Here are Amazon (affiliate) links to the lenses in this video: #1 Best Seller: geni.us/EYdA #2 Best Seller: geni.us/BestZoom -- Great Variable ND Filter for $30 From K&F: geni.us/C70w -- Alternative: Sony 16-55mm G Lens: geni.us/q5Eg -- Alternative: Tamron 17-70mm (stabilized) Lens: geni.us/s5x3DZ #3 Best Seller: geni.us/XAbEn -- Alternative: Sony 70-350mm: geni.us/3CcISkv -- Alternative: Tamron 18-300mm: geni.us/ANYb #4 Best Seller: geni.us/OqL7A9y -- Alternative: Viltrox 27mm F1.2: geni.us/hB52em -- Alternative: Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS: geni.us/6dSxw3B #5 Best Seller: geni.us/TU5SsQ -- Alternative: Sony 15mm F1.4 G: geni.us/pm8joa
I cannot say enough how much I love Sigma 18-50mm, it's so good and versatile. Yes, it doesn't have the best quality (compared to Sony) or range (compared to Tamron), but it's all about experience. It's light and can fit in small pocket/bag. So we can carry it everywhere and really enjoy the trip. The focus distance is also very short, this lens can just handle anything. Other lenses are kind of make senses on its own, Sigma quartet primes are always good choices 👍
Absolutely. I bought the Tamron and regretted it almost immediately. It is a great lens, but it's just too big and heavy for the kind of everyday carry, street, and snapshots of the kids that I tend to do most often. The Sigma is the perfect compromise for all my use cases
From this list, I started with the 16mm, the 30mm and the 55-210. The 16mm is exceptional and I still use it. The 55-210 is capable of good photos when the light is really good, I mean, really sunny days. But it ignites the passion for bird photography, and I replaced it with the 70-350. What a great lens it is. Recently, I got the 18-55 and I really enjoy using it. Not the sharpest, but the format, the range, the constant aperture make it an excellent choice. Thanks for continuing to cover the Sony APSC world like you do!
I just returned from a London/Paris trip with my Sony a6600. I wanted to enjoy the trip and not be a slave to the photo kit so low size and weight was high priority. I planned for low light indoor (museums, cathedrals) and day/night outdoor (architecture, landscape) so I took a Sigma 10-18/2.8 and 18-50/2.8, and a Sony 55-210 like you talked about. I ended up using the two Sigma lenses almost exclusively. Still, the lenses you reviewed can be combined make for a very competent travel kit.
I was most surprised by die 55-210. I bought mine second hand years ago and the images are very soft. I just upgraded this week to the 70-350 and am very happy.
I would alsolutely replace the 55-210 with either the Sony 70-350 if you want zoom, the Sony 18-135 for a great all around lens (you can digitally zoom in here and still get good image quality) or FF Tamron 28-200 which has great image quality and starts at f2.8.
You can always buy the Sigma 60-600mm and using the APSC that You own would make it 90-900mm Full Frame Focal Length equivalent. Squirrels, Pets, Birds, Deer look fantastic.
Rumour has it Sigma is working on a 50-140 f/2.8, similar to what Fuji offers. If it's anything like the 18-50 f/2.8 in design and performance, I think it will be one of the greatest lenses available for APSC. We're so spoiled for choice these days it's hard to choose which ones to get. I'm struggling to decide between the Sony 11mm 1.8, Sony 15mm 1.4, and Sigma 10-18 2.8. Although my old Rokinon 12mm f/2 manual lens still works a treat. The Sigma 56 1.4 is still my favourite overall, I think, and I very much regret selling my old Sony 35mm f/1.8.
I hope its true. I have the Sony 70-350, but sometimes for travel I want something a bit lighter to match the 18-50! Then add the Sigma 10-18 for a perfect travel trio!
@@myblujl7503 Covering 10-140mm at f/2.8 in three small, lightweight, sharp lenses is a very appealing prospect. Supposedly Sigma patented the 50-140 for APSC last year so if it's to show up at all, it should be within the next year.
If it is as compact as possible and affordable, that would be great. But i am afraid it could be almost as heavy and expensive as the amazing Tamron 35-150 F2.8 wich i owned for 2 weeks and was absolutely awesome, but the weight and price made me return it in the end.
Sony 55-210 is a lemon compared to the Tamron 28-200. Tamron is faster below 100mm, wider to start with, and also has VC like the Sony does. I got the Sony 55-210 and never use it anymore after getting the Tamron. When I can only take 1 lens, whether on a hike or a motorcycle ride where space and weight are at a premium, it's either the Sigma 18-50 or the Tamron 28-200.
I own the Sony 70-350 which is optically fantastic and can fully recommend it for the tele end. It can be paired with the Sony 16-55 or Tamron 17-70 or Sigma 18-50 for a 2 lens optically fantastic setup. If you need a light travel lens I can also recommend the Sony 18-135 f3.5-f5.6 it is not so fast but has good image quality and is light and portable with a big zoom range. It sits on my camera for 90% of the time especially during traveling.
I have the Sigma 16mm F1.4 and not a fan. I mostly use my camera when traveling, but this lens is too big and heavy for that. I prefer zooms for traveling, as i only bring one or two lenses and primes rarely make the cut. I wanted to use it for astro, but I don't like it. It has bad coma (wings on stars in the corners). I recently bought the Sony 11mm F1.8 and it fixes most of the issues I have with the Sigma, I wanted an astro lens that is tiny, so I don't mind bringing it on trips.
Right there with you. I own the same four you do (haha you've had far too much of an influence on my collection). I'm not surprised, honestly- the sigma quartet and 18-50 are near legendary in the APSC space, and when it comes to pricing, Sony just doesn't come close. I don't use the 55-210 so much, but I did get it for a song used, and was actually able to get some decent eclipse footage with it! But I think the current King is the viltrox 27/1.2. It is nearly peerless in it's image quality- I can't find another lens I've enjoyed shooting b/w with- (the 75mm 1.2 is also great, but a bit too close to be as versatile). I'm actually on my third 27mm (1st was stolen, second one dropped and broke).
