’s performance on the table. Basically you’d be getting a 20-24MP quality image from a 32MP camera, which may or may not be what you want
Well dang, now you are going to make me go pixel peep and grow unhappy with one of my favorite lenses. This lens was by far the best and most used lens on my old M5. In practical use, I photograph 3 dimensional people not flat charts, it’s even better paired with my new R7. IBIS and the R7 focus system have simply super charged this old favorite for me. Yes, I’m getting sharper images edge to edge from newer fast primes on the R7, but having a zoom at f/1.8 is incredibly useful, and overall rendering from this lens is still great.
Hi Christopher, hope you're doing well. Thanks again for the great vid. After seeing your review posted on a FB group, some users have raised some skepticism towards your testing methodology. More precisely, how shooting settings are not shared alongside the sharpness tests you provide. He mentioned that shooting the R7 in mechanical under 1/200 s could introduce shutter shock, which is absolutely true from my experience. Do you use electronic shutter when testing lens sharpness? I recall you saying that you leave the R7 in mechanical at all times to avoid rolling shutter. I can't recall if shutter shock was mentioned in your review or not. I personally give you the benefit of the doubt here, and from my eyes and my knowledge of what shutter shock looks like, from what I can tell this looks like a proper test and I doubt shutter shock caused any bias here. I was quick to defend you in the group, but I'm sharing this info to you just in case you did indeed forget to switch to electronic for the test. Also, I honestly think it's not a bad idea at all to share your settings from your tests. For people who are not familiar with your channel and know how rigorous you are with your testing, I feel like this could only give you more credibility to people unfamiliar with your channel. People like me who know about your channel know that your testing is always more than rigorous and can be trusted to the limit of the fact that only one copy is tested, but I just wanted to share this as a suggestion that might be useful to you. Cheers!
I bought the sigma 17-50mm 2.8 lens for my r7 before i ended up buying the sigma 18-35mm 1.8, tbh i loved the sigma 17-50mm 2.8 but the only issue i had with it was the zoom ring and focus ring! For video that lens sucked just bevause it wasnt smooth at all but for pics it was crazy sharp and just as good! Also i had got it for 270 whereas i payed 490 for the sigma 18-35 but after getting my hands on the lens, i can say that its worth the extra money for sure, the build quality is next level and i dont need ibis inside the sigma 17-50mm because of the r7s built in ibis