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Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG ASPHERICAL MACRO  PDF Print E-mail
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Editor's rating
out of 5
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Lens Summary

Overview

Wide Lens
24mm f/1.8 EX DG ASPHERICAL MACRO

The large aperture wide-angle lens for close up photography

This large-aperture wide-angle lens is equipped macro focusing capability with a maximum magnification of 1:2.7 and fast F1.8 maximum aperture. The use of aspherical lenses are offered for superior peripheral Brightness and compensation of aberrations and astigmatism. This is an ideal DG lens for Digital SLR cameras.

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Macro capability
This lens is capable of Macro photography at minimum focusing down to 18cm (7.1 inch) (reproduction ratio 1:2.7). It incorporates the floating focus system in order to minimize distortion, Spherical aberration and astigmatism, which provide high performance at all shooting distance down to 18 cm (7.1 inch). Reproduction ratio 1:2.7 and an Angle of view of 84.1allow capturing of high quality images not only a subject but also the surrounding scenery.

Large front element and Super wide-angle
This lens has an advanced optical construction, in order to obtain adequate peripheral brightness at open aperture. Also, the iris diaphragm has 9 diaphragm blades to obtain beautiful out of focus images in the foreground and background.

Handling
This lens also incorporates a Dual-Focus (DF) mechanism. It is easy to hold the lens, since the focusing ring does not rotate during auto-focus, yet it provides adequate focusing torque of the focusing ring during manual focusing of the lens. Also this allows the use of a "Petal-type Hood" , which is superior light blocking effect.

Aspherical lens
It incorporates a floating focus system and uses two Aspherical lens elements for minimizing distortion, spherical Aberration and astigmatism.

Lens Construction
 
10 Elements in 9 Groups
Angle of View
 
84.1 degrees
Number of Diaphragm Blades
 
9 Blades
Minimum Aperture
 
F22
Minimum Focusing Distance
 
18cm
Maximum Magnification
 
1:2.7
Filter Size
 
77mm
Dimensions
 
Diameter 83.6mm X Length 82.5mm
Weight
 
485g
SRP
 
£299.99

24mm f/1.8 EX DG ASP Macro
 
SIGMA
   
CANON
   
NIKON (D)
   
SONY
    PENTAX
   
FOUR THIRDS

Lens Specifications

Generic Lens Specifications
Lens Type: Prime
Lens Special Features: Macro
IS / VR / OS: None
Min Focal length (mm): 24
Max Focal Length (mm): 24
Number of Elements: 10
Element Groups: 9
Max Aperture: 1.8
Minimum Aperture: 22
Diaphragm Blades: 9
Closest Focus Distance (m): 0.18
Maximum Magnification: 1.2
Filter Diameter (mm): 77
Diameter at widest (mm): 84
Lens Length (mm): 82
Weight (g): 485

Details


 


 

 

24mm f/1.8 EX DG ASP Macro
Lens Hood
Fitted Padded Case
Front and Rear Caps
Instruction Manual
1 Year Warranty Card
2 Year Extended UK Warranty Card

 

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User Lens Reviews

Average user rating from: 9 user(s)

Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.1
AF Speed
4.1
Value for Money
3.9
 

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Eh, it's so, so, Monday, 23 August 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
2.3
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
2.0
I wanted a macro lens that would also be good for portraits/snapshots and this just wasn't it for me. I found, as others have said, that this lens has issues with the autofocus and the shots I took just weren't that sharp, even at f/2.0 and above. I love the Olympus Zuiko 50mm Macro, but the focal length was just too high for what I want to use it for, but boy was it sharp! This lens is also VERY heavy, even heavier than the Zuiko 50mm macro. I would really love to see Olympus come out with a fast prime (think the Canon 50mm f/1.8), macro or not, for the E-Series cameras. I'll stick with my 14-54 f/2.8 for now!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Value Proposition, Friday, 21 May 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
Fast lenses and fourthirds usually dont go together in the same sentence, barring the a few of the ultra expensive zuiko zooms and the 50mm macro (hunter). This is a great lens for a great price. As an Oly user I dont feel its worth it to spend 1k or more on a pro quality lens when the bodies, as much as I love them are lagging behind the glass. This sigma is a good choice for a wide portrait lens but i wouldnt say its really a macro, not when compared to my nikkor 55mm 2.8 that gives me 1:1 with crop factor.

