⭐ Get the Sigma 50-100 f/1.8 on Amazon help.tc/s100 ⭐

Good that you addressed focus issues. Sharpness don't mean shit if the focus is off.

2020 and this lens still has no alternative on any APSC System.

I swear you all make the best lens reviews on KZfaq. I love you two and everything you all do.

Please test the Sigma 50-100 f1.8 art on Canon R7

Hi Tony, an update of this review could be very interesting in nowadays with new apsc camera like EOS R7, with eye autofocus tracking, sensir stabilized and higher sensor Mpix. Thanks

Thanks for the great video. This has become one of my most used lenses, but I use it mainly for video. This thing is amazing paired to an a7R2 4K in crop mode with IBIS on a monopod for event work.

Tony, I don't know if you hear this ENOUGH, but THANK YOU for respecting us viewers enough to GET TO THE POINT quickly :) It's making KZfaq a better place :)

After shooting two weddings and a number of social events I'd like to say that I love this lens.

To whom may read this on 2020 and after. I'm using the Sigma 18-35 and 50-100 with 2 Fringer Pro ii on my fuji cameras,XT3 and XH1. No focus isuues,always hit the mark,very fast AF and excellent results.

It's 2024 I placed this lens on my Nikon z6III and the stabilization on this full frame camera is fantastic. No Focus Breathing but do feel the focus working all of the time. It is fast and quiet is quiet. Also used this lens on my Leica Sl2-S and it is fantastic with a Pholsy Nikon to L adapter with an Aperture Control Ring. Placed this lens on the Nikon Z30 which only has Digital Stabilization only and video was only good when still. Photos from all three cameras were excellent and sharp. I did all tests in different modes Auto, Program and Apterture plus Manual. Cheers!

Hi Tony, I had the same focusing problem with the 18-35 f1.8 art lens on my Pentax K-3. I would focus just fine in live view but not through the view finder. I used the USB dock from Sigma to adjust it and that fixed the problem. I was very disappointed that Sigma didn't make this lens for Pentax, with that in body image stabilization it would've made it a low light beast combo, but hearing how disappointed you are with it, it makes me feel a little better.

I guess i really got lucky i use the 50-100 and 18-35 and never really had issues with missing focus. Didn't need to micro adjust or anything. I'm #Blessed

Great review as always. Sigma and Tamron really have upped their games in the past two years. Despite some issues.

7:10 The focusing issue with Sigma lenses is a real problem. I've had to ditch around 40% of shots with my Sigma 18-35. It's so frustrating to take a group of nicely framed shots only to discover half of them are blurry back-focuesd. I recently opted for my Tokina manual cine lens as I knew it'd be a closer focus than the Sigma. Luckily, most of my work is film so it's all manual focusing.

What a fantastic team you both make Tony and Chelsea. I have just started amateur but serious hobby p'graphy, so dropping by on what ever i can to read and learn, and i have been hooked to your videos for the past 2 days. Detailed, informative, raw, and clear cut. No shenanigans and fanboyism and hipster kinda stuff. The sheer amount of info and knowledge you guys share is commendable. Would have taken you for a beer if i was there :)

Bought this lens on June 10 and have used it more than any other lens in this 3 months period. It's a beauty and I would say the same about its construction. Cannot agree with the comments about it easily scratching but maybe I just take better care of ALL my equipment. I have used it to capture action, portraits, social events (weddings) and just about everything and mostly at F2. I have it paired with my Sony a6000 via the Sigma MC-11 adapter and the camera and lens have not been separated since the date of purchase. I often use it in poor light - because of its max fast aperture - and I find the results are outstanding. Regarding the focus - this took me a little time to adjust but now I get a high success rate. However, with the MC-11 adapter the auto-focus is not lightening fast but is no slouch and definitely faster than manual focus. I suspect it might focus faster mated directly to say a Canon body. All in all, this is the best lens I've ever handled. Worth noting that I have the Sony a7 mated to the Sony 70-200 F4 but the Sigma results are better by far.

Had a lot of focus issues on 70d, since i moved to 7d2 its nearly unnoticeable. I use 9 focus point in a group and it rarely misses. I use 18-35 and 50-100 and both work rather well.

Tony is using THE FORCE at 6:58. Legitimate telekinesis. That camera moves.

Love you guys. Was really interested in this lens but focusing issues and no IS is not what I want for my new D500. Thanks again!

