Introduction

Primes and zooms have always played their different roles in a photographer’s life. Prime lenses are praised for their superior maximum apertures compared to their zoom brothers. However, in order to achieve these maximum apertures they sacrifice the convenience that comes along with having a zoom lens. Pro photographers will tell you that if you’re a photographer worth your salt then you can just rearrange yourself and make it work with what you’re given. Having been in a situation where only our Nikon 35mm F1.8 prime lens was available, we don’t believe this to be true. For most situations, it is possible to maneuver yourself around and acquire the shots you need –  this isn’t true 100% of the time though. Especially when you find yourself in a tourist situation where having a lens that isn’t very wide is inconvenient and you’re forced to miss shots that would have otherwise been perfect.

Arguably, most amateur photographers start out with a kit lens that usually has a focal length of 18-55 or 18-105 with varying maximum apertures. Once they’ve got the basics of photography down and realize how convenient it is to have a lens that has a higher maximum aperture, the logical upgrade path is generally a prime lens somewhere in the vicinity of 35 to 50mm with a maximum aperture of F1.8. The Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 lens is a revolutionary lens that has the ability to maintain a maximum aperture of F1.8 throughout its entire zoom range. Yes, you read that correctly, this lens can be used at F1.8 at 18mm all the way through 35mm.

In this review we have put Sigma’s 18-35 F1.8 to the ultimate test – head to head with a common prime lens that most photographers have owned at some point in their career. The Nikon 35mm F1.8 is an instant classic that has been praised for it’s sharpness, small form factor, and overall bang-for-buck performance. Has Sigma released a lens that out shines a very popular prime? Is it worth the premium you’ll pay for it? All that and more ahead.