There are two huge advantages of the Sony 15/1.4 over the Sigma 16/1.4: -It's literally half the size and weight -You get waaaay better video stabilization on an a6700/FX30 because only Sony lenses really work with Active Steadyshot. Active Steadyshot with a Sony lens is ultra smooth and stable, almost gimbal like. With Sigma lenses, on the other hand, you only get IBIS stabilization which is shaky and jerky for video in motion.
Yes I’m super sure. I have try with sigma 18-50, sigma 23, sigma 16 but only with my Sony 16-55 and sony 15 f 1.4 the active stab is another world. With Sony lens I don’t need a gimbal or gyroflow. I don’t know why but it is the true
@@guidoambrosi4413 wow! I’m glad you’re sharing this as there are conflicting reports on whether primes work with active stabilization. Would you post any of your comparisons?
The 50mm F1.8 Sony lens had a firmware update one time that fixed many of its problems. I have one and updated it and it is much better with the firmware update. But its not perfect but still helped.
I have multiple lenses but on my last trip I just used 2 of them: The Tamron 18-300 for the use in daylight and the Sony 11/1.8 for some nice star pictures at night with 30 seconds exposure. The 11/1.8 is a really nice lens and a bargain for just 350 €.
i just used my 55-210 this weekend, since i wanted a small telephoto lens for my a6100 (my main focus was 16-35 on my full frame). surprisingly, i took a lot of photos with the 55-210 and they were fine at f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/1000 (sunny day), the bird shots looked sharp enough. it's not going to compete with my sigma 70-200 2.8, but the shots came very close. but yeah, the lens goes to crap once the golden hour kicks in. that's where i need f/4 or 2.8.
There's a firmware update for the FE 50mm f1.8 that apparently solved the slow AF. Mine was updated out of the box. Can't say I noticed any hunting. It's not as fast as some other lenses for sure but it's a great light full frame lens! Especially when you can get it on a warehouse deal. I got mine mint for a hundred bucks 😅
I personally would go for the 10-18 Sigma, with the Tamron 17-70 and Sony 70-350. And they all have the same filter size too, which I love for landscape.
@@jeremyg9305 I generally don't deal with portraits :P I just do so as travel photography and then I don't want to blur the background out too much, the 17-70 certainly is enough for that use for me.
I have the Sigma 18-50, Tamron 17-70, Sony 70-350 and Sigma 16mm and all these lenses a tack-sharp and of great quality. What I'm missing is an APSC-equivalent to the Tamron 35-150 f2-2.8mm or a refurbished Sony 18-105 f4 maybe as f2.8 like the current Sigma fullframe. Maybe Viltrox is interested in such APS-C whitespaces - its f1.2 lenses are enrichments for the APS-C world I would have expected from Sony. Best Regards Simon
I am personally hoping for a APSC equivalent for Tamrons fantastic FF travel lens 28-200 f2.8-f5.6. Either they could make it smaller for 18-130 f2.8-f5.6 APSC or keep the size and make it 18-130 f2-f4.5 APSC. The image quality is better than the Sony 18-135 f3-5-f5.6 and it lets in more light either way
Picked up a used sigma 16 f1.4 yesterday, cant wait to use it tonight with my friends!! My first and only other lens is the sigma 18-50 f2.8. Nice video, Arthur!
It's crop so 16 is actually 24 and 23 is actually 34.5. I like the 16 cause it's wide and let's in a lot of light. It can take some real good landscapes@@PuneethSrinivas
I think I have a poor collection of overlapping lenses. Sony 35mm 1.8, Sigma 18-50 2.8, Sony 18-105 F4 G OSS. Trying to cancel if any but use case scenario I ends up using all of them sometimes or somewhere on my Sony A6400. The thing is I recently got A7iv with 85mm 1.8 and I use my 18-50 on Full frame with superb result. For going wide with wide aperture I use 35mm on A7iv in low light with 50mm equivalent, still manageable than 85mm 1.8. Now I am planning to get either FX-30 or 6700. Need to watch more videos for mind making. Thanks Arthur for the video. Love from 🇮🇳 India
Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 in crop is 75mm Focal View which makes a great Portrait Lens for Full Frame and APSC. Started with the A6100 and my camera ownership for Sony is getting out of hand. Starting to run out of room. Cheers!
I guess it’s all preference. I returned my sigma 18-50 and got a used tamron 17-70 for really cheap that was hardly used. I prefer the extra reach of the tamron. And the tamron is sharper at the edges and in the center depending on the zoom range. Still have my old Sony 18-135 lens which is a great lens but I’m thinking maybe trying tamrons 18-300 now.
I had the 16 1.4 sigma for a few months... I bought an A7R5 and a 24 F1.4 Gm... then ended up getting a 12-24GM F2.8 that I prefer, I go on weekly road trips to remote areas for my job and hated leaving like $6k in camera gear in my work car, so I was going to use the sigma 16 1.4 and my old A6000 as my kinda in car kit, but after getting used to full frame I decided to dump the A6000/16 1.4 in favor of an A7III with the sony 24 1.4GM... still like $1600 in gear in street value, but thats still better than leaving my work car with $6k in gear
I have 2 lenses from your list, although both are leaving home on Monday... Sigma 30mm 1.4 has been a brilliant lens, the 55-210mm has done solid duty too. But I've finally bit the bullet and gone Tamron 17-70mm and Sony 70-350mm, keeping my Viltrox 56mm 1.4 and Macro lenses though! Have a Meike 12mm Manual for Astro, but it isn't brilliant, next on the 'to-go' list 🤣Great video idea, Arthur, with some great photos to boot!
