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L.J.G.
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Registered: May 12, 2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 36
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Review Date: Dec 11, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Centre sharpness, great colour, compact size and weight comapered to the Canon version
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Cons:
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Sometimes it will not focus at all (it has only done it twice)
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I needed to buy a good 24-70 and nobody had any stock of the Canon mkI due to the impending release of the mkII. I waited for the mkII then the release date was put back. I looked at the Tamron but did not like the strong onion bokeh with highlights. That left the Sigma. Even though I was a bit apprehensive I figured with the warranty I would be OK anyway. It has turned out to be quite a little surprise packet. Blow up images to 100% and centre sharpness is as good as any of my L glass. It exhibits the slightly warm colours that all my other Sigma lenses show, which I like anyway. Bokeh is OK but has a very slight onion effect with highlights - nowhere near as strong as the Tamron though and is hardly noticeable. It is considerably smaller than the Canon and is also a bit lighter. The zoom ring is smooth to operate. The only downside is a couple of time it would not focus at all for some reason. It does not worry me as with the Canon 5DII I just manual focus until the focus point selected lights up and I get the beep for focus lock. If it keeps going I will send it back under warranty. I am certainly not sorry I went with the Sigma. For the cost it is well worth it.
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 Dec 11, 2012
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gwaww
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Registered: Nov 21, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 196
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Review Date: Mar 27, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good value per cost. Sharp. Build. Nice look to images. Bokeh is great.
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Cons:
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Heavy. 82mm filter.
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I read alot of reviews/comments about this lens and was a little hesitant to purchase it. It is my 4th Sigma lens and none of them have disappointed me. I had a Tamron 28-75 that I used before this that I was fairly satisfied with but it never wowed me like Tamron's 17-50. I use this as my walk around on my 5D MKII. it is great combination. I am most surprised with the quality of the bokeh. It is very good.
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Mar 27, 2012
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dkmiles1
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Registered: Nov 19, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 504
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Review Date: Oct 11, 2010
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Recommend? |
Price paid: $899.00
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Pros:
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2nd Review - I'd like to revise my rating - Great Color, Fast Focus, solid build
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Cons:
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Inconsistent focus, IQ on the edges of the frame not as good as they should be...
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Every photographer has had this happen to them, you unintentionally leave a piece of equipment at home, even though you have prepared and prepared and prepared for the wedding day, you can forget something. It happens.
I grabbed my lens case for my trusty Canon 28-70 f/2.8 when I left the house, however when I got to the wedding and opened the bag the lens inside was none other than my backup Sigma 24-70mm... Oops. I made the lens switch from the ceremony to catch the ride from to the reception aboard a horse and chariot... Needless to say and left with no choice, I was forced and anxious to use the Sigma under any circumstance... Bottom line is, the photos came out much better than I thought they would have. Given my experience with this lens and its various focussing issues, it really came through for me. I even used it during the reception and I (as well as the bride) was pleased with the results.
You can check out some of the images here... These were from the ride on the chariot to the reception. Poor lighting - it was DARK - hence a lot of noise - but the focus was pretty good under the circumstances...
http://milesmemories.smugmug.com/Weddings/Danielle-and-Cedric-Ride-to/14078246_sMEUt/
I would now rate this lens a 9
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Oct 11, 2010
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BlairWright
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Registered: Jun 10, 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sep 29, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $849.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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-2.8 is not as sharp as the Nikon equivalent but it's good.
-This lens is very sharp above 2.8
-Fast quiet auto focus
-Build is excellent
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Cons:
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-82 mm filters
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I purchased this around 6 months ago and have taken ~2k shots with it by now.
Very good lens overall, my only issue is the sharpness at wide open, it's sharp but not as sharp as I would like. The auto focus is always spot on and silent. The fit and finish are excellent (as are all Sigma EX series).
