Walk around companion (Sigma vs Sigma)

axl · 02-26-2008, 04:42 AM

Hi guys,
so my money has fianly arrived, and I decided to get rid of my Tamron 28-200 and replace it with different walk around lens. I discarded option of Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Every member that has ever held or shot this lens is recommending it but 28 is too narrow for me for everyday use. Plus it would leave me with 8mm gap between my Sigma 10-20 and new lens.
I discarded primes as well. For one reason or another.
So my last two choices are:
Sigma 24-70 f2.8:
+ built quality, contrast/colours, f2.8 throughout the range
- size, weight, filter thread size (82mm)

Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5
+ ??? smaller filter thread, smaller and lighter, 40GBP cheaper
- 4.5 at 70mm ???
(don't know that much about this one)

What's your opinion guys, I will buy one of these two for sure, but can't decide which one. It would accompany my 10-20 as main lens. Can anybody recommend ane of those two?
There's poll too, so if you're not bothered to write, at least take a vote please.
Many thanx
Peter

Camilsky · 02-26-2008, 04:56 AM

Hey! I've got Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 EX ! It's a great lens! If I were you I would focus on the IQ/focal length ratio! The weight factor is very subjective, and can be really misleading!

I use my sigma as a standard walk-around + aquaristic photography lens. It's great!

Taken with f/5.6 @ 70 mm

Also f/5.6 @ 70 mm

This lens is really great!

palmor · 02-26-2008, 04:59 AM

I have the 17-70 and love it. Great IQ with a great zoom range for a walk about lens. It can also be used as a pseudo macro lens (I think it does a 1:2.3 ). Some people have had some bad ones but it seems like every manufacturer (including Pentax) has less then stellar QC lately. Anyway for a TON of example go to the Alaska Gallery on my pbase site (link in my Sig).

Hope that helps
John

roscot · 02-26-2008, 05:19 AM

I've not heard anything bad about the sigma 17-70, but if you are not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the Pentax DA17-70 f4.0, or the Tamron 17-50 f2.8. My personal preference is for fast and constant aperture lenses. The Tamron has some decent reviews. The DA17-70 will also have the advantage of being a SDM lens.

little laker · 02-26-2008, 09:31 AM

I have the 24 - 70 in a Sigma mount, and love this lens.
If I had any complaint it's that it's a little big and heavy, but I've gotten to expect that with any f2.8 zooms.
This pic was taken with it

and here's a link to the full sized pic

MRRiley · 02-26-2008, 11:09 AM

I shot 99% of my last modeling shoot with the Tamron 28-70mm f2.8 and I have to say it was spectacular. True, on a DSLR, 28mm isn't very wide but its easy to carry along the DA18-55mm kit lens or the DA16-45mm f4 for the times you need the extra width. For sample of the qualities of the Tamron 28-70mm f2.8, check out the Black Valentine shoot in my photo.net gallery (link in signature).

Geekybiker · 02-26-2008, 12:40 PM

I think it depends on what you shoot. Landscapes and group portraits? The wide end of the 17-70 would be nice. I know for my own use I would find the 28mm minimum focal length to be restrictive. However the 28-70 2.8 would be a better choice for something like wedding photography. Extra stops on the long end...

simonkit · 02-26-2008, 01:32 PM

I have the Sigma 17-70 & find it very impressive, use it almost exclusively - its sharp & produces great contrast & colour rendition - the range is very useful too

simon

heatherslightbox · 02-26-2008, 05:00 PM

Go for the 17-70. I just picked one up on Fleabay today. As a matter of fact, there is one for sale in the marketplace; $295 shipped is an excellent deal. It's got a quasi-macro feature on it, if you're interested in closeup at all. It'll dovetail nicely with your 70-300.

Here's the marketplace listing:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographer-s-marketplace/21591-fs-rest.html

Here is a link to some sample images taken with this lens on pbase.com:
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro Lens Sample Photos and Specifications

I had debated getting the 28-75, as well, but I know that I also want wider and didn't want to spend the money on 2 lenses, so this turned out to be the best solution for me.

If Pentax, Sigma, or Tamron were to come out with a 17-70/2.8 (constant) sometime down the road, I'd definitely be interested, as I like this range a lot.