QUESTION: Arthur, what functionality or general benefit do you get from, as you said, having an ND filter permanently on the Sigma 18-50 mm? I ask because I have carefully selected three lens to lend to my son, aged 22, going for the first time to Rome and other places in Italy in December. I am lending him my Sony a6700 camera with the Sigma 18-50 mm, Sony 15 mm, and Sigma 56 mm. He loves shooting architecture, art and landscapes. I had not thought to include any filters, though I have a range of them for different purposes. Thanks, interesting video, and yes, what is selling best tends from this video to be what is lower priced. I have the Sigma 16 mm and it is superb for my indoor video essay recording. Outdoors (and indoors for a dinner party last week) the Sony 15 mm is a pricey gem, no colour cast, sharp, light and with the many benefits of an aperture ring.
For video, the 180-degree rule that most people go by means you want your shutter speed set to half of your frame rate. With 4k 24fps you'd want about 1/50 shutter, but especially if you want f/2.8 aperture, even 100 ISO might be over exposed. The variable ND lets you expose properly without having to stop down your aperture or increase your shutter speed. I use it mostly for photography so I can use f/1.2 or 1.4 in outdoor daylight, which would normally be overexposed even at minimum shutter speed and ISO. Also, you should try a circular polarizing filter for landscapes and architecture as it helps with certain light off reflective surfaces and skies.
@@Thirsty_FoxThank you! Tomorrow I will text the ND filter ideas for video on the Sigma 18-50 which as you know is f/2.8. I will also test with a circular polariser photographing architecture and ocean waters on the Sony 15 mm f/1.2. If a filter works in either case then off the filters too will go to Italy!
@@noricd The circular-polarized filters work best with light that is 90-degrees angle from the sun. Try it out and make sure to rotate the filter to see how the results change. In some lighting situations it won't change anything but in those cases it doesn't hurt to have it on, anyways. Have fun!
@@drr5117I meant that I had 4-5 that Arthur mentioned. The 70-350 does look good I have also had my eye on that. What I want is the full frame Sigma 28-105 to put on my a6700. That lens looks awesome but pricey
Kind of seems that on the cheaper end Sony has just been riding out lenses until they're discontinued. The APSC 16-50mm kit lens is a good example. Sony didn't really do much to the lens in the most recent update a few months ago, to address some of the sharpness issues people were complaining about, and that WAS an opportunity for them to make a better kit lens, but they apparently didn't care. Now they have updated some other lenses as well but those are higher-end FF lenses like some of their GM line lenses.
This is an excellent idea for a video. The buying public chooses wisely to get the most bang for the buck. Personally I don’t own these, but that’s because I use modern aperture ring primes. Maybe someday somebody will review these classic designs.
For the 50mm I think the Yongnuo YN 50mm f1.8 is a better chioce than the Sony 50F18. At first, it is cheap, it has autofocus, and the picture quality is surpirsingly good considerint its price. Yes I know, it is not at the level of a Sigma, but for that price it easily beat that Sony 50F18, both in picture quality and in autofocus. Since I own one Yongnuo, I only had one focus miss with my A6000 and considering that I used to photograph fast moving subject (trains) a lot it is quite good.
Great to see the SEL55-210 again! I´ve shot a few thousand helicopter/aircraft, motorsports photos with it on my A6300. Optically sharper at f/4.5 than my SEL35/1.8 (which i bought bc of f/1.8 + OSS) The SEL35/1.8 is not sharp at all (even stopped down to let´s say f/3.2 of 4.5) and C-AF misses faces more often than the 55-210.
It shows that for most people price is more important than quality. The Sony 50 mm f1.8 and the Sony 55-210 are absolute garbage. But they are cheap, so people buy it.
Interesting- I guess aps-c is not dead! I own all those top five lenses. I second your endorsement about the stellar Viltrox PRO lenses . They are on another level and I was willing to overlook their weight/price once I saw the results that came out of out of the camera.
Here is another thankfull viewer who bought the Sigma 16mm. First exclusively for nightsky photography but it became a landscape and streetlens very fast.
The 16mm lens on apsc is the perfect focal length for me. Landscape, travel, street, and you don't even have to focus perfectly most of the time. But I do not like the size of the sigma 1.4. I would prefer it if it was 2.8 or something and half that size. It really looks intimidating when you direct it to people. I guess it's a vlog lens more than a street lens. I also prefer the 16-55 than the 18-50 for the same reason. Those two mm make a big difference on the wide end. But damn sony glass is expensive...
If Sony could manufacture a second version of the 18-105mmF/4 G OSS 30% lighter with sharper edges on the corners, I would be extremely happy..That lens really covered everything still and video well, but it was such a burden to haul around
I’m surprised none of the Tamron 24 & 35 or the Samyang 45 & 75 FE lenses are on the list as they all offer great value for money, especially the Tamron duo which are weather sealed and offer 2:1 Macro as well.
The casual camera buyer choose the cheaper lenses setting marks at 1000$. Body and 1 or 2 additional lenses. The ones watching your videos have at least 1 body and 3-10 lenses 😊
It is difficult to understand that the 55-210 is popular. I owned one years ago and to sell it almost like new I had to go down to 80 $ to get rid of it.
No one should buy it new but for under $200 if you are just starting out it is a fun zoom lens to play with and learn from. Then sell for what you paid for it as you get better.
there alot of lenses for sony e-mount, but no good modern compact f4 zoom, except zeiss 16-70. So my lense No1 is Zeiss 16-70, but I am still hope for tamron or sigma f4 zoom.
I wish Sigma made an Mk. II version of the 30mm F1.4. It's a good lens, but not as excellent as its siblings. Unfortunately that won't happen for many more years, as the right time for an upgrade would have been the recent Canon RF-S mount release 😔
I dont know, Sigma has funny timelines with lens releases, I wouldnt be surprised if they did a Mark II soon, but who knows. Im hoping they give us an F2.8 50-135mm first.
