I got this lens instead of the kit lens because I thought it would have better quality images, and the speed is 2 stops faster at the long end to help in low- light situation. The trade-offs are weight and cost. However, any fast lens will be heavy, and relatively speaking it is not a bank buster at $375. The DG EX is Sigma's better series of lenses. There is a "macro" version out now, though this one focuses to about 6" in front of the lens (image is 5 keyboard keys wide).
Here are some sample pix.
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