HTH,
Heather

**Lowell Goudge** · 02-26-2008, 05:28 PM

Originally posted by axl

Hi guys,
so my money has fianly arrived, and I decided to get rid of my Tamron 28-200 and replace it with different walk around lens. I discarded option of Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Every member that has ever held or shot this lens is recommending it but 28 is too narrow for me for everyday use. Plus it would leave me with 8mm gap between my Sigma 10-20 and new lens.
I discarded primes as well. For one reason or another.
So my last two choices are:
Sigma 24-70 f2.8:
+ built quality, contrast/colours, f2.8 throughout the range
- size, weight, filter thread size (82mm)

Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5
+ ??? smaller filter thread, smaller and lighter, 40GBP cheaper
- 4.5 at 70mm ???
(don't know that much about this one)

What's your opinion guys, I will buy one of these two for sure, but can't decide which one. It would accompany my 10-20 as main lens. Can anybody recommend ane of those two?
There's poll too, so if you're not bothered to write, at least take a vote please.
Many thanx
Peter

Peter

I went through this process before christmas, as I began looking for a similar lens.

My initial thinking was either the sigma 24-60 or sigma 24-70, thinking that a 4 mm gap would not be too bad.

I ended up with the tamron 28-75, and decided that I would 'bridge the gap' so to speak, with the origonal kit lens from my *istD, the FA-J 18-35

The ultimate decider for me, and this is really a personal decision, was filters. I already had a polarizer and two different graduated ND filters for the 18-35 and with the filter diameter of 67mm, the tamron used the same filters. savings of several hundred in the process.

I was leaning heavily to the sigma 24-60 becaus eof the same 77mm filtyer as the 10-20, BUT for polarizers, the field of view makes for un even lighting anyway, hence not much use on the 10-20.

In the end, I chose 3 lenses as the solution, with overlap of the three. THis may prove out to be the best of all, because I have 2 lenses for the 18-20mm range, and two lenses from 28-35mm, and as a result should not get caught changing or an extra mm

edit note; except for my 10-20, all my lenses by decision are full frame, this is because I still shoot film with my PZ-1 from time to time, and all my lenses, inclusing the FA-J 18-35 are fully functional on the PZ-1. That excludes some of the lenses you are looking at

joele · 02-26-2008, 05:37 PM

I have had both of these, but sold the 24-70. Maybe I got a bad copy but it certainly wasn't sharper than the 17-70 at matching focal lengths.. OK it was brighter but much heavier and the colours always needed adjustment (very flat).. Again though I would have to admit maybe it was a QC issue as I have had that b4 with Sigma.. the 17-70 I have is great though...

axl · 02-28-2008, 08:30 AM

Originally posted by Lowell Goudge

Peter

I went through this process before christmas, as I began looking for a similar lens.

My initial thinking was either the sigma 24-60 or sigma 24-70, thinking that a 4 mm gap would not be too bad.

I ended up with the tamron 28-75, and decided that I would 'bridge the gap' so to speak, with the origonal kit lens from my *istD, the FA-J 18-35

The ultimate decider for me, and this is really a personal decision, was filters. I already had a polarizer and two different graduated ND filters for the 18-35 and with the filter diameter of 67mm, the tamron used the same filters. savings of several hundred in the process.

I was leaning heavily to the sigma 24-60 becaus eof the same 77mm filtyer as the 10-20, BUT for polarizers, the field of view makes for un even lighting anyway, hence not much use on the 10-20.

In the end, I chose 3 lenses as the solution, with overlap of the three. THis may prove out to be the best of all, because I have 2 lenses for the 18-20mm range, and two lenses from 28-35mm, and as a result should not get caught changing or an extra mm

edit note; except for my 10-20, all my lenses by decision are full frame, this is because I still shoot film with my PZ-1 from time to time, and all my lenses, inclusing the FA-J 18-35 are fully functional on the PZ-1. That excludes some of the lenses you are looking at

Thanx for the input,
I see you were in similar situation, your solution isn't bad, but:
I don't have 18-35 FA-J, I would have to bridge gap with DA 18-55... which I'm trying to pass out,so I don't have to carry around 5 lenses (between me and my fiance, until now, I was carying bag with 2 bodies, DA 18-55, Sigmas 10-20 and 105 macro and Tamrons 28-200 and 70-300). would be nice to cut it down to 4, and 28mm is really too narrow on APS-C for my needs... Pentax 17-70 is not an option since I'm after fast zoom (not f4), and Tamron 17-50, Sigma 18-50 (both f2.8) are short...
Seriously I can't decide what to do... I'm leaning towards 24-70 but still thinking about other options. Shame there isn't anybody doing something like 18-70 f2.8 well, we'll see...

