Sigma officially launches the RF 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary

105 comments

1. Great to see Sigma starting with RF-s lenses. The lens might be tempting, if I decide to get a R50 as a lightweight option for hiking and such.
   
   To me, it´s kind of weird that the product images show the lens attached to the R5. Wouldn't it make more sense to use the R7/10/ 50?
   
   Constant F2.8 aperture, 300g and weather sealing sounds great :)
   
   From the looks of it, the only downside is that it doesn't have a control ring. Since the R50 only has one dial (if I remember correctly) this actually could be an issue for me one day...

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2. Maybe the R5 is a sign of full-frame lenses to come.

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3. Maybe the R5 is a sign of full-frame lenses to come.

   That would be awesome! Alltough I'm pretty much covered with the lenses I got. But a Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG :love:

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4. Can we now have a matching RF-S body that either goes full-on novice with an M200 inspired design or Fuji-is-out-of-my-budget with an M6II style body?
   
   For me, nothing in the R system beats the R8+28mm for compactness and performance. The R7 is too big, the R10 is too expensive for what it delivers, I hate the EVF in the *50 bodies and I really want a touchscreen, so the R100 is out as well.

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5. Maybe the R5 is a sign of full-frame lenses to come.

   
   Nah, the guy they used for the example images just happened to have an R5 and they used his beat up camera for the images. (nothing wrong with a beat up camera)

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6. Great to see Sigma starting with RF-s lenses. The lens might be tempting, if I decide to get a R50 as a lightweight option for hiking and such.
   
   To me, it´s kind of weird that the product images show the lens attached to the R5. Wouldn't it make more sense to use the R7/10/ 50?
   
   Constant F2.8 aperture, 300g and weather sealing sounds great :)
   
   From the looks of it, the only downside is that it doesn't have a control ring. Since the R50 only has one dial (if I remember correctly) this actually could be an issue for me one day...

   Not really strange, R5 APS-C crop is still 18MPish, more than viable. I used to run Sony a1 with the same lens.

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7. For me, nothing in the R system beats the R8+28mm for compactness and performance.

   I am thinking about this combo as well! Or a variation with the RF 35mm. My newly acquired R5 is absolutely great, but it is too heavy for hiking and such... Yesterday, I carried it (some time just on a strap) for 3-4 hours while hiking (6,5 miles) and playing miniature golf with my fourth graders. Definitely need something lighter to go with it. But for now, I first need to sell my R and save some money :)

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8. Personally, I think it\'s a pity Sigma didn\'t adopt the \"RF-S\" nomenclature for this lens, to indicate it\'s designed for APS-C cameras.
   
   I know the \"DC\" designation on Sigma lenses means \"crop sensor\", and that having both \"RF-S\" and \"DC\" is redundant, but that\'s extra knowledge that buyers need to have.
   
   Including both the \"DC\" and \"DN\" would enable more knowledgeable buyers to realise this is the Canon mount version of the same lens available for other mounts.

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9. Sigma has officially launched their first RF mount lens for APS-C cameras. The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary is available for preorder and will begin shipping in mid July. Key Features Preorder Press Release SIGMA Corporation of America, the US subsidiary of SIGMA Corporation (CEO: Kazuto Yamaki. Headquarters: Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan) is pleased
   
   See full article...

   
   Even Sigma doesn't want to get anywhere near a R100 for promo purposes.

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10. Can we now have a matching RF-S body that either goes full-on novice with an M200 inspired design or Fuji-is-out-of-my-budget with an M6II style body?
    
    For me, nothing in the R system beats the R8+28mm for compactness and performance. The R7 is too big, the R10 is too expensive for what it delivers, I hate the EVF in the *50 bodies and I really want a touchscreen, so the R100 is out as well.

    I got tired of waiting for a true M6II body style FF/RF replacement. I purchased the Panasonic Lumix S9. Absolutely love the LUTs work flow. Excellent travel camera. A bit more than the M6 price point however, but quite a bit more functions and lens options being a FF L mount. With in-body image stabilizer.

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11. Personally, I think it\'s a pity Sigma didn\'t adopt the \"RF-S\" nomenclature for this lens, to indicate it\'s designed for APS-C cameras.
    
