Originally posted by normhead We actually own a Sigma 18-250 which was great lens, until it became decentred and was sent to Sigma to no avail. But it did do very well in one of the IQ polls I ran where I put up images from 6 or 7 lenses and ask forum members to judge their quality. I believe if memory serves me well it actually won in one category against much more expensive lenses, prime and zooms. We tend to be pretty hard on our gear, but non-the less, I expect more ruggedness for my gear Lenses like my DA*60-250 have taken everything I could hand out and are still working great. We also have a Tamron 17-50 which has become decentred, replaced recently by the DA 16-85. So we have two lenses, a Sigma and a Tamron that we will no longer use. They can both produce good images but they aren't reliable.
Both Tess and I have used the 18-250 with acceptable results. But we carry our lenses in Pelican cases over hill and dale. Someone a little less demanding of their lenses could have better results and more longevity.
It’s a good lens for the price I think. Mine’s been across the USA and a bunch of Canada in motorcycle panniers a couple times. No issues yet. The 60-250 is a tank of a lens which I ran all around Afghanistan for a year living out of a backpack on and off helicopters and various convoys. Same with the 16-50 but that one had the SDM die. That 60-250 captured a bunch of shots of helicopters which are some of my favorites. It’s a shame the Sigma’s not weather sealed though. For 299 it’s a pretty good deal . I don’t think it would have faired well though Afghanistan though.