Sigma 17-70mm Contemporary Lens (Review)

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Ok guys, I haven't got my youtube channel up and going yet. But wanted to give you all a heads up on the newest lens I just got. The Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0 DC Macro OS Contemporary Lens. This is one of the newest lens they have released under the new marketing series. Its made from what they call Thermal Stable Compound. Ok, its fancy plastic. But its not cheap plastic, more like polycarbonate. It feels super solid in the hand, has a good amount of weight to it and have a very tight, yet smooth zoom. The build quality it just phenomenal.

I have seen a lot of biased reviews on this lens, claiming 17mm wide open "isn't usable." This is complete BS. This lens is on par, if not exceeding some of Canons L lens.

But you know what. The proof is in the picture. Here is the LINK to my Picasa page were I have ten jpegs uploaded in full resolution. Images were taken on tripod, IS off, 10sec delay and in RAW. No sharpening or lens corrections were made. I just imported them into lightroom and then exported as jpegs at 80% compression. They are still very large files so I had to stick them on picasa..

Here is a link to Sigma Product Page for this lens.
Again here is my picasa page for these test images.

Enjoy..
Joe
 
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Hi Joe

Picasa link not working for me - getting a "Sorry, page not found message"

Nick
 
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My fault.. forgot it sets album security to non public when you first create a new album. I have that corrected and apologize. Been so long I forgot it did that by default.
 
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One thing I like about the newer Sigma lenses is their minimalist design - they look really classy.

Results look sharp as well.

I did promise to get some shots from my Tamron 24-70 up but haven't done so yet. I'll have a go this afternoon.
 
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One thing I like about the newer Sigma lenses is their minimalist design - they look really classy.
Yea I like the newer mono color scheme. Its very professional looking IMHO. Even the construction is just a step above many of the Canon EF lens. Despite the lens telescoping out, its not wobbly or loose and does not suffer from any lens creep. Even the supplied lens hood has a positive lock feel to it.


Results look sharp as well.
Over on DP Review, they claimed 17mm was to soft and disappointing. I am not sure what they were testing this lens on. But I tested it on a Rebel T3i (600D) and it looked great. Pixel peeping it came in on par with my two Prime Lens, one of which is the EF 85mm from Canon. I even did some night test with it tonight. Its still not the best night lens, it sure is a step above the kit lens. IMHO, this is the best sub $500 kit lens replacement/upgrade for Canon APS-C cameras on the market in this zoom range. It has better lighting, better optics and better construction.



I did promise to get some shots from my Tamron 24-70 up but haven't done so yet. I'll have a go this afternoon.
Yea I am still waiting on those. Still looking forward to that. :)
 

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I have the 17-50 f2.8 Sigma and it is great, but if I had it to do over I would probably go with the 17-70 for the extra range and Macro capability.
 
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I have the 17-50 f2.8 Sigma and it is great, but if I had it to do over I would probably go with the 17-70 for the extra range and Macro capability.

Well its a trade off. Little extra zoom but at the loss of low constant aperture. The 17-50 would make a better video lens for lower light. But if you shoot video the wide end at night then its about the same.



I got this lens for two reasons other then the lens specifications.

One was the Canon EF 28-135mm my wife bought a few years back is just garbage. The build quality is so bad Canon should have been a shamed to even sell that lens and the image quality while good back then doesn't hold up at all to newer higher MP sensors. Even on her 600D the images were only good enough for Facebook or 5x7 photos. So that lens needed replaced.

The other reason is I am holding out on Sigma to revamp their 70-300mm into the new lens series. I am hoping they don't get to carried away and price it with their new Sports line. But I would love to see it placed into their Contemporary line and have a 2.8-4.5 aperture unlike most that have 4-5.6 now. Giving it better light handling without breaking the bank. Now Tamron makes an excellent 70-300. But Tamrons Vibration Control (their Image Stabilizer) isn't good at all for Video. Its superb for sports and wildlife photography, I just want lens that cover two areas. But for its current price point at around 400 USD. Unless Sigma updates their 70-300 by August, then I will order the Tamron version without hesitation. I really don't need it right now, but this fall I am headed back to the states for two months of wildlife photography and will need one then. :)
 
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Joe, I happened to have the Tamron 70-300 on my camera this morning.

Took the following at 70mm and 300mm, f6.3, 1/60th and ISO 800. They're sill dark (you should see the weather here!) but I didn't want to bump the ISO more. The Tamron VC system must be OK (stills at least) to shoot 1/60th at 300mm.

DSC_0007.jpg

DSC_0006.jpg
 
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Joe, I happened to have the Tamron 70-300 on my camera this morning.

Took the following at 70mm and 300mm, f6.3, 1/60th and ISO 800. They're sill dark (you should see the weather here!) but I didn't want to bump the ISO more. The Tamron VC system must be OK (stills at least) to shoot 1/60th at 300mm.

They look excellent. Tamrons VC is awesome, it just tries to work to good when shooting video making the video spring around. But for regular photography its hard to beat. I think its actually test to just over 3.5 stops. Although they advertise 4. But heck thats pro level image stabilizing. The Images look very vidid and sharp. What camera was you using it on?
 
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Took a little walk today and ended up walking down to the beach. Its still a wreck since Typhoon Loyanda about 2 months back and the last few smaller typhoons we had blow through. But never the less it gave lots of stuff to pixel peep at. I took this photo at 17mm, f/7.1, ISO 100 @ 1/320th sec. I reduced it down to 1280x1024, but I took a excerpt out of the center blown up to 2:1 ratio. If this lens was a dual as DP Review claimed then there would be no way to see this amount of detail that close up. Know what I mean.. LOL

JoeJackson - 20140211 - 28.jpg

JoeJackson - 20140211 - 28-2.jpg
 
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On a D90 Joe

If I took a walk to the beach here today I don't think I'd make it back. Gusts of 100mph forecast today!
 
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100mph, burr! I bet the wind chill is just insane.. Are y'all getting blasted with cold like the states are? My Mom was telling me last night it was down below freezing again with two more snow storms on its way.. I replied its 83F here.. She told me to kiss her butt.. LOL
 
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wind chill not too bad as the weather is mild for this time of year

we've had so much rain I'm surprised the whole UK is still afloat!

BBC - Homepage

then again, my sister has been in Florida for the last 3 weeks and has seen a lot of rain there too
 

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