japan – Alwin Kok

Sirui made a big move by launching the trinity prime lenses with 3 different color options for photographers, black, silver, and white. And what an even smarter move is to launch them via a crowdfunding platform. They call them the Sniper series.

Intro

Sirui has been in the photography industry since 2001. That’s a long established brand for over 2 decades. I came to know about this brand when I have searching for a tripod, what about you?

Although Sirui has been here for quite a long time, when it comes to photography lenses, they are still at the “young”/”early” stage. If I remember correctly, they launched their first lens, the 50mm f1.8 1.33x anamorphic lens, in 2019. So how does the Sirui 33mm actually perform?

Design and Build Quality

The plastic-constructed lens is considerably well-built. The black carbon fiber design is pretty nice looking too. At 400 grams, I can feel the weight when I hold it in my hands but lucky it is not bulky, otherwise, it will not be a pleasant experience.

As you can tell, this 58mm filter size lens does not come with any aperture ring. However, those who love to use the focus ring will be very happy because it has a very big surface area for the focus ring.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/12000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/6000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2 . 1/17000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Also, unlike a typical manual ring, this one comes with a 360° rotation angle. As this is an electronic focus ring, I believe this benefits videographer.

The 50mm (in full frame equivalent) comes with a metal rear mount.

Image Quality

Somehow, I am a little disappointed with the optic. At f1.2, the image quality is soft, lacking some contrast and sharpness. Maybe it is the characteristic softness that some photographers love, but this is not my preference. Nonetheless, this experience is similar to those I tested with the typically manual focus lenses but slightly better.

For low-light and indoor situations, it is slightly better with shots taken at wide-open. But you still can see that softness if you pixel-peeped.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f4. 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/9000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f5.6 . 1/640″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

In my opinion, f2 is the sweet spot. The image quality definitely gets better from f2 onwards. Sharpness and contrast are great and better photos usability.

Chromatic aberration is pretty obvious at wide open but on the bright side, the vignetting is mild.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2. 1/100″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2 . 1/1800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

I seldom share about background/foreground blur as the beauty of it is very subjective and personal. The same for bokeh. However, I feel that the blur rendering is somehow not as smooth as I expected from a f1.2. It seems to be forcefully rendered or at least not to my pleasing.

Focusing

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2. 1/150″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/11000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2.8 . 1/1800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

This lens comes with a Stepper Motor (STM), which is silent and pretty fast when there is sufficient contrast. However, be it during the day or under low-light situations, I sometimes experience some focus-pulling, and it takes a few times to get it focused. Also, shooting at wide-open sometimes does have focus pulling. Sometimes it will eventually focus-locked successfully, sometimes it will fail. I think this can be resolved with future firmware updates.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2 . 1/80″ . ISO 1000 . Nostalgic Negative*

The focusing speed between MFD and infinity is okay, and you can feel the difference when you compare it with the XF33mm f1.4.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

At 40cm, this lens does not have the best MFD in my opinion. It is even worse than the Rokinon 35mm f1.2 (@38cm). For your information, XF35mm f1.4 is holding the record of 28cm. Luckily, the image quality doesn’t get any worse at wide-open at its MFD.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/80″ . ISO 1250 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2 . 1/110″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Price Point

It is selling at 456.50 USD on the Sirui website. But if you are getting from B&H, it is 331.55 USD. If you are looking at 3 lens kit, it will be 1304.88 USD and 949.05 USD respectively.

Others

Like most manufacturers, the lens comes with a USB-C port for future firmware upgrades. At least it is not the micro USB found in Meike 85mm f1.8.

Another good point to note is that it comes with a lens hood. The bad point is that the lens hood gives some sort of unpleasant sound that seems like it will break when I try to mount it front-facing. Keeping the lens hood is fine. Strange phenomenal.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2.8. 1/350″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/6400″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2 . 1/30″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Also, the lens cap is thin, making it probably the worst experience I have had with any lenses tested this far. The pinch-to-release area is too narrow for big fingers to pinch and remove the cap without any some level of struggling.