As in life you get what you pay for, this is a US $900 lens, if you want sharpness all the way across get the US $1700 Nikon lens
This was a good purchase in my opinion
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Sep 29, 2010
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rsolti13
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Registered: Aug 31, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 3271
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Review Date: Aug 25, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $650.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great colors, bokeh, speed
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Cons:
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Using on a D700 the corners are a little soft.
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I used this lens on a D700. Excellent option for the price. Very fast and quiet lens. I did not have any focus issues as mine was spot on with my D700 and D90 from day 1....without focus adjustments. A few points:
Sharpness - On my D700 center sharpness was excellent and the corners did not get sharp until about 35mm. At 24mm they were a little weak until stopped down considerably. On the D90 sharpness was excellent from corner to corner.
Size - Excellent, much smaller than a 24-70 but fit very nicely on the D700
HSM - Very fast and quiet...as advertised
Bokeh - Very nice oof area. Bokeh is excellent!
All in all a great lens and a great alternative to the Nikon 24-70.
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Aug 25, 2010
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dkmiles1
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Registered: Nov 19, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 504
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $899.00
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Good color rendition, fast focus, versatile, *MUCH* better on a crop than the full-frame cameras it was designed for
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Cons:
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My first Sigma lens - major focusing issues - it wasn't even close, sent it in three times, the third time was a charm, focusses "good enough" "Most of the time"
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I once read somewhere on a random review (I think on Amazon) - someone said that they would never use a Sigma lens on a paid assignment. My experience with this particular lens leaves me with the exact same feeling. When the focus hits (and it hits only about 70% of the time) the results are just stunning, REALLY stunning. I also find that focus is more reliable when I use the center focus point - which makes for more boring photos and more time in post processing to creatively crop the images - however, when I use any of the edge focus points (using a Canon 5Dc) I miss a lot more shots - maybe about a 30-40% keeper rate.
These focus issues still occur after this particular lens has been sent to Sigma service 3 times, TWICE with my 5D.
This is all the more disappointing because I want to love this lens and it has the potential to be something special. It has solid build quality, and focuses quickly and as previously stated when it hits, I simply LOVE the results.
It's a little soft at 2.8 but shines at 4.0 and higher - where depth of field is wider and makes it more likely to obtain an acceptable (in-focus) shot.
Given all of the reviews I've read, no one lens manufacturer suffers from this kind of production variance (focusing issues) more than Sigma. I am not opposed to 3rd party lenses, for example I LOVE Tokina lenses, and I've never had focussing issues with any that I've owned.
So when do I use this lens? When I am at an event that isn't paid and I'm taking photos for fun with family and friends when a lower keeper rate is more acceptable.
So gun-shy am I to bring this lens to a paid evet that I went ahead and bought a used EF28-70 f/2.8 L (Stellar lens, mine is just amazing) for the 5Dc and an EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 to go with my 7D. My Sigma collects a lot of dust unless I'm at a relative's birthday party...
If you're a hobbyist who can live with a lower keeper rate, there is nothing wrong with this lens per se, but given Sigma's EX designation (for Excellence, i.e. Sigma's version of "L" glass) and the price point - its not cheap - if you're a pro, with this kind of focus, its just not acceptable...
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Aug 21, 2010
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degrutze
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Registered: May 30, 2010
Location: Indonesia
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Aug 18, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $750.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very Sharp, Very fast, Stunning colour
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Cons:
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heavy, random copy
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I've been using this lense almost a year and i am really happy with it. i can say that 90% of my shoot was produced by this lense (well i am only have 2 lenses for now...  )
even though i got a bad copy of this lense (10mm front focus!!) but i still love it, since the it still can be fix by micro adjustment.
i've tried to compare it 'apple to apple' with canon 24-70 L, it is a bit softer at wide open, but better at f4 and above.... it is really amazing for the lense that almost half of the price of canon's.
so this lense highly recommended!!! if you can get a good copy.
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Aug 18, 2010
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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7
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30638
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Dec 11, 2012
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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86% of reviewers
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$849.57
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.00
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9.33
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9.0
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