| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 233 | | Review Date: May 26, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Excellent Sharpness. Compact Size. Reasonable price. Very comfortable Focal Length. | | Cons: | Overexposure on K10D, Flimsy and difficult to mount hood. Occassional purple fringe. | |
I have the autofocus version of this lens (Sigma made both autofocus and non-autofocus version of this same lens with same optical formula). I agree with everything the previous review said about this lens this lens being a bit on the cool side (easily remedied with a skylight filter if you so desire).
This lens is made of metal, but all the lettering is printed, so will wear off with heavy use. The matte black finish also is somewhat easy to scuff. It is pretty compact (about the same size as the FA50) which is something I really like. The hood is a plastic clip on, but I find it extremely difficult to fit and there is no handy place to store it.
Before I got this lens, I had heard that this Sigma lens stood out from other Sigmas of the same generation because of its excellent sharpness. I have confirmed this to be true (at least on my sample). The lens is evenly sharp from corner to corner. I have used a Pentax K 24mm f2.8 and that lens focuses only on center sharpness. This lens is sharp already wide open, it is quite amazing in that regard and as others have commented, in terms of sharpness, this lens puts the camera manufacturer's 24mm's to shame.
The autofocus is loud and scratchy sounding, but fast and accurate. Contrast and saturation are not spectacular, but OK. My two major issues with this lens are:
1. It can be vulnerable to purple fringing on high contrast areas like metal reflections. (I also have a late model Tamron Adaptall2 24mm and it is much better in this regard.)
2. On my K10D, it has a tendancy to overexpose about 1/2 stop normally (I don't have this problem on my Pentax lenses). Easy to fix except for the fact that with use of flash, the overexposure is much more serious at about 1 to 1.5 stops. While it is certainly possible to compensate, remembering to adjust the settings with regularity is annoying expecially if you switch from flash to no-flash all the time.
This is a lens for people who care about sharpness most. It is very difficult to beat in that regard. However, it has other issues which keep it from being a perfect lens. Still, it definitely gets my recommendation.
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Moderator Emeritus Registered: May, 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Posts: 10,643 | | Review Date: June 26, 2008 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good size, Sharp, fast focus with accurate metering | | Cons: | Surface rubber has cheaper feel/look. | |
A recent addition to my kit but a very nice lens. I have the AF version of the Super Wide II.
I'd agree that the IQ is slightly cooler than the Pentax branded lenses. Contrast is very good and I've not seen any CA in images so far. Very nice focal length on a DSLR.
Lens focuses fast and accurate. I find it sharp at all apertures. Actually very sharp when slightly stopped down. I didn't get the hood with my version but the front mount is bayonet. Filter threads are 52mm so a fairly standard size. It is about the size and weight of the FA50mm f1.4 and comfortable to use. Focus travel is about 100 Deg so it is possible to manual focus but since it is an AF lens, it's not as easy for fine MF adjusting.
My only issue with the lens is a small one but the outer grip on the lens barrel is rubberized. It scuffs and one should be careful cleaning it (I had another zoom lens of this generation (same rubber cover) where the rubber deteriorated from a cleaner) with only a damp cloth.
Here's a quick test shot and a 100% crop. ISO 100 1/100th, f6.3
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Posts: 7,183
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 10, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | size, sharpness, cheap AF 24mm for Pentax | | Cons: | flare, colors, contrast | |
I have got the AF version of this lens. I was looking for FA*24 but coldn't find one, and even if, I wouldn't have money... so as a temporary measure I got Sigma 24/2.8 super wide II. And temporary it is!
This lens is good but.... Small (just tad bigger than my F50/1.7) solidly built (metal body, barrel and mount) with exception of the focusing ring, which feels flimsy.
Sharp from f2.8 (in center) and stays that way until 5.6, from there onwards the sharpness improves across the whole frame, but it's only by f8 & f11 that the corners are good, though they are never very good. From f5.6 onwards you can notice CAs too, and by f11 it's really bad in corners
It has very useful close up ability allowing 1:4 magnification which makes it good walk around lens.
There is a bit of barrel distortion but not too serious - though often visible, and again not too hard to correct.