It would be pleasure if you line up fe lenses / e lenses only Imao my best lenses are sony 35mm f1.4 gm samyang 50mm f1.4ii sigma 85mm f1.4 dgdn sigma 28-70mm f2.8 c sigma 16mm f1.4 c sigma 30mm f1.4 c sony 50mm f1.8 oss sigma 18-50mm f2.8 c
My guess is that it is a bit on the pricey side for a sigma quartet lens, so sales arent as high. If it was around $400 instead of $550, it would sell a lot better.
If you want your pics/memories printed and posted online to look good, spending $800 for 2 Lenses to take care of everything for a decade is affordable..
@@alexm1126 True, maybe, I haven't had any Sigma lenses but I have seen great work from a lot of people using these lenses, not arguing that! I am embarrassed to say for how long I have been saving money to be able to buy the Sony 50f1.4. A truly great lens when it is being compared to any other 50mm I have ever used, even the colours are better and different from any Sony brand 50mm. After that lens I said to myself to keep the camera body for as long as it works and spend my money on getting only G and GM lenses!
@@knucklesandwich6117Very good logic, I cringe when people travel the world with their mobile phone camera, to only find out they arnt able to zoom in as pixels are noticeable, it's so important to have a good canera.
@@alexm1126yea I have the sigma 16 and it's such a good lens. Moving from the kit lenses to the sigma was a massive step. I think sigma are just a great option for Sony apsc even ignoring the price
I would never recommend that 55-210. Total garbage! Even if you want something cheap, you can get some really nice Tamron's 2nd hand for a little bit more. Sadly the 1st gen Tamron 70-300 or 70-180 has no VC, but the 18-300 does have VC and you can find those used at a really good price. I would also say the Sony 18-135 is one of the best kit lenses for the A6000-6400 camera's and are dirt cheap 2nd hand. 2nd hand market is a goldmine, if you know what to look for. I use Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell a lot of my gear.
In controlled situations with good/enough light the 55-210 can make some great photos. But don’t expect to crop your images much because when you do so to get closer to your subject there’s a lot of resolution/IQ loss.
The Sony 55-210 is crap, not sharp and too dark. I have the 16-50 pancake kit and it is very compact but not sharp. I love the Tamron 17-70 2.8, my most used lens for video and general. I also use the Samyang 75mm 1.8, razor sharp. For indoor portraits the Sigma 56 1.4 is unbeatable. I have recently purchased the Tamron 11-20 2.8 and 70-180 2.8 V2 FF to complement the Tamron 17-70....
Here are Amazon (affiliate) links to the lenses in this video:
#1 Best Seller: geni.us/EYdA
#2 Best Seller: geni.us/BestZoom
-- Great Variable ND Filter for $30 From K&F: geni.us/C70w
-- Alternative: Sony 16-55mm G Lens: geni.us/q5Eg
-- Alternative: Tamron 17-70mm (stabilized) Lens: geni.us/s5x3DZ
#3 Best Seller: geni.us/XAbEn
-- Alternative: Sony 70-350mm: geni.us/3CcISkv
-- Alternative: Tamron 18-300mm: geni.us/ANYb
#4 Best Seller: geni.us/OqL7A9y
-- Alternative: Viltrox 27mm F1.2: geni.us/hB52em
-- Alternative: Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS: geni.us/6dSxw3B
#5 Best Seller: geni.us/TU5SsQ
-- Alternative: Sony 15mm F1.4 G: geni.us/pm8joa
Arthur please lens for Sony A6700?
1.....?
I cannot say enough
how much I love Sigma 18-50mm, it's so good and versatile. Yes, it doesn't have the best quality (compared to Sony) or range (compared to Tamron), but it's all about experience. It's light and can fit in small pocket/bag. So we can carry it everywhere and really enjoy the trip. The focus distance is also very short, this lens can just handle anything.
Other lenses are kind of make senses on its own,
Sigma quartet primes are always good choices 👍
Absolutely.
I bought the Tamron and regretted it almost immediately. It is a great lens, but it's just too big and heavy for the kind of everyday carry, street, and snapshots of the kids that I tend to do most often.
The Sigma is the perfect compromise for all my use cases
Can’t agree more. The only negative comment I have is that I don’t want to switch to any other lens after putting that on
From this list, I started with the 16mm, the 30mm and the 55-210. The 16mm is exceptional and I still use it. The 55-210 is capable of good photos when the light is really good, I mean, really sunny days. But it ignites the passion for bird photography, and I replaced it with the 70-350. What a great lens it is.
Recently, I got the 18-55 and I really enjoy using it. Not the sharpest, but the format, the range, the constant aperture make it an excellent choice.
Thanks for continuing to cover the Sony APSC world like you do!
I just returned from a London/Paris trip with my Sony a6600. I wanted to enjoy the trip and not be a slave to the photo kit so low size and weight was high priority. I planned for low light indoor (museums, cathedrals) and day/night outdoor (architecture, landscape) so I took a Sigma 10-18/2.8 and 18-50/2.8, and a Sony 55-210 like you talked about. I ended up using the two Sigma lenses almost exclusively. Still, the lenses you reviewed can be combined make for a very competent travel kit.
I was most surprised by die 55-210. I bought mine second hand years ago and the images are very soft. I just upgraded this week to the 70-350 and am very happy.
I would alsolutely replace the 55-210 with either the Sony 70-350 if you want zoom, the Sony 18-135 for a great all around lens (you can digitally zoom in here and still get good image quality) or FF Tamron 28-200 which has great image quality and starts at f2.8.
You can always buy the Sigma 60-600mm and using the APSC that You own would make it 90-900mm Full Frame Focal Length equivalent. Squirrels, Pets, Birds, Deer look fantastic.
All of these take great photos. Great review!
