Leaked: sigma 50-100 f/1.8

[Jakov Minić]

Looks like a live music photographer's dream!  For live music, f/2 is the aperature I stay at for good images so a f/1.8 lens is pretty ideal.

I wish Nikon would get a little innovative too.  i appreciate the core tech being pushed, but wish there were more interesting things happening.

Tristin, why don't you try an 85/1.4 and you will have all the speed and quality you would never need for concerts. You can shoot @ f/2 all night long and have sharp and contrast images. And if that's too short. treat yourself with a 200/2 
Or simply do what most knowledgeable and sensible folks do when shooting concerts and that's use a 70-200/2.8VR.

[Akira]

I think the sole reason for the fast mid-tele zoom like this is to have the same shallow DOF of 80-200 class f2..8 zoom on an APS-C format.  I understand this.  But, as some folks say, this bulk and weight makes a full-frame combo more sensible.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I also think DX lenses should be designed to be compact, in line with the shape and size of the cameras.

The narrow zoom range seems to put FX at an advantage. 2.9x range vs. 2x, though Nikon's current 70-200/2.8 II doesn't have that ratio at closer distances.

[Tristin]

Tristin, why don't you try an 85/1.4 and you will have all the speed and quality you would never need for concerts. You can shoot @ f/2 all night long and have sharp and contrast images. And if that's too short. treat yourself with a 200/2 
Or simply do what most knowledgeable and sensible folks do when shooting concerts and that's use a 70-200/2.8VR.

As much as the 85mm f/1.4 is surely a phenomenal lens, I intend to keep my entire camera kit compact enough to fit in my backpack so I need to avoid focal lengths that are too close to each other.  I would love love love to have a 200mm f/2, but being a musician does not pay that well!  As for the 70-200mm f/2.8 I find zooms boring, f/2.8 is too slow for me and that is also too expensive for me.

[richardHaw]

DX still has it's market share (also with other brands, including pentax most specially).

i know a few pros back home who shoot DX exclusively. it is not that they cannot afford to go FX but they are just used to it and has invested a lot into the DX system when Nikon only produced that

while it is true that SIGMA is just producing these to show off, i do know some people who use these lenses (like the 18-35 f/1. for video. these lenses are aimed at a different (niche) market segment.

this lens will be great for the D500 

[bjornthun]

If we are to believe Thom Hogan, the DX/APS-C has a dominating market share. Far from all APS-C/DX DSLRs can be considered compact or small, e.g. Nikon D7200 and D500 or Canon 7D mkII. The D500 should have the sensor to go with this lens.

Maybe some D500 owners will get this lens for its' sheer speed, that almost no other zoom can match. With the Sigma MC-11 adapter it can be used with the Sony A6300 with a spanking new sensor too, which has got a totally silent electronic shutter. Nice if there is something or someone that can't be disturbed, not even by a flash.

A zoom that stays at 2x or less zoom ratio is usually made with fewer compromises than most other zooms.

Fast zooms: Sigma 18-35/1.8, Sigma 50-100/1.8, Olympus 14-35/2, Olympus 35-100/2.

[tommiejeep]

It is all down to sensor technology and processors.   Fuji, Nikon, Sony, Canon (Samsung ??) Pentax APS-C cameras.    I see more small Nikon and Canon entry level/consumer cameras than anything else.  Yesterday my wife and I shot India Bike Week and , as usual, I photographed most people I saw with cameras.   I did not see another Fx camera or MILC .  I did see many Nikon and Canon small DSLRs, a few Bridge , a few P&S , uncountable Mobile phones, and one bright orange Pad(could have been an Ultrabook)  . The day before I did see a Biker with a Sony A DSLR.

The silent shutter on the EM1 (latest FW) is very nice to have feature.  My wife used it (with 12-40 2.8 ) to shoot a school's musical event but not any dancing so the shutter speeds were low for a reasonably dark venue.   It will be very interesting to see how the a6300 works with the electronic shutter.  Most interested to see if there are any negative trade-offs as with the silent shutter in the a7RII.  I am not expecting the D500 to be a low light/high ISO champion but If it beats the D700 I would be most happy  .

