Sharpness. Light weight. Cheap. F2.8. 77mm filter size.

Focus inconsistency. Front focus. No HSM.

I really didn't care for this lens. I had it for four years but I used very rarely. Focus inconsistency was nothing but headache for me almost every time I used it especially in a low light situation. It had a front focus problem most of times. Sometimes it focused on whatever close object. It seemed to have its own will. I was very disappointed because it could be very great lens. It produced very sharp images and light weight, and very reasonable price ($400). Built seemed to be very well even though internal mechanism was very questionable. I don't know why I didn't sell it quicker but now I have Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8 L and I'm very happy.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L Canon EF 28-135mm IS

1. Good value for money
2. Well built
3. Reasonable sharpness and contrast from f/4
4. f/2.8 through the range

1. No AFS motor limiting cameras AF would work with (no problem for my S5/S2/D200), AF is not as fast as for NIkon pro offerings
2. Color rendition is sometimes inferior to Nikon pro lenses - I didn't use it too much to say in which case
3. Some zoom creep
4. The range 24-60 makes it an odd lens for DX cameras; I use it on S5 at all times but always have Tokina 12-24 atx in my bag just in case.

I've purchase this lens to shoot an indoor wedding as I needed at least f/2.8 fast zoom to achieve a reasonable focus speed in dim light conditions. A lot of internet feedback warned about focusing/calibration issues but at the price paid I was willing to take a punt. (I would not however buy a Sigma lens secondhand unless I know a person or am sure the lens is refundable.)

I was lucky as the focus was spot on; in dim conditions the AF sometimes hunts, never for long though. I found it reasonably tough built, good contrast, reasonable color rendition. I would use it for professional work, though it is not as fast as NIkon's AFS offerings (which cost times and times more). 2.8 is a bit soft but I found f/4 and higher to be sharp all over the DX frame I use.

Customer Service

No experience

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AFS 17-55 f/2.8
Nikon AFS 24-70 f/2.8
Nikon AFS 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR

Weight
2.8 Constant
Sharp
Clarity
Contrast
Fast Auto Focus (I have used Tamron in the past and to me this was faster, but not as fast as my Canon 1.8 MK1)

None so far (only had it for 3hrs) as of 1-13-09 1615hrs

I was very worried that another Sigma product would have the focus issue that is plastered all over the net. I am fortunate. a Few pictures so far and I havent noticed it. Which is great becasue even on a tiny LCD I noticed it when using the Sigma 28-70mm F/2.8-4 DG. WOW I hate that lens. Although I few emails including pictures back and forth to Sigma that said I can send it to them.
I choose to buy this lens instead (Sigma 24-60mm F/2.8 EX DG.
First of all the Finish is brilliant. The feel of this lens is nice weight. It has a zoom lock, havent experienced this before so I have no comment other than it only works at the wide end.
Zooming manually felt responsive and easy, not slippery. The 2.8 has an incrediable look to it. Check out the net for images taken with this such as... PBase or Flickr. http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/24-60_28_ex_dg
I expect this to be my everyday walk around lens now.

Customer Service

Excellent so far

Similar Products Used:

I havent used Similiar but
My Photo Gear
Canon D30
Canon 50mm 1.8
Tamron 28-105mm F/4-5.6
Tamron 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di
Sigma 24-60mm F/2.8 EX DG
Sigma 28-70mm F/2.8-4 DG
Sigma EF-500 DG Super w/lambency diffuser
Sigma EF-500 DG ST
Sunpak 422 D (x2)
Bogen Monopod 676B
2 8FT Lightstand with Umbrella Holders.
Mac G4 running PS/LR and some cool plugins/Piglets

Fast focus (i succeed to made that focus very fast in low light)
sharp and very handy to use.

the f marker is small and hidden

An all around lens for people, portrait especially in studio and landscape photographing.

+ compact, small
+ Internal Focusing
+ Sharp at f:4-16
+ Has switch lock
+ distortion very well controlled
+ vinieting slightly noticeable but well controlled
+ AF quite fast, but not HSM

- doesn't have HSM
- for some people 77mm filter size is not proper
- price was for me very surprising, because i bought it for 320$. In fact Sigma demand 800$.

Very nice lens. It's compact, quite sharp, has IF. It's smaller than 24-70, which has 82mm filter size, and which i 30% bigger than 24-60. Very nice focal range using traditional camera. Using digital camera and taking landscapes we may buy some super-wide lens like Tokina AT-X 12-24mm f:4 or Sigma 10-20mm EX HSM.

