| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2007 Location: Newcastle Australia Posts: 5,284 | | Review Date: March 16, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, compact, good Macro, great walkabout lens. | | Cons: | Macro tends to take you VERY close to subject | |
Can highly recommend this lens. A very sharp lens with good bokeh.
Macro is really great. Only con I see is that for close up work it tends to take you VERY close to your subject.
Disconcerting sometimes with insects, especially spiders.
Otherwise a very recommendable, "leave on your camera" lens.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2007 Location: Bay area, CA Posts: 194
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 20, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Quite sharp. Optimum range design for overall use | | Cons: | no quick focus adjustment clutch like the Pentax lens. Not too portable (big) | |
General: I replaced the Pentax kit lens with this one. It's quite sharp at all ranges. it's reasonably sharp wide open and just razor sharp a stop or two down. I find the tonal & bokeh is pleasing but not quite to standard of Ltd lens.
Range: very decent. At 17 f2.8, it is very useful for indoor use where you would need the bigger f stop and a wider angle. Stretching to 70 f4.5, . f4.5 is a little bit small but this give just enough DOF for a general portrait lens.
Sharpness: You can review the sharpness measurement at various review sites, I do have a comment: at 70mm, the sharpness is great wide open f4.5, and became outstanding just 1 stop down from center to corner, making it a wonderful lens for short portrait use.
Macro: It can get remarkably close focus for macro, at 1:2.3 magnification it is as good as any zoom lens will ever get w/o being a true macro.
Construction feels solid, better than the Pentax 18-55 kit lens. I read a comparison somewhere btwn this lens and the sigma 18-50 f2.8 and one opined that this lens "win" for sharpness. What more: it cost less and has a slightly better reach.
Overall i'm very pleased. Great value for the money
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Ankara, Turkey Posts: 401 | | Review Date: March 27, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Price/performance very good, feels solid. | | Cons: | Almost none (see text) | |
This is my "all time" lens. It covers almost all situations where I would be shooting. So, I praise the "range" first.
Distortions and aberrations are almost negligible (for an amateur and for a lens in this price range), vignetting is almost absent; the resolution, colors and contrast are very good. It comes with a hood which is reversible for easy storage.
Build quality is nice; it does feel solid, not plasticky.
I wish it were f/3.5 at 70 mm; but, this is no criticism; again, considering its price...
My only small gripe is the zoom creep while shooting towards below. It is controllable, but slightly annoying. The zoom lock is only available while "parking" the lens at 17mm. Perhaps a modified/new version will offer a lock for all positions.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: January, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 270 | | Review Date: April 9, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $380.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Range, Image Quality, Feel | | Cons: | Weight, 4.5 min aperture @ 70mm | |
I picked this lens as my initial purchase based on EXIF data from the previous 4 years of point and shoot images, as well as the positive comments here and at other review sites. I must say I have not been let down. Although it is a bit heavy, and at times I wish I had a larger aperture, it covers all I need it to do as a general purpose lens.
Most of my shots are of family and kids, so the range is ideal for indoor shots, some outdoor shots, candids, family photos, and the like. It is nice and sharp off its max aperture, producing life-like images, and even the wide open shots are way better than my point and shoots.
Although it is not a lightweight, I did have it at Disneyworld for 4 days and I was not sick of carrying it. I knew it was there, thats for sure, but it was bearable. I wish the zoom lock was operative at other positions than 17mm.
My copy is starting to loosen up on zooming after a year, and I find that it creeps more than it had when originally purchased. But again, that is something I am managing.
| | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: March, 2007 Location: Long Island, N.Y. Posts: 1,124 | | Review Date: April 12, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $360.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Great walk around lens | | Cons: | few & minor if any | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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As a main kit lens, this is the cat's meow for me. The only improvement I could ask for would be a constant 2.8. This lens is the equivalent of my film 28-105 range (Vivitar Series 1, 2.8-3.8) which I used for many years, so I'm familiar with the range. It might be nice if it reached a little further, but that would probably cost image quality. For an all purpose zoom, the close focus capability is great (I refuse to call it macro).
