Originally posted by ronuser OK...It's a big clunker, but I love the Sigma 24-70 2.8 (macro). I have the non HSM version. I'm looking for a wider zoom ....
Sigma 10-20 f/3.5
Sigma 10-20 f3.5-4.5
Tamron 10-24 f/3.5-4.5
Sigma 17-35 f/2.8-4 (I'm leaning towards this)
Pentax 16-45 f/4 (I'm leaning towards this as well)
Thoughts.....? Not interested in the Pentax 10-17
I own the Sigma 10-20 f3.5-4.5 and the Pentax 16-45. They are both reasonably sharp wide open and much sharper when stopped down to f8 or so. In practical applications, the Sigma is considerably wider on the wide end than the Pentax.
The issue I have with most of these lenses is the sharpness at infinity. I shot the Sigma for a studio product session that called for extreme closeup and very distorted images. The results are stunning at f10 or so. I have also shot some landscape work and the lens seems to be soft for far away objects even when stopped down.
I keep thinking that it is my imagination or unreasonable expectations of the lens but the Sigma is softer for infinity applications. For normal viewing sizes and small to mid-size prints it may be ok.