The quality of this piece is great and it really feels like a real lens. I know smaller and lighter is the point but this is a big piece that feels solid as any Nikkor. A Bit loud but at a wedding who cares. Great colors, sharp or sharper than the Zuiko 50mm f2, and just a great buy all together.

Go Sigma for taking a chance on fourthirds! There are not enough reasonable choices unless you use converters and vintage glass as Ive been doing for the past several years.

I would recommend this lens for anyone who wants a fast good old school feeling prime for parties, general wides, bouquets (tough to get with the extra dof you get from the fourthirds sensor).


Great buy!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

great for the money, Monday, 25 January 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Bought this lens last year and love it. It is way better than I thought it was going to be. Does great on my D700 and D70s.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Great wide angle prime from Sigma!, Sunday, 27 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
Use it on Canon 5D.

Pro:

1. Build quality. Much better than the regular Canon primes. Similar to Sigma 20 1.8
2. Smooth and accurate MF ring.
3. Very quick AF speed. Not as assuring as USM but good enough in most situation including inside low light coffee shops.
4. Very sharp, 2.8 and up, sharper than my Sigma 20/1.8. Nice color and Contrast too.
5. Great close focus distance and macro potential.
6. Fantastic price - got an excellent 2nd hand copy from KEH for $250+.

Neutral:

No HSM on this EX lens, same as the other two of Sigma's wide angle prime trio: 20/1.8 and 28/1.8.

Con:

Like the 20/1.8, wide oepn it's dark and blurry, much worse than the Canon 50/1.4 at f1.4. Use only in emergency situation. But it's great after 2.8.

Bottom line:

A fantastic wide prime from Sigma with great macro capacity at a extremely attractive price! 24mm is perfect for indoor close range shots and outdoor wide landscape shots. Based on my personal experience, primes are so much better than zooms, Canon L included. The primes are far more consistent, ligith weight, and better IQ (color, sharpness, contrast, much less distortion and light fall off). Most of the primes I have don't even have those fancy special glasses in them, unlike my L zooms. And a lot cheaper too. Only if Sigma could produce cheap 300mm primes like they do in the wide end...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Favorite Lens thus over, even over L, Monday, 01 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is by far one of my most favorite lenses. I use it over my L lenses when 24mm is what I need. Because it's macro, I feel I'm not limited with the prime lens, thus I don't miss the ability to zoom.

The copy I have is VERY sharp and at f1.8, it's not the sharpest, but it's darn good. The lens is almost as sharp as my Canon 100mm f2.8

Yes, the AF isn't as quiet and fast as most, but really... on my 5dmkII, it doesn't matter at all. I don't even notice it. People who think that's a deal breaker in a lens are less concerned with the art of photography.

I'm 27 years old and grew up with digital photography, but have also taking courses in film. Processing your own film really puts things into perspective, so if a lens is gonna focus .5 seconds slower than another and sound slightly more noisy... and you think that's awful, you need a reality check.

This lens is top notch.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

quickly became a favorite, Sunday, 17 May 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I purchased this lens, then barely used for the first few months. One day I was in a creative rut, so I decided to spend a day taking photos with only the lens I used the least. That day resulted in this becoming a favorite lens. On my 40d it's equivalent to around a 38mm focal length, which I find to be quite versatile.

