Good Day! Friends. Today we’ll discuss Sigma Lens Abbreviations. All of us, photography lovers, can name a few manufacturers of good cameras and accessories. But only two of them are leading, and everyone knows – Nikon and Canon, of course.
Fortunately, the owners of the devices of these brands can get by not only with the Canon/Nikon technology but also have Sigma in mind. You can find a couple of excellent lenses in its ranks, and they can be expensive.
Before buying anything, be sure to understand both the product’s characteristics and the abbreviation or the corresponding standard abbreviations. Therefore, it is not difficult to guess what we are discussing today – sigma lens abbreviations.
Unlike other popular brands specializing in photographic equipment, few terms need to be deciphered regarding Sigma lenses.
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Main Sigma Lens Abbreviations
DG
DG is a lens compatible with full-frame cameras. In principle, it will suit everyone else. On the other hand, the DC version is intended only for cameras with a truncated matrix and crop factor. For mirrorless models, choose glass with the abbreviation DN.
OS
OS is an optical stabilizer essential for handheld shooting.
HSM
HSMs are advanced AF motors; they are quiet, accurate, and extremely fast. They usually also have lower power consumption.
EX
EX is a high-level technique. Its mechanical and optical characteristics are much better. It is also common to see the abbreviations ASP and APO. The first means that the system uses special lenses – aspherical, which reduce common aberrations. Including because of them, the lenses become lighter and not so overall. The second marking is low dispersion glass, like ASP technology, which eliminates possible image distortion.
UC
UC, the properties remain, and the weight is significantly reduced.
Art
Art is a high-quality optics designed for creative filming purposes.
Sports
Sports are professional optics with dust and moisture protection properties. Photographers usually choose it.
You may also like to read: Lens Aperture: What Is It?
There are also standard abbreviations that are found on all-optical photographic devices. Let’s discuss them again:
- F/1.4, 3.5, etc. – an indicator of the aperture and its minimum values. Small values mean high lens aperture, large values – low.
- 35, 17-50, 18-250mm, etc. It is the focal length, measured in millimeters. It can be represented by one or two numbers, which means fixed (prime-lens) or variable (zoom) distance, respectively.
- Ф 62, 67, 77mm. These figures contain the dimensions of the glass and filters that fit it.
- Roman numerals such as II. As in the technique of other brands, they symbolize the generation (in this case, the second) in a series of similar optics and different times of release.
- Mounting features: for example, Canon EF, Nikon F, that is, the optics belonging to a specific camera company.
- The “AF-M” button is responsible for the choice of automatic or manual focusing method. Also, AF at the beginning of the lens description indicates that it has autofocus.
- Macro is a unique lens device that allows you to shoot at a closer distance to objects. So-called macro photographs are obtained.
Check how much you have learned the material. Here’s a test for you: determine your own for these lenses their main properties, based on the indicated markings. Let’s say it will be Sigma AF 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Canon EF, Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM.
Good luck!