Lastly, this lens does not come with any weather resistance or sealing. I do encounter some drizzling during my shoot, luckily it still works fine.

Who is this for?

This 50mm (in full frame equivalent) lens is a nice focal length that generally covers a lot of genres. Street and portraits are easily some of them.

If you have not owned this focal length before or want to give this focal length a try but do not wish to spend more money, then you may consider getting this lens. If you want a good Trinity lens setup to start your photography journey, this sniper series might be a good choice to kickstart with.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/3800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Left: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2. 1/1600″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f1.2 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative*

Conclusion

This Sniper series is Sirui’s first attempt in the APS-C world and this series really gets a lot of attention and successfully gets the lenses funded in the crowdfunding platform.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f2. 1/900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

In my opinion, this lens is considerably affordable as it comes with a fast but not-so-favorable f1.2 and pretty decent focusing performance. As I mentioned earlier, I think treating this lens as an f2 lens instead of an f1.2 lens will make me feel better. Then f1.2 is a “bonus” when I really need that big aperture, then it is there for me to use it.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sirui 33mm f1.2 @ 33mm . f8. 30″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative* . Crop: 65:24

There is room for improvement with this series, and I hope to see better image quality at wide-open, comes with an aperture ring and probably some form of weather protection.

And yes, this is the first of the 3 Sirui lenses I have reviewed. 2 more to go.

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Capture One.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.

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Reviews

Viltrox 13mm f1.4 – Viltrox’s First Ultrawide Lens for APS-C

April 8, 2024April 8, 2024 Alwin Kok

Viltrox 13mm f1.4 was announced back in January 2022. The lens is well received with many positive feedbacks from many photographers. I also do remember it was a challenge to snap one for my use and eventually, I gave up on getting one during that period. Of course, I eventually managed to buy one from an online platform.

Intro

Viltrox is the first brand that Fujifilm photographers are exposed to the third-party autofocus lens and the rest is history. Today, Fujifilm photographers have always been their first customers. For example, Viltrox 75mm f1.2 Pro and Viltrox 27mm f1.2 Pro were launched in X-mount first before any other mounts.

Left: Viltrox 13mm f1.4 without the lens hood
Right: Viltrox 13mm f1.4 with the lens hood

Viltrox positions its first ultrawide lens uniquely. They are not aiming to be the widest autofocus lens but strike a good balance between “wide” and “fast”. 13mm (19.5mm in full frame equivalent) is not the widest ultrawide lens (XF8mm f3.5 is the widest prime lens in the market ) but it is definitely the fastest one yet (same aperture as XF16mm f1.4).

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative*

I seldom set expectations for a China-made lens, but given the Viltrox improving records, I had a lot of expectations for this lens before getting one for myself. I hope it will fulfill the expectations I set for it.

At this point of writing, this lens comes with an X-mount and an E-mount.

Design and Build Quality

The metal-constructed lens body is great. In my opinion, it is as close as the pro lineup. It comes with a good clicky aperture ring but is not as tactile as the aperture ring found in the pro lineup.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/105″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/450″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/90″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

When holding it on hand, the 420 grams feel lighter as compared to the Viltrox 27mm (560 grams) and Viltrox 75mm (670 grams). I also appreciate that the filter size is 67mm which allows photographers to access various filters without having to pay for more expensive ones.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative*

Image Quality

Image quality is surprisingly great for an ultrawide lens. The results are pretty usable at wide-open. The contrast is good. Corner-to-corner sharpness is fine and the distortion is within my bearable range. As for overall sharpness, it does not give blazer sharpness as compared to the pro lineup but is not too far behind.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/500″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Vignetting is visible at wide-open but acceptable in my opinion. It is not as heavy as I have expected. Chromatic aberration is pretty well-controlled in this lens.