    I know the \"DC\" designation on Sigma lenses means \"crop sensor\", and that having both \"RF-S\" and \"DC\" is redundant, but that\'s extra knowledge that buyers need to have.
    
    Including both the \"DC\" and \"DN\" would enable more knowledgeable buyers to realise this is the Canon mount version of the same lens available for other mounts.

    
    Sigma uses DC for all of them, on any platform - it's consistent.

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12. Constant F2.8 aperture, 300g and weather sealing sounds great :)

    This one, like many Sigma lenses, only has a gasket at the mount to protect the body, but the rest of the lens itself is not weather sealed. Here is the description from the Sigma product page:
    

    Mount with dust and splash resistant structure​

    The lens mount incorporates rubber sealing to protect the mount from dust and water drops.

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13. I'm a long time fan of Sigma, having owned (and loved) their 100-400|C and two different 17-70 f/2.8-4 APSC DSLR lenses. But TBH, I don't see very much about this lens that's compelling to me personally.
    
    By comparison, the Canon RF-S 18-150 has:
    - Same size
    - Same weight
    - 3x the zoom range
    - Image stabilization
    
    The obvious advantage of the Sigma is speed and constant aperture; the Canon starts at f/3.5 and is already at 5.6 at 50mm, a 2-stop difference from the Sigma.
    
    I'll be curious to see comparisons between the two lenses to see what the IQ differences are, if any, and if they are really perceptible in the real world.

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14. I got tired of waiting for a true M6II body style FF/RF replacement. I purchased the Panasonic Lumix S9. Absolutely love the LUTs work flow. Excellent travel camera. A bit more than the M6 price point however, but quite a bit more functions and lens options being a FF L mount. With in-body image stabilizer.

    The S9 looks like a nice camera, but it sadly won’t take RF mount lenses :)
    I like the direction Panasonic is taking with video and LUTs, the inability to quickly share a clog3 video is very annoying.
    
    I had a number of nice short clips of red squirrels being cute when I was in a hide this weekend and wanted to send them to my kids. The only time where you have ViewAssist applying the LUT is during capture, so I had to video the back LCD with my phone…
    I need clog to correct my mistakes, I’m not a video person :)

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15. I already own the Canon 18-150 so I'm much more interested in the 10-18 than in the 18-50.

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16. Sigma uses DC for all of them, on any platform - it's consistent.

    I know, but that misses my point entirely.
    
    It's reasonable to expect Canon users to have some level of knowledge of Canon nomenclature, which is RF means full frame, RF-S means APS-C.
    
    It's less reasonable to expect them to know Sigma's nomenclature, especially when it runs counter to the established Canon system. Sigma is already adding RF to the designation, so that's not consistent, as you put it, across the entire output, since it's specific to their Csnon-fit lenses, so why not make it RF-S (and leave the DC, or DG as appropriate)?
    
    (Sorry about any back-dlashes; I'm writing this on a phone.)

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17. I know, but that misses my point entirely.
    
    It's reasonable to expect Canon users to have some level of knowledge of Canon nomenclature, which is RF means full frame, RF-S means APS-C.
    
    It's less reasonable to expect them to know Sigma's nomenclature, especially when it runs counter to the established Canon system. Sigma is already adding RF to the designation, so that's not consistent, as you put it, across the entire output, since it's specific to their Csnon-fit lenses, so why not make it RF-S (and leave the DC, or DG as appropriate)?
    
    (Sorry about any back-dlashes; I'm writing this on a phone.)

    
    every single vendor isn't going to change their naming scheme to match every OEM.
    
    I'm pretty sure Canon users are smart enough to figure this out.
    
    though i have to admit, them showing it on an R5 certainly can make some confused.

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18. every single vendor isn't going to change their naming scheme to match every OEM.
    
    I'm pretty sure Canon users are smart enough to figure this out.
    
    though i have to admit, them showing it on an R5 certainly can make some confused.

    Sigma doesn't need to change their naming scheme, they just have to replace almost every 'RF' mention with 'RF-S'.

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19. wow, no full frame Sigma.

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