Rumour has it Sigma is working on a 50-140 f/2.8, similar to what Fuji offers. If it's anything like the 18-50 f/2.8 in design and performance, I think it will be one of the greatest lenses available for APSC. We're so spoiled for choice these days it's hard to choose which ones to get. I'm struggling to decide between the Sony 11mm 1.8, Sony 15mm 1.4, and Sigma 10-18 2.8. Although my old Rokinon 12mm f/2 manual lens still works a treat. The Sigma 56 1.4 is still my favourite overall, I think, and I very much regret selling my old Sony 35mm f/1.8.
I hope its true. I have the Sony 70-350, but sometimes for travel I want something a bit lighter to match the 18-50! Then add the Sigma 10-18 for a perfect travel trio!
@@myblujl7503 Covering 10-140mm at f/2.8 in three small, lightweight, sharp lenses is a very appealing prospect. Supposedly Sigma patented the 50-140 for APSC last year so if it's to show up at all, it should be within the next year.
I have the Sony 11mm 1.8. Most for filming on my ZV-E10. There it is perfect.
If it is as compact as possible and affordable, that would be great. But i am afraid it could be almost as heavy and expensive as the amazing Tamron 35-150 F2.8 wich i owned for 2 weeks and was absolutely awesome, but the weight and price made me return it in the end.
Where’s that rumor?
Sony 55-210 is a lemon compared to the Tamron 28-200. Tamron is faster below 100mm, wider to start with, and also has VC like the Sony does. I got the Sony 55-210 and never use it anymore after getting the Tamron. When I can only take 1 lens, whether on a hike or a motorcycle ride where space and weight are at a premium, it's either the Sigma 18-50 or the Tamron 28-200.
I own the Sony 70-350 which is optically fantastic and can fully recommend it for the tele end. It can be paired with the Sony 16-55 or Tamron 17-70 or Sigma 18-50 for a 2 lens optically fantastic setup.
If you need a light travel lens I can also recommend the Sony 18-135 f3.5-f5.6 it is not so fast but has good image quality and is light and portable with a big zoom range.
It sits on my camera for 90% of the time especially during traveling.
I have the Sigma 16mm F1.4 and not a fan. I mostly use my camera when traveling, but this lens is too big and heavy for that. I prefer zooms for traveling, as i only bring one or two lenses and primes rarely make the cut. I wanted to use it for astro, but I don't like it. It has bad coma (wings on stars in the corners). I recently bought the Sony 11mm F1.8 and it fixes most of the issues I have with the Sigma, I wanted an astro lens that is tiny, so I don't mind bringing it on trips.
I agree about the size, I wish it was smaller and lighter. The Sony 11mm is excellent, one of my favorites.
Right there with you. I own the same four you do (haha you've had far too much of an influence on my collection). I'm not surprised, honestly- the sigma quartet and 18-50 are near legendary in the APSC space, and when it comes to pricing, Sony just doesn't come close. I don't use the 55-210 so much, but I did get it for a song used, and was actually able to get some decent eclipse footage with it! But I think the current King is the viltrox 27/1.2. It is nearly peerless in it's image quality- I can't find another lens I've enjoyed shooting b/w with- (the 75mm 1.2 is also great, but a bit too close to be as versatile). I'm actually on my third 27mm (1st was stolen, second one dropped and broke).
Can you share any lens you have?
There are two huge advantages of the Sony 15/1.4 over the Sigma 16/1.4:
-It's literally half the size and weight
-You get waaaay better video stabilization on an a6700/FX30 because only Sony lenses really work with Active Steadyshot. Active Steadyshot with a Sony lens is ultra smooth and stable, almost gimbal like. With Sigma lenses, on the other hand, you only get IBIS stabilization which is shaky and jerky for video in motion.
Are you sure the improvement of IBIS with Sony lenses includes superiority over primes? I thought this problem only applied to third party zooms?
Yes I’m super sure. I have try with sigma 18-50, sigma 23, sigma 16 but only with my Sony 16-55 and sony 15 f 1.4 the active stab is another world. With Sony lens I don’t need a gimbal or gyroflow. I don’t know why but it is the true
@@guidoambrosi4413 wow! I’m glad you’re sharing this as there are conflicting reports on whether primes work with active stabilization. Would you post any of your comparisons?
@@TimothyGordon tomorrow if I can I'll make a video with the sigma 23 and the sony 16-55 at 23mm handheld with active stab on both on my channel
@@guidoambrosi4413 that’s incredibly generous. Thank you kindly in advance.
The 50mm F1.8 Sony lens had a firmware update one time that fixed many of its problems. I have one and updated it and it is much better with the firmware update. But its not perfect but still helped.
I have multiple lenses but on my last trip I just used 2 of them: The Tamron 18-300 for the use in daylight and the Sony 11/1.8 for some nice star pictures at night with 30 seconds exposure. The 11/1.8 is a really nice lens and a bargain for just 350 €.
i just used my 55-210 this weekend, since i wanted a small telephoto lens for my a6100 (my main focus was 16-35 on my full frame). surprisingly, i took a lot of photos with the 55-210 and they were fine at f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/1000 (sunny day), the bird shots looked sharp enough. it's not going to compete with my sigma 70-200 2.8, but the shots came very close. but yeah, the lens goes to crap once the golden hour kicks in. that's where i need f/4 or 2.8.
There's a firmware update for the FE 50mm f1.8 that apparently solved the slow AF. Mine was updated out of the box. Can't say I noticed any hunting. It's not as fast as some other lenses for sure but it's a great light full frame lens! Especially when you can get it on a warehouse deal. I got mine mint for a hundred bucks 😅
Good to know! And wow, for a hundred bucks that is a steal!
How does one go about upgrading the firmware of their lenses? Not for me but for someone else. A friend. They go to a different school.
@@MegiddoTheImmaculate It’s through the camera using USB obviously with the lens on it
I have 3 lenses that I always have in my bag: sigma 18-50; sigma 56mm; sony 70-350. Thanks to this I have a very wide range of focal lengths at hand 😁
I personally would go for the 10-18 Sigma, with the Tamron 17-70 and Sony 70-350. And they all have the same filter size too, which I love for landscape.