Flares and ghosting are obviously visible from direct sunlight. So beware if you want to avoid these.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/1250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Focusing

From the Viltrox online store, it mentioned that the focusing system is Stepper Motor (STM) + Lead Screw. I have very shallow knowledge and probably it is my first time hearing of “Lead Screw”. So I do some Google study.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.6 . 1/9000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5 . 1/80″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f2.8 . 1/1500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

As far as I can find, there are two types of STM, Lead Screw type and Gear type. The lead screw is bulkier as compared to the gear type but faster and quieter. Gear type is usually found in compact lenses. However, both STMs produce smooth and quiet focusing movement which benefits the videographer.

I guess this is one of the reasons why this lens is big?

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f11 . 1/7″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/280″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/480″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Focus breathing is surprisingly very minimal. A good one for videographers who plan to use this lens for their work.

Focusing performance is great, I have only encountered very few focus-hunting throughout my trip to Japan. The focus speed from MFD to infinity and vice versa is pretty decent for an ultrawide lens. I have no complaint in this.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/420″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

This lens comes with an MFD of 22cm. While there isn’t any benchmark of the exact same focal length from other manufacturers. So I extract what other ultrawide lenses’ MFDs are:

XF16mm f1.4 – 15cm

XF8mm f3.5 – 18cm

Sigma 16mm f1.4 – 25cm

Meike 12mm f2 – 20cm

Meike 10mm f2 – 30cm

TTArtisan 10mm f2 – 25cm

Given some references I have picked up over here, I could say the MFD of the Viltrox 13mm is somewhat average. The good things is that the image quality at MFD still maintain a good quality and not experience some image breakdown like some other lenses.

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/210″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Price Point

In Viltrox online store, it is priced at 630 USD while it is priced at 459 USD in B&H. I think there aren’t any much prime lens competitors. There is only one I can recall and that’s Samyang 12mm f2 and it is priced at about 395 USD. Meanwhile, XF8mm f3.5 is priced at 799 USD.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/2500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/105″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/220″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Others

Like the other Viltrox AF lenses, it comes with a USB port for future firmware updates. In this case, it is a USB-C port.

There is also one thing that sets this lens apart from the pro lineup and that is the lens hood. It comes with plastic quality instead of metal. If this is something you are looking forward to, you might be disappointed.

Who is this for?

Although I always choose prime over zoom lens for street lenses, I prefer a more zoom versatility for ultrawide lenses, for example, Sigma 10-18 f2.8 or Tamron 11-20 f2.8. The reason is that ultrawide focal length is a lot less used in my type of photo genre.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/5800″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Putting my own preferences aside, this lens is suitable for architecture, astrography, cityscape, and landscape. Besides all these genres, this lens is up to your creativity to create.

Oh yes, it can be a good lens for vloggers too.

Conclusion

Although it is not part of the Viltrox “Pro” series category, in my opinion, it is quite on par with the “Pro” series lenses, especially in the image quality and overall performance.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/160″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f1.4 . 1/1000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

If you own both the Viltrox 27mm f1.2 and Viltrox 75mm f1.2 and you do not have an ultrawide lens, I think this lens is a good complement to form the “trinity” lenses from Viltrox. If you are just searching for a great ultrawide prime lens, then this could be it. Because this lens is worth considering.

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/340″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f5.6 . 1/750″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-T5 .Viltrox 13mm f1.4 @ 13mm . f8 . 1/200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing and Lightroom.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
5. Some readers might have noticed that I shoot more at f5.6 and that is because I have never thought of sharing my opinion initially. Since it is my holiday, so I should shoot something that I am more comfortable with.

Reviews

Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 – Probably The Best Travel Companion Lens

January 12, 2024January 12, 2024 Alwin Kok

When Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 DC DN is revealed to the world, by just looking at the focal lengths and the constant f2.8 aperture value, it is a very straightforward indication that this is the lens that compliments and co-exists with the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 DC DN. This is the latest lens joining the Sigma Contemporary series for APS-C cameras. No surprise here, this lens is available for the L-mount and E-mount beside the X-mount.

Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 DC DN Contemporary
Left: @10mm, Right: @18mm

Intro

“Smallest” and “lightest” are the most common words on the headlines in most sites to describe this lens. From the press release images, it looks compact but I have no idea it is that compact until I get to hold one on my hand.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 11.5mm . f2.8 . 1/900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/210″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

“Wow” is the first word that comes out of my mouth and I am impressed by the actual size and weight of this lens. An f2.8 constant aperture lens can be this small and light is something of an engineering marvel. I am truly impressed with the Sigma engineers and their dedication to making such an impressive lens. But how will the image quality and the autofocus system be in such a compact design? The only way to find out is to test it out.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/2900″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/420″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f5.6 . 1/300″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Apart from the Meike 12mm f2, this is another lens I brought with me to my recent Japan holiday trip.

Before I proceed further, I would like to thank Mr Lawson from Sigma Marketing (Singapore) for loaning me this lens for review and Kai for making the arrangements. I appreciate their kind support in making this review a reality.

Design and Build Quality

The lens build is identical to its siblings like the Sigma 18-50mm & Sigma 56mm f1.4, etc. The same minimalistic look profile and also without the aperture ring. Yes. I do miss the aperture ring.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

The lens is made of “Thermally Stable Composite” (TSC) polycarbonate material, which gives a lightweight yet very high-quality and well-built lens body. Polycarbonate material is probably one of the best plastic materials on the market at this point in time.

When I held the lens for the first time, I noticed that the focal length starts at the tele end (@18mm) instead of at the widest focal length (@10mm). This is a similar approach to the Tamron 11-20mm f2.8, which practically makes sense as the tele-end will be the most used focal length most of the time. In this case, 18mm is a very usable focal length for street photography.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 11.9mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 11.7mm . f2.8 . 1/120″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/40″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Negative*

For a note, the lens is zoomed out by extending a little bit at 10mm. It does not bother me throughout my testing period.

The 15mm to 28mm (in full frame equivalent) comes with a filter size of 67mm and it is surprisingly small for the ultrawide lens. With the combination of 250 grams (other mounts have slightly different weights), this lens is really lightweight and very suitable to be a traveling lens.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 16.9mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/1250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

There are rubber sealings in this lens to provide dust and splash-resistant. Having said that, I am not the person who dares to push the boundary and fight against the weather with my camera gears. After all, this is a nice touch for Sigma to provide this for all the contemporary lenses for the X-mount.

Like other contemporary lenses, it has a metal rear mount bayonet. And also, it is made in Japan.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 14.6mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negativ*e

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/20″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 160 . Nostalgic Negative*

Image Quality

The image quality is exceptionally good for an ultrawide lens. At wide-open, the sharpness and contrast are great throughout the focal lengths. The images that I take are very usable and I have no complaints with the image quality department.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Negativ*e

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 16.9mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/250″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative*

If you are picky, distortion at the widest end can be observed but is minimal (or maybe it is corrected by the camera). Chromatic aberration is pretty well-controlled or I should say I do not observe any during my shoots. At f2.8, vignetting is there but not as heavy as I thought. In my opinion, it is fairly well-controlled and it is pretty okay for my consumption.

As for the sun star, it forms pretty well with sharp edges but it also introduces flares as well. It seems more to me like the characteristic of the lens but others might think otherwise. Nevertheless, if you do not want to have flares, avoid facing the sun or a strong direct light source.

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f22 . 1/100″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
*Right: Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f22 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative*

Focusing

When comes to focusing performance, it is not fair to compare with the new generation XF prime lenses like the XF23mm f1.4 WR, so I will just base it on my personal experiences.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 13.9mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/420″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

In my opinion, the lens’ focusing performance is pretty fast, silent, and snappy by today’s zoom lens standard. The stepping motor does a great job and I find that the focusing speed is very consistent even at night and pretty high accuracy rate too. But I do experience some misfocus but it is really rare. If I remember correctly, it’s just 2-3 times.

The lens breathing is also at its minimal for both 10mm and 18mm. This is great if videographers plan to use this for their work.

