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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens for a reasonable price, January 22, 2007
I'm using this lens with a Canon Rebel XTi. There are many things to like about this lens: a) its ideal focal range for inside and outside shots. It is ideal for walk-arounds, b) the IQ is very sharp, in fact I find little difference between it and mt Canon 50mm f/1.4 fixed lens, c) other IQ features (such as distortion and CA) are very good, d) the macro capabilty is cool -- you can get about an inch away from an object and still get a sharp focus,and best of all e) the price is reasonable. One negative is that compared to the Canon lenses, it doesn't focus well in low light; you may need to manual focus in some cases. Another very small negative is that it is slightly heavier than my other lenses and feels a little unbalanced on my XTi but this is almost not worth mentioning. Of my 5 lenses, (4 are Canon's) I would grab this first if I could take only one with me. I highly recommend this lens.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beware bad copies, but If you get a good copy this is a sharp Lens, September 19, 2007
Update 10-09-2007 The description below applies to a friends Sigma 17-70 I tested. I recently ordered my own copy through Amazon / 47th St Photo. I was very disappointed when the lens I got was way out of calibration with very soft center area focus at 28mm near infinity af F5.6 getting more out of focus as you approach the top right side of the lens. I have contacted 47th St Photo and they are going to replace it with another copy. It's too bad my copy of this lens is so out of calibration I really loved the super sharp photos from my friends copy. Will post an update in the coming weeks when I test my new copy.
Update 10-25-2007 Received the replacement copy Sigma 17-70 yesterday and was VERY DISAPPOINTED when this lens was also out of calibration!!! That's two Sigma 17-70 lens out of calibration in a row. This one back focused horribly from 17mm to about 48mm and was soft focus on the lower left side. I give up, I went with my friend to the local camera shop and after testing several lens the closest Canon lens that I thought gave great results compared to my Canon 50mm F1.8 and my friends Sigma is the Canon 17-40 F/4.0 L. I am sending the Sigma back to 47th Street photo for replacement and an upgrade to this lens.
Update 11-07-2007 Got my new Canon 17-40 F/4.0 L Lens today and quickly did a test of it against my friends Sigma 17-70. Again mounted on a tripod with mirror lockup and cable release using the exact same settings Aperture Priority at F8 / 28mm Zoom setting. I must have gotten a great copy because the Canon 17-40 is sharper just slightly but it is sharper everywhere at every setting then the Sigma 17-70. Still for twice the price it should be. Color saturation is very similar with maybe a slight edge to the Canon. Plus the Canon has the great build and quiet USM auto focus. Plus this is the first copy I got of the Canon and it was great where as I went through two copies of the Sigma trying to find one as good as my friends which I never did. So again, if you get a great copy the Sigma 17-70 can be perfectly acceptable for about half the price.
Pros:
Fastest non-USM auto focus I have ever used
Great indoor flash photos with Canon 430EX Speedlite
Great contrast, deep colors and no chromatic aberration
The next to the sharpest lens I have ever had on my Canon Rebel XTi Canon 17-40 L is sharper.
Nice zoom range 17 - 70mm = 27.2 to 112mm on Rebel XTi
Surprisingly bright and clear looking through the viewfinder
Accurate right on the money exposure both natural light and flash
Excellent close focus ability, you can touch the lens hood to the subject and still focus.
SHARPER then Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L throughout and Canon 70-200 2.8 L at 70 almost as sharp as Canon 17-40 F/4.0 L that I just got.
Cons:
Quality control, beware of bad copies!
F2.8 only between 17 - 20mm
Zoom ring a little over dampened and stiff
Auto focus louder then USM style focus
One copy I had was very hard to mount to camera body
Very noticeable lens vignetting at wide zoom wide open
Have to use switch to manual focus no full time manual focus
A little too sharp for good portraits (you can always soften using Photoshop)
Lens hood blocks flash coverage in bottom part of photo when using built in flash on Rebel XTi
Results:
I have been searching for a better walk around lens for my Canon Rebel XTi since the Kit lens is just to soft and suffers from chromatic aberration.
I had been thinking about and have tested a Canon 17-40L in the store and borrowed a friends Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L at the zoo and thought they were both pretty sharp lens.
My friend recently purchased a Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-F4.5 Macro DC lens and asked if I wanted to try it.
Imagine my shock when I got this lens home and it blew away not only the and Canon 24-70mm but also my Canon 70-200 2.8L in sharpness!!! My new Canon 17-40 F4 L is sharper though
This lens is so tack sharp you had better wear gloves when you handle it!! The images were razor sharp edge to edge at all apertures.
This sharpness is great for landscapes cityscapes, macro shots etc but a little too sharp for portrait as every little blemish is shown!
And the flash problem I was having with my Rebel XTi was all kit lens. This Sigma using indoor flash just plain rocks with even lighting edge to edge using my Canon 430EX Speedlite even at 17mm and no sign of chromatic aberration I was having. Just one warning for those without external flash the lens hood will cast a shadow on the bottom of your photos if you are using the built in flash.
Another surprise was the auto focus which has to be the fastest non USM auto focus I have ever used. It won't quite keep up with my Canon 70-200 2.8L but it was close. I had my daughter run towards me with the lens at 70mm zoom from 40 feet away and got 5 good focus shots in sports mode with the Sigma and 8 good focus with the Canon.
Also note there is no way to manual focus without turning off the auto focus but you may not have to as this lens will focus every bit as good in the dark as my Canon 70-200 2.8L. Yeah the focus motor is louder but will only matter if you are shooting wild life or wedding photography.
This lens is not perfect to be that it would have to have USM auto focus weather sealing and F2.8 throughout the zoom. The apertures change as you zoom as follows:17-20mm f2.8 ; 21-24mm f3.2 ; 25-34mm f3.5 ; 35-54mm f4.0 ; 55-70mm f4.5. Would have been nice to have it be 2.8 throughout still it makes up for it in the great photos it takes.
In closing this is an excellent lens and I would have bought one if I could have gotten a good copy. I gave up and upgraded to a Canon 17-40 F4 L.
This lens can make a great vacation zoom or walk around zoom where you only want to carry one lens.
Lens I own
Canon 50mm F1.8 II great portrait lens
Canon Kit EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 sorry soft junk
Canon 17-40 F 4 razor sharp great color fast focus!
Canon 70-200 2.8 L great portrait and action lens
Conclusion this can be a great lens, but due to quality control problems at Sigma I suggest if you want this lens buy only where you can return it easily or try it before you buy. 47th Street photo was gracious enough to send me two copies before I gave up after getting bad ones and bought a 17-40 Canon from them instead.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I really like this lens, April 21, 2007
I've been shooting it for about a week now. Quite sharp. The macro function, which really isn't a function but just getting close to a subject, works great. The only problem I have is the lens casting a shadow on the object when you get too close. You can pretty much focus with the lens touching whatever you're shooting. Wider shots seem pretty clear also, though I haven't fully tested it at 17mm and zoomed to check the sharpness. For the price, I think this is much better than living with the kit lens if that's all you're using.
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