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| Brand: Sigma
Category: Photography
List Price: $419.99
Buy New: $375.00
You Save: $44.99 (11%)
New (7) from $375.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Optical Zoom: 2.8
Maximum Focal Length: 50
Minimum Focal Length: 18
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 3.4 x 3.1 x 3.1
MPN: B000JDJJ82
Model: B000JDJJ82
UPC: 085126581541
EAN: 0085126581541
ASIN: B000JDJJ82
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great Lens April 15, 2008
This lens does everything the manufacturer claims. It is sharp, auto focuses well and is easy to use.
 soft and blurry at 2.8 January 27, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've received one copy of this through amazon, not through a vendor and when compared to my tamron 17-50 2.8, this one is blurry and soft at 2.8.
Before I purchased this lens, I emailed sigma and they claim this lens in some European magazines report this lens is sharper then the tamron 17-50 2.8, however, after getting a soft copy, I emailed sigma with sample shots with comparison to Tamron, and Sigma never replied.
I remember going through 3 copies of the Tamron before I got a good copy from various companies. At least Tamron replied to me when I told them I got a bad copy, and person there gave me the option to exchange it for a good copy. I didn't do that of course, afraid I'd get another bad copy.
The lens was more quiet and seemed to focus faster than the tamron, but it's ashame that the copy I got wasn't up to the quality I expected. For me, it had to be at least 5.6 before things become sharp.
check out photozone dot de that site seems to prefer the tamron. Here's my thought on these review sites. I personally trust photozone, and if there are sites that says lens A is sharper than lens B, it's possible that the particular review site had a bad copy.
Fantastic Lens for the $$$ January 22, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this lens based on other reviews and Popular Photography's in depth testing. Everyone had all good things to say.
Popular Photography said "...shooters who like to reach out from the camera position to reposition or otherwise manipulate their subject, this 1:3 macro is probably the closest focusing lens in its class. In all, it's a stellar performer, and significantly better by virtually all optical benchmarks than its predecessor, or, for that matter, competitors such as Nikon's comparable 17-55mm f/2.8 ..." at $1,200+ dollars.
I've used the lens for a few weeks now on both a Canon 40D and an XTi and find the lens comfortable to work with, easy to operate and have gotten great pix. While there's no IS, at f-2.8 you rarly would need it. Is it as good as Canon's "L" series? No, but damn close for almost every kind of work. Much lighter than Canon's "L" series so it's easy to carry. The picture quality I found to be outstanding thru the full range. (see my pix of the Sacramento RR Museum, under "see customer images, above)
I recommend this lens as a 'walk-about' lens, indoors or outdoors.
Feb-2008 Update:
So satisfied with this lens I bought a second copy as a gift for my sister.
Great alternative to Canon EFS 17-55 f.2.8 December 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this lens after some considerable thought and comparative research against the Canon EFS 17-55 F2.8. While the Canon is a great lens, I couldn't justify the huge difference in price for what seemed to be a very comparative lens in terms of quality and features. Sure, it doesn't have the image stabilization, but in most cases, my problem is not lens shake but rather subject movement (little kids for the most part) and IS doesn't do any good for that. Here is where the 2.8 fixed aperture is great.
I use this as my main lens with a Canon 40D and find it works great as an every day lens. This lense absolutely blows away the Canon EFS 17-85 kit lens that is often paired with the 40D. That lens, although more versatile in terms of focal length, did not seem nearly as high quality and with the much slower speed of the lense (4-5.6), I found myself always having to use the flash.
Overall build-quality is excellent. The lens has a good solid feel to it, but isn't too heavy.
Great lens and a fantastic price.
Be wary of quality control December 1, 2007
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
I went through two copies of this lens. The first copy had a front-focus problem approaching 20mm. I sent sample shots to Sigma, and they directed me to simply return the lens to Amazon rather than have it serviced. So, I exchanged it (big points to Amazon for making that so easy!), and the second copy front-focussed by approximately 8mm. That's not nearly as bad, of course, but for close-up photography, it meant few keepers. (I bought this lens for the macro capabilities, as I intended to use it in restaurants, taking pictures of my plate without moving away from the table.) The focus problem was in both my Canon XTi and my Canon 40D. None of my Canon lenses have any focus problems whatsoever; this issue was limited to the Sigma lens.
I sent the lens to Sigma for service, and three weeks later, received my lens back in even worse condition than it started. It still front-focusses by 8mm, and now, even what is "in focus" is much softer than before. I contacted Sigma repeatedly to ask them what I should do, and they ignored my emails.
I have seen many good shots from this lens from people who had good copies. When I shot at f/5.6 or above, I would catch my intended focus point (since the depth of field was increased), but that made shots in lower-light too blurry due to the slower shutter speeds.
This lens can be very good -- if you get a good copy from the start. If you read comments on the photography forums, you'll see story after story of quality control problems from Sigma, and the need for repeated service attempts before a lens will be correctly calibrated. (Several people even report having to send the lens WITH their camera body so the lens could be matched -- even though their camera was correctly calibrated to Canon spec -- being without their camera entirely for several weeks.) If you luck out with a good copy (which is not as likely as it should be), you'll enjoy the lens. If you don't, return it immediately rather than dealing with Sigma service.
The price is low, but the risk is high.
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