Sigma 50mm F/2.8 Macro ZEN

akaQuantaray Tech-10 AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro

Macro lens • Film era • Discontinued

  • Announced:
  • · October 1988
  • Production status:
  • ● Discontinued
  • Country of design:
  • · Japan
  • Original name:
  • · SIGMA AF MACRO 1:2.8 f=50mm
  • Class:
  • · Fast full-frame macro lens

Abbreviations

MACRO Macro lens. Designed specially for shooting close-ups of small subjects but can be also used in other genres of photography, not necessarily requiring focusing at close distances. Learn more

Model history (3)

■Sigma 50mm F/2.8 Macro ZEN • 1:1
akaQuantaray Tech-10 AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		A10 - 90.19m⌀52 1988 ●
■Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX Macro • 1:1
akaQuantaray AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		A10 - 90.19m⌀55 1998 ●
■Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro • 1:1A10 - 90.19m⌀55 2004 ●

Specification

Optical design:
35mm full frame
50mm
F/2.8
10 elements in 9 groups
Floating element system
Canon EF [44mm]
Minolta/Sony A [44.5mm]
Nikon F [46.5mm]
Sigma SA [44mm]
46.8° (35mm full frame)
On Canon EOS APS-C [1.59x] cameras:
35mm equivalent focal length:
79.5mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed:
F/4.5 (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:
30.4°
On Sony DSLR-A/SLT-A APS-C [1.53x] cameras:
35mm equivalent focal length:
76.5mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed:
F/4.3 (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:
31.6°
On Nikon D APS-C [1.53x] cameras:
35mm equivalent focal length:
76.5mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed:
F/4.3 (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:
31.6°
On Sigma SD APS-C [1.74x] cameras:
35mm equivalent focal length:
87mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed:
F/4.9 (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:
27.9°
Diaphragm mechanism:
Diaphragm type:
Automatic
Aperture control:
None; the aperture is controlled from the camera (Canon EF, Minolta/Sony A, Sigma SA)
Aperture ring (Manual settings + Auto Exposure setting) (Nikon F)
7 (seven)
Focusing:
0.188m
0.039m
1:1
Focusing modes:
Autofocus (AF), Manual focus (M)
Autofocus motor:
Micromotor (Canon EF, Sigma SA)
In-camera motor (Nikon F, Minolta/Sony A)
Manual focus control:
Focusing ring
Focus mode selector:
AF - M (Canon EF, Sigma SA)
None; focusing mode is set from the camera (Nikon F, Minolta/Sony A)
Manual focus override in autofocus mode:
-
Optical Stabilizer (OS):
-
Physical characteristics:
358g (Nikon F)
⌀69.5×62.5mm (Nikon F)
Accessories:
Screw-type 52mm
Not required
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Source of data

  • Manufacturer's technical data.

Manufacturer description #1

New Sigma Macro Lenses.

Sigma quality, yet incredible compact.

Sigma 50mm Macro and 90 Macro lenses deliver legendary Sigma optical quality yet are amazingly small and light. They come in close on a whole fascinating world that's invisible to the naked eye, yet demand little space in your camera bag... and the compact size assures fast focusing from infinity to macro. Ideal for portraits and general photography as well, these lenses can help turn ordinary snapshots into exciting photographs. Until you have a Sigma macro lens, you're not really making full use of your single lens reflex's full potential!

AF 50mm Macro F2.8

  • Ideal for macro work, and as high quality normal lens.
  • Focuses down to 1:1 (life-size).
  • Very compact and light: under 2 1/2" long, with a maximum extension of 1.4" for quick focusing. Weighs only about 12 oz.
  • Sophisticated "floating" lens element design for excellent correction of aberrations, high performance from infinity to macro.
  • Available for Canon, Minolta and Nikon autofocus mounts and most manual focus SLRs.

Manufacturer description #2

Being 62.5mm long, this workhorse lens does the jobs of two or more lenses and has exceptional sharpness. It is ideal not only for nature photos (flowers etc.), but for the whole fascinating world of close-ups - all the way down to 1:1 (life-size) macro shots. But focus back to infinity - the compact size makes that very quick and easy - and it's an all-purpose normal lens. Easy to use, it lets you concentrate fully on your subject.

From the editor

Introduced at Photokina 1988.

The overall length of the lens increases considerably with focusing from infinity to the closest distance.

The lens was also sold under the name QUANTARAY TECH-10 MACRO AF 1:2.8 f=50mm MULTI-COATED.

Notes

  • The autofocus will not be available with Nikon D40, D40X, D60, D3000-D3500, D5000-D5600 digital SLR cameras.
  • Sigma had to reverse engineer the communication protocol of the Canon EF mount to produce a version of this lens for Canon EOS 35mm film SLR cameras. As a consequence, this lens may not work properly with Canon EOS cameras (both film and digital) due to compatibility issues.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Sigma lens designation "ZEN" mean?

It means that the lens has a ZEN finish. ZEN is an acronym for Zeitgeist ("the spirit of the times"), Enhancement, and Nonglare. This nonreflective urethane resin finish was introduced around 1989 and replaced the old-style, painted satin-black finish. Sigma claimed it to be hard, strong, antichemical, nonslip, antiglare, and scratch-resistant, however, it actually had a tendency to peel off and become sticky as it aged.

Lenses with similar focal length

■Canon EF mount (3)
Canon EF 50mm F/2.5 Compact Macro • ⌀52 • 1:2 @ 0.23m 1987 ●compare11
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m 2004 ●compare20
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m
akaQuantaray AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		 1998 ●compare10
■Minolta/Sony A mount (7)
Minolta AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro D • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.20m 2001 ●compare20
Minolta AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro RS • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.20m 1993 ●compare10
Minolta AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.20m 1985 ●compare10
Minolta AF 50mm F/3.5 Macro • ⌀55 • 1:2 @ 0.23m 1995 ●compare20
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m 2004 ●compare20
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m
akaQuantaray AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		 1998 ●compare10
Sony 50mm F/2.8 Macro [SAL50M28] • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.20m 2006 ●compare30
■Nikon F mount (3)
Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 55mm F/2.8 • ⌀62 • 1:1 @ 0.223m 1986 ●compare01
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m 2004 ●compare20
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m
akaQuantaray AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		 1998 ●compare10
■Sigma SA mount (2)
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m 2004 ●compare20
Sigma 50mm F/2.8 EX Macro • ⌀55 • 1:1 @ 0.188m
akaQuantaray AF 50mm F/2.8 Macro		 1998 ●compare10

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