@@Eikenhorst always nice to have a lens that specializes in portraits,, and you just can't beat a prime for that.
@@jeremyg9305 I generally don't deal with portraits :P I just do so as travel photography and then I don't want to blur the background out too much, the 17-70 certainly is enough for that use for me.
I got the Sony 18-105 f/4 and it has been a great lens for the a6700. It is a power zoom with OSS so it also is great with the ZV-E10
I have the Sigma 18-50, Tamron 17-70, Sony 70-350 and Sigma 16mm and all these lenses a tack-sharp and of great quality.
What I'm missing is an APSC-equivalent to the Tamron 35-150 f2-2.8mm or a refurbished Sony 18-105 f4 maybe as f2.8 like the current Sigma fullframe. Maybe Viltrox is interested in such APS-C whitespaces - its f1.2 lenses are enrichments for the APS-C world I would have expected from Sony.
Best Regards
Simon
I am personally hoping for a APSC equivalent for Tamrons fantastic FF travel lens 28-200 f2.8-f5.6.
Either they could make it smaller for 18-130 f2.8-f5.6 APSC or keep the size and make it 18-130 f2-f4.5 APSC.
The image quality is better than the Sony 18-135 f3-5-f5.6 and it lets in more light either way
Picked up a used sigma 16 f1.4 yesterday, cant wait to use it tonight with my friends!! My first and only other lens is the sigma 18-50 f2.8. Nice video, Arthur!
Such a fantastic lens and certainly a great investment, I've been using it steadily since 2017
Confused between 16mm 1.4 and 23mm 1.4 sigma. Any suggestions ?
It's crop so 16 is actually 24 and 23 is actually 34.5. I like the 16 cause it's wide and let's in a lot of light. It can take some real good landscapes@@PuneethSrinivas
@@rhysjones8506
No doubt 👍👍👍
I think I have a poor collection of overlapping lenses. Sony 35mm 1.8, Sigma 18-50 2.8, Sony 18-105 F4 G OSS. Trying to cancel if any but use case scenario I ends up using all of them sometimes or somewhere on my Sony A6400. The thing is I recently got A7iv with 85mm 1.8 and I use my 18-50 on Full frame with superb result. For going wide with wide aperture I use 35mm on A7iv in low light with 50mm equivalent, still manageable than 85mm 1.8. Now I am planning to get either FX-30 or 6700. Need to watch more videos for mind making. Thanks Arthur for the video. Love from 🇮🇳 India
Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 in crop is 75mm Focal View which makes a great Portrait Lens for Full Frame and APSC. Started with the A6100 and my camera ownership for Sony is getting out of hand. Starting to run out of room. Cheers!
I guess it’s all preference. I returned my sigma 18-50 and got a used tamron 17-70 for really cheap that was hardly used. I prefer the extra reach of the tamron. And the tamron is sharper at the edges and in the center depending on the zoom range. Still have my old Sony 18-135 lens which is a great lens but I’m thinking maybe trying tamrons 18-300 now.
What your missing is that the 16mm is the defacto recommended streamer lens for apsc Sony users. The streamer market is the main driver of it.
I didnt know that, but its not surprising!
Yea I use it as a webcam which is totally overkill but the quality is great
got tamron 70 300 f4.5 6.3 at $333 from amazon. Man, that is hell of a lens, great sharpness, light and better than 55 210
I had the 16 1.4 sigma for a few months... I bought an A7R5 and a 24 F1.4 Gm... then ended up getting a 12-24GM F2.8 that I prefer, I go on weekly road trips to remote areas for my job and hated leaving like $6k in camera gear in my work car, so I was going to use the sigma 16 1.4 and my old A6000 as my kinda in car kit, but after getting used to full frame I decided to dump the A6000/16 1.4 in favor of an A7III with the sony 24 1.4GM... still like $1600 in gear in street value, but thats still better than leaving my work car with $6k in gear
I have 2 lenses from your list, although both are leaving home on Monday... Sigma 30mm 1.4 has been a brilliant lens, the 55-210mm has done solid duty too. But I've finally bit the bullet and gone Tamron 17-70mm and Sony 70-350mm, keeping my Viltrox 56mm 1.4 and Macro lenses though! Have a Meike 12mm Manual for Astro, but it isn't brilliant, next on the 'to-go' list 🤣Great video idea, Arthur, with some great photos to boot!
Thanks. Just added the Sigma 16mm to my wishlist 😎👍
0:54 S. B. Wiser really got done dirty.
😂😂😂 good eye 👍🏻
QUESTION: Arthur, what functionality or general benefit do you get from, as you said, having an ND filter permanently on the Sigma 18-50 mm? I ask because I have carefully selected three lens to lend to my son, aged 22, going for the first time to Rome and other places in Italy in December. I am lending him my Sony a6700 camera with the Sigma 18-50 mm, Sony 15 mm, and Sigma 56 mm. He loves shooting architecture, art and landscapes. I had not thought to include any filters, though I have a range of them for different purposes. Thanks, interesting video, and yes, what is selling best tends from this video to be what is lower priced. I have the Sigma 16 mm and it is superb for my indoor video essay recording. Outdoors (and indoors for a dinner party last week) the Sony 15 mm is a pricey gem, no colour cast, sharp, light and with the many benefits of an aperture ring.
Most likely because he uses it for video and not photos.
For video, the 180-degree rule that most people go by means you want your shutter speed set to half of your frame rate. With 4k 24fps you'd want about 1/50 shutter, but especially if you want f/2.8 aperture, even 100 ISO might be over exposed. The variable ND lets you expose properly without having to stop down your aperture or increase your shutter speed. I use it mostly for photography so I can use f/1.2 or 1.4 in outdoor daylight, which would normally be overexposed even at minimum shutter speed and ISO. Also, you should try a circular polarizing filter for landscapes and architecture as it helps with certain light off reflective surfaces and skies.