Interesting - and thank you for the review about it. I purchased the 18-35 a couple of months ago and at first I thought I'd made a big mistake. When I started to try and calibrate it, it seemed to have that random back or front focus problem. I was really beginning to despair that I'd wasted my money. But I then made some changes, and it seems to be fine now. I have a 70D, and I remembered that the 70D has problems focusing using the central focusing point at f1.8. So I changed the calibration to use the focus point just to the right - and I also only bothered to calibrate it to infinity and also to the next stage down (about 0.5m). It seems to be fine now. Plus in actual use I have only used it on a tripod, and using the live focus with the touch screen. In doing that the images have been sharp, and focused exactly where I wanted them to be. Maybe this would also work with the 50-100? Of course you used the Nikon version, so I don't know if that made a difference or not.Either way, thank you again for the review - I was one of the ones who requested you do it in the first place so it is much appreciated. I may well hold off on buying the 50-100 to see if there is any sort of way to get around these issues that you found...

I saw this video because I am considering buying it for my new Canon R7. Have you tried it with the R7? Thanks!

I appreciate your unbiased views

Tony, now that Canon M6 mk2 and 90D has 32mb sensor, please test this lens again, thanks

This is the go to lens for my D500. The only thing I can compare it to is when I was shooting with the Nikon 200mm F2 on my D810. I do not experience as much focus issues as Tony is describing, but I have had a few, but have not found them to be detrimental to any shoot. This is an absolute great lens!

So far I'm loving this lens on my Nikon D7100. So far I've taken a few hundred shots and I've had no focus issues. Either I've been lucky or a got one of the good lenses.

My 18-35 had the issue so I sent it back for re calibration, haven't had a chance to put it through the paces since returned. The 50-100 was the shop model from The Camera Store (probably the same one from the review they did) and it seems to work fine. My hope is that now the m5 has focus peaking, buying that and switching to manual if needed. These lens take great shots so I can't see myself selling, but the focusing is a real frustration that I hope they can fix with firmware. *if* canon and Nikon ever get around to higher mpxl, stabilized sensors, and the focusing issues are fixed, these lemses would age fantastically

I rented this lens to shoot a wedding of a friend. I acted as second shooter with my 70D. The lens performed well in that capacity. However, I did notice finicky focus. As a second shooter on a wedding this lens works out well in my opinion as I did not have the pressure on me to take the primary shots. The pictures that did come out were amazing and the feedback from the customer was very positive.

I got this Lens for half a year now. Use it on my Canon 80D and don´t have ANY focus issues. The lens is perfectly adjusted with the Sigma dock. For me it works fine.

Tony, another great review and SUPER helpful. I own the 18-35 1.8 and use it on a Panasonic G85 with a Metabones speed booster. The Pani 85 has in-camera 5 axis stabilization and the speed booster takes the 18-to 35 to f 1.1---and the image, low light performance, sharpness, and bokeh are amazing--my best lens. I shoot only video and use manual focus 90+% of the time, and while stabilization is an issue when I'm using the Sigma on the C300 mk II, it's no problem at all with the G85. From your review I get the sense this is my next lens---and I think I'll be able to do almost all of my shooting with the G85 with only these two lenses--plus maybe the Canon 24-105 f.4, which drops to f. 2.5 with the metabones speed booster. Thank you for this review. You and Chelsea are the greatest!

I've been waiting for this review for SO long!

i have this lens and i can recommend it. My copy nails focus every time on a D500 body. Maybe they got a lemon.

I have both the Sigma 18-35 and the 50-100. Ive used them on a canon 80D, a C200 and on a C300 miii and Ive never had focusing issues. I love these lenses.

You have to remake the review with calibrated lens and Canon 90d combo.

I have both the sigma 18-35 & 50-100 f/1.8 on my canon 90D,a match made in heaven. I haven't had any issues with focusing as both are sharp as.. no calibration needed,I also have the doc but haven't needed it for these lenses. Faster shutter speeds to help with stability coupled with f/1.8 helps to combat blur.

So, I've now shot over 11,000 images on this lens between my D5300 and my new D7100. While focusing was inconsistent on my D5300, it has been rock solid on my D7100. It has missed a few times, like all cameras and lens I've used-but very reliable. I've noticed that shooting portraits in AF-S, it has had no issues. My technique was off at the beginning as well

Tony, You can not say about yourself that you are not biased other ppl say it about you and that is why they watch and trust you guys.

I have the Sigma 18-35 bought refurbished in 2017. No focus issues at all. I believe the problem was fixed with a firmware update.

Exactly your opinion. The Sigma 18-35 focuses much easier if you get a proper one. As there is not much to focus they work perfectly then and exceed the dynamic range of full frame as the ISO is 4/3 stops lower. But in the tele range focus problems and missing image stabilization are much worse.