Similar Products Used:

+ Sigma AF 24mm 2.8 Super Wide
+ Tamron 28-75mm 2.8, old Tokina AT-X 28-70mm 2.8

Amazing sharpness and contrast stopped down.

Cheapish

focus sometimes misses and always when you cannot retake!!!!!!

compact and reasonably well made, but not an L.

Focus is not close to USM for speed/noise and accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. I have had plenty of blurred images due to missed focus with my eos 350D, but it seems better with my eos 3 for sure.

Not really that sharp wide open, but at 5.6 and beyond this lens is astonishingly sharp and contrasty. Th detail is simply incredible, but for me the focus issue is a killer as you have to recheck focus regularly. If you MUST work fast and MUST be able to rely upon perfect focus, forget this lens altogether. For landscapes and the like it is a superb choice. Personally, in time this will be replaced with a canon L zoom.

Still, good value and far sharper than basic consumer lenses. Whwen focused and 5.6+ it is blinding.

Similar Products Used:

LOADS

i have bad copy, can't say nothing

i bought this lens 24 60ex online, it good look and nice build lens. but they didn't fix auto focus problem. it focus litle before object, . my advi?e dont buy it from online just in shop where you can check its auto focus. how i did the check of AF? shoot line of text whith angle of 45 deg ( line vertical to you, & AF in your camera set in center), then look if focus in the same place that you aimed, in my case focus was 5-6 cm before point thet i aimed. in big distance this difference will increase now i regret that i bought it, better i wuld buy canon 28 135 IS it almost same price.

Customer Service

dont buy from bsdphoto Israel.

Sharp and lightweight a little soft at 2.8

Doesn't zoom smoothly, motor a little noisy

I've been shooting weddings for almost 30yrs. and had stopped for the last couple of years. Going into digital wedding photography I pretty much had to buy all new equipment. When looking for a lens for my back up Canon XT, I read some reviews and it looked like it would be good enough for back up equipment. Well, I found it so light and sharp that I have been using it instead of my Canon L's, except the 70-200 IS, my favorate lens. So far I have used it as a main shooting lens for the last 3 weddings and am more than happy with the results. The must have straight 2.8 it excellent for digital weddings. I can't believe how small and light it is, a real concern when carring it around for hours at a time. The zoom could be a little smoother and the motor a little more quiet, for about 1/4 of the price of a Canon, big deal. I have 2 other Sigma EX's he 50mm Macro and the 105mm Macro, both excellent also. Now I'm going to purchase the 18-50mm 2.8. It sounds like a great lens too. I had a couple Tokina's, nice, bulit like a tank and as heavy as one too, but still nowhere near as sharp as this lens. My assistant shoots with my 17-40L and I haven't seen any quality difference between them.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 17-40L, Tokina 28-80 2.8, Tokina 20-35 2.8

2.8 in the whole range cheap! high quality 77 mm filter Minolta D-function 24 mm

some flare zoom range is somewhat small lens extends during zooming

I bought this lens as a one-lens option for the situations in which I don't like to change lenses (on my Minolta DSLR). I really like the feel and finish of this lens. Pro-quality and quite a heavy unit. Manual focus is a bit loose on my specimen, though. I did test this lens extensively during the first week after receiving it. I found that sharpness, CA and flare all were within my expectations. Performance was a bit soft at f/2.8, but improves quite a lot atf/ 4 and higher. It was clearly a better performer than my old Minolta 24-50/4 zoomlens. Therefore this lens became a stayer. I am satisfied by the results until now. Images are very(!) sharp up to 20 bij 30 cm photo's (I haven't printed larger at this point). Compared to my primes this lens is quite bulky, but a lot less that it's Sigma 'brother', the 24-70/2.8, which is a giant. I found some flare when I used it for night pictures. It is supposed to have 'special' coatings at the rear, for use on digital camera's.

Customer Service

Not used yet

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 24-50 Minolta 24/2.8 Minolta 35/2 Minolta 50/1.4 Sigma 70-200/2.8

Ultrasharp. Light and easy to carry. Very good color and contrast.

Too short of a focal length.

I didn't own this lens for that long---I traded it for a Canon 17-40L---but in the time I had it was very impressed with it. It's a light, short lens that gives excellent sharpness, contrast and color. Very nice as a walkaround lens. The only problem I had with it was that 24-60 didn't seem to be as useful a focal length as 24-70 or 28-75.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 24-70 Canon 28-105