Another downside (not uncommon with Sigma lenses or many non SMC lenses for that matter) is that it's prone to flare. Even with sun (or strong light source) outside of the frame this lens flares up and produces colorful hexagons all over the place. But that's nothing that good hood wouldn't take care of most of the time. My copy though, suffers from somewhat reduced contrast in many situations (strong light, reflective surfaces...) and I'm not too crazy about the color rendition it produces. Compared to my Sigma 10-20 and my SMC ltds it really lacks in contrast and colors alike.
All in all it's a decent lens, and if you can get one for good money, don't you'll probably by happy. If you are after lens to fill the gap between wide and normal (on APS-C) this one may be it, especially coming from cheap or semi-decent zooms. But once you have tried some really good lenses, I don't think this one will cut it.
PS: original post edited in 11/2009 after extended use.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: August, 2010 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 2,054 | | Review Date: August 20, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | compact, fast auto-focus, macro, 24mm focal length | | Cons: | hard to find (especially AF version) | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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I have the AF version of this little wonder. Add me to the list of people who have been wowed by this lens. I've been seeking out a low light prime in the 20's that has auto-focus, without paying too much, and this is it! I jumped on it as soon as I saw it available for sale on the PFMarketplace. It is compact, nice construction, and take fantastic, sharp photos. Macro works well (and as a bonus). I use this as an interior lens for somewhat low light conditions, when I want to take candid pictures of groups of people. It fits the bill! if you can find it and the price is reasonable, I recommend you get it! Nice focal length on a APS-C. I'm really happy with it!
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2009 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 100 | | Review Date: May 22, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Macro - Get close but still wide enought to sense environment; sharper than zooms, small but not as small as Limited; value | | Cons: | Finish, not the most beautiful lens (autofocus version); color cast | |
This is really an 8+ lens in my book. I got the autofocus version on an insane deal ($100).
Anyway, I had assumed I'd sell this lens and use the money toward a DA 21mm Limited, but I never did. I like it a lot. It's fairly small, and sharp enough for me (maybe not the sharpest, but certainly sharper than zooms I've used).
It's small enough to go in a pocket; the 24mm focal length is really nice for me and it's darn sharp.
The build quality is excellent, considering this isn't an Sigma-EX lens. At least as good as the FA series.
Focus is pretty fast. See my positive/negative aspects for more details. Overall, I'd pay at least $250 for this puppy.
I
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2010 Location: MD Posts: 170 | | Review Date: November 4, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very sharp, macro feature provides interesting composition | | Cons: | rubber barrel could be easily scuffed, hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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This is an excellent lens. Stopped down a little, you will get tack sharp images. AF is very fast and accurate. I really like its macro feature. It helps in getting some unique and amazing shots. The bokeh is very nice too.
The only negative that I could think of is the rubber barrel, which will easily get scuffed. I am not a fan of its hood either.
Overall, it is terrific wide angle prime and will give you best bang for your buck. For the price to performance ratio, it is easily a 10 in my book.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2009 Location: Saffron Walden, Essex Posts: 362 | | Review Date: March 20, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, sharp, 1:4 macro | | Cons: | Rubberised finish degrades, tiny clip-on hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 5
Value: 8
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Nice and compact. Sharp. Useful 'close-up' mode.
The rubber/plastic finish, especially on the aperture ring, degrades with age (possibly due to wrong choice of cleaning solution by previous owner). On my copy some of the aperture numbers have completely vanished.
Hood is tiny, and virtually useless. Also it's a clip-on hood, so you cannot put on the lens cap with the hood in place. (Marked down handling for this)
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: September, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 78 | | Review Date: April 6, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $164.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tack Sharp, Great Macro, FAST Auto Focus | | Cons: | Rubberized coating on metal body clumsy snap on lens hood | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
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This is a sleeper in the lens world and quite a fantastic wide prime. After mounting this lens for the past few weeks. It gave images that pop into the "WOW" sharp as a tack category in my book. The Auto Focus is as quick as any DA limited pancake and that was quite a surprise. Step it down one stop with amazing results. The Macro feature is to die for again producing very stunning results. It tends to hunt a tad at very close range but when the AF locks in the "WOW" factor again shines.
The rubberized coating and lettering/numbering and paint underneath is quite fragile and requires delicate care to keep in good condition but the Metal body is as solid as they come, with quite an excellent build.
This lens is nearly impossible to find in a AF PK mount these days and also can be found re-branded by Quantaray and the Promaster (Spectrum 7 series). If you see one available I highly recommend snapping it up in a heart beat.
