| Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Great Upgrade Highly Recommended, Saturday, 20 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I have been an "amateur" Nikon shooter for over 10 years. I currently am shooting a Nikon D200 and have had a Nikkor kit lens (35-105 3.5-4.5) for a very long time. Although this lens is very sharp I wanted to upgrade in this focal length.
I decided to go with Sigma over the Nikon in this range mainly due to price, (about 150 dollars or so less)...

My first copy of the Sigma had bubbles in the glass which was quickly and easily replaced. Second copy is pristine.

Findings:
Very sharp. I cannot tell the difference between this and my Nikon at any f-stop. Although people have complained that this lens is soft at 2.8, I cannot see it.

Lens feels sturdy
AF is quick enough for me, although USM would have been good. Come on Sigma this is supposed to be your pro line.

Although some say the lens is heavy I just don't think so. Although I also always place vertical grips / battery packs on all my body's.

Complaints:
Lens hood is silly. They could have come up with a bigger / deeper hood. I am still looking for one.
Non weather sealed which is a bit of concern for some extreme environments.

Bottom line:
Tack sharp great lens for the price. Have compared images side by side and cannot tell the difference. I have seen "scientific" comparisons with test grids talking about Chromatic Shifts and Aberrations, but personally I like looking at a real image and I can't see the difference.

Just buy it!

[...]
[...]
[...]

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Great Upgrade Highly Recommended, Saturday, 20 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		5.0

I have been an "amateur" Nikon shooter for over 10 years. I currently am shooting a Nikon D200 and have had a Nikkor kit lens (35-105 3.5-4.5) for a very long time. Although this lens is very sharp I wanted to upgrade in this focal length.
I decided to go with Sigma over the Nikon in this range mainly due to price, (about 150 dollars or so less)...

My first copy of the Sigma had bubbles in the glass which was quickly and easily replaced. Second copy is pristine.

Findings:
Very sharp. I cannot tell the difference between this and my Nikon at any f-stop. Although people have complained that this lens is soft at 2.8, I cannot see it.

Lens feels sturdy
AF is quick enough for me, although USM would have been good. Come on Sigma this is supposed to be your pro line.

Although some say the lens is heavy I just don't think so. Although I also always place vertical grips / battery packs on all my body's.

Complaints:
Lens hood is silly. They could have come up with a bigger / deeper hood. I am still looking for one.
Non weather sealed which is a bit of concern for some extreme environments.

Bottom line:
Tack sharp great lens for the price. Have compared images side by side and cannot tell the difference. I have seen "scientific" comparisons with test grids talking about Chromatic Shifts and Aberrations, but personally I like looking at a real image and I can't see the difference.

Just buy it!

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Not very satisfying at f2/.8, Thursday, 30 October 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		4.0

I've had it for a few months now, and after minor usage these are my initial thoughts:

Pros:
- Very nice focal length range for indoors/street photography; using full frame or film cameras this goes from very wide angle to a short telephoto, covering normal lengths. On APS-C cameras, it becomes a 38-112. Useful for some street shooting and portraits, not for tight spaces. I've used it successfully to shoot stage performances too, taking advantage of its telephoto characteristics with APS-C.
- Constant maximum aperture, so you don't have to recheck your exposure everytime you change focal lengths.
- Makes you look like a pro. I know this may sound silly, but the truth is, people tend to respect you more when they see you arrive with a smart looking lens.
- Comes with a cool hood that can be stored with the lens (Canon, can you hear???).
- Comes with a nice padded pouch (Canon, can you hear???).
- Well built, feels sturdy.

Cons:
- Quite soft at 2.8. If you're buying it just because of this feature alone, think twice.
- No image stabilization.
- No full time manual focus (despite what other reviewer said, this lens does not have that capability).
- Two step manual focus (a switch would have been much better).
- Quite heavy at 711 grams.
- Bulky.
- Lens length changes when zooming in/out.
- Focus ring not very smooth (at least compared with my canon lenses). Maybe with enough usage that will change?
- Very large filter size ($)

Despite what other reviewers said, I haven't had problems with AF.

Similar items used:
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/3.5-f/5.6

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Unsharp at f/2.8, spotty AF, Sunday, 12 October 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		1.8
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		1.0
AF Speed		2.0
Value for Money		1.0

I bought this lens hoping for a deal. Make no mistake-- this lens is not in the same class optically as the Tamron 28-75 or 24-70L, both of which I have often owned. The main problems with the Sigma are the performance wide open (it begins to get sharp around f/3.5-f/4), inconsistent and loud AF, and unlovely color cast. It also offers annoyances such as a very large filter size, and a poor design of the MF/AF clutch and switch that makes switching modes a major pain.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a miss. You will almost certainly have better luck with a Tamron 28-75mm on a budget.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

MAKE SURE YOU CAN RETURN IT, 2ND ONE IS GREAT!!, Wednesday, 16 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Review of lens based on Canon 40D:

Be sure you can return it because the first one I got was pure junk. All of the images at 70mm f2.8 where unusably blurry.

But wait... after returning it to Amazon (which was quick, return shipping paid, and pain free!!) for another copy of the lens it is very sharp and I would consider it acceptable for any amateur as well as professionals on a budget(such as myself).

That being said, I should mention that there is a bit more chromatic aberration than I have seen from other lenses but it's acceptable and can be minimized with smart shooting.

