Lenses

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Lens Test: Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC AF

A good DSLR zoom for the money.
- By Pop Photo Staff on December 16, 2008
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
Like Sigma's other DC (for Digital Camera) lenses, the 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 is mountable only on DSLRs with APS-scaled image sensors. (You'll get severe edge vignetting on a 35mm camera.) This $269 optic will be available in the Olympus E-series mount, the most affordable lens for Olympus E-1 and Evolt owners.
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Lens Test: Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG AF

This lens' forte is its close-up performance, a welcome development in the ultrawide-angle zoom category.
- By Pop Photo Staff on December 16, 2008
Originally published October 2005.
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Editor's Choice 2007: SLR Lenses
- By Russell Hart on December 16, 2008
Click photo to see images of all the Editor's Choice 2007 products.

Despite the popularity of all-purpose zooms, photographers' interest in lenses is unabated. Lenses are the number-one search item on our Website. And digital photography has brought on a whole new wave of optical innovation.
Lens of the Year: Panasonic Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH
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Telephoto Shootout: Sigma vs. Sigma

In this battle of 300mm f/2.8 lenses, we compare Sigma's prime against its sibling fixed aperture zoom to see which one you'll want for your camera bag.
- By Jack Howard on December 16, 2008
Photo by Jack Howard

Click photo to see more images taken with the zoom Sigma 120-300 f2.8 EX APO DG IF HSM.

Ask just about any photographer what they most want in their camera bag, and odds are you'll get a lot of requests for long, fast glass -- like a 300mm f/2.8. We're talking expensive, we're talking big, and we're talking heavy. We're talking mortgage payments here in this class of lens.
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Lens Test: Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG AF

Circular Fisheye Updated for digital SLRs, this unusual optic makes distortion fun.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
An updated version of Sigma's 8mm f/4 spherical fisheye, this is the field's widest circular fisheye with autofocus. It's also among the last Sigma film-era lenses to be upgraded with coatings that suppress reflections from digital sensors ("DG"). It captures a 180-degree field of view, with exaggerated perspective and dramatic linear distortion, especially along the frame edges. For full-circle images, you need a full-frame film or digital SLR; APS-scaled sensors crop into the top and bottom of the frame when the camera is oriented horizontally.
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Lens Test: Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G DX VR AF-S

Vibration Reduction makes this low-cost lens a veritable steal.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Here's a deal:
An upgrade of Nikon's original digital-only tele kit zoom, this new 55-200mm f/4-5.6 ($250, street) adds Vibration Reduction and a number of optical improvements for only $70 more. A 3.6X 82-300mm equivalent zoom, it's not expected to be bundled in Nikon DSLR kits any time soon.
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Lens Test: Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 35-100mm f/2

Serious glass for serious Four Thirds shooters with strong hands and deep pockets.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
Shooters committed to the Four Thirds System, take note. Here is Serious Glass. This pro-caliber 70-200mm equivalent zoom ($2,200, street) -- the world's fastest in its focal-length range -- packs four elements of ED glass, one element of Super ED glass, and all-metal construction with rubber seals to keep out moisture and dust.
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Lens Test: Pentax 70mm f/2.4 Limited

How to travel light with a high-performing, solidly built, yet extremely compact tele.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
The category's most compact short telephoto lens and Pentax's lightest digital-only tele/portrait optic, this ultra-shallow "pancake," the 70mm f/2.4 Limited AF ($540, street), delivers the 35mm equivalent of a 105mm's field of view. One of Pentax's elite "Limited" family, it has all-metal construction, engraved barrel markings, and "SP" (Super Protect) coating to guard against moisture and finger oils.
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Lens Test: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro

How to reach out and adjust your subject while shooting with this exceptionally close-focusing macro.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
With Sigma's new 18-50mm f/2.8 macro ($420, estimated street), we jog past another milestone: This was the industry's first digital-only lens to be released in a secondgeneration version. The closest focusing of any Sigma zoom, this 30-85mm (equivalent, with our test camera's 1.6X lens factor) features a wider barrel and larger filter size, and much closer focusing (from 7.25 inches, rather than 11.25 inches) than the 18-50mm it replaces, at about the same price.
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Lens Test: Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II Macro

How to zoom from 28mm to 388mm (equivalent) with a singular digital-only lens.
- By Julia Silber on December 16, 2008
While you were out, the digital-only superzoom got more super. Tamron, originator of the superzoom lens more than a decade ago, ups the ante with its new 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 optic -- boasting the industry's broadest zoom range, at nearly 14X (13.9X). A 28-388mm equivalent, it adds 50mm to the tele end and does so at no cost of weight, dimension, or optical performance over Tamron's 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens (which remains in Tamron's catalog). Only the price is higher: at $499, street, vs. $390 for the shorter lens.
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