**Lowell Goudge** · 02-28-2008, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by axl

Thanx for the input,
I see you were in similar situation, your solution isn't bad, but:
I don't have 18-35 FA-J, I would have to bridge gap with DA 18-55... which I'm trying to pass out,so I don't have to carry around 5 lenses (between me and my fiance, until now, I was carying bag with 2 bodies, DA 18-55, Sigmas 10-20 and 105 macro and Tamrons 28-200 and 70-300). would be nice to cut it down to 4, and 28mm is really too narrow on APS-C for my needs... Pentax 17-70 is not an option since I'm after fast zoom (not f4), and Tamron 17-50, Sigma 18-50 (both f2.8) are short...
Seriously I can't decide what to do... I'm leaning towards 24-70 but still thinking about other options. Shame there isn't anybody doing something like 18-70 f2.8 well, we'll see...

You can split all of that between 2 people and yet you still you complain!

Sorry, just had to get that in, because I have to carry my camera stuff myself.

Pack out for a normal vacation is now *istD, K10D, 4 zooms, (Sigma APO 10-20 EX DC, Pentax 18-35 FAJ, Tamron 28-75 F2.8 Di, Sigma APO 70-200 EX F2.8), plus 1.4x and 2X TCs for the 70-200, plus flash. All in one (the smallest) lowpro back pack.

When I go out on birding hikes, I shed some of the shorter zooms, add a 100mm Macro, my 300F4 plus 1.7x AF TC, a second flash, and a celestron C90 (1000mm spotting scope) in a somewhat larger pack, along with a tripod. I still carry it all myself.

View Poll Results: Sigma vs Sigma
Sigma 24-70 f2.8	11	32.35%
Sigma 17-17 f2.8-4.5	23	67.65%
Voters: 34. You may not vote on this poll

02-26-2008, 04:42 AM	#1
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183	Walk around companion (Sigma vs Sigma) Hi guys, so my money has fianly arrived, and I decided to get rid of my Tamron 28-200 and replace it with different walk around lens. I discarded option of Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Every member that has ever held or shot this lens is recommending it but 28 is too narrow for me for everyday use. Plus it would leave me with 8mm gap between my Sigma 10-20 and new lens. I discarded primes as well. For one reason or another. So my last two choices are: Sigma 24-70 f2.8: + built quality, contrast/colours, f2.8 throughout the range - size, weight, filter thread size (82mm) Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 + ??? smaller filter thread, smaller and lighter, 40GBP cheaper - 4.5 at 70mm ??? (don't know that much about this one) What's your opinion guys, I will buy one of these two for sure, but can't decide which one. It would accompany my 10-20 as main lens. Can anybody recommend ane of those two? There's poll too, so if you're not bothered to write, at least take a vote please. Many thanx Peter

02-26-2008, 05:28 PM	#10
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,887	Originally posted by axl Hi guys, so my money has fianly arrived, and I decided to get rid of my Tamron 28-200 and replace it with different walk around lens. I discarded option of Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Every member that has ever held or shot this lens is recommending it but 28 is too narrow for me for everyday use. Plus it would leave me with 8mm gap between my Sigma 10-20 and new lens. I discarded primes as well. For one reason or another. So my last two choices are: Sigma 24-70 f2.8: + built quality, contrast/colours, f2.8 throughout the range - size, weight, filter thread size (82mm) Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 + ??? smaller filter thread, smaller and lighter, 40GBP cheaper - 4.5 at 70mm ??? (don't know that much about this one) What's your opinion guys, I will buy one of these two for sure, but can't decide which one. It would accompany my 10-20 as main lens. Can anybody recommend ane of those two? There's poll too, so if you're not bothered to write, at least take a vote please. Many thanx Peter Peter I went through this process before christmas, as I began looking for a similar lens. My initial thinking was either the sigma 24-60 or sigma 24-70, thinking that a 4 mm gap would not be too bad. I ended up with the tamron 28-75, and decided that I would 'bridge the gap' so to speak, with the origonal kit lens from my istD, the FA-J 18-35 The ultimate decider for me, and this is really a personal decision, was filters. I already had a polarizer and two different graduated ND filters for the 18-35 and with the filter diameter of 67mm, the tamron used the same filters. savings of several hundred in the process. I was leaning heavily to the sigma 24-60 becaus eof the same 77mm filtyer as the 10-20, BUT for polarizers, the field of view makes for un even lighting anyway, hence not much use on the 10-20. In the end, I chose 3 lenses as the solution, with overlap of the three. THis may prove out to be the best of all, because I have 2 lenses for the 18-20mm range, and two lenses from 28-35mm, and as a result should not get caught changing or an extra mm edit note; except for my 10-20, all my lenses by decision are full frame, this is because I still shoot film with my PZ-1 from time to time, and all my lenses, inclusing the FA-J 18-35 are fully functional on the PZ-1. That excludes some of the lenses you are looking at Last edited by Lowell Goudge; 02-26-2008 at 06:11 PM.*