CONCLUSION:
Don't be scared of the lens but do be sure you can return without hassle. All-in-all I am extremely happy with the results of the second lens.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Great Lens, Great Price, Sunday, 29 June 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I bought this lens as a result of the damage of my other sigma lens(18-50mm). Basically it fell out of my camera bag. I was going to save up for the Canon L series version of this lens, but I was forced to buy a lens pronto... Fortunately I'd already done research on these lenses. The main drawbacks of this lens is the lack of USM, and the fact that the 82mm filter screw is larger than normal... But that's ok. I don't like filters anyway, and for the 800 dollar difference, quietness is not worth it. I went to canoga camera and tried both the L lens and the sigma... Back at home with my big cinematic monitor I couldn't tell the difference between the two lenses... I'm glad that I wrote down which exposures were which.

I've heard complaints about flair on this lens... I couldn't find it. with the provided lens hood attached, I took a few pictures directed at a bright glass door, the sun behind a model, and sun through the trees, and nothing... The glass on this is great, very low amount of aberation... only at extreme wide open aperture.

To review:
Sigma... No HSM, 82 mm, L quality image.
Canon... USM, 77mm, L quality image.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

My Walkaround Lens, Thursday, 19 June 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

I use this lens as a walkround lens, it's a great lens with great IQ, Highly Recomended

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Love it, Friday, 02 May 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		3.0

I use this lens to take action photos at my curling club. The f2.8 works wonders in the poor lighting of the arena.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful

A great lens !, Wednesday, 16 April 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

Cristal clear at all f/stops including f/2.8 at 800 iso. Love every thing about this lens, the feel is topnotch, i like the heft and the solid feel, allso like the lens hood that Sigma supplys with this one.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Quality Lens if you get a good copy, Thursday, 14 February 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		5.0

Out of the box I don't think I would have gave this lens one star. The focus was terrible, I couldn't get a sharp image out of the lens to save my life. To be honest i read alot of reviews beforehand and almost anticipated on sending it back for calibration. Anyhow, I sent it back to sigma for calibration, 2 weeks later I have the lens back and it's consistently sharp! It's not "L" quality glass (as some claim)....but for for the $700 savings this lens is worth it's price in gold!

To sum it up, buy this lens but plan on sending it back to sigma for calibration. I do wish they would get a handle on quality!

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

you paid for what you get, Saturday, 19 January 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		3.0
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		2.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		3.0

This is not a good lens to use. Aperture F2.8, 16-32 are useless because it is too soft. It is very heavy. A good filter of 82mm is very expensive. If you have the money, you should buy the canon's 24-70 L lens.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Huge in size and in quality, Tuesday, 20 November 2007


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		5.0

That's a very sharp lens that allows you to take great pictures indoors without a flash and not pushing the camera to 1600 ASA. I found it "flare sensitive" which means that backlight can damage a little the image quality. But I put a UV filter and haven't test it without it.
Be aware that it is a very good lens but it is also prominent. When you put it in front of a Canon Rebel... It looks like that it's not at the right place and the balance it quite different. Nevertheless, it worth it and you can get used to that very quickly.
Soucharenko

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, Friday, 12 October 2007


Overall rating (weighted)		4.3
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

I found this lens at a pawn shop nearly new. Paid half of what is listed for on Amazon so I can't complaint much. you can get very creative with this lens. The AF is a little slow specially in low lighting conditions. It is loud but that has never bothered me other than the few times I have tried to capture a shot of someone not knowing I was doing it but got spooked away by the AF and I missed the shot I wanted.

It is very solid and heavy, pictures at times will come out blurry (as another reviewer stated) always take 3 shots to ensure you get a good one. I love this lens and I have used it professionally for weddings and portraiture without problems. Images should be a little sharper at F2.8 but again, play around with it allot and you will find that it will do allot. For the money is great! I will recommend this lens for both semi professionals, amateurs, and beginners. You may see 10 images I've posted on this site at the top.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Nice lens for a cheaper 24-70 f2.8, Wednesday, 01 August 2007


Overall rating (weighted)		3.5
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		4.0

This is a nice lens, you have the speed of a f2.8 and the nice range of the 24-70mm. It was well for me and I like to use it as a day to day lens. Some might same, well it is only a Sigma. But it does the job and the Nikon replacement will cost around �1,000. So it works for me and it has taken some very good photos. It is sharp, fast, the build quality is good and it feels solid. It works well in my D2X, but I also have a D70 and the lens feels quite large on a smaller body.

For the price it is a good peice of f2.8 kit.
Hope you agree

Why should you care what I think?

My relationship with this item: I own it
Where did you buy this item?: Jessops
Price paid: 250
When did you buy this item?: Jan 06

Conclusions at a glance

Would you recommend this Item: Yes
Pros: Good lens for the price
Cons: Hmm, not alot.

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Great f2.8 for the price!, Wednesday, 07 February 2007


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		4.0

Disclaimer: used it for 4 months+, on Canon Rebel XT 350D and Canon 430 film camera, I am an ameteur shooter.

Pro:
Full time MF.
constant 2.8.
Great contrast and color, consistent with my other Sigmas,
nice weight, fit and finish.

Neutral:
OK AF speed indoor and outdoor
f2.8 isn't fast enough in many indoor situations with moving subjects. I have to use flash with it.

Con:
Arrived with severe front-focus problem. Fixed under warranty.
Zoom could be smoother.
AF whines a bit, but tolerable;
Border not as sharp as center.
Sharp only after stop down. But usable wide open for me

Conclusion:
Probably not pro grade, but for the build quality at this price, it's a winner! (I deducted 1 star because of the less than perfect IQ.)

Was this review helpful to you? yes

Report this review

Most Popular...