Sigma Halts The Production of Its Iconic Zoom Lens

Sigma Corporations has been having a wonderful year so far. The company managed to establish ties with Canon, launch new zoom lenses, and introduce a camera designed for creators. While they are taking multiple steps forward, they are also looking at ways to focus on the future. One of them includes discontinuing lenses that are no longer helping users. This month, it appears that they have discontinued yet another SLR lens, which may pinch some photographers.

According to Asobinet, the company has discontinued the 18-35mm f1.8 DC HSM, an APS-C lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. Versions of this lens for Sigma SA, Pentax K, and Sony A mounts have also been discontinued. Asobinet noticed the change on various retail store websites in Japan, such as Kitmura and MAP camera. However, this change also reflects on Sigma’s own global website.

For the uninitiated, the Sigma 18-35mm was the first f1.8 zoom lens in the ART series, which was launched in 2013. It instantly became a hit as the world’s first lens to achieve high optical image quality and a large aperture throughout its zoom range. While DSLR users preferred it, many mirrorless video creators also used it via a speed booster.

We had the opportunity to test the lens, and we absolutely adored it. The Sigma lens was of really good quality, was super sharp when wide open, and you get a wide to normal focal range at wide apertures. It is fast to focus, offers really good colors, and is one of the best options for concert photography. In fact, it won our Editor’s Choice award that year. As we said in our review: “Indeed, this lens has some really, really nice bokeh and that is only added to with its fast f1.8 aperture throughout the zoom range. As is typical with Sigma’s bokeh, it isn’t distracting–but instead it is super creamy.”

It also means that the company recognizes the dominance of mirrorless today, which also means they will phase it out over time. Either way, Sigma is looking to the future and is keen on catering to it in any way possible. Perhaps this is for the best, as it can help them create new lenses that meet today’s demand.