About two years ago having foolishly sold a pristine copy of this lens it took two years to find another. The value stated for $164.00 is what I sold the lens for two years ago. Having found my current copy with a set purchased at a tag sale for  $11.00 that would not be a fair and accurate assessment for the price of this lens.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: March, 2012 Posts: 31 | | Review Date: August 16, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $5.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very very sharp and good AF | | Cons: | Nothing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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In fact, I was lucky. I've found it in a " garage sale " for " nothing "...5 $ in mint condition, like new, in its box.
For me it has becoming indispensabel and now it is always on my camera. It is very very sharp. The AF is fast and perfect. It's a lens very useful in all conditions.
You can see pictures taken with it on the other part of thsi forum
The only problem, I've observed, it is that I 've to underexpose always EV -1il or -1.5il for a good exposure on my K-x. ( with my others Pentax lens 50mm1.7 or 18-55 ALII it's not he case and I stay on EV 0...Perhaps it's a usual way with the Sigma lens, It's my only one, I don't know...
I've put a rubber lens hood to prevent flare ans protect the lens ( it's really near the front. )
For me it's a great lens and if you have the possibility to have one, take it without hesitation. You 'll be glad with it.
Sorry for my " primitive english " ...I'm french
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: Manila Posts: 2,185 | | Review Date: October 14, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $154.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp, nice contrast, good bokeh, longfocus throw, sub-macro | | Cons: | the weird coating on the lens' shell | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I'll write a short review for now and will edit one of these days to show sample pics.
for the meantime here's one:
This lens is a great choice. Like somebody before me said, if you can get one, GET ONE. It's worth it.
Not as sharp as a Limited, true, but for an unknown Sigma, it's practically one of the best finds out there.
Pros:
the MFD makes it a pseudo-macro - and with its wide coverage (ok, not as wide as the DA21 or DA15..) you can make pretty interesting still life shots, particularly useful in weddings for both video and photos.
colors aren't as punchy as Pentax lenses, slightly cooler on the average, but not that far-off. skin tones are slightly paler, but still nice. not sure how it would fare on snow-scapes... but green leaves, flowers, they look great. contrast is nice too, as well as bokeh, while not that circular stopped down, it's not harsh-looking either.
focus throw is excellent for video and manual camera use.
build is nice, just like the FA50 but a bit heavier.
Cons:
MODERATE barrel distortion. Not good for close-up portraits, unless they're of long-faced, un-smiling people. no-no for brick walls and parallel lines, unless you're going for that bulgy look. looks worse when mounted on FF. (I put this score under "aberrations" since the distortion doesn't affect sharpness anyway)
AF is noisy, but then again all screwdrive lenses are.
the hood is a hassle putting on and taking off.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2012 Location: Far North Qld, Australia Posts: 184
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $220.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, creamy bokeh, solid construction, useful focal length, fast. | | Cons: | Noisy AF, focus ring is slim for manual focus. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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This is an excellent, versatile and hard to find lens. Its very sharp, fast, has smooth and creamy bokeh and is of solid construction.
Sharpness: Very sharp across the range but more so between F8-F11.
Aberrations: Tends to overexpose wide open. I have not noticed any chromatic aberrations.
Bokeh: Creamy bokeh, even at f8 when shooting subjects close up. Lovely at f2.8.
Handling: Solid construction, metal mount, narrow focus ring, cumbersome lens hood, light weight. No plasticy cheap feeling with this lens.
Value: Excellent value for money. Useful in a wide variety of situations.
Its a great focal length for landscapes as well as portraits and will also work on full frame models. This is useful should Pentax release a FF dslr. Its quite good for macro work too, and is often marketed for its macro ability but it will not replace a dedicated macro lens. I really like the color output; accurate and rich.
Ive noticed it sometimes over exposes by about 1 stop when shooting wide open, so be aware of this. I manually dial in a -1 exposure value when shooting at f2.8 which corrects the problem. Sharpest between f8 and f11. It seems to expose correctly when stopped down.
The focus ring is very narrow which can be a little tricky for manual focus. This is improved by using a filter so that you have extra room to grip. I haven't noticed any CA.
Autofocus is quite fast, but a little noisy.
All in all this is a fantastic lens and if you come across this little gem, id recommend snapping