Wow - Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 for $469

Wow - Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 for $469 · 02:34 PM

B&H has just slashed the price of the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens to $469 ($200 off). This is a steal!

Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Zoom Lens for Pentax DSLRs 58C109

See our in-depth review for more details on this popular lens and how it compares to the Pentax 16-50:
DA* 16-50mm vs. Sigma and Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 Comparison - Introduction - PentaxForums.com

kraigg007 · 03-25-2014, 11:32 AM

Originally posted by Adam

FF/BF is something that can happen with any lens. I wouldn't steer clear of Sigma lenses because they're really quite good, though I can understand that getting a bad copy can be frustrating (with that said, B&H will gladly send a replacement if there's a problem).

Adam,

Which walk around lens has better image quality the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or the Contemporary 17-70 f2.8-4?

Adam · 03-25-2014, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by kraigg007

Adam,

Which walk around lens has better image quality the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or the Contemporary 17-70 f2.8-4?

The 17-50mm, but it's also got a more restrictive zoom range.

devorama · 03-25-2014, 01:39 PM

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but does anyone know if these Sigma zooms identify themselves accurately to a Pentax body? I have the old 30mm F/1.4 and the 24mm F/1.8 from Sigma. If I set a Fine AF Adjustment value for one, it carries over to the other lens because they identify as the same lens to the camera body. This is very inconvenient.

Adam · 03-25-2014, 01:42 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by devorama

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but does anyone know if these Sigma zooms identify themselves accurately to a Pentax body? I have the old 30mm F/1.4 and the 24mm F/1.8 from Sigma. If I set a Fine AF Adjustment value for one, it carries over to the other lens because they identify as the same lens to the camera body. This is very inconvenient.

The new ones are able to unambiguously identify themselves, yes.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)

PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

zhuxyg · 03-25-2014, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by Adam

B&H has just slashed the price of the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens to $469 ($200 off). This is a steal!

Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Zoom Lens for Pentax DSLRs 58C109

See our in-depth review for more details on this popular lens and how it compares to the Pentax 16-50:
DA* 16-50mm vs. Sigma and Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 Comparison - Introduction - PentaxForums.com

Japanese sellers sell this lens on ebay for $375 new (Japan version). It seems the warranty is only good in Japan, other wise is good deal. I used have both pentax 16-50 and Sigma 17-50, both are good lens, Pentax has better color, Sigma has higher resolution.

erl · 03-26-2014, 02:43 AM

Seems to be replaced in April or May. The previous version, 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS Macro, was in production from 2006 until the introduction of 17-50mm in 2010. Four years have passed, it's the time to meet a successor. I think, we'll see 17-50mm F2.8 DC OS HSM Art with FTM, but 16-50mm F2.8 is possible too.

Tighelander · 03-30-2014, 10:53 PM

I just bought mine a couple of months ago when B&H had a "$100 off" sale.

I was impressed that the case was nicer than the sock that Pentax includes with their 50-135mm.

VisualDarkness · 03-30-2014, 11:15 PM

Originally posted by Tighelander

I just bought mine a couple of months ago when B&H had a "$100 off" sale.

I was impressed that the case was nicer than the sock that Pentax includes with their 50-135mm.

The sigma cases and packaging are light years ahead of Pentax's. I wonder how many more Pentax lenses suffered shipment damage compared to Sigma ones.

littledrawe · 03-31-2014, 12:34 PM

Originally posted by VisualDarkness

The sigma cases and packaging are light years ahead of Pentax's. I wonder how many more Pentax lenses suffered shipment damage compared to Sigma ones.

Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor.

stormtech · 03-31-2014, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by littledrawe

Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor.

I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic.

**geomez** · 03-31-2014, 04:49 PM

Originally posted by stormtech

I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic.

Next lens you get from them video yourself kicking it across the yard. Viral video gold.

Tighelander · 03-31-2014, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by geomez

Next lens you get from them video yourself kicking it across the yard. Viral video gold.

This reminds me of a video from some years ago where a young adult is purposely breaking a Canon 5-something just to show that he can.

maxxxx · 03-31-2014, 06:10 PM

Originally posted by stormtech

I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic.

I just got my Sigma from B&H. Seems they ran out of bubble wrap and the Sigma box was moving freely within the shipping box. The lens itself comes in a padded pouch so no issue there. To summarize, Sigma packaging great, B&H very bad. Even the shipping box is very flimsy. Adorama ships their stuff much better.

But most importantly, the lens is great from what I gathered in the short time have had it.

littledrawe · 03-31-2014, 08:47 PM

@maxxxx, I'll have to post a shot of the last thing I bought from adorama. Not better, worse actually.

