Sigma 17-70 mm f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM optical stabilisation lens for Canon Digital SLR cameras

I have been using this lens for over a month now and have taken hundreds of photos with it. I will not talk about the specs of the lens as you can read that somewhere else. I'll tell you what I felt after using this (please consider that I am by no means a pro).

It is such a big improvement coming from someone who only owns a kit lens (18-55 IS) and the 50mm 1.8. What this lens gave me are better overall image quality from the kit lens and the convenience of not switching from one lens to another. The focal length, the 'macro' capability, the silent and fast autofocus and the ability to shoot at f2.8 when you need it (although only available at the wide 17mm) are reasons enough to buy this lens. The images taken at f2.8 and 17mm are not be very sharp but still good. I normally shoot at around 24mm on my 550D and at around f4-f5.6 and I can tell you that the images are really impressive.

I'm glad I decided to buy this instead of the other options I was considering before (canon 17-55mm f2.8 or canon 24-70 f2.8). I think that those 2 other options would have given me better image quality (I know this because I have tried shooting with those other lenses)but not enough to justify the price. The money I saved will go into my next purchase which will be a super wide angle lens.

Now some quick notes:

don't buy this if you want a macro lens (although I have to say it gives you decent 'macro' images)
don't buy this if you want the super duper best image possible
don't buy this if want to use this OFTEN at it's shortest length AND wide open AND expect really sharp images from edge to edge

But, if you are like me who wants a very versatile lens that is still capable of producing impressive images at this price, well all I can say is...go on, add this one to your basket! hehe

I had my doubts about this lens after using a previous Sigma, the previous one had never produced good shots and game the images a strange not-quite-blurred look. So I was a little hesitant when all of the reviews were saying this is a fantastic lens.

I now agree, this lens IS fantastic. I took it with me on a week long trip to Tokyo as my only lens and I took 1,400+ photos with it. It is fast and the optical stabilisation really helps in lower light conditions. The focus is very fast and very accurate. All of the pictures from the trip came out much sharper than most images I had taken before. The build quality is very good with the rubberised rings being very nice. My only tiny gripe is that I kept mistaking the zoom lock for the autofocus switch, this is probably my fault however as I stopped doing it once I got used to it.

Basically, buy it and don't forget the UV filter.

I bought this lens well aware of the mixed reviews-on balance they were good,but if there was one consistent criticism,it was sharpness,or lack of.

From about 5 months use now I would say I am very happy with it.In most circumstances it is sharp enough for my purposes.It is undoubtedly best at middle apertures,but contrary to some reports I have seen f2.8 is very usable,though less sharp than when smaller apertures are used.

It is very solidly built but not too heavy,a noticeable improvement on the kit lens.It feels right in your hand the zoom ring is firm but not too tight and rotates smoothly.There is no zoom creep when being carried around,this sounds like a small point but it is more important than some may realise in terms of carrying comfort.The HSM focusing is fast and near silent.It just feels like a quality lens.No,it is not a true Macro lens but its good enough for me-that said if you want a lens primarily for Macro photography you might want to look elsewhere.

Looking at it in the round and bearing in mind its very reasonable price compared to ,say, the Canon 15-85 standard zoom it really is a first rate piece of kit and I highly recommend it.