Sigma 24mm f1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro is one of the EX Series lenses. This lens has a fast F1.8 maximum aperture with macro focusing capability of minimum focusing down to 18cm/7.1inches (reproduction ratio 1:2.7). The iris diaphragm has 9 diaphragm blades to obtain beautiful out of focus image. It incorporates the floating focus system and uses two aspherical lens elements for minimizing distortion and spherical aberration and astigmatism. Internal focus system eliminates front lens rotation, thus allowing the use of a Perfect Hood and the easy use of polarizing filters. The lens incorporates non-vignetting optical construction, in order to obtain adequate peripheral brightness even at open aperture. This is desirable for digital cameras. The lens also incorporates dual-focus mechanism. It is easy to hold the lens, since focusing ring does not rotate during auto-focus, and yet it provides adequate focusing torque of the focusing ring during manual focusing of the lens. The lens materials used in this lens are lead and arsenic free ecological glass.

Technical Details

-Large f1.8 aperture wide-angle lens for close-up photography
-Macro photography at minimum focusing down to 7.1 inches
-Super multi coating reduces flare and ghosting
-Aspherical lens complex reduces number of component lenses for a compact size
-9 diaphragm blades for beautiful out-of-focus images in the foreground and background
See more technical details

 "Value Proposition" 2010-05-21
By David Garfinkel
Fast lenses and fourthirds usually dont go together in the same sentence, barring the a few of the ultra expensive zuiko zooms and the 50mm macro (hunter). This is a great lens for a great price. As an Oly user I dont feel its worth it to spend 1k or more on a pro quality lens when the bodies, as much as I love them are lagging behind the glass. This sigma is a good choice for a wide portrait lens but i wouldnt say its really a macro, not when compared to my nikkor 55mm 2.8 that gives me 1:1 with crop factor.

The quality of this piece is great and it really feels like a real lens. I know smaller and lighter is the point but this is a big piece that feels solid as any Nikkor. A bit loud but at a wedding who cares. Great colors, sharp or sharper than the Zuiko 50mm f2, and just a great buy all together.

Go Sigma for taking a chance on fourthirds! There are not enough reasonable choices unless you use converters and vintage glass as Ive been doing for the past several years.

I would recommend this lens for anyone who wants a fast good old school feeling prime for parties, general wides, bouquets (tough to get with the extra dof you get from the fourthirds sensor).


Great buy!


 "great for the money" 2010-01-25
By digital flower (CT, US)
Bought this lens last year and love it. It is way better than I thought it was going to be. Does great on my D700 and D70s.


 "Great wide angle prime from Sigma!" 2009-09-27
By Luving it (Seaside, CA USA)
Use it on Canon 5D.

Pro:

1. Build quality. Much better than the regular Canon primes. Similar to Sigma 20 1.8
2. Smooth and accurate MF ring.
3. Very quick AF speed. Not as assuring as USM but good enough in most situation including inside low light coffee shops.
4. Very sharp, 2.8 and up, sharper than my Sigma 20/1.8. Nice color and contrast too.
5. Great close focus distance and macro potential.
6. Fantastic price - got an excellent 2nd hand copy from KEH for $250+.

Neutral:

No HSM on this EX lens, same as the other two of Sigma's wide angle prime trio: 20/1.8 and 28/1.8.

Con:

Like the 20/1.8, wide oepn it's dark and blurry, much worse than the Canon 50/1.4 at f1.4. Use only in emergency situation. But it's great after 2.8.

Bottom line:

A fantastic wide prime from Sigma with great macro capacity at a extremely attractive price! 24mm is perfect for indoor close range shots and outdoor wide landscape shots. Based on my personal experience, primes are so much better than zooms, Canon L included. The primes are far more consistent, ligith weight, and better IQ (color, sharpness, contrast, much less distortion and light fall off). Most of the primes I have don't even have those fancy special glasses in them, unlike my L zooms. And a lot cheaper too. Only if Sigma could produce cheap 300mm primes like they do in the wide end...




 "Favorite Lens thus over, even over L" 2009-06-01
By Michael Catacutan
This is by far one of my most favorite lenses. I use it over my L lenses when 24mm is what I need. Because it's macro, I feel I'm not limited with the prime lens, thus I don't miss the ability to zoom.

The copy I have is VERY sharp and at f1.8, it's not the sharpest, but it's darn good. The lens is almost as sharp as my Canon 100mm f2.8

Yes, the AF isn't as quiet and fast as most, but really... on my 5dmkII, it doesn't matter at all. I don't even notice it. People who think that's a deal breaker in a lens are less concerned with the art of photography.

I'm 27 years old and grew up with digital photography, but have also taking courses in film. Processing your own film really puts things into perspective, so if a lens is gonna focus .5 seconds slower than another and sound slightly more noisy... and you think that's awful, you need a reality check.

This lens is top notch.


 "quickly became a favorite" 2009-05-17
By Trevor W. Martin (Norman, Oklahoma)
I purchased this lens, then barely used for the first few months. One day I was in a creative rut, so I decided to spend a day taking photos with only the lens I used the least. That day resulted in this becoming a favorite lens. On my 40d it's equivalent to around a 38mm focal length, which I find to be quite versatile.

This is one of my sharpest lens, and the wide aperture is really a pleasure to work with creating a nice bright viewfinder and great bokeh. I find the lens to be quite usable opened up all the way to 1.8, but stopping down to 2.0 or 2.8 does make a noticeable difference in sharpness. It can close focus much closer than the specs suggest,within 2-3 inches from the front element. The autofocus of course is much slower than USM/HSM but really isn't that bad in practice so I have no complaints. Switching between auto-focus and manual is a little weird. First you have to hit the typical MF/AF switch, then push/pull the focus ring to the AF or MF position. I find this two step process to be quite annoying. However the focus ring is nice, large and well damped making manual focusing pleasant. On a crop body like my 40d, I see no noticeable vignetting or corner softness, but I haven't tried it full-frame. It is large an heavy, but that's what you get with such a wide aperture combined with the sharp optics. I am glad it has a normal 77mm filter size. My biggest complaint other than the AF/MF switch is that Sigma makes some of the worst lens caps, it's really a pain to put the cap on or off with the lens hood attached. One of these days I'm going to replace it with a good center-pinch cap to make life easier.


Read more Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Digital SLR Cameras

Tiffen 77mm UV Protection Filter
Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 ED Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Standard Four Thirds Digital SLR Cameras
Panasonic Mount Adapter
Olympus BLM-01 Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery for C7070, C8080, E1, E300 & E500 Digital Cameras
Tiffen 58mm UV Protection Filter