Sigma’s 50-120mm F2.8 is ‘an APS-C legend in the making’ — and a tempting full-frame alternative Timothy Coleman | usagoldmines.com

• Sigma completes its trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses for APS-C cameras
• The 50-120mm lens (75-180mm equivalent) comes to Sony, Canon and Fujifilm from October 22
• It weighs just 13.4oz / 380g and costs $799 / £699 (about AU$1,300)

Sigma has completed a trinity of f/2.8 zooms with the 50-120mm F2.8 DC OS Contemporary — and it proves that you don’t need shoot full-frame to have access to exciting lenses.

Designed for APS-C cameras, the telephoto zoom has an equivalent focal length of 75-180mm, and sits alongside Sigma’s 10-18mm F2.8 and 18-50mm F2.8.

What’s particularly compelling about Sigma’s latest f/2.8 zoom is just how compact, lightweight and affordable it is. It measures just 10cm / 4 inches long, weighs 13.4oz / 380g, and costs $799 / £699 (about AU$1,300).

I already own an incredible full-frame 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zoom, and it’s my most-used lens for professional work. Portraiture, events, sports, even landscape photography — you name it, it can do it all.

That lens is a beast by comparison, however, weighing around 35oz / 1kg. For context, all three of Sigma’s f/2.8 zooms for APS-C cameras combined weigh less and cost less — my full-frame lens cost me north of $2,000 / £2,000, which is around three times the 50-120mm’s price.

With this new lens alone, Sigma has made APS-C cameras more compelling than before — but it’s not good news for all photographers.

The f/2.8 zoom that Sony, Canon and Fujifilm cameras needed — but Nikon misses out

The Sigma 50-120mm F2.8 DC OS Contemporary goes on sale from October 22 in Sony E, Fujifilm X and Canon RF versions. Sony and Canon offer no such lens for their APS-C mirrorless cameras, while Fujifilm has the twice-as-hefty (and pricier) XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR in its range. Nikon photographers, meanwhile, miss out entirely.

There was some consolation for Nikon photographers — Sigma simultaneously announced that its 16-300mm travel zoom is coming to Nikon Z mount. However, we don’t know if the new 50-120mm will make it to the Nikon Z mount.

I haven’t personally tested Sigma’s 50-120mm F2.8 lens, but I have high hopes for it having already tested the ultra-wide 10-18mm F2.8 zoom for Sony and being thoroughly impressed — the new telephoto zoom is seemingly built to the same standard.

Yes, it misses out out that extra reach at the telephoto end, maxing out at 180mm rather than 200mm (and sadly it won’t work with teleconverters to extend the reach), but presumably the thinking behind the focal length range was to make the particularly compact design possible — and that I can get behind.

Telephoto zooms are workhorse lenses, often used on long shoot days. A f/2.8 telephoto zoom that practically fits in the hand and weighs just a third of what I’m used to makes a strong case for APS-C cameras, and it seems that APS-C fans agree — one Reddit thread is already dubbing the lens “an APS-C legend in the making”.