Very versatile with 2.8 max aperture Quick and easily manual focusing when desired/needed Reasonably price so working people with rent/mortgage and car payment can still afford some excellent glass Excellent build/construction It is not Canon "Steal Me" White. Fits and balances very nicely with my A2 vertical grip and exceptionally well with my EOS 3 and PB-E2.

Zoom ring smaller than I would like it to be (I think that the zoom ring should be the size of the manual focusing ring since I use the zoom ring much more that I use the manual focus but that is just me (switch there respective sizes Sigma)). Wish the zoom range were 24-135 with constant 2.8 max aperture (now that would be so sweet! Anybody from Sigma writing this down?) 82-mm multi coated filters are a bit harder to find than I expected when most of the pro category/class of lenses are 67 mm or greater filter sizes.

Had the lens for a little over 6 months. Purchased used but came complete with all the documentation, soft case, lens hood and in mint condition. Very Nice package. Immediately mounted it on my Canon EOS A2 and headed out to t small local zoo in southern NJ. Trees are everywhere. Just about all of the animals and exhibits are at least partially covered over head by trees. Constantly in and out of the shade. Being able to use shutter priority and have the 2.8 aperture avail was definitely a plus in this case. Zooming requires a firm hand but is uniform and consistent throughout its range and switching from auto focus to manual by pulling the focusing ring toward you was a snap and did not require manipulating the auto/manual focus switch for those fine details while I was attempting to tryout every feature of this lens. Switching to aperture priority, I went through the aperture range making sure that I included a couple of the animal cages. Intending to use the lines of the cages to check for distortion and sharpness. I did not notice what I would consider any excessive pin cushioning or barreling. There was a little softness at the 24 mm end on some shots so I am not sure if that was the fault of the lens since it was not consistent across several frames like I would think that would be the case if the lens was the root cause. Will continue to check for this in the near future and maybe have those frames reprinted to see if that makes a difference (it has before, but that is another story altogether). Put a couple of rolls of Fuji 200 print film through the camera using the 24-70 and it performed beautifully despite the high temperatures and humidity (held up better than I did in some respects). When I got the prints back I was very happy with the sharpness and contrast that this lens produced. I would honestly have to rate 40 of the 48 pictures that I took that afternoon as excellent. The other 8 I would have to rate as good to very good and that is due to operator error for not switching from evaluative to spot metering when I was taking some shots around the monkey cages which had a strong back light. Even in those pictures, the gibbons were very clear and identifiable but about 1 stop under exposed. I should have noticed and compensated or switched modes. Again my error. My next outing using this lens I used my EOS 3 with PB-E2. While I like using the A2 a lot due mainly because I can manually select the focusing point very quickly and easily using the main dial, the eye control of the EOS 3 is an absolute joy to use (after you get it calibrated to your eye) with a lens like the 24-70 2.8. Especially when you are trying to follow a white tiger that is pacing around its cage. Just for the record, they do tend to get a little on edge just before feeding time. The viewfinder is bright and all of those shadows at the zoo seemed to just fade away. Never mind manually selecting the focus point. Just look, press the shutter button halfway and the lens focuses quickly and quietly. The only time that I noticed that the lens did hunt while attempting to focus was when I was attempting to focus at something that either behind a glass window and the reflections were causing problems, or when I was attempting to photograph some of the birds and the wire from the cages were also covered by the same focus point that I was attempting to use. Adjusting my angle/position slightly in those situations that I ran into at the zoo solved both problems. I must note that I did not have those problems with the A2 since I selected the focusing point manually. I later went to one of the near by lake parks and the reflection from the water did not pose a problem at all with the EOS 3 and this lens.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

None with similar aperture range

Sharp Image Fast Lens Useful zoom range for digital SLR's

Manual focus is fiddley to switch to. 82mm Filters required.

I like the lens. Gives a nice field of view and a nice working range for a D-SLR. Images are sharp and distortion and peripheral light fall off are negligable. Price is fantastic. Focus is fast and quiet on auto.

Customer Service

Excellent issue sorted within 24hrs

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-70

Sharp photos indoors or in the shade. F2.8 24-70mm great for dslrs inexpensive for f 2.8

flare lens hood useless heavy stiff zoom ring

The f2.8 aperature on this lens is hard to beat. A great lens for low light photos. Takes great portraits as long as you are indoors or in the shade, but seems to have a real problem with flare causing fogginess or blurriness if you are shooting anywhere near the direction of the sun. The lens hood included with it is useless.

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

tamron 24-40 f3.5-5.6

Appearance, Handling, Low Cost.

