Whether you are staying close to home or hitting the road or for your big summer vacation, Sigma has a great advice for which lens, camera, and flash may be right for you!
Best Bet Lens for Beaches and Boardwalks
This fast-aperture standard zoom is a great one-lens choice for a weekend down the shore that’s wide enough for sunrise and long enough to zoom in on rides at the boardwalk. On the beach, you don’t want to change lenses if you don’t have to, because, well, sand, sea spray and such, and on the boardwalk, you don’t want to be lugging a whole camera bag. Faster apertures and Optical Stabilizer works to keep sharp shots at slower shutter speeds around sunrise and sunset, without a tripod on this Contemporary lens designed exclusively for DSLRs with APS-C size sensors.
Want an F2.8 constant-aperture zoom lens covering a similar range? The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 IF EX DG HSM is a full-frame standard zoom, and the 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM covers the same range for smaller DSLRs and offers Optical Stabilization.
Best Long-reach Lens in Compact Package for Birds, Wildlife and Sports
Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3
The Sigma 150-500mm F5-.6.3 is a supertelephoto zoom lens with a great range for wildlife, on-field and off-shore sports, and it does it all while weighing in at just about four pounds and under a foot long in a camera bag. Optical Stabilizer means you can skip the tripod and still keep shots sharp at slower shutter speeds. Zoom versatility lets you recompose and reframe in an instant. This lens is a favorite among birders and backpackers because of its reach, range, and of course, overall optical performance.
Want the same 500mm telephoto reach, but a wider angle at the wide end? Check out the 50-500mm F5-6.3, a 10x zoom covering standard to supertelephoto focal lengths!
Best Lenses for Taking in the Sweeping Vistas
8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC, 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC or 10-20 F4-5.6 EX DC, 12-24mm F3.5-4.5
Ultrawide lenses can make the most dramatic of landscapes even more breathtaking with sweeping fields of view that make the sky, sea and earth seriously pop from the page. Lakes and Oceans, the Southwest and the high Mountains are all ripe for capture through an ultrawide zoom. Photographers using APS-C DSLRs have an 8-16mm, a and a pair of 10-20mm ultrawides to choose from. Full-frame photographers can take it all in with the outstanding 12-24mm zoom.
Want to go even wider? Consider a diagonal fisheye lens which takes in 180º with curved field distortion.
Best Bet for Fast, Sharp Primes for Compact Interchangeable Lens Cameras
19mm F2.8 DN | A, 30mm F2.8 DN | A, 60mm F2.8 DN | A
Compact interchangeable lens cameras like the Sony E-mount and Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus are equally adept at capturing stills and video. Sigma offers three F2.8 DN lenses in the Art line, a 19mm F2.8, a 30mm F2.8 and 60mm F2.8. Each of these lenses is exceptionally sharp and offers whisper-quiet autofocus that never intrudes on video segments. The 60mm F2.8, in particular, is great for capturing on-stage performances.
Best Bet on a Budget to Add Telephoto Reach
The Sigma 70-300mm DG is one of the best-sellers in the Sigma lineup because it is so budget friendly and allows for much more reach and range than the bundled kit lens. The longer focal range lets enthusiastic beginners better fill the frame with birds and other subjects a bit farther afield at a truly wallet-friendly price. And it offers macro capture at 300mm for getting started with high magnification ratio close-up capture. It’s a great next lens for the enthusiastic high school–even eighth grade–grad!
Want Optical Stabilizer in a similar lens? The 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG OS skips macro capture mode to instead offer Optical Stabilization for sharp shots at slower shutter speeds.
The Best All-around LensYou Can Buy for Your Canon EOS Rebel or Nikon DX-format Camera
18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Macro
Respected review site DPReview.com recently called the Sigma 18-250mm all-in-one zoom lens “the best-rounded general-purpose SLR lens currently on the market.” It packs maximum versatility into a very compact design, covering wide angle, to telephoto, plus macro, and includes Optical Stabilizer, so you can skip the tripod even at slower shutter speeds. For a road trip across country, backpacking around Europe by train, or a family adventure to the theme park, this is the all-in-one lens that’s lightweight, compact, and incredibly versatile.
Looking for an even more compact high zoom ratio all-in-one plus macro? The new 18-200mm has been redesigned as a Contemporary lens and offers 11x zoom, plus macro in a lens that’s just about the same size as the basic kit zoom.
The Best F2.8 telephoto Lenses for Sports, Photojournalism and Concert Photography
70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM, 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro, 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S
The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM is a constant-aperture telephoto zoom lens that is a favorite among photojournalism, sports, action, concert and event photographers. The tele focal range, fast F2.8 constant aperture and Optical Stabilizer make it a great on-the-go lens for longer reach with zoom flexibility. The Macro 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM is an exceptionally sharp telephoto prime lens that is perfect for portraiture, sports and short-distance wildlife, and true life-sized reproduction for close-up photography. The focus limiter switch helps speed AF response times in either the macro or distance focusing zones.
Looking for a constant-aperture F2.8 zoom lens with even more reach? The 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S is offered exclusively from Sigma, and offers incredible performance enhancements and adjustments when paired with the USB Dock.
The Ultimate Compact Cameras for the Imaging Purists
The trio of DP Merrill cameras offer outstanding detail and color reproduction and produce beautiful, crisp images with a tactile sense and presence. Each of the DP Merrill cameras pairs a fast F2.8 prime lens, with the Merrill Generation Foveon Direct Image Sensor (APS-C sensor size). These small cameras are designed for the imaging purist and feature an intuitive interface, and full manual, shutter or aperture priority and full program exposure mode. The leaf shutter allows for strobe sync up to 1/2000 second, and dedicated monochrome processing of RAW files in Sigma Photo Pro 5.5 increase the creative potential. The DP1 Merrill packs a 19mm F2.8 lens for wide-angle field of view , the DP2 Merrill offers a 30mm F2.8 lens for a standard field of view, and the DP3 Merrill pairs with a 50mm F2.8 macro for close-up and studio work. Three cameras that perfectly pair prime lenses, and the super-resolution sensor for seriously big-camera feel in a truly portable package.
Want the same incredible sensor in an interchangeable lens DSLR? The Sigma SD1 Merrill pairs the same detail-loving sensor into an SLR body that is compatible with over 40 Sigma lenses, from the 4.5mm Fisheye to the 200-500mm F2.8!
The Best Gift for Macro Photographers Who Already Love Their Close-up Lenses
The Sigma EM-140 DG Ring Flash is a fantastic accessory for photographers who have caught the macro “bug.” This flash attaches to the front of any brand of macro lens and offers full electronic control of the lighting, including left and right lighting ratios, high-speed sync, flash exposure bracketing and more. It is a great addition to the kit of any photographer who frequently captures insects, flowers, and other tiny subjects.
Need a shoe-mount strobe for everyday photography? Check out the EF-610 DG ST and EF-610 DG Super for Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Pentax, and Sony cameras.
Still need more ideas? Check out our Product Finder to discover even more great Sigma lenses and cameras!
Thanks a lot for the info!