Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG

Sigma's 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro lens offers a basic introduction to macro photography, with none of the bells and whistles such as silent focusing or image stabilisation, at a budget price point of around £255. It offers life size magnification at its closest focus and being a full frame lens it is compatible with both full frame and crop sensor DSLRS.

Canon users have two similar alternatives to choose from. Their EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro lens costs around £225 and is a full frame lens without silent focusing that only offer half life-size magnification at its closest focus. The more recent EF-S 60mm f/2.8 is only compatible with crop sensor Canon DSLRs but offers silent focusing and life size magnification for around £340.

Nikon users also have the option of the Nikon AF-S 60mm f/2.8 G lens, which sports silent internal focusing and life size magnification for around £395.

Sony also currently offer a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens which costs around £470 and also lacks silent focusing. Pentax also offer a similarly specified lens which costs around £410.

In this review we'll investigate whether this budget macro optic can really hold its own.

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