Originally posted by stevebrot To be fair, the current Sigma has not been tested against the DA 17-70. Its immediate predecessor was deemed essentially comparable in the review here at Pentax Forums with a slight node going to the Sigma. My comment was based on what I remembered of the photozone.de review of the DA 17-70 and the glowing review of the Sigma 17-70 (c) on this site. To quote the PF reviewer:
I'm the one who wrote that review
The Pentax is a very fine lens, in itself. Nothing wrong with it, your typical Pentax lens. The Sigma simply has more perks at a lower price in most markets. that doesn't make the Pentax mediocre.