@@Thirsty_FoxThank you! Tomorrow I will text the ND filter ideas for video on the Sigma 18-50 which as you know is f/2.8. I will also test with a circular polariser photographing architecture and ocean waters on the Sony 15 mm f/1.2. If a filter works in either case then off the filters too will go to Italy!
@@noricd The circular-polarized filters work best with light that is 90-degrees angle from the sun. Try it out and make sure to rotate the filter to see how the results change. In some lighting situations it won't change anything but in those cases it doesn't hurt to have it on, anyways. Have fun!
I have all of them except for the full frame Sony 50 mm that I use on my Sony a6700
Do you reccomended the 70-350?
@@drr5117 I have the 70-350 Sony and its really nice. Very solid.
@@drr5117I meant that I had 4-5 that Arthur mentioned. The 70-350 does look good I have also had my eye on that. What I want is the full frame Sigma 28-105 to put on my a6700. That lens looks awesome but pricey
Kind of seems that on the cheaper end Sony has just been riding out lenses until they're discontinued. The APSC 16-50mm kit lens is a good example. Sony didn't really do much to the lens in the most recent update a few months ago, to address some of the sharpness issues people were complaining about, and that WAS an opportunity for them to make a better kit lens, but they apparently didn't care. Now they have updated some other lenses as well but those are higher-end FF lenses like some of their GM line lenses.
This is an excellent idea for a video. The buying public chooses wisely to get the most bang for the buck. Personally I don’t own these, but that’s because I use modern aperture ring primes. Maybe someday somebody will review these classic designs.
Would love to see a review of power zooms for Sony apsc and focusing on the zoom for video and quality performance
Would love to see a comparison between the Sony 70-350 vs the Tamron 18-300!
For the 50mm I think the Yongnuo YN 50mm f1.8 is a better chioce than the Sony 50F18. At first, it is cheap, it has autofocus, and the picture quality is surpirsingly good considerint its price. Yes I know, it is not at the level of a Sigma, but for that price it easily beat that Sony 50F18, both in picture quality and in autofocus. Since I own one Yongnuo, I only had one focus miss with my A6000 and considering that I used to photograph fast moving subject (trains) a lot it is quite good.
I’m reviewing that lens soon! I’m excited to see how it is.
Great to see the SEL55-210 again! I´ve shot a few thousand helicopter/aircraft, motorsports photos with it on my A6300.
Optically sharper at f/4.5 than my SEL35/1.8 (which i bought bc of f/1.8 + OSS)
The SEL35/1.8 is not sharp at all (even stopped down to let´s say f/3.2 of 4.5) and C-AF misses faces more often than the 55-210.
It shows that for most people price is more important than quality. The Sony 50 mm f1.8 and the Sony 55-210 are absolute garbage. But they are cheap, so people buy it.
True, most photographers are hobbyists, so it makes sense not to spend that much money. (And if you're broke like me, just use manual lenses :/)
They are not garbage
I would say price and size are the main factors not how fast it is or how good the af on those are.
Interesting- I guess aps-c is not dead! I own all those top five lenses. I second your endorsement about the stellar Viltrox PRO lenses . They are on another level and I was willing to overlook their weight/price once I saw the results that came out of out of the camera.
All these lenses deserve to be best sellers.
I have the Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS, the rest of my lenses weren't on your list.
If you can ignore the slow and loud af, the FE 50MM f/1.8 is actually a good lens for everyday use
Sony needs to make a higher end 50 1.8, maybe in the G series. Something with quick autofocus. Their only G offering is a 50 2.5
Here is another thankfull viewer who bought the Sigma 16mm. First exclusively for nightsky photography but it became a landscape and streetlens very fast.
The 16mm lens on apsc is the perfect focal length for me. Landscape, travel, street, and you don't even have to focus perfectly most of the time. But I do not like the size of the sigma 1.4. I would prefer it if it was 2.8 or something and half that size. It really looks intimidating when you direct it to people. I guess it's a vlog lens more than a street lens. I also prefer the 16-55 than the 18-50 for the same reason. Those two mm make a big difference on the wide end. But damn sony glass is expensive...
If Sony could manufacture a second version of the 18-105mmF/4 G OSS 30% lighter with sharper edges on the corners, I would be extremely happy..That lens really covered everything still and video well, but it was such a burden to haul around
Can't believe the sigma 56 isn't on this list. imo the best apsc lens
Agreed, the size and performance is hard to beat.
I’m surprised none of the Tamron 24 & 35 or the Samyang 45 & 75 FE lenses are on the list as they all offer great value for money, especially the Tamron duo which are weather sealed and offer 2:1 Macro as well.
One item that wasn't hit upon is how good the Sony 50 1.8 FE is on infrared modified cameras.
Thanks!
If I want a lens for food photo/video for restaurants and stuff what would you recommend
I would recommend two. A 90mm Macro (Sigma or Sony), and a general F2.8 zoom (24-70 on FF or 16-50 on APSC).
Nice vid 👌🏻
I got
Sigma 18-50
Sigma 30 1.4
Sony 55-200
All good and compact 👌🏻
Nice review. Also try budget lenses review.
I recognized the Seawall at Okinawa right away!😂
The casual camera buyer choose the cheaper lenses setting marks at 1000$. Body and 1 or 2 additional lenses. The ones watching your videos have at least 1 body and 3-10 lenses 😊
Shocked the viltrox 56mm f1.7 isnt on the list great lil lens.
Surprised you didn't mention the Sony 50mm f/1.8 oss aps-c it's a great little lens. I bought mine before the Sigma 56mm was available in New Zealand
It is difficult to understand that the 55-210 is popular. I owned one years ago and to sell it almost like new I had to go down to 80 $ to get rid of it.
No one should buy it new but for under $200 if you are just starting out it is a fun zoom lens to play with and learn from. Then sell for what you paid for it as you get better.
