The Tour du Mont Blanc has been a 110-mile (170km), 30,000-foot (9,144m) of elevation gain bucket list item for me. The route takes you through France, Italy and Switzerland, and delivers breathtaking views of the Alps. But when you’re trekking for over a week, carrying camera gear can feel like a burden unless you pack extremely efficiently.
SIGMA’s lightweight, APS-C format zoom lenses became essential for capturing the views without weighing me down, while providing great low-light capability and excellent image quality. They were compact, lightweight and versatile. Here’s how they performed on the trail.
Why Weight Matters
SIGMA’s 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary and 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary are small and light, making them ideal to travel with. My total pack weight stayed light and I was still able to snap quality images. Being able to pack both lenses to cover a wide zoom range was a luxury on the trail.
For long-distance hikers, every gram counts. I had a target base pack weight of 13 pounds (6kg), which meant ruthlessly cutting weight wherever possible. My photo gear – these two SIGMA lenses paired with a Sony ZV-E10 – came in at just under 2 pounds (900g), which is impressively light for the quality they deliver.
The 10-18mm: Capturing the Alps
The Tour du Mont Blanc is all about panoramic views, and the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary lens was perfect for capturing the epic landscapes. At 10mm, I could fit entire mountain ranges into a single shot, allowing room for glaciers, ridgelines, and valleys all in the same frame. The wide angle adds a dramatic sense of scale, making the mountains look as grand as they felt. The sharpness was truly impressive, even at the widest focal length. I expected some distortion at 10mm, but SIGMA nailed it per usual, everything stayed crisp and clear.
The 18-50mm: Versatility
While the 10-18mm was great for landscapes, the SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary became my go-to for everything else. Whether I was shooting close-ups of wildflowers, portraits of other hikers, or street scenes in alpine villages, this lens handled it all. The 18-50mm covers the most useful range for everyday shooting. At 50mm, it’s perfect for tighter shots, while the wide end still captures plenty of scenery. The F2.8 aperture was a bonus, allowing for beautiful, creamy background blur in close-ups.
Other Hikers’ Gear
It was interesting to see the range of photography gear (or lack thereof) on the trail. Most hikers relied on their phones or the occasional film camera. A few other lightweight Sony cameras were spotted on the trail. A few day-hikers carried full-frame DSLRs or mirrorless options, but any camera body with a base weight over 1 pound is a hard sell these days for multi-day treks with serious elevation gain.
Optical Quality
Another treat to photographing in the mountains is the way the environment interacts with the intense sun. I’ve always preferred SIGMA lenses based on their optical quality in the studio, but using them in the field was mesmerizing. Whether it was direct sun or a layer of clouds, the gradients and lens flares always felt controlled but natural. The raw files had me turning some color images black and white just to celebrate.
Weathering the Storm
Packing for the mountains introduces the unique challenge of preparing for every season, to usually occur within the same day. We were met with multiple sudden downpours and thunderstorms, intense wind, a heat wave and even late-season snow that put my personal and photo gear to the test. Both lenses were built well enough to remain unaffected by the elements we experienced on the trail. After settling into our backpacking routine, the lack of dirt itself in the camera system was also impressive even after changing lenses frequently.
Why I Stopped Bringing a Camera — and Why I’m Bringing One Again
I used to travel with a hefty Canon 5D Mark II (forever a favorite in terms of optics) and bulky lenses. They took incredible photos, but as phone cameras improved, I found myself leaving the larger gear at home more often. Not to mention they were never even a consideration for long backpacking trips. Carrying a DSLR with heavy glass was too much effort, and I often ended up taking photos on my phone instead — convenient but lacking the quality I wanted. The SIGMA lenses struck the perfect balance of being lightweight enough for long treks, but capable of capturing high-quality images that a phone simply can’t match.
The SIGMA 10-18mm and 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary lenses proved to be ideal companions for the Tour du Mont Blanc. They offered everything I needed to capture the incredible scenery, intimate moments, and fine details, all without the burden of excess weight. For hikers looking to elevate their photography without breaking their backs (or banks), these lenses are game changers.
Grab your lightweight SIGMA zooms!
available for Sony E-mount, L-Mount, Fujifilm X, and Canon RF Mount
A fabulous inspiring article Jillian! I’ve done the wonderful TMB 3x (over 30 years) carrying a compact camera (leaving heavy dslr kit at home). These compact sigma zooms look like game changers for a lightweight aps-c system. Though for backpacking I might still stick with my tiny canon powershot ii which gives 24-120mm quality images with no lens change. Though I love the extra wide angle of the sigma 10-18 – which I’m currently trying with a fuji x-h2 and the new lightweight Fuji 16-50 zoom.