50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Nikon

I just bought this lens and I am just overwhelmed by the sharpness, quality of the bokeh and corner to corner clarity of it. It is truly an astonishing piece of glass that outperforms many primes, including the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. It is not an easy lens though, it is extremely large and heavy, and the depth of field at f/1.8 is so shallow you can take a portrait and focus on one eye while missing the other one, this is even more noticeable due to the extreme sharpness of this lens. It does not have image stabilization so it is easy to have a blurred picture. All that said, it is not for the casual user, but if you use it correctly, it produces some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen on a DX sensor. It has plenty of focus breathing, and it is strangely backwards (the image appears larger when you focus closely). That makes it even more noticeable when you pull focus while shooting video. I haven't tested it long enough to see the AF issues other users report. I will update the review when I do.

I have this lens mounted on a Nikon D500 and I am using it primarily for outdoor running photography. Many times I'm taking photos in early morning low light conditions. Having a lens as fast as this makes it easy to get crystal clear shots without needing to boost the ISO excessively high. The autofocus speed, particularly paired with the D500, is excellent. Image quality is spectacular, even wide open. The only disadvantage to this lens is the weight. This is definitely one of those cliched "you could drive nails with it" heavy, solid lenses. The zoom ring is stiff. I don't personally see that as an issue, though - no chance of accidentally bumping the zoom ring and ruining the composition of your shot. The built-in tripod mount ring is a handy feature. No, it isn't removable, which has been a complaint for some people. The good news from my perspective is that is not in the way and actually provides a handy grip to stabilize this heavy lens when hand holding. Overall, an excellent lens for close to mid-range action photography and undoubtedly just as good, if not better, for portrait or stand-off street photography. I'll update my review once I put it through its paces in those areas.

I bought this lens to shoot indoor grade/high school basketball with my D71000 and so far I really like it. I am rating it a 4 because I have a lot of miss focus when shooting low light, action. I would like to give it a 4.5 if I could. It could be me and/or the D71000, but it seems to be a little higher in the missed focus than my other lens. Yes it is heavy, but to me that is a good thing and means quality. It is a solid build. I have used it a couple times at tournaments and took it to a grade school practice to give it a good workout. I also have the Nikon 80-200 2.8 lens and the 1.8 on lens really makes a difference in the poor lighting at the gyms. When I get it in focus it is super sharp, but the 1.8 is not very forgiving if you miss focus a bit. Once I purchase the Sigma Dock, I am going AF Fine Tune the lens to make sure I am sharp at every focal length. I don't really like having to buy the Sigma Dock to do this, but the benefit is with Dock you have 16 categories you can calibrate. If you don't want to buy the Dock you can still Fine Tune it using the Nikon Fine Tune in the camera which limits you to one setting for front or back focus that applied throughout the entire range of the lens. Physically it is about the same size as my Nikon 80-200 2.8 if it weighs about 4 ounces more than the Nikon.

This is a truly remarkable piece of glass, even wide open at f1.8 throughout the zoom range. The photos it produces really stand out compared to my 35mm 1.8 and 50 1.8. They are sharper, the colors are exceptional, and the bokeh is remarkable. It's heavy and feels extremely well built. I do shoot this handheld and for street photography, so you will need to understand the weight involved before purchasing this lens and then complaining about the weight. The focus is spot on and with a 7200, the AF is fast and accurate. This is my favorite lens so far. 10/10

Was sent a dirty lens with a fracture in the plastic near the front of the lens

In my opinion, this is a very beautiful lens. In day light, it is sharp and focuses fast ☺. However, in low light situations, this lens hunts and struggles to lock on to edges 😐! The massive barrel at the end of the lens blocks more than 70% of the auto focusing bulb. Simple test, turn down the lights and AF on a white wall, you will see the round barrel in 2 thirds of the view finder blocking the focus area. This means D1, D9, or D21 center or to the left will NOT focus in many low situations. A sharp but short ranged cropped sensor lens with a 82mm filter thread which blocks the AF bulb is DEFINITELY not worth $1100

It’s a very heavy lens. But remember that this lense Is used for crop sensors. The crop factor can highly alter the quality of your photos. Using this on a full frame is going to change your max aperture to 2.7-3.0 depending on the camera you use. You HAVE to multiply the zoom range/aperture by your crop factor to get the actual range you’re getting. And ultimately the MP will be affected to. I used this lens on a NIKON D810 and it dropped my MP to 24mp instead of 36mp because of the crop and the photos were a little grainy. So if you’re gonna use this on an APS-C it’s gonna be wonderful. If you’re looking for a full frame zoom just get the sigma 70-200 2.8 and you’re going to be much happier with photo quality.

This lens will get you noticed, especially with the hood on. People think it's a 200mm+ zoom. Unlike its 18-35mm sibling, it was tack sharp out of the box with no front/back-focus issues. Focus is super-fast, and the image quality is just astounding. If it weren't so big, I'd shoot with this and nothing else. On a Nikon D500, it's probably the best lens I own for action photography. It's not too shabby as a portrait lens, either, though your subject might be a bit intimidated at you pointing this lens at them. :)

Perfect 👌🏻

バスケの撮影用に購入しました。商品も綺麗でした！とても綺麗に撮れて購入して良かったです！

Obiettivi stupendo che fa della sua luminosità e nitidezza il punto di forza, peccato per il suo peso eccessivo e non è f/f Ne sono soddisfatto e lo consiglio

First quick impressions: - very sharp at 1.8 - very smooth and creamy bokeh - extremely high build quality...the zoom ring smoothness is otherworldly - i have not experienced any focus issues so far...auto-focus is fast and silent...perhaps not as fast as higher end telephotos, but very comparable to my 16-80mm Nikkor...i did not have to make any focusing adjustments So far, it's exactly what I expected. This lens is a must if you do a lot of portraiture. Yes, it is heavy (tad heavier than my Tamron 70-200 f2.8 VC), but the quality of the images coupled with the convenience of having 2-3 primes in one lens makes the weight acceptable to me. Additional thoughts: - the lens woks with all my 77mm filters. I use a step down ring; even with the ring on, the hood mounts properly: bravo Sigma! I do not detect any vignetting with any of my filters though I haven't looked at my pictures in LR yet. I have a Canon 500D close up filter and it works as well; 77mm is the largest Canon makes so being able to use it on this lens is a big bonus Some sample photos are attached. All are made on my D7100. The christmas decoration pic is made with the Canon close up filter and is not cropped. I did not detect any vignetting.

The lense is heavy but no compromise on quick focousing and Crispy images also renders very good blurr effect or bouckeh effect