Helen Oster · 04-01-2014, 04:59 AM

Originally posted by littledrawe

Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor.

Originally posted by littledrawe

@maxxxx, I'll have to post a shot of the last thing I bought from adorama. Not better, worse actually.

Firstly, please accept my apologies; I absolutely understand why you would be frustrated by this and have already copied your comments over to the Adorama shipping manager. Saying that, this really should not be the case, and I would be grateful if you could please email me: Helen@adorama.com at your earliest opportunity with any order numbers relating to items you have received packed in this way so that it can be taken up with the packer(s) concerned. It can only be a sporadic issue with the packing team, because as a matter of procedure we pack above and beyond the industry standard.

Adorama packers do not use peanuts for packaging for a variety of reasons, but the most important one is that peanuts have been proven to be inadequate for the types of merchandise we ship, as items packed in the center of a box are liable to slip to the side of the box - so are more susceptible to damage.

Pillows are the Adorama choice of packaging because they are proven to be the best shock absorbers for all categories of product. Most packaging companies that come in and see our operation are taken back by the amount of pillows we use in one carton. They actually drool to try and get the business because it is not the norm. The industry standard is to put the item in the box to one corner, as you described, and then fill the void with dunnage whether it is peanuts, pillows, foam, or paper.
Our procedure is to blanket the bottom and the sides of the box with pillows, place the item in the middle and then fold over the pillows and add more to fill the box where needed. The only thing we don’t add any pillows to are those items that ship in the vendor box, and soft goods (t-shirts, backpacks, hats, etc).

You may be surprised to note that not only do most manufacturers pack cameras and lenses in shaped polystyrene inside the box, but they deliver the boxes to us in shipping cartons packed side by side, without any additional packaging or protective insulation at all, either in between the boxes or on the outside of them. So I guess the major manufacturers feel that the packaging they provide is sufficient to protect the unit inside.

Once again my apologies for any disappointment that has been caused, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Adam
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03-25-2014, 01:32 PM	#17
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,608 Original Poster	Originally posted by kraigg007 Adam, Which walk around lens has better image quality the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or the Contemporary 17-70 f2.8-4? The 17-50mm, but it's also got a more restrictive zoom range. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

03-25-2014, 07:58 PM	#20
zhuxyg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: MN Posts: 204	Originally posted by Adam B&H has just slashed the price of the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens to $469 ($200 off). This is a steal! Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Zoom Lens for Pentax DSLRs 58C109 See our in-depth review for more details on this popular lens and how it compares to the Pentax 16-50: DA* 16-50mm vs. Sigma and Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 Comparison - Introduction - PentaxForums.com Japanese sellers sell this lens on ebay for $375 new (Japan version). It seems the warranty is only good in Japan, other wise is good deal. I used have both pentax 16-50 and Sigma 17-50, both are good lens, Pentax has better color, Sigma has higher resolution. Last edited by zhuxyg; 03-25-2014 at 08:43 PM.

03-31-2014, 08:47 PM	#29
littledrawe Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Red Rock Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,514	@maxxxx, I'll have to post a shot of the last thing I bought from adorama. Not better, worse actually. Last edited by littledrawe; 03-31-2014 at 09:18 PM.

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03-25-2014, 11:32 AM	#16
kraigg007 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 195	Originally posted by Adam FF/BF is something that can happen with any lens. I wouldn't steer clear of Sigma lenses because they're really quite good, though I can understand that getting a bad copy can be frustrating (with that said, B&H will gladly send a replacement if there's a problem). Adam, Which walk around lens has better image quality the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or the Contemporary 17-70 f2.8-4?

03-25-2014, 01:39 PM	#18
devorama Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 638	Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but does anyone know if these Sigma zooms identify themselves accurately to a Pentax body? I have the old 30mm F/1.4 and the 24mm F/1.8 from Sigma. If I set a Fine AF Adjustment value for one, it carries over to the other lens because they identify as the same lens to the camera body. This is very inconvenient.

03-25-2014, 01:42 PM - 1 Like	#19
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,608 Original Poster	Originally posted by devorama Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but does anyone know if these Sigma zooms identify themselves accurately to a Pentax body? I have the old 30mm F/1.4 and the 24mm F/1.8 from Sigma. If I set a Fine AF Adjustment value for one, it carries over to the other lens because they identify as the same lens to the camera body. This is very inconvenient. The new ones are able to unambiguously identify themselves, yes. Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

03-26-2014, 02:43 AM	#21
erl New Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 8	Seems to be replaced in April or May. The previous version, 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS Macro, was in production from 2006 until the introduction of 17-50mm in 2010. Four years have passed, it's the time to meet a successor. I think, we'll see 17-50mm F2.8 DC OS HSM Art with FTM, but 16-50mm F2.8 is possible too.