Poor wide open and suffers from flare.

I was initially delighted when this fast 2.8 lens became available at such a low price compared with the Canon model. I was using a Tokina 28-105 3.5-4.5 until then and a 2.8 zoom appeared economically unattainable. I was hoping that the lens would look the part in the field when pitched against other pros and to this end the lens doesn't disappoint with its EX finish and Gold band. Performance is a different story and it is here that I have one or two misgivings. At 2.8 the lens doesn't cut the mustard and this seems to concur with other reviews, the image is far too soft across the frame. I tend to use this lens at f5.6 and above or f4 at a push. Everything else is good, handling, feel and appearance. NOTE: This lens is prone to flair especially in the studio with multiple light sources so I now only use outdoors or on-camera flash indoors.

Customer Service

Don't Know

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 28-105, Sigma 70-300, Canon 100 f4

Built like a tank, very sharp and the manual focus is very accurate

Since all my lenses are Ultrasonic, this lens is not ever near that. But it does very well in manual mode, which is what I'll be using the lens most

Hello folks, This review is base on the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 new model. First I would like to say that whatever you do, DO NOT BUY FROM TRISTATE CAMERA IN NY. First they don't sell you the USA version of the lens online, then they call you at home and offer you the USA version for more money, and if that's not enough they charged my credit card "3" times in a week. SO STAY AWAY FROM THEM!! I sold my Canon 28-105mm USM lens, looking for a sharper lens. The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 is a well made lens, please view these pictures, which where taking at f/5.6 at 1/125sec. http://www.gvisions.org/models.htm (set at f/5.6 at 1/125sec) http://www.gvisions.org/model2.htm (set at f/2.8) I bought this lens main for landscape photography but my first test was a model shoot at my local camera club. The lens is big and it handles very well with my Canon EOS-3 and Elan 7E. The AF is not the best but if you like to use manual focus for your portraits and landscapes this lens is for you.

Customer Service

N/A, thanks god!

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-105 USM

24mm f2.8 constant aperture

70mm pincushion distortion Tight zoom collar

I agree with most other comments on this lens. Pincushion distortion at 70mm mark is a major problem. The filter size doesn't bother me. It's something I knew about before buying it so no point complaining. The weight is no problem either, what does anyone expect for a constant aperture zoom lens?

Customer Service

Not sure yet.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 20mm f1.8 DG - Good lens.

Good look (black and gold), sharp, good colors, hood included, quick focusing

Heavy! 82 mm filter size, not a soft zoom ring.

I use that with a Canon EOS 30 (ela 7e), and it´s a good lens for the price, you can use it at professional works but only if you cannot buy the Canon 24-70 2.8L, very very expansive!

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-105 f2.8-4, Nikkor MF 35-105 f3.5-4.5, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Nikkor 35-80 f4-5.6

Professional look, sturdy good feel, 2.8 f/stop, not bad optics, LOW PRICE

DISTORTION and NOISE abundant, huge diameter of lens ($$$screw-on filters), must upgrade to X-pro Cokin filter holder ($$$$ Circular Polarizer in the $500 range) to avoid vignetting at wide angles, blocks built in flash making a mounted flash a must to avoid shadows on the pictures, zoom ring extremely tight to the point of disfuctionallity.

Before purchasing the Sigma lens I was shooting for a brief period with a quantaray lens (made by Sigma also)on a Canon Rebel 2000 SLR. Believe it or not the results from this combo were quite stunning for a $300 lens+camera. Now with my Nikon N80 and the 24-90mm wide/ zoom lens of Sigma the results are poorer!!! I noticed a lot of distortion at 24mm shots and the overall quality isn't that great compared not only to other lenses of similar calibre but to plenty of inferior ones too that I happen to have tried out. Another aspect that got to my nerves is the nearly impossible zoom ring that seems disfuctional. Overall I am dissapointed, tommorow I will return it and check out some Tamron models that seem more appealing.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Quantaray 28-90mm 3.5-4.8

f/2.8 but not useable.

Heavy. Noisy.

Bought the lens for my Canon 10D, but at f/2.8 pictures are not in focus. Switched to Canon EF 24-85mm USM gives much better results.

Customer Service

No problems to switch

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 24-85mm 3.5-4.5 USM

lens with hood /f2.8 cheap

too large filter 82mm too big can't group with other lens(coz filter) flare&ghost

i purchased this lens coz it likes pro lens, but after i used for few months i decided to sell out. it wasn't their quality. reason why? see weakness

Customer Service

never used yet

Similar Products Used:

EF 28-105 EF 28-135