I have this lens and use it on a nikon d7200, gotta say super-sharp, and no focus issues here, did at first but soon figured out it was user error, only had issue when using viewfinder, no problems ever in live view, now got it working just great with viewfinder too

Yes I entirely agree my Sigma lens 18-35, I sold it last year I could not put up with the Miss focusing any more even though I had the adapter to micro-adjusted it still would never ever work properly and I got so fed up with keeping my fingers crossed hoping it where would focus correctly to such an extent and I was taking more shots than necessary in order to hope that one of them would turn out, many thanks for all of your reviews Dave Newby

I will actually chime in that I experienced something similar with my 18-35 f/1.8 and had a horrible time trying to micro adjust correct it and could never seem to get it right, it felt like it was missing on both sides of the focal plane. However as soon as I ran through a Magic Lantern auto micro adjust calibration on my Canon 70D, it's been locked on ever since in studio, street, anywhere I use it. I didn't have this kind of difficulty with seemingly either side of the focal plane on any of my other Canon f/1.8 or faster primes either and could always find what side of the focal plane it was shifted, so I do wonder if the 50-100mm will behave the same. Once I grab the lens (to replace my 50-150mm f/2.8) I'll update here.

btw about front focusing/ back focusing issue on Sigma - try it on Sony mirrorless. Seriously. I had a similar issue with BF on my Sigma 35/1.4 art on Canon back in the days, but that lens working on Metabones with Sony A7RII seems doesn't have that problem. So try it out, might help.

Good video. I just love your in depth techie videos on lens and cameras.

Did everyone forget about the Sigma 50-150 OS lens? I know it was last made in 2012, I believe, and it's 2.8 but I think it's a pretty good lens. And I think it still is the only other APS-C lens of it caliber.

To get over focus problems, either calibrate using USB dock or shoot in live view. This is why mirrorless is the future, no micro-focus adjustments necessary. But still gonna get this lens for my 700D, the sharpness is awesome!

It's a shame Sigma have chosen not to produce this lens in Pentax mount because matched to the Pentax K3 series cameras it would be a stunning combination.

I recently purchased the 18-35mm and I love it. This will be the next lens I will be purchasing.

Tony, you're awesome. Thanks for all the very informative information that true users are looking for. You really dive into all angles of the equation and put it all together.

that's some thing special. this is what a review all about. u gave the both positives and negatives about this lens now its upto us should we go for it or NOT.. Thanks Tony Northrup for this lovely video. i really appreciate that :)

I got this lens too and I use it with Panasonic GX8 and metabones 0.71x speedbooster. I also experience lack of I.S problems but the focus was never a problem for me.

I had this exact focus problem with two different Sigma 18-35mm on 3 different Canon bodies. I was wondering if this lens had the same issue and apparently it is.

I have this on my XH2 w/a Fringer adapter, works swimmingly

I had the exact same focusing problems with a Sigma 50/1.4 Art back when I was shooting Canon. Had to return it, because I couldn't trust it.

gonna work towards it nest year but I have the 17-50mm f 2.8 and WOW has ti significantly impacted my wedding and portrait photography.

Thank you for being honest

Most SIGMA lens have Focus Problem in Canon camera, I got the 17-50 mm F/2.8 and it often go outta focus, while the cheap kit lens on the canon is sharp all the time. I guess it must be some software or electronic problem on the sigma lens when is not the native Sigma camera.

I had shocking problems with focus on my 18-35 Sigma and eventually I dropped the money for the USB dock and calibrated it at all 3 focal lengths. I think that is the answer to thinking the focus is "inconsistent". It would front focus at the short end and back focus at the long etc. After calibration it is almost perfect.

Think this will pair nicely with my 90D with the 32.5 MP. Tony, can you do a video with that combo?

Now with the Canon EOS R7, I feel like the time is right for this lens. It's next on my list.

Great review as always Tony. I was getting excited about the lens, so thanks for the honest review!

the image stabilization is not an issue in Sigma 18-35 but it's a big issue in the telephoto lens

Always wait for the out takes.

I have been using it for events and wedding and so far it has been amazing..I use D7200 nikon

Cool review. Ive had this lens for several months now using a canon t2i and I experience focus problems a lot. The super shallow dof can be great but its also somewhat of a burden. I feel this is because I'm somewhat of an amateur photographer too though. If canon or sony released a higher pixel apsc type camera id be on that like wildfire.

I too, was really looking forward to this lens! So disappointing, the focus issues... ended up returning mine because of that. :( Still, love the hell out of my 18-35 f1.8 and my 150-600 Sport Sigma lenses! I have the 7D Mark II for anyone who is wondering.

