Review of Sigma vs Fujifilm Zoom Lenses

Compare the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 vs. Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 lenses

Battle of the zoom lenses! Sigma vs Fujifilm zoom lenses to be specific.

Fujifilm are known for producing high quality lenses with higher prices to go with. While Sigma are known for having sometimes comparable, sometimes not great lenses, although cheaper than their competitors.

So how do you compare these lenses, and is the cheaper Sigma equivalent just as good as

In this video tutorial, Hugh Brownstone of Three Blind Men and An Elephant gives a thorough comparison and review of the Sigma vs Fujifilm lenses.

Does the Sigma 18-50mm come close to Fujifilm’s 16-55mm lens?

Straight out of the gate, Hugh announces that in his opinion the Sigma zoom being compared here is lighter, smaller, cheaper and has comparable image quality to the Fujifilm competition.

Sigma Zoom Lens Features

The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 is a crop sensor zoom on x-frame, with a depth of field and field of view equivalent toa  full frame 27-75mm f/4.

It is designed well, including being splashproof and protected from dust. That being said, this lens is incredibly small and lightweight making it easily portable.

The comparable weight of 34.2 oz when weighed with a Fujifilm X-H2/XF camera body. The lightweight and portable design doesn’t take away from this lens’ durability over long term use.

This lens also includes a fast and silent autofocus motor which works well even in heavy use.

Fujifilm Zoom Lens Features

The Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 is a standard zoom lens with complete weather resistance and low temperature performance. It has a high speed performance auto focus motor and hard to rival image sharpness. 

Fujifilm have opened their cameras to use other lenses than its brand, which is nice to know for future lens purchases.

This lens, compared to the Sigma lens has a little wider field of view due to the slightly wider focal range. 

This zoom lens is fairly standard as far as length,width and weight goes, weighing in at 46.7 oz when weighed on a Fujifilm X-H2/XF camera body.

The below image shows the Fujifilm lens on the right,much beefier than the Sigma in size.

Sigma vs Fujifilm Zoom Lenses – Comparable?

These lenses, while having some obvious differences, have a lot in common.

Both have fast, smooth and quiet autofocus and lack image stabilization. Both lenses correct for focus breathing at different fields of distances.

Sharpness is comparable at different focal lengths and apertures, although Sigma was sometimes much sharper while Fujifilm is slightly sharper at some points.

In the end, it’s clear that Sigma has comparable or superior image quality in a smaller and lighter lens. Sigma has better contrast in backlit photos and comparable sharpness overall.

Fujifilm has better chromatic aberration correction (auto correcting defects in the image) across the different focal lengths and aperture settings.

The below screenshot shows just how similar the image quality is for both of these lenses:

If you are looking for an affordable and comparable zoom lens to the Fujifilm 16-55mm, the Sigma 18-50mm is it.

The conclusion in this Sigma vs Fujifilm zoom lenses fight is that the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 zoom lens is completely on the same level as the Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens, and only costs half the price.

They are comparable across sharpness, contrast, autofocus, image correction and pretty much every feature. 

The Sigma is cheaper, and also happens to be lighter and smaller than the Fujifilm competition.

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Which of these features do you prefer the most on a standard zoom lens? 

Comment below!