Customer Reviews

Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Super Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can I say, but wow. This is everything I expected and then some. After massive research for a wide angle lens for the budget conscience I finally set my eyes on the Sigma and am truly overwhelmed and not the least bit disappointed in my purchase. The make of the glass is heavy duty which is great for me, but those of you looking for a lightweight lens pleas move on. f stop of 2.8 works wonders in low light settings as well as nights photography. If you are in the market for a new piece of wide angle glass this is the one to get. I have tried it on a Nikon d60, d80, and d300 with great results on each. Kudos to Sigma for a great lens at a great price. B

I wanted a lens with a large aperature and wide angle to take close ups and landscapes without much distortions. This lens met the cost and the aperature I needed. I have the Nikon D40 and D40X and the lens works great on both. Have taken superb photos that give me the feel of professional shooting withiout the cost. Goes well with my Nikon 18-55 f3.5 and Nikon 18-135 f3.5 lens and Nikon 70-300 F4.5 when I go out to shoot landscapes in all kinds of scenes. With the internal focus, I have not had any problems when shooting in auto focus mode. Recommend for users of the D40, D40X & D80 bodies.

I was looking for a wide angle lens, mainly for architecture and baseball stadiums and I have to say this is exactly what I was looking for. It gets nice and wide and takes in everything I need it to with sharpness and high quality pictures. I have a Nikon D40 and the auto focus works perfectly with it. I used this lens mainly in the low range of 17mm but I have shot at 35mm with the same results. Its a great lens and I would recommend this to anyone looking for an inexpensive super wide angle lens.

Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG IF HSM Aspherical Super Wide Angle Zoom Lens + Hoya 77mm UV Haze Protector Glass Filter + 6-Piece Cleaning Kit + Spudz Microfiber Cleaning Cloth - for Nikon Digital & Film Autofocus SLR Cameras including Nikon D40, D40x, D50, D70, D70s, D80, D100, D200 & D300Great lens for the money. Quick, accurate focus. Took hundreds of interior and exterior photos in tight places on a trip to Italy. Distortion is noticable at 17 mm. Sun flare can be an issue. Both are to be expected on this type lens. Getting very satisfactory interior shots of real estate listings at 18 to 20 mm. Some shadow when using built-in flash on D200. Removing the included hood improves this.

I own the Sigma 150mm macro, the 20mm f1.8 and the 24-70mm 2.8 and I've been lucky.... they are all excellent lens.

My copy of the 17-35 turned out to be VERY soft and would consistently UNDEREXPOSE by 1 to 2 stops, which is really weird. I've done quite a number of tests going back and forth with my Nikons, my sigmas to compare, but alas.... this one really is not up to par. Way below in fact. I'm willing to do some tweaks in post to accommodate some underexposure, but 1 to 2 stops is just too much. The softness may have been due to back of front focus, but with the exposure issue I've not even bothered to check.

Other than the image quality, the thing I like about sigma is the handling and looks, Sigmas HSM is smooth and quiet. Matter of fact, I like those features so much in fact that I scoured the internet to find another copy of the lens (Amazon was sold out) so I can hopefully get a good one.... I will update this review when I get it.

I really hope Sigma gets their QC under control, because as my other 3 lenses show, they are capable of producing some very good lenses.

[EDIT] Just got a new copy today and the issue seems less pronounced, but it still underexposes. This one is around 1 stop under, while the first one was leaning towards 2 under. Note that the new one has a serial number beginning with "2", whereas the old one started with a "1" so maybe the electronics were updated in later models.

The IQ seems pretty good and 1 stop under is probably something you can work with.... so I'm upgrading the rating to 3 stars.

This lens is not a must have, although for its price it is fairly good.