Sirius-B's reviews

  • Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical RF

    5 out of 10 points and not recommended
    Inexpensive fast wide-angle lens.
    Poor optical performance. Much better options available.

    This was a nice lens 15 years ago on my Nikon D70 and D80, a wide-angle fast lens, great for astrophotography. It was loaded with optical aberrations, but there were no better options, particularly at that price point. Now one can get a Sigma wide-angle fast Art lens that is on a completely different level. The 20 mm f/1.4 Art blows it away, the 18-35 mm f/1.8 is also far far better. OK if you get one almost for free or have it gathering dust somewhere, but I would not buy it today.

    reviewed March 29th, 2021 (purchased for $450)

  • Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very good optical performance. Great value.
    No cons for this price.

    This is a very nice zoom lens! It is pretty sharp even wide open. Using it for astrophotography, stars are sharp across much of the field wide open (out to about 70% of the FOV), except for corners, where coma, chromatic aberration and astigmatism are quite pronounced. Build quality is very good, particularly at this price. It's plastic, but it's good plastic and it lasts. Great value. These lenses are cheap used and far, far better than the price implies. Get the Sigma Art 18-35 mm f/1.8 for the best optical performance, it is a far superior lens. Get this lens for a light, sharp general use zoom. Highly recommended.

    reviewed March 30th, 2021 (purchased for $300)

  • Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Spectacular optical performance. Excellent build quality.
    Limited zoom range. AF may need fine tuning.

    Excellent lens. Using it for astrophotography. Wide open it is very sharp across much of the field of view, except for the corners where some coma (sea gull wings) is visible. By f/2.8 it disappears and the lens is sharp also in the corners. This zoom is sharper at f/1.8 than most (APS-C/DX) zooms at f/2.8. Excellent build quality. Some minor cons: limited zoom range (not a good option as a general walk around zoom), autofocus may need fine tuning (well worth it). I give it 9/10 only because of possible autofocus issues (this is inherent to Sigma Art lenses - some are perfect, some need significant adjustment out of the box), as this is something a buyer needs to be aware of. Highly recommended.

    reviewed March 30th, 2021 (purchased for $650)

  • Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Spectacular optical performance. Excellent build quality.
    AF may need adjustment.

    This is an absolutely spectacular lens. Optically it is superb: sharpness, contrast, color saturation is brilliant. Excellent for anything from astrophotography to portraits. Some may find the bokeh less than great. My sample had excellent AF performance, reliably hitting focus where it was needed. If your lens has AF issues, get it calibrated - it is totally worth it. Used it for paid work and never had any issues with it. This is the best lens I have ever owned.

    reviewed March 30th, 2021 (purchased for $950)