The calibration process of the Sigma lens is more complicated and depends on the focal length plus the distance to you subject. E.g. the lens can be front focusing on 50mm but back focusing on 100mm. Also it can be front focusing on 50mm when the subject is close but back focusing when the subject is far away, hence the random results. With the sigma dock you can make adjustments for 4 different focal lengths and 4 different subject distances in a 4x4 matrix. It is a tedious process but should fix the problem.

7 years after... did sigma fix the focus problems??

Yes - I have sigma lens in my camera bag, & I do use them when the job calls for this lens. I still have several for my old film cameras, from the film days. Sometimes I wish they never invented digital. Now you can use a smart / iPhone and get a great photo, but no control of depth of field. I would only use a sigma lens, where I could take the photos over if something went wrong. My bottom line, Nikon on a Nikon and Canon on a Canon, to get the best auto focus. Great review, always helpful. / Gary from Michigan 🚂

Besides how good the overall sharpness and the bokeh is, if you miss focus a lot it is a deal breaker. If have sold such lenses because you never feel really comfortable during shootings.Thank you Tony for the review.

thank you for this really good review, I bought the 18-35 based on your review of that lens and and was preparing myself to buy this lens but held back till your review, I now have second thoughts, Thanks Tony

I feel like Sigma lenses always have focus issues. My last two did.

I notice that many people recommend using live view focusing with this lens. I wanted to introduce a theory I have heard about why we get questionable focus from wide apertures on modern cameras sometimes. Some people blame this phenomenon on the modern focusing screens placed between the prism and the mirror in DSLR's. Unlike the older glass ones, these are plastic ones that are used to both save money and provide a brighter viewfinder even at small apertures. Because of this, autofocus wider than 2.8 is usually iffy. People who changed their focusing screens when this was still an option from at least Canon say the problem disappears if you use the more precise screens. Newer models no longer have interchanging screens. Critics suggest that live view focusing works every time due to the fact that you are seeing exactly what the sensor sees without a processor making the decision for you about what is sharp or not. Does anyone else have experience with this?

I just finished a 7day rental of this lens and did not experience these focus problems (thankfully), but my 18-35 definitely does have issues!

Since this lens has been out for awhile now. Do you know if they did a firmware update to fix the focusing issue?

Great review Tony! I plan on getting this and the 18-35mm Sigma.

Ok. Love this lens. Thanks to the a6500 plus mc-11 adapter. I hope Sony releases a higher mega pixel APS-C body 32gb

Thanks for this review. One I have been waiting for since I heard about the lens. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't hold that great standard that the 18-35 gave. Appreciate your honest review

Thank you for addressing focus issues! I was ready to purchase this lens, now i think i will wait. Nicely done review!

I am already subscribed because I appreciate your detailed reviews. Keep up the great work.

Hello Tony and Chelsea, nice review! I always appreciate your honesty when comes to reviews, always follow your videos here on KZfaq, they're helping me to understand and make better decisions on the photography world, thanks for the content. Well I'm facing a big problem with APSC lens for Canon, I have a 80D (I know it's not the greatest for video but it's what I'll have to work with for a little while -> just bought it). Every "good" lenses that I see around doesn't have IS and the ones who have it doesn't seem to work well with constant focus like the Sigma 18-50mm (I need to take advantage of Canon's good focus at some point), my best option are getting either get L series with IS (that I know it's not as good in an APSC as they are in a full frame camera) or to get the kit lenses that I'm trying to avoid (I have Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, Canon 85mm f/1.8 and 55-250mm f/4-5.6) . Do you guys have any advice? I'm looking for something to cover my gap between 20 to 85mm that have IS because I'm planning to do videos but I need to be able to do something hand hold. Thank you for your attention!

Samsung's NX-1 and Pentax K3 II could possibly get more out of this lens

I use the 18-35 1.8 and had to calibrate in camera but also get the focusing issue but normally I just knock the lens out of focus manually and let it refocus - the lens seems to be lazy when it is close to focus and does not move so a good turn of the focus ring before auto focus normally gets me sharp images. I can only guess the same apply s to the 50-100, I think the colour reproduction of the sigma glass really rocks.

I cant use a lens with focus problems in stills. I don't do a lot of still work. if it cant hit a still what about a kid the will not stay still.

Hi Tony, I shoot on a Canon 70D and often rent the Canon 70-200 2.8 IS for indoor event photography. I’d like to stop renting and buy a lens for this purpose. Should I go with the Sigma 50-100, or the Tamron 70-200 G2? On one hand the Sigma may be sharper since its built for crop sensor cameras, on the other hand the Tamron has that incredible image stabilization and longer reach. Since the indoor events I shoot are often dim, I’m leaning toward the Tamron. What do you think?