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

When comes to MFD, oftentimes there are two MFD values for a zoom lens and this is no exception for this lens as well.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/450″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/4700″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/6000″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

At 10mm, it can go as close as 11.6cm. To put that into practicality, the front lens is basically close to touching the shooting subject. It is that close and I often cast a shadow on the subject that I wanted to shoot.

At 18mm, 19.1cm is the MFD and it is slightly better than the XF18mm f1.4 20cm MFD.

Overall, I am glad that the image quality still maintains quite well at both MFDs.

Price Point

This lens is selling at 599 USD. With this price point, it can easily become one of the lenses in consideration.

For comparison, XF10-24mm f4 WR is selling at 999 USD and Tamron 11-20mm 829 USD. How can one resist such a price point? I have to say it is a great price point and Sigma is really good at pricing their products well.

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negativ*e
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negativ*e

Others

One interesting thing about this lens is the lens hood. Sigma has a newly developed push-on petal-type lens hood. This new mechanism is so much more convenient and faster than the traditional lens hood mounting method.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 17.3mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/3200″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

But one might wonder how durable is it as compared to the traditional one. For this, I also wish to know the answer but I also know I dare not try to do a lens drop test. Nonetheless, I hope to see more lenses using this approach to make easy for photographers.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 13.9mm . f2.8 . 1/30″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 1000 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 16.1mm . f2.8 . 1/80″ . ISO 1600 . Nostalgic Negative*

One can’t help but compare Tamron 11-20mm and Sigma 10-18mm. Both have their pro and cons but end of the day, it depends on the photographer which one he/she prefers to use. I have my answer but I will keep it on my own.

Also, updating lens firmware is the same as how we update the firmware for Fujifilm. Download the firmware from Sigma’s official website, transfer it to the SD, and update the lens firmware.

Who is this for?

With this lens’ ultrawide zoom versatility, genres like landscape, cityscape, street, architecture, and astrography are the common ones. And not forgetting, the traveling genre too!

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f8 . 1/280″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 18mm . f3.6 . 1/100″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f2.8 . 1/170″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Conclusion

As a street photographer, I like this lens for having 18mm at its tele-end and it is a more commonly used focal length for street photography which does not make me lose out on most of my street shots. When I need to take some much wider shots, it gives me the flexibility to go wider than 18mm. This is something I appreciate when traveling overseas.

*Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 10mm . f5.6 . 1/340″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 17.3mm . f5.6 . 1/640″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-T5 . Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 @ 13.9mm . f5.6 . 1/110″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

With the current Sigma 10-18mm and Sigma 18-50mm, these 2 lenses make the best companion for travelers. With a combination of 15 to 75mm, both lenses covered most of my needs for travel. Not forgetting that compact and lightweight (a total of 535 grams for both lenses) play an important part in the overall travel experience.

I have been thinking Sigma has been planning to cover the tele zoom range as well, making a trinity f2.8 zoom lens covering most photographers needs. Plus, the recent rumors about Sigma planning to release the 50mm to 135mm (or 140mm), makes me strongly believe that this is going to happen.

Nevertheless, I really like this lens and I think I will get this lens for my own usage.

Thank you for reading.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

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travel

Looking back my Japan trip in monochrome

December 31, 2021January 2, 2022 Alwin Kok

It was a blink of an eye that 2 years has passed since my last overseas holiday trip. It was in November 2019 and then covid-19 begans. Friends who know me and follow my Instagram are kinda irate about me sharing my belated Japan trip photos since early this year. (It is coming to an end… Soon…) People who love Japan wish to visit Japan as soon as the border is open, so am I. But this is not my point in this post.

The reason why I write this post is that it is going to be my last post in 2020 and I think it is a good opportunity to revisit some of my shots taken during my Japan trip. I pick some of the photos that I think are the essence of what Japanese is like in my own eyes and edit them in monochrome. (You can look for these shots in colours via my IG posts.)

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Some of the shots are slightly edited in Lightroom Classic to my preferences. Otherwise, the shots are straight out of the camera.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.

Thank you for reading.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you like my content and you want to show some support, you can buy me a coffee here.

Tag: japan

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Looking back my Japan trip in monochrome