Over all, I really want to rate it at 9.75, taking away that 1/4 point for the variable aperture.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 26 | | Review Date: May 23, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $399.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Worth more than the asking price. | | Cons: | Picky - Would be nice to lock the lens at any position | |
Not much more to say really...
I read the reviews here - went and bought one - and cannot agree more. It really is a fantastic lens. I was 'concerned' about getting a Sigma as I thought they only made cheaper stuff, but this lens puts them right up there in my eyes. Highly recommended!  | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 431 | | Review Date: June 3, 2008 | Not Recommended | Price: $330.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Nice zoom range, quality image when focused manually. | | Cons: | doesn't auto-focus properly with K20 | |
I expected this would become my primary on-the-camera lens, but given the issues I'm having with auto-focus, I can't trust it when on a shoot. So it's essentially useless. Gives good results when I do use it in manual focus mode, but that wasn't my intent when I purchased it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,949 | | Review Date: July 5, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, IQ, Price, Zoom Range, Build quality | | Cons: | Small zoom creep, only locks zoom at 17mm | |
For a 1st lens this is a great choice. I purchased a K20D and didn't want a standard kit lens, so replaced it with the Sigma 17-70. A nice zoom range to start out with and to have as your walk around lens. Has a solid feel, well built, nice feel in the hands, but isn't too heavy on the camera.
Image results are very impressive. I find them to be sharp, with balanced colours and a creamy bokeh. The AF is a little noisy, but locks pretty quickly...if only they made this with HSM.
Only cons are the zoom creep and, as other people have stated, only being able to lock the zoom at 17mm. I would've appreciated a case/bag with the lens as well...spend $400 at least Sigma could throw in a $5-10 lens case/bag.
Buying this lens is money well spend...it's worth more than what I paid for it.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Posts: 9,357 | | Review Date: July 7, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $420.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Image quality (mainly sharpness), build quality, price | | Cons: | None for the price | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I am using this lens on a Pentax K20D. The build quality is impressive, the finish feels high-quality and solid. The zoom ring operates very smoothly, but the focus ring is very lifeless and has a short throw. Autofocus is very fast, the only times the lens hunted was at telephoto under the stars with no light source and indoors under candlelight.
Image quality is impressive. There can be visible barrel distorsion at 17 mm if you shoot flat and linear targets (like a waterline, or a building) but zooming in a little bit takes care of it. I haven't searched for, and have never noticed, any chromatic aberration (it's there somewhere for sure, but if I cannot notice it, then it doesn't bother me).
Macro is great (though no true macro), focus is accurate, reliable, and the lens produces very sharp images. The colours are great, though the cast is slightly different than that of a Pentax lens.
My lens has no zoom creep, and feels like it will last me years.
This is my first personally owned autofocus lens (my others are manual) but I can compare with various kit lenses and even pro models from Pentax, and in handling and focusing it compares with the best, and regarding build quality it's above most kit lenses out there.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 514 | | Review Date: July 13, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $325.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Sharp, fast, ideal focal range on a DSLR | | Cons: | slight yellow cast | |
This is the lens that has replaced my kit lens. Well worth every penny. So it's not an EX. I don't put much in labels, I like performance. This lens delivers. BONUS! The macro feature is something I rarely use, but it's great to have available without lens change when I need it.
Sigma added to the contrast & sharpness by adding a little yellow to the coatings, I think. Usually not a problem until you focus on a brightly lit yellow subject. Some of Sigmas other lenses have this affliction much worse. Overall I find it a minimal problem and can usually compensate in those very rare occasions.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2007 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 2,599 | | Review Date: July 21, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $320.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great walk-around range, among other things... | | Cons: | It's not a constant f/2.8 | |
After using the kit lens and realizing the 55mm on the long end wasn't enough for me, this lens was the obvious solution. I'm also a fan of close-up photography, so again, getting this lens made a lot of sense for me.  Besides having a very versatile focal range, other things I like about it include:
- Great IQ--this lens is sharp!