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
For Sale - Sold: K20D, D-BG2 grip, Sigma 17-70, Sigma 10-20, SMC Takumar 1000mm	deadwolfbones	Sold Items	23	10-21-2009 02:57 PM
Tamron/Sigma walk-around lens queries	bychan	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	6	05-16-2008 03:16 PM
For Sale - Sold: FS: FA 77mm limited, Sigma 17-70mm DC Macro, Sigma 70-300mm APO DG	chemxaj	Sold Items	10	03-17-2008 08:55 AM
A walk around with a K20D and a Sigma SD14	little laker	Post Your Photos!	7	03-09-2008 12:19 PM

02-26-2008, 04:56 AM	#2
Camilsky Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Groningen, The Netherlands Posts: 38	Hey! I've got Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 EX ! It's a great lens! If I were you I would focus on the IQ/focal length ratio! The weight factor is very subjective, and can be really misleading! I use my sigma as a standard walk-around + aquaristic photography lens. It's great! Taken with f/5.6 @ 70 mm Also f/5.6 @ 70 mm This lens is really great!

02-26-2008, 04:59 AM	#3
palmor Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: North of Boston, MA Posts: 798	I have the 17-70 and love it. Great IQ with a great zoom range for a walk about lens. It can also be used as a pseudo macro lens (I think it does a 1:2.3 ). Some people have had some bad ones but it seems like every manufacturer (including Pentax) has less then stellar QC lately. Anyway for a TON of example go to the Alaska Gallery on my pbase site (link in my Sig). Hope that helps John

02-26-2008, 05:19 AM	#4
roscot Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Beach VA USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,363	I've not heard anything bad about the sigma 17-70, but if you are not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the Pentax DA17-70 f4.0, or the Tamron 17-50 f2.8. My personal preference is for fast and constant aperture lenses. The Tamron has some decent reviews. The DA17-70 will also have the advantage of being a SDM lens.

02-26-2008, 09:31 AM	#5
little laker Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,697	I have the 24 - 70 in a Sigma mount, and love this lens. If I had any complaint it's that it's a little big and heavy, but I've gotten to expect that with any f2.8 zooms. This pic was taken with it and here's a link to the full sized pic

02-26-2008, 11:09 AM	#6
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	I shot 99% of my last modeling shoot with the Tamron 28-70mm f2.8 and I have to say it was spectacular. True, on a DSLR, 28mm isn't very wide but its easy to carry along the DA18-55mm kit lens or the DA16-45mm f4 for the times you need the extra width. For sample of the qualities of the Tamron 28-70mm f2.8, check out the Black Valentine shoot in my photo.net gallery (link in signature).

02-26-2008, 12:40 PM	#7
Geekybiker Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 337	I think it depends on what you shoot. Landscapes and group portraits? The wide end of the 17-70 would be nice. I know for my own use I would find the 28mm minimum focal length to be restrictive. However the 28-70 2.8 would be a better choice for something like wedding photography. Extra stops on the long end...

02-26-2008, 01:32 PM	#8
simonkit Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: North Wales, UK Posts: 645	I have the Sigma 17-70 & find it very impressive, use it almost exclusively - its sharp & produces great contrast & colour rendition - the range is very useful too simon

02-26-2008, 05:00 PM	#9
heatherslightbox Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Gainesville, FL Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,599	Go for the 17-70. I just picked one up on Fleabay today. As a matter of fact, there is one for sale in the marketplace; $295 shipped is an excellent deal. It's got a quasi-macro feature on it, if you're interested in closeup at all. It'll dovetail nicely with your 70-300. Here's the marketplace listing: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographer-s-marketplace/21591-fs-rest.html Here is a link to some sample images taken with this lens on pbase.com: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro Lens Sample Photos and Specifications I had debated getting the 28-75, as well, but I know that I also want wider and didn't want to spend the money on 2 lenses, so this turned out to be the best solution for me. If Pentax, Sigma, or Tamron were to come out with a 17-70/2.8 (constant) sometime down the road, I'd definitely be interested, as I like this range a lot. HTH, Heather

