Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Pro Reviews

Although it is by no means perfect, the built-in optical stabilisation technology and superior image sharpness of the Sigma 18-250mm makie it a strong contender for anyone considering an all-in-one superzoom lens.

Like most ''vacation'' zooms, the trick is to know the parameters where they function best. Sigma's latest iteration of this lens offers a bit more telephoto performance, for which the integrated optical image stabilization is crucially useful. Unfortunately the lens' maximum aperture decreases quickly as the lens is zoomed out, to the point where at 80mm, you're using a ƒ/5.6 lens. This design allows the lens to be kept as small as it is, but at that point you're needing either a sunny day, an external flash, or a steady hand (even with the image stabilization) to get reasonably sharp photos. The testing on the lens shows it to be very capable when used in the wide-angle or mid-range settings, but telephoto performance leaves something to be desired.

Having one lens for both wide and close-up (tele) shots made working at a parade and a concert much easier and faster, and gave me the ability to shoot the kind of candids and get the kind of coverage that made me think that this would be a good traveling companion. Sure, it would be great if the lens were faster at the tele end, but in my opinion at this price the Sigma will prove to be quite popular for travel and street candid photographers. The bonus is that you can utilize the OS or even boost the ISO when the light gets too low.

With a huge 13.9x focal length range and OS, the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Lens is like two lenses and a tripod in the package of a medium-small lens (great for travel). While the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Lens' image quality in the 50-250mm focal length range is not ideal, it can deliver a lot more than an 18-55mm lens can in that range.