03-30-2014, 10:53 PM	#22
Tighelander Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: San Diego Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 228	I just bought mine a couple of months ago when B&H had a "$100 off" sale. I was impressed that the case was nicer than the sock that Pentax includes with their 50-135mm.

03-30-2014, 11:15 PM	#23
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	Originally posted by Tighelander I just bought mine a couple of months ago when B&H had a "$100 off" sale. I was impressed that the case was nicer than the sock that Pentax includes with their 50-135mm. The sigma cases and packaging are light years ahead of Pentax's. I wonder how many more Pentax lenses suffered shipment damage compared to Sigma ones.

03-31-2014, 12:34 PM	#24
littledrawe Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Red Rock Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,514	Originally posted by VisualDarkness The sigma cases and packaging are light years ahead of Pentax's. I wonder how many more Pentax lenses suffered shipment damage compared to Sigma ones. Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor.

03-31-2014, 02:53 PM	#25
stormtech Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: In the boonies (NW Penna) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,744	Originally posted by littledrawe Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor. I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic.

03-31-2014, 04:49 PM	#26
geomez Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Roanoke, Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,760	Originally posted by stormtech I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic. Next lens you get from them video yourself kicking it across the yard. Viral video gold.

03-31-2014, 06:08 PM	#27
Tighelander Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: San Diego Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 228	Originally posted by geomez Next lens you get from them video yourself kicking it across the yard. Viral video gold. This reminds me of a video from some years ago where a young adult is purposely breaking a Canon 5-something just to show that he can.

03-31-2014, 06:10 PM	#28
maxxxx Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 385	Originally posted by stormtech I have to defend B&H with this. Yes, in the past it was just like you said. But I bought a lens over the Black Friday weekend, and was very pleasantly surprised at their new packing. The lens box was in the center of the shipping box, and the rest filled with industrial bubble wrap. The bubble wrap was the exact width of the box and folded over and around the lens box. I could have drop kicked the box across the yard without any fear of any movement whatsoever. I wish I had thought of taking a pic. I just got my Sigma from B&H. Seems they ran out of bubble wrap and the Sigma box was moving freely within the shipping box. The lens itself comes in a padded pouch so no issue there. To summarize, Sigma packaging great, B&H very bad. Even the shipping box is very flimsy. Adorama ships their stuff much better. But most importantly, the lens is great from what I gathered in the short time have had it.

04-01-2014, 04:59 AM	#30
Helen Oster Adorama Camera Representative Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New York Posts: 550	Originally posted by littledrawe Invaluable point Sir! Take into account the practice of B&H and Adorama of packing the lens in the corner of the box with no padding on 3 sides and this becomes even more of a factor. Originally posted by littledrawe @maxxxx, I'll have to post a shot of the last thing I bought from adorama. Not better, worse actually. Firstly, please accept my apologies; I absolutely understand why you would be frustrated by this and have already copied your comments over to the Adorama shipping manager. Saying that, this really should not be the case, and I would be grateful if you could please email me: Helen@adorama.com at your earliest opportunity with any order numbers relating to items you have received packed in this way so that it can be taken up with the packer(s) concerned. It can only be a sporadic issue with the packing team, because as a matter of procedure we pack above and beyond the industry standard. Adorama packers do not use peanuts for packaging for a variety of reasons, but the most important one is that peanuts have been proven to be inadequate for the types of merchandise we ship, as items packed in the center of a box are liable to slip to the side of the box - so are more susceptible to damage. Pillows are the Adorama choice of packaging because they are proven to be the best shock absorbers for all categories of product. Most packaging companies that come in and see our operation are taken back by the amount of pillows we use in one carton. They actually drool to try and get the business because it is not the norm. The industry standard is to put the item in the box to one corner, as you described, and then fill the void with dunnage whether it is peanuts, pillows, foam, or paper. Our procedure is to blanket the bottom and the sides of the box with pillows, place the item in the middle and then fold over the pillows and add more to fill the box where needed. The only thing we don’t add any pillows to are those items that ship in the vendor box, and soft goods (t-shirts, backpacks, hats, etc). You may be surprised to note that not only do most manufacturers pack cameras and lenses in shaped polystyrene inside the box, but they deliver the boxes to us in shipping cartons packed side by side, without any additional packaging or protective insulation at all, either in between the boxes or on the outside of them. So I guess the major manufacturers feel that the packaging they provide is sufficient to protect the unit inside. Once again my apologies for any disappointment that has been caused, and I look forward to hearing from you.