02-26-2008, 05:37 PM	#11
joele Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,308	I have had both of these, but sold the 24-70. Maybe I got a bad copy but it certainly wasn't sharper than the 17-70 at matching focal lengths.. OK it was brighter but much heavier and the colours always needed adjustment (very flat).. Again though I would have to admit maybe it was a QC issue as I have had that b4 with Sigma.. the 17-70 I have is great though...

02-28-2008, 08:30 AM	#12
axl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,183 Original Poster	Originally posted by Lowell Goudge Peter I went through this process before christmas, as I began looking for a similar lens. My initial thinking was either the sigma 24-60 or sigma 24-70, thinking that a 4 mm gap would not be too bad. I ended up with the tamron 28-75, and decided that I would 'bridge the gap' so to speak, with the origonal kit lens from my *istD, the FA-J 18-35 The ultimate decider for me, and this is really a personal decision, was filters. I already had a polarizer and two different graduated ND filters for the 18-35 and with the filter diameter of 67mm, the tamron used the same filters. savings of several hundred in the process. I was leaning heavily to the sigma 24-60 becaus eof the same 77mm filtyer as the 10-20, BUT for polarizers, the field of view makes for un even lighting anyway, hence not much use on the 10-20. In the end, I chose 3 lenses as the solution, with overlap of the three. THis may prove out to be the best of all, because I have 2 lenses for the 18-20mm range, and two lenses from 28-35mm, and as a result should not get caught changing or an extra mm edit note; except for my 10-20, all my lenses by decision are full frame, this is because I still shoot film with my PZ-1 from time to time, and all my lenses, inclusing the FA-J 18-35 are fully functional on the PZ-1. That excludes some of the lenses you are looking at Thanx for the input, I see you were in similar situation, your solution isn't bad, but: I don't have 18-35 FA-J, I would have to bridge gap with DA 18-55... which I'm trying to pass out,so I don't have to carry around 5 lenses (between me and my fiance, until now, I was carying bag with 2 bodies, DA 18-55, Sigmas 10-20 and 105 macro and Tamrons 28-200 and 70-300). would be nice to cut it down to 4, and 28mm is really too narrow on APS-C for my needs... Pentax 17-70 is not an option since I'm after fast zoom (not f4), and Tamron 17-50, Sigma 18-50 (both f2.8) are short... Seriously I can't decide what to do... I'm leaning towards 24-70 but still thinking about other options. Shame there isn't anybody doing something like 18-70 f2.8 well, we'll see...

02-28-2008, 09:21 AM	#13
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,887	Originally posted by axl Thanx for the input, I see you were in similar situation, your solution isn't bad, but: I don't have 18-35 FA-J, I would have to bridge gap with DA 18-55... which I'm trying to pass out,so I don't have to carry around 5 lenses (between me and my fiance, until now, I was carying bag with 2 bodies, DA 18-55, Sigmas 10-20 and 105 macro and Tamrons 28-200 and 70-300). would be nice to cut it down to 4, and 28mm is really too narrow on APS-C for my needs... Pentax 17-70 is not an option since I'm after fast zoom (not f4), and Tamron 17-50, Sigma 18-50 (both f2.8) are short... Seriously I can't decide what to do... I'm leaning towards 24-70 but still thinking about other options. Shame there isn't anybody doing something like 18-70 f2.8 well, we'll see... You can split all of that between 2 people and yet you still you complain! Sorry, just had to get that in, because I have to carry my camera stuff myself. Pack out for a normal vacation is now *istD, K10D, 4 zooms, (Sigma APO 10-20 EX DC, Pentax 18-35 FAJ, Tamron 28-75 F2.8 Di, Sigma APO 70-200 EX F2.8), plus 1.4x and 2X TCs for the 70-200, plus flash. All in one (the smallest) lowpro back pack. When I go out on birding hikes, I shed some of the shorter zooms, add a 100mm Macro, my 300F4 plus 1.7x AF TC, a second flash, and a celestron C90 (1000mm spotting scope) in a somewhat larger pack, along with a tripod. I still carry it all myself.