SIGMA 18-50mm f2.8 Lens for FUJIFILM Cameras – Review and Bonus Meditation Video

by Johnnie BehiriDecember 6^th, 2022

The SIGMA 18-50mm f2.8 lens for FUJIFILM cameras will soon hit the market and we had the opportunity to work with it beforehand to get a feel for it and come back with some solid thoughts about its’ optical performance and built quality. Keep reading for a solid review and a bonus video!

Japan is showing its beautiful face again. This time we were able to enjoy the country’s beauty in full autumn colors in full relaxation, and happiness. So much so, that we decided to treat you guys with our first-ever CineD’s “meditation video”. Please sit back, turn on your 8K screen, sit back and enjoy. (Don’t close your eyes though, as you will miss the images…).

But first thing first: the SIGMA 18-50mm f2.8 lens is already available for Sony E and Leica/Panasonic/SIGMA L- mounts. Personally, I haven’t had the chance to work with this lens before, but it seems like the overall feedback from users is very positive.

Seeing that the lens was adapted for FUJIFILM’s X mount made me curious, simply because of the opportunity to use such a small and lightweight lens with almost the equivalent focal length of a 24-70mm lens on a full-frame camera (27.4-76.2mm to be exact).

For this lens review, I chose our camera of the year 2022, the FUJIFILM X-H2. Everything that you see in the above video was shot with minimum equipment. In Japan places like parks (with paid entry fees) and shrines might restrict the use of tripods during busy times, so I chose to film everything handheld, or, connected to the Smartta SliderMini, together with a Gitzo ball head that I had with me (which is great to put on the floor or benches). This way I could get the images I wanted without getting into trouble with any park or shrine authorities. So, we all lived peacefully ever after…

OK, back to the SIGMA 18-50mm f2.8 lens review

Lens sharpness

The SIGMA 18-50mm f2.8 for the FUJIFILM X mount lens has a constant f2.8 aperture and as expected, when wide open, the edges become soft.

Let’s take a closer look by magnifying the chart and as you can see below, like with many other lenses out there, edge sharpness gets better as we close the aperture.

Focus breathing

Focus breathing seems to be controlled EXTREMELY well. Please see the below images, and click on them to see them enlarged. No change in the frame whatsoever!

Is it a parfocal lens?

I’m not so sure if the lens was designed to be parfocal but in reality, it maintains focus across the lens focal length very well.

Exposure compensation

Like with so many other lenses for FUJIFILM cameras, this lens suffers from the same phenomenon of “changing exposure” although the exposure should stay the same. I tend to believe that this is NOT a lens issue, but rather an issue with the FUJIFILM cameras as it happens with many other lenses, too. See below both images taken with a split second between them WITHOUT changing any exposure parameters.

Close focus

One of the things I really like about this lens is the ability to get extremely close to a subject and still stay in focus. With a 10cm (0.397 FEET) on the wide side and 30cm (0.984) when zoomed in, one can’t go wrong and get beautiful close-focus images!

Chromatic aberration

Please take a look at the video above. All in all, it is very well controlled.

Final thoughts

The SIGMA 18-50mm lens is a truly welcomed addition to my run-and-gun lens arsenal. At times it felt like it wasn’t wide enough, or not close enough, but realizing and understanding that adding just another millimeter here and there makes the lens bigger and heavier, made me happy with what I have. On top of that, being able to work comfortably with a minimum amount of equipment and having the camera and lens sit comfortably on a mini slider, made for a stress-free filming day. Looking at the small details, I do appreciate the matt engraving of the lens specifications at the lens front. This helps with reducing white reflections when using filters together with this lens.

Filming with it on the FUJIFILM X-H2 in 8K was a lot of fun and I have to add that if it had been for commissioned work, I would have definitely added a filter to soften the image as it is extremely sharp.

Production notes

Camera: FUJIFILM X-H2, 8K/24p, ProRes HQ, F-Log2

CFexpress card: Anglebird AV PRO, 2TB B

Lens: SIGMA 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens for FUJIFILM X

Slider: Smartta SliderMini 2

Ball Head: Gitzo GH1382TQD

Filter: NiSI Swift VND

Edited: on Adobe Premiere Pro’s latest edition

Color: fylm.ai LUT builder

What do you think about the SIGMA 18-50mm for FUJIFILM cameras? Are you considering getting one? If yes, what are your reasons? Please share with us your thoughts in the comment section below.