The engine's answer
Best zoom lens for street and travel, under €3,000
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN
94% match
A constant f/2.8 that fits in a coat pocket
Why it wins here
The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN takes this question at €450 — €2,550 under the €3,000 ceiling — with a 94% match against 65 current lenses. For street and travel the engine leans on weight and max aperture: it scores 290 g and f/2.8, where the pool averages 633 g and f/3. At 290 g it is lighter than the average lens here (633 g). Asking for a zoom lens alone ruled out 28 of the 65 lenses before scoring began.
The dimensions where it beats the rest of the field by the most, for this question specifically.
- Prime/zoom
- Use
- Budget
What's good
- The default APS-C upgrade zoom
- Absurdly small for a 2.8
What to watch
- APS-C only
- No stabilisation on unstabilised bodies
What came close — and what each gave up
- Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II93%The 70-200 look at a third of the weightThe Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II (93% match) costs €550 more (€1,000 against €450). Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II93%The rainproof standard zoomThe OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II (93% match) costs €450 more (€900 against €450). Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
- Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR II92%The X-system workhorse, slimmed downThe Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR II (92% match) costs €800 more (€1,250 against €450). Check price: B&H Photo Adorama MPB (used) eBay (used)
Questions this answer raises
- Is the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN within a €3,000 budget?
- Yes. At €450 it leaves €2,550 of the ceiling unspent; the Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II costs €1,000 and the OM System M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO II costs €900.
- How good is the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN for street and travel?
- On the use question it scores 83%, 14 points above the average of the 65 lenses ranked. Its strongest numbers for this use are weight (290 g) and max aperture (f/2.8).
- Is the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN a zoom lens?
- Yes — type: Zoom. 28 of the 65 lenses in the pool are not, and were never in contention here.
Change an assumption
This page answers one photographer's question. Yours is not that question — adjust the subject, the format or the budget and watch the whole field re-rank.
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