FWIW,  I wound up shooting the D750 ( approx. 450 clicks) and the Df (approx. 75 clicks) almost exclusively .  The a7II really did not cope with the rapid action coming from all sides (35 clicks).  There was plenty of light so any of my Dx bodies would probably have coped.  I had never really planned on using the Sony for action events.  I was disappointed that the dust was so bad I did not get to try out some different lenses.  I really wanted to use the Voigt 15 f4.5III.  I should have had it mounted to begin with.  Bikers love to have you shoot them on their bikes , fun verbal and non-verbal exchanges 

Back to the subject    the new Sigma would not have been a lens of choice at that Focal range . I would have been better off shooting the 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 but I cannot handle that weight for 3 hours of standing these days    .  The 24-120 f4vr and 85 1.8G were fine.

[richardHaw]

another thing is that Canikon has almost all but abandoned their crop lens line and this is where 3rd party players come into play 

[tommiejeep]

Richard, depends on how you look at it  .   I started with the 18-70 and 18-200vr on the D200 in the Monsoon.  Those two lenses lasted me about four months and as soon as possible I shifted to the 17-55 2.8 and 70-200 2.8VR.  I personally only have two Dx lenses left, the Nikon 12-24 f4 and the 17-70 2.8-4 |C for the D7100.  My wife sold her D90 and most of her Dx lenses.  My son still has his D5100, 18-105 vr , 18-55 vr and 55-200vr but uses FX lenses when he decides to use the camera.  He is using his EM1 and Smartphone 95% of the time.  When he shoots birds he uses the D7100, 80-400 afs or the 500 vr.

I personally think the reasonably new 1.8 line-up of primes is great for the Dx bodies.   The new 16-80 lens is supposed to be very good (?)  Having said that, I agree that other manufacturers are doing a very nice job but the 18-35 1.8, and this new lens, are not consumer lenses (size, weight and cost) .  If one is a Sports/wildlife/event shooter that has stuck with Dx you are probably already using some big, heavy lenses so the size and weight will not be a bother.
Tom

[Jan Anne]

If we are to believe Thom Hogan, the DX/APS-C has a dominating market share.

Well, we are not the majority in terms of camera marketshare, that would be all those people that tell you they also have a DRLS and come up with some bogus specifications when asked what lenses they use. These regular consumers will not buy this lens but will probably buy a mirrorless kit when their "DRLS" dies.

[bjornthun]

Well, we are not the majority in terms of camera marketshare, that would be all those people that tell you they also have a DRLS and come up with some bogus specifications when asked what lenses they use. These regular consumers will not buy this lens but will probably buy a mirrorless kit when their "DRLS" dies.

Your statement is too general.

[tommiejeep]

Hey J.A., spot the camera 
just for fun.  D750,24-120f4vr and a super fast quick fix PP (basically ooc) I di find an image of a guy with a 6D, 70-200f4 and another guy with a D7000 and some small zoom .

[Bill De Jager]

I was hoping for a lens like this but not at this weight.  I have long wanted an update to the old 75-150 f/3.5, or a smaller DX version of same at 50-100mm, but at a modestly fast speed.  Sometimes I don't need a really long zoom but I want more flexibility than a prime or two in that range.  This rumored lens would make a nice companion to the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, but ohhh that weight.  I would have been happy to settle for f/2.8 at a substantial savings in weight and cost.

[richardHaw]

I am going to cover CP+ and I hope to see this thing there. 

i will let you know if it is indeed heavy or not. I am guessing that it is probably 1.5X heavier than the 18-35 

[tommiejeep]

Cool, Richard, reports from the Frontline  .
The inclusion of a tripod foot (if correct) on a 7 inch lens is sort of scary and, again, makes me wonder at the intended market but you could be right on the Vids.  No mention of being de-clicked mod.
Interesting to see if Nikon has any surprises and if they show the rumoured 1" compacts.

Have fun