18th April 2013, GMT +8.00 1300hrs – A pair of photos were leaked yesterday on regards to the latest surprise from Sigma Corporation. A zoom lens that has a constant F1.8 Aperture made for APS-C cameras and many were questioning
if the source of this news is credible. Well, as a matter of fact, yes it is. Officially announced today (10 mins ago), this is for real and a wonderful piece of art.

Looking at the specs, this latest ART Lens from Sigma will set the benchmark for ALL Camera Brands and gives the world a run for the money instead of the “standard issue” 18-55mm something something”.
Having the the equivalent of 27mm-52.2mm on a 35mm format actually will also crippled the sales of other brands’ prime lenses like the 28mm F2.8/f1.8 & 35mm F2/F1.8 made by other brands. Although prime lenses are widely known to be sharper than zoom lenses, I am unable to comment as of now as the review unit is still on its way to me. But given Sigma’s recent achievements & success with the 35mm F1.4 ART, the 17-70mm Contemporary & the 30mm F1.4 ART, this lens will be scrutinized for its quality and personally I think Sigma will not have any problem to keep up and maintain the new standards.

As expected from Sigma, this lens comes with the Super Multi-Layer coating to eliminate ghosting on photos, comes standard with the company’s Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) and you will be happy to note that this lens has a minimum focusing distance of only 28cm. In the box, a pouch and a new lens hood is included. Made from the new TSC material, the lens barrel is expected to have the same finishing as the earlier releases under the Sigma Global Vision.

This 9-bladder is a mid sized lens at 3.1 inch x 4.8 inch and weights 810gm and we have quite a bit of glass in there as the construction has 17 elements in 12 groups! (That’s a lot of glass!) Filter size is 72mm – just right for a lens this size.
I will be back with the review after I tested it. Stay Tuned.

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
** Sigma had re-organized their whole lens line into 3 category.
They are “C” Lens, “A” Lens & “S” Lens.

C Lens = Contemporary Lens Line

Featuring the very latest technology, and combining optical performance with compactness, Sigma’s high-performance Contemporary line covers a wide range of needs. Lenses in this category are Standard zoom lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, high-magnification zoom lenses.

A Lens = Art Lens Line

Designed with a focus on sophisticated optical performance and abundant expressive power, Sigma’s Art line delivers high-level artistic expression. Lenses in this category are Large-aperture prime lenses, wide-angle lenses, ultra-wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, fisheye lenses.

S Lens – Sports Lens Line

While offering sophisticated optical performance and expressiveness, Sigma Sports line lenses deliver high action-capture performance, enabling photographers to get exactly the shots they want. Lenses in this category are Telephoto lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, super telephoto lenses, super telephoto zoom lenses.

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For more information, please visit http://www.sigma-global.com