[Class A]

This lens seems to be truly impressive with an apparent sweet spot at f/2.8!

The sample images @ Flickr are very promising, including the bokeh.

I'm still not fully convinced by Sigma's recent 35/1.4 which is incredibly sharp but seems to have a bit of nervous bokeh at certain distances. This new 18-35, however, seems to be extremely nice overall.

I'd still want a 31/1.8 for its build quality and bokeh, but it may become a bit of an irrational choice with such competition.

Sigma Lens: Zooms - Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM "A" (Tested) - SLRgear.com!

What a shocking sharpness in Zoom lens. Is this $799??

Canon and Nikon might sell this lens in $2000~3000. This will show how Canon and Nikon are suck at making lens...

[Gray]

Well done Sigma! With Pentax jacking up lens prices it's good to see Sigma coming in and under with good value high quality lenses.

I've just ordered the new Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 "C" HSM lens. It's my 3rd Sigma after the 8-16 HSM and 50-500 OS/HSM, both of which are fine examples of Sigma's excellent lens making ability.

[seventysixersfan]

I've just ordered the new Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 "C" HSM lens. It's my 3rd Sigma after the 8-16 HSM and 50-500 OS/HSM, both of which are fine examples of Sigma's excellent lens making ability.

Congrats! Please be sure to report back when you get it and have used the new contemporary zoom lens for a while. I'm very interested in acquiring the 17-70 lens someday. And I'm curious to find out how you think it compares with your DA 18-135 and Tamron 28-75. Will you use either lens less because of the new lens? Or will all three zoom continue to have a place in your camera bag?

[Biro]

Yes, I'd love to see how the new Sigma 17-70 compares with the DA 18-135.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Mmmm...I see one of these + a 50-135 in my future B)

You know, a Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM would be a much better match for the new lens. Keep it all in the family you know. Too bad they don't make the 50-150mm for Pentax anymore, but luckily a used sample is easier to find these days since Sigma recently sold a bunch of old stock 50-150mm's.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

In the past Sigma has made lenses that look great on paper but don't perform well within the widest stop or more. A quality lens will perform well stopped down by only 1/3 or 2/3 stops at the most. Sigma's had no problem selling lenses that require being stopped down by twice that (or more).

I don't think that's been the case for many years now. The Sigma 30mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4 have been around for years and have been known for having class-leading sharpness wide-open. The new Sigma 85mm 1.4 is also very sharp at maximum aperture. And their fast zooms such as the 17-50mm f/2.8 and 50-150mm f/2.8 are also sharper than most of the competition. Their ultra-wide zooms have also been very attractive.

Your comment and many others like it demonstrates that Sigma had a lot of work to do in turning its reputation around, but I would say they've been able to do just that. And not only are they nailing it on quality these days, they're doing it at very attractive prices.

It kind of reminds of the drastic turn-around that Hyundai has been able to achieve in their automobiles, where they went from cars that were almost disposable, to cars that are challenging the best automakers in the world.

[Clinton]

Sigma just made some money

[Edgar_in_Indy]

Sigma just made some money

Looks like this thing is going to be a home run for Sigma. They're going to be getting some more of my money too!

I'll tell you who lost my money...Olympus (and Panasonic). I was all set to sell everything and drop more than $4000 on a switch to an m43 system when the OM-D E-M5 came out, but I was disappointed with the lack of fast, affordable zooms in m43. I instead went with my gut-feeling and upgraded to the K-30. The release of the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 in K-mount vindicates my decision to stay with Pentax.

It's such a disappointment that m43 has never delivered on its promise of fast, compact, affordable zoom lenses. If Sigma is able to make a practical and affordable f/1.8 zoom lens for a much-larger APS-C sensor then there's no longer any excuse for the pathetic m43 zoom situation. A smaller sensor means smaller lens elements, and smaller overall lens size, and reduced production cost. But instead of affordable f2 zooms, m43 has only gotten ridiculously over-priced f/2.8 zooms.

Hmmm, $800 for the APS-C Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 vs $1300 for the smaller m43 Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8. Think there's much markup going on there for the Panasonic? Too bad, since the m43 system has so much going for it.

[Cannikin]

Hmmm, $800 for the APS-C Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 vs $1300 for the smaller m43 Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8. Think there's much markup going on there for the Panasonic? Too bad, since the m43 system has so much going for it.

To be fair, the Panny 12-35 f/2.8 has a wider zoom range, is weather sealed, has image stabilization (not that you need it with Oly cameras), and is much smaller and lighter.

Sure it's definitely still overpriced, but not crazily so, at least in comparison to some lenses like say the DA* 16-50, relative to AF and optical quality...

[Edgar_in_Indy]

To be fair, the Panny 12-35 f/2.8 has a wider zoom range, is weather sealed, has image stabilization (not that you need it with Oly cameras), and is much smaller and lighter.

That's all true, but the sad part is that it's not really anything that special compared to what was already available for APS-C. The m43 system was a great opportunity to get faster lenses into smaller packages, and smaller elements also held the promise of less expensive lenses. Instead, the zoom lenses that have shown up are no faster than what we already have, they don't allow the same shallow DOF (most will consider that a con) and they're expensive.

Olympus still has yet to reveal any fast zooms, so maybe by not having stabilization in the lens, they will be able to offer a wider aperture in a similar size to the Panasonic lenses.

It's just shocking to me that the first affordable consumer zoom lens with an aperture faster than f/2.8 is not an m43 lens, but is instead an APS-C lens, and it bypassed f2 (already available in some crazy-expensive 4/3 lenses) and went straight to f1.8.

[Pheo]

Awesome price considering. Tempting as a Tamron 17-50 replacement, although the range gap might be concerning

[stormtech]

This lens might change the game for me a bit. I've sworn off most Sigma lenses after having a couple new ones with back focus issues right out of the box. And yes, I know people say to send your camera in to Sigma with the lens to get it calibrated, but when I spend $500+ for a lens I find that ridiculous.

This new lens has the USB docking option - how great is that!

Edit to add: oh-oh.....I don't see the USB dock available at B&H for Pentax - they show a dock compatible for Canon, Nikon, and Sigma lenses

[Edgar_in_Indy]

I know people say to send your camera in to Sigma with the lens to get it calibrated

You should send your lens and camera in for calibration.

[bossa]

This lens seems to be truly impressive with an apparent sweet spot at f/2.8!

The sample images @ Flickr are very promising, including the bokeh.

I'm still not fully convinced by Sigma's recent 35/1.4 which is incredibly sharp but seems to have a bit of nervous bokeh at certain distances. This new 18-35, however, seems to be extremely nice overall.

I'd still want a 31/1.8 for its build quality and bokeh, but it may become a bit of an irrational choice with such competition.

I just "re-purchased" a FA31 only a couple of months ago and this new lens would seriously pressure me to sell it.