 comparable to lenses costing much, much more |
| Review Date: May 4, 2008 |
| Reviewer: D. Stanic, Canada |
I love this lens. Bought it to replace my EF-S 17-85 for the kind of shooting I do. I highly recomment this lens as an upgrade to the Canon kit lens on the Rebel XT/XTi, it's great for indoor shooting.
Pros:
High image quality- near that of Canon "L" lenses such as the 24-70L
Very sharp, lovely color.
Constant f/2.8 aperture makes it perfect for a budget wedding lens, or for use indoors with no flash. I was able to shoot at a carnival at night handheld at ISO1600 and get a fast enough shutter speed.
Nice Depth of field, Lovely bokeh (background blur).
Built extremely well, does not feel cheap and the zoom is nice and tight. Nice finish to it, comes with a nice bag and lens hood.
Cons:
With a wide angle of 24mm, it is more suited for a full frame camera. With the Rebel series and 20D/30D/40D some may prefer a zoom lens with a wide angle of 17 or 18mm. I personally don't find this much of a problem, however, just take a few steps back. This lens is great for portraits.
My suggestion- if you are a beginner photographer or on a budget and can not afford lenses that cost $400 such as the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, or $1000 on Canon's 17-55 f/2.8 IS or 24-70 f/2.8, then this is the lens for you!!
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Great Lens for the price!
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| Review Date: March 29, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Caveman017, |
This lens is Sigma's hidden little secret. My version is extremely sharp, even at F/2.8 and has no focusing issues. It is extremely well made and comes with a lens hood and a case - both of which more expensive Canon lenses don't come with in the box.
Focusing speed is very reasonable and accurate, it has no trouble in low light like some less-expensive lenses. Build quality is amazing. Metal construction, smooth rotation on both the focus and zoom rings, even a zoom-creep lock to help with storage. I have used this on both a Full Frame 35mm camera and a Canon 1.6x Digital SLR and it has worked perfectly
The negatives - inconsistent quality control - some get great lenses, others aren't, although Sigma will happily fix and return the lens within a week or so. 77mm filters are also a pain, especially since they could have used 72mm filters which are less expensive.
Overall, I'd recommend the lens, and is a GREAT step up from the standard lens that comes with the camera. |
Very nice lens.
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| Review Date: September 4, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Operator207, DFW, Texas USA |
I bought this via the below link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VJVHMA
This is a great lens. If you research this lens, you will find that it is a "best bang for your buck" type lens.
If your comparing this to an L lens, you will be surprised. On a crop body, its a bit long, but rarely have I had to back up too far to get the shot.
I was out shooting some pictures of my kids playing ~8pm the other evening (August in Texas). I was quite happy with the pictures I shot with this lens. Even without a flash! it was not quite dark yet, and the street lamps gave off enough light.
I do not consider myself a pro, or even an amateur. If your looking for a good walk around lens for a full or crop body, consider this lens. Its worth it money and quality wise.
Pros: Price! Usable on a crop body, and full body so you can keep the lens if you move from crop to full.
My copy is sharp as a tack. No back or forward focus.
Cons: Some have reported that their copy was back or forward focusing. Or the zoom ring was "tight". The good news is if you buy it from an authorized dealer for Sigma (Cameta Camera in the link above is Authorized) you get the full Warranty. Send it in, and they will fix it for you. It just costs shipping.
Conclusion: Its a great lens. I am loving the shots I am getting from it. All photographers are different, some do sports, some do landscapes. Some just want good HQ pics of the kids. I am all 3. This lens replaced my kit lens (Canon 18-55 NON IS). I do not miss the wide, and am loving the extra zoom. YMMV. |
Great Deal for a Great Performing Lens
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| Review Date: January 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: L. Chambers, Plantation, FL United States |
I received my lens about 1 month ago and the first thing I did was test the focus. My version had a slight front focus problem so I sent it to Sigma for calibration. After about 2 weeks I got the lens back and focus is now spot on with my Canon 40D.
Performance:
Sharpness: Slightly soft at 2.8 but very sharp at 5.4. At 5.4 it's very sharp from corner to corner across the focal range. I would compare the sharpness to that of the Canon 50mm 1.4 prime when below 2.0 apertures. The 50mm prime at 2.8 is clearly sharper.
Contrast: Nice, similar to a Canon 50mm 1.4 prime that I tried out in comparison.
Focus: Quick and accurate. Noise is not loud but it's not USM or HSM quiet. I would say that focus speed and noise was on par with the 50.
Build: Study and robust. It's not all metal or L quality but it's a well built, formidable lens.
Bokah: Much better than the Canon 50mm 1.8 prime.
For the price you can't beat the performance of this zoom lens, definitely much better than any of the kit lens you'd get with the camera body and clearly a step up from the kit lens. It's not the nirvana for zooms around this range but to get that you'll spend 4X more than this. I doubt you will find a better zoom around in this range at this price. People can complain about focus quality control but it is correctable and it's easier to address with Sigma directly than playing the odds on a replacement.
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L quality at 1/3 of the price
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| Review Date: May 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: DiDi Bradley, Richardson TX USA |
| I have owned this lens for several years and have shot 1000s of photos with it. I really wanted the Canon 24-70mm L lens, but the price was out of the question for me. I ultimately selected this lens because I had read good reviews and I was willing to trade 10mm of focal length for a more compact size, as this was to be my walk around lens. It does weigh more than my Rebel XT, but that doesn't bother me, as it is smaller than the other lenses in its class (Canon & Sigma 24-70mm 2.8, Tamron 28-70 2.8). I have worked with the Canon 24-70mm L, and the Sigma 24-60mm's image quality is remarkably close, if not equal, for a third party lens that costs much less. The autofocus speed is where the real difference occurs, but if you don't work in low light or need a lot of speed, it shouldn't be a problem. You can shoot almost anything with this versatile lens and it will look good (I've shot mostly still life and outdoors), but I think it's really well suited to portraits. If I'm taking pictures at a gathering with this lens, my people pictures always blow everyone else's away. I would reccomend this lens to anyone who wants L quality on a budget and isn't concerned with the slower AF. You won't be disappointed. |
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