Sigma's latest addition to their new lens lineup, the 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, became available for purchase today from B&H. Along with the release, Sigma published a preview of what you can expect from the lens in terms of performance. If it is up to snuff, it will be a great option for those in the market for a wide-angle APS-C lens.
This lens is a definite plus for APS-C shooters even though it has a variable aperture (a trait of which I am traditionally never a fan). We are working on our review and will let you know our thoughts as soon as they're coherent. In the meantime, what do you think of the performance? For more samples and larger resolution images, make sure you head over to Sigma's blog.
[Via Sigma]
Hey can one of you writers do a review on this lens? I have the old model and wanna know if it's worth upgrading.
Send me one and sure :-D
Mine is on it's way, will post my thoughts on Thursday night!
as you say, if it is up to snuff, I will buy it, sure!! I have the tamron 70-300 VC, the 17-70 could be a great alternative for the 18-55!
waiting for the review!
The old model is great (the screw driven AF one) and the new one should be even better. It is a tank, has fantastic close focus and was one of my best buys.
I don't know if I've dealt with two-three bad copies, but we bought some at work for some D7000 - and they're terrible. The AF was the worst I've ever witnessed. Even when trying to focus on a lamp with high contrast, it just stuttered back and forth before it gave up and failed. Quite a lot of CA as well. Worked alright for video, with manual focus though.
This is regarding the old version of the lens.
Looks like a nice little lens, I love the new look of the sigma's.. much nicer than my 24-60 f2.8.
This isn't a lens I'll be grabbing though as I just picked up a da* 16-50 f2.8 for £400.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usuqa/8430390769/in/photostream
It is nice to see some great offerings from sigma and am still interested in a review of the lens as well as wanting to see what else they come up with :).
I was hoping that was an FX lens...
Why is it labeled "Contemporary" ?
Because it's neither an Art lens (which seems to be reserved for wide-aperture primes and specialty lenses) nor Sport (long, fast glass). To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, "when you eliminate the impossible categories, whatever category remains, however improbably, is the truth".
Doesn't the 2nd photo look like the CA was edited out?
It is an EX class lens? I love Sigma's EX lenses. The 50mm 2.8 its my best portrait glass...
"EX" is gone. If this is a typical example of their "C" (Contemporary) lens line, then we can expect the same basic body design (fit and finish, materials, etc.) across all of their lenses now.
this or a 17-40 f/4 L ??
If it's anything like it's non-Contemporary version, then it should be an extraordinary lens, but using higher quality glass. The hands-down best feature of it is the extremely close minimum focusing distance! Having said all that, the sample pics from the review do not really show its extreme capabilities or the clarity in the details it captures. I'm hoping it's just the images and not the new model's IQ but the sample pics don't have a 'clean and crisp' look to them :/
approx. how much would it cost?
ow i got it... 499 usd
We need a proper review :)
I have the older model of this lens and it rapidly became my favourite lens. This was odd to me as it was the first time I ever purchased a non-Canon lens, but it was steeply discounted, so I thought I would get an okay lens to use as my walking around lens for my 'other' body. Now I do all of my headshots on it and probably 80% of all my shooting on it. I like it that much. It had been on sale for $290 when I bought it, so I am one happy camper.
So, I do hope this lens is an upgrade as that would be quite remarkable.
I picked up the Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC HSM OS to shoot video, and like it! The optical image stabilization feature has been great! When recording snap-zooms you do see the flicker of the f-stop adjusting, but it's not a big deal for the price.
I may be missing something, because I can't find if this is a different lens then the one posted here? The lens I picked up was only around $360 new Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC HSM OS
This is a newer version with better glass and updated lens barrel.
I must say I am loving Sigmas new style overhaul. I've only ever owned one Sigma lens when I was shooting APS-C, the 8-16mm and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of both the body and images I shot.
Lets hope they keep up the good work and keep producing better and better lenses, it's nice to see someone give the Big Boys a run for their money.
All I can say is WOW! Sigma is doing some amazing things! Just got it, superbly made, Pro feel, images are incredibly sharp. Even wide open the images are super sharp! This is an amazing complement to my Sigma 35mm 1.4 A. I've attached a sample below. 70mm, f4, ISO-640, 1/160, Canon 60D.
Thanks, do you have a link with more samples you could share? :)