Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG

Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG: Handling and features

Weighing only 320g, this is a lightweight lens that could be easily carried around all day ready for when it's needed and at only 66.5mm long, it is quite compact too. The lens barrel is constructed from high quality plastics finished in a smart looking powder coated finish. During use this finish tends to show rub marks easier than other lens finishes, so care may need to be taken to preserve its looks.

The front filter thread accepts 55mm filters, which are readily available. As the thread does not rotate during focusing, polarising filters are easy to use. At it's closest focus the lens extends by over an inch and the magnification ratio is clearly marked on the lens barrel.

Focusing is a little slow on the Nikon D700 used for testing and the lens tends to hunt around, especially in low light conditions. A focus limiter switch is provided to prevent the lens from tracking through the whole focus range when it can't achieve focus easily.

The manual focus ring isn't damped at all and feels a little gritty in operation compared to some other lenses. Saying that the mechanism has enough resistance stay put, plus the large distance between infinity and the closest distance on the focus ring makes fine adjustments easy to make.

The minimum focus distance is 18.9cm, which provides a working distance of around an inch. This can make getting light onto your subject difficult in some circumstances, and may be too close for those wishing to photograph moving subjects such as insects. As the lens is focused closer the effective aperture of the lens drops, which is normal for a macro lens. Unfortunately the maximum aperture of f/2.8 is only available with the lens set exactly on infinity, with the effective aperture dropping as soon as focus is moved any closer.

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