Works well in lower light levels, especially at the wide end.
Great close-up feature (1:2.3).
Good bokeh.
Great value for the money (under $400 brand new)
The only thing I would change about it would be that it would be a constant f2.8, but otherwise, it's a fine lens.
I highly recommend this lens for those who like to shoot a variety of subjects, as it will do an excellent job of covering landscape, nature, closeup, and even portrait photography. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: Detroit MI, USA Posts: 508 | | Review Date: July 24, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $370.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great range, sharp, very good color/contrast, nice price | | Cons: | There seems to exist some copy variation, a bit heavy, could be a bit faster at 70mm. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K10D K20D K-5
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First to qualify my comments, I had to send in my copy twice to get a slight decentering problem fixed that made the frame very slightly soft on the right at ~70mm & f4.5, gone at f8. Now that problem aside I really cant ask for much more from this lens at this price. Its usable wide open 17-70mm, sharp at 17mm and falling a tad at 70mm&f4.5 but stop it down to f5.6 it gets sharp. At f5.6 its tack sharp corner to corner 17-70mm. It has low CA/PF only a bit at 17mm but I have not needed to correct it or really see it much without looking for it. But the only real weakness is barrel distortion at 17mm and vignetting at f2.8/17mm, its not higher than average but I do like to use PTLens to remove it with pics at 17mm. The Sigma is a bit heavy, but I am not complaining, it must be some nice glass and built well for it to be so. When I first bought it, it did suffer zoom creep and had one small piece of dust inside, when it came back from Sigma the creep was gone as well as the dust. Its really hard to fairly write anything negative about this lens, and its just well worth the money and gives some very nice pics. So I guess having to send it to Sigma twice did not make me think bad of them, no I think all lens manufactors have the same issues, its getting hard to make lens that can stand up to 10meg and 14meg cameras with pixel peepers looking at 200%, highly recommended for sure for the price.
BTW I rate an 8 for the lack of constant aperture and another point for the barrel distortion and not being weather sealed.
EDIT six years latter (May 9, 2014)! Wow, time goes by. Still have this lens. I forgot about the softness at 70mm. Well after Sigma fixed that it was soft at 17mm f/2.8 long story short it was me and my camera not the lens. Its been great on the K20D and K-5 and the second GX10 Samsung sent me. QC has gone up I noticed. Not much bad to say other than I was a bit too new and too hard on this lens. Compared to others in its category it has with stood the test of time.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2007 Location: steel city / rust belt Posts: 2,043 | | Review Date: September 18, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $260.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | sufficiently light, nice kit range (17-70), sufficiently sharp for a kit level lens | | Cons: | sigma QC - you can easily run into a bad copy, no EX - not a metal barrel | |
this is not exactly a review - but a useful (to some extent - at least I hope so) description what you can do when your copy is bad and you need to deal w/ Sigma service center...
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/33886-sigma-17...ce-center.html | | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2007 Location: UK Posts: 42 | | Review Date: December 18, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | sharp, good all-round lens | | Cons: | vignetting, big | |
As a replacement for the kit lens this is hard to beat, especially at the price. It has everything you want from a general walkabout lens: that little extra bit of reach, a little extra speed, and close focus. But it's not perfect. There's some CA/fringing, particularly at the wide end, and I find the vignetting quite noticeable wide open.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2008 Location: Australia-NSW Posts: 4,824 | | Review Date: December 21, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Built,performance | | Cons: | HSM perhaps?????? | |
This is a stand out lenses as it doesn't look much but this is a sleeping giant.Close to macro feature performs above average.Always my go to lenses and it doesn't let me down.Highly recommended to a first time user.It also includes f/2.8 which at this price range makes buying a easy choice
Sorry I forgot the price Au$299 so whatever thats in US as I bought it in May this year
cheers
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