I own this lens and use it with my Nikon D500 body. At a recent indoor event I used my Nikon 17-55 2.8 with a speed light and a flash bracket and I used my other D500 with my Sigma 50-100 to use without flash. The sharpness is outstanding but I noticed that the focus seemed to hunt much more than my 17-55. This was my first shoot with this lens and I learned to slow down a bit to let it achieve focus. I don't know if this lens will focus fast and accurately for sports.

LoL for the end of the video !

I purchased this lens in 2019 hoping to get more professional results. I would use this for portrait shoots but I would not use it for anything like a wedding or event photography. It does indeed have focus issues and you never know when it is going to happen. One minute it is working great then next you are missing focus every shot. I find it seems to happen more in low light situations.

I have both lenses the 18-35 on a Canon T3I and the focus and sharpness are spot on no issues whatsoever, the 50-100 on a Canon T5I and sometimes it does miss focus but all in all not being a professional photographer I am quite happy and I use both lenses for landscape with amazing results, I have shot amazing sunsets with the 50-100 trust me, even if Nikon or Canon were to manufacture fast lenses for apsc bodies I wonder what the cost of such lenses would be, I know that They both have a 17-55 F2.8 and if I'm not mistaken they are expensive. Thanks Tony for the great video.

finally getting to watch this from the guys who do it best.:)

both the sigma 18-35 and 50-100 f1.8 art series lens have bad focusing out of the box. It can be fixed using a sigma USB dock (sold seperately) and manually calibrate the focusing through their software on a PC. Tedious but the results are GODLY

Honest Review. I think you had shot with Nikon Body . Most of Nikon have the Back & Front focus Issues. It is the Big mistake In Nikon.

tony. i have been watching your videos for over a year and ive noticed that recently you have upped your game quite a lot. especially the video of smartphones destroying the compact camera business was a masterpiece. keep up the great work tony and chelsea. i was thinking of purchawing the nikon 50mm and 85mm primes. could this guy better them both?

Hi Tony, Regarding the focus issue. Almost 4 years passed since your review. Are you aware if sigma fixed it?

Totally agree. I've owned 4 sigma lenses and no MORE! Great image quality about 50% of the time. Have tried everything including the USB dock on the Art series lenses. Never again...

loved the review, i was waiting for you to review this lens, you always cover the important things about a lens that i care about, thanx.....loads of thanx to u for saving my money..now i can buy a canon 85mm f/1.8mm lens for my canon 700d without giving any second thoughts

Thank you for this review. There are too few sources on the Internet, that explain why full-frame or APS-C makes no difference, if you put equivalent lenses in front of them. Some hopefully constructive criticism: I think you should have mentioned, that the focus breathing is quite significant, if you plan to do video (the AOV shifts a lot while focusing)! About the focus problems: I've got them with my 18-35 1.8, and of course tried in-camera micro-adjustment, which didn't work. In the future I plan to get the dock, because what I noticed is that the issue is related to the focusing distance. When I calibrated the lens with a chart 4m away, everything at 4m would focus properly, but objects at different distances will front- or back-focus. This can hopefully be calibrated with the dock. Until then I'll continue to shoot in live-view. Canon's Dual-Pixel AF is amazing and a good workaround in most cases.

Tbh Canikon lens isn't immune by the AF problems. Used to shoot with 5D3 + 35L and when I do the test like you described (take 10 shots refocusing between each shots) it barely gets 50% of them in perfect sharp focus at where I wanted.. Problem stems from the traditional PDAF system used by DSLR. In terms of AF ACCURACY mirrorless with eye detection is KING. Will never go back to DSLR ever again.

I like how Sigma actually make pro grade lenses for crop sensors. I got me that 18-35 f1.8 and I love it to death. I am not a hugely experienced photographer though, so the limited range in focal length and the lack of any stabilization means that I have to be a bit more creative and just get good. The potential of these new art lenses is amazing, it's just a bit hard to reach. Also, everyone who considers buying this, you might want to start lifting weights to get ready. The 18-35 itself is heavier than my D5300 with a 70-300 f4-5.6 on it.

Tony, you should look at the lens they retired the Sigma 50-150mm 2.8.....this lens is sharp and because I have it, I am not interested in the 50-100 f1.8 lens as soon as I saw that it had no stabilization. The Sigma 50-150mm 2.8 has Image Stabilization on it, different modes of stabilization, just a fantastic lens in my opinion! I pair that lens with my 18-35 f1/8 lens when I use the 70D and those two rock! Check it out and compare these two, you'll be surprised with it and the results.