Smart idea for a video.
Sigma 18 50 2.8 is one of my favorite
Rather use the Sony E 50mm F/1.8 oss than the Sony FE 50mm F/1.8
Agreed. For APSC, the E 50mm F1.8 OSS is a much better option.
You missed the tamron 70 300 f 4.5-6.3 which is the best value for money telephoto, with great optics
there alot of lenses for sony e-mount, but no good modern compact f4 zoom, except zeiss 16-70. So my lense No1 is Zeiss 16-70, but I am still hope for tamron or sigma f4 zoom.
This is true. A more compact 18-105 with modern optics would be great.
0:59 Urghhh even with the little noise from the kit lens, this is much more terrible
Hey! Do you recommend the sigma 23mm f1.4 or the sigma 16mm f1.4?
I have both and find I use the 16mm probably 2-3x as often.
@@ArthurR Thank you 🙏
Haha I remember that cringy skit😂 It was quite funny 😂
I’m planning on upgrading from the kit lens on a a6300. Considering the Tamron 17-70 vs. a combo of sigma 18-50 + Sony 55-210. Any thoughts on that?
Sony 18-105 f4 and sony 35 f1.8 oss would be the best combo for me. Buy these two. Or keep your kit lens and buy sony 70-350.
I wish Sigma made an Mk. II version of the 30mm F1.4. It's a good lens, but not as excellent as its siblings. Unfortunately that won't happen for many more years, as the right time for an upgrade would have been the recent Canon RF-S mount release 😔
I dont know, Sigma has funny timelines with lens releases, I wouldnt be surprised if they did a Mark II soon, but who knows. Im hoping they give us an F2.8 50-135mm first.
@@ArthurR oh yes that‘s the Lens I‘m waiting for, too!
16-55 is is the best for APS-C :)
Make 18-300 vs 70-350 comparison vifeo??
Is it a problem when i buy a a6400 with the sigma 18-50mm for photography with no Stabilisation?
No, not for me, anyway. The only time I feel that i NEED stabilization is with telephoto lenses.
Hmm, in my opinion the best lenses for Sony apsc are: Sony 16-55 f2,8; Viltrox 27 f1,2 and Viltrox 75 f1,2.
It would be pleasure if you line up fe lenses / e lenses only
Imao my best lenses are sony 35mm f1.4 gm samyang 50mm f1.4ii sigma 85mm f1.4 dgdn sigma 28-70mm f2.8 c
sigma 16mm f1.4 c sigma 30mm f1.4 c sony 50mm f1.8 oss sigma 18-50mm f2.8 c
Great video, Arthur, thanks for sharing! Quite surprised the SONY 50mm FE made the list, that thing is kind of trash.
What about sigma 23mm 1.4
My guess is that it is a bit on the pricey side for a sigma quartet lens, so sales arent as high. If it was around $400 instead of $550, it would sell a lot better.
Sony really needs to update their 50mm f1.8
Unfortunately these are the lenses that the majority of users can afford, that is the only reason people keep buying them!
Not really, the sigma lenses are actually very good and I own the 18-50 2.8 and the 56 1.4 and very pleased with them
If you want your pics/memories printed and posted online to look good, spending $800 for 2 Lenses to take care of everything for a decade is affordable..
@@alexm1126 True, maybe, I haven't had any Sigma lenses but I have seen great work from a lot of people using these lenses, not arguing that! I am embarrassed to say for how long I have been saving money to be able to buy the Sony 50f1.4. A truly great lens when it is being compared to any other 50mm I have ever used, even the colours are better and different from any Sony brand 50mm. After that lens I said to myself to keep the camera body for as long as it works and spend my money on getting only G and GM lenses!
@@knucklesandwich6117Very good logic, I cringe when people travel the world with their mobile phone camera, to only find out they arnt able to zoom in as pixels are noticeable, it's so important to have a good canera.
@@alexm1126yea I have the sigma 16 and it's such a good lens. Moving from the kit lenses to the sigma was a massive step. I think sigma are just a great option for Sony apsc even ignoring the price
hell yeah!
I would never recommend that 55-210. Total garbage! Even if you want something cheap, you can get some really nice Tamron's 2nd hand for a little bit more. Sadly the 1st gen Tamron 70-300 or 70-180 has no VC, but the 18-300 does have VC and you can find those used at a really good price. I would also say the Sony 18-135 is one of the best kit lenses for the A6000-6400 camera's and are dirt cheap 2nd hand. 2nd hand market is a goldmine, if you know what to look for. I use Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell a lot of my gear.
In controlled situations with good/enough light the 55-210 can make some great photos. But don’t expect to crop your images much because when you do so to get closer to your subject there’s a lot of resolution/IQ loss.
I would pick the 18-105 over the 18-135 because it to a consistent f/4 while zooming
Price already went up dramatically 😢 on the 50mm 1.8
That's crazy! extra $50 for no reason!
Tamron 18-300mm VS Sony 70-350mm?
The Sony 55-210 is crap, not sharp and too dark. I have the 16-50 pancake kit and it is very compact but not sharp. I love the Tamron 17-70 2.8, my most used lens for video and general. I also use the Samyang 75mm 1.8, razor sharp. For indoor portraits the Sigma 56 1.4 is unbeatable. I have recently purchased the Tamron 11-20 2.8 and 70-180 2.8 V2 FF to complement the Tamron 17-70....
I want the Sigma 18-50! Gonna have to trade some lenses in
Its worth every penny. Such an amazing lens for its size and price.
Sold my Sigma 16mm F1.4 and my Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS for it and never looked back!
Dont buy the 50 F1.8 and 55-210....cheap lenses are just followed by so much regret
Sad to see people buying that 50. The Viltrox 40/2.5 is much better, and cheaper too!
Im still testing that lens for an upcoming video, but so far it is impressive!
2023/2024: have to pay 200 for a basic 50 1.8 😂