This is one of my sharpest lens, and the wide aperture is really a pleasure to work with creating a nice bright viewfinder and great bokeh. I find the lens to be quite usable opened up all the way to 1.8, but stopping down to 2.0 or 2.8 does make a noticeable difference in sharpness. It can close focus much closer than the specs suggest,within 2-3 inches from the front element. The autofocus of course is much slower than USM/HSM but really isn't that bad in practice so I have no complaints. Switching between auto-focus and manual is a little weird. First you have to hit the typical MF/AF switch, then push/pull the focus ring to the AF or MF position. I find this two step process to be quite annoying. However the focus ring is nice, large and well damped making manual focusing pleasant. On a crop body like my 40d, I see no noticeable Vignetting or corner softness, but I haven't tried it full-frame. It is large an heavy, but that's what you get with such a wide aperture combined with the sharp optics. I am glad it has a normal 77mm filter size. My biggest complaint other than the AF/MF switch is that Sigma makes some of the worst lens caps, it's really a pain to put the cap on or off with the lens hood attached. One of these days I'm going to replace it with a good center-pinch cap to make life easier.
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1 of 7 people found the following review helpful

This lens front focus so bad that even at f/4, pic, Saturday, 26 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
1.3
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
1.0
Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro Large Aperture Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras


I have tested this lens on 3 different Canon bodies (two 20d, one xti). Lens front focus a lot. Period.

I am currently returning this lens to amazon for an exchange. I will not return a lens to factory to have it re-calibrated. I have heard people returning it to factory 2 or 3 times and lens still come back bad. It is sad and I am just furious over Sigma's QA. How is it possible they miss such bad copy?? Do they not test lens anymore? Why can't they create a department specifically dedicated to testing every single lens that gets shipped? (read below regarding condom testing). Is this difficult to implement? No. Will Sigma win more customers if they do? Yes. Here's the plan: Setup a few workstations, mount the camera on a fixed post in such a way that it's not ever movable, tether camera to computer, shoot in jpg, and view image either via AI / MTF score so there's a threshold to either reject or accept.

What are these lens CEO thinking??? This comment goes out to all lens manufacturers. I can't wait until there's a lens manufacturer that will implement the above test and take the industry by storm. In fact, scribe the employee id onto the parts on the product line so that they figure out who is the culprit and dispense disciplinary action. I paid 1 day over night DHL to have this lens rushed to me because of all the excitement, but boy was I disappointed. I can only hope the next copy will be up to factory spec.

Also note that customers do zoom into the image. So testing must be done at 1:1 viewing. Whether I zoom in or out, the picture is just a low quality fuzz. I am a wedding photographer and I have many lens, canon and tamron, and I do know how to test lens. I think the MTF threshold idea is brilliant and the employee ID on the parts is critical to getting high quality products. Actually, Employee ID to whoever assemble that part / lens. Companies should form a division to accept returned lens, take apart, and find the culprit, and trace employee id. This is long over due... how is it acceptable to have such poor quality control?

I'd like to know:
a) Where are the QA managers?
b) Do companies only care to mass produce and sample test once a while?

c) *** How long does it take to build a lens compared to electronically test a lens? If every condom is tested electronically, then why can't lens be tested. A quality condom is less than 1 dollar each!! Somebody got to be held responsible for these poor quality lens. If the above review is true that it's sharp, then the lens design is sound, so the issue is QA.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Great quality but a little heavy and big., Wednesday, 07 March 2007


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I wanted a wide angle prime lens that I could take to parties where the shooting distance is always about the same and I could get higher quality pictures than with Zoom lenses. Since this lens is fast, f/1.8, it focuses very quickly even in low light. It doesn't have an ultrasonic focusing mechanism, but focus speed is very fast and it has a clutch focusing ring so I can hold the lens and not interfere with the rotation of the focusing ring. The body feels very tight and well put together. The texture and feel are perfect. Picture quality is extremely good. The colors are natural and it's very sharp at 1.8 and is even better at 2.0 and above. Macro is excellent and since it has 9 curved aperature blades, the bokeh looks very pleasing. There is almost no distortion or abberation and focus is accurate. So even though this lens is a bit bigger and heavier than I would like in a prime lens like this, the benefits of brighter viewfinder (due to f/1.8), extemely sharp pictures and very good build quality makes it worthwhile purchase (especially for the price).
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

一į˛’でäēŒåēĻおいしいãƒŦãƒŗã‚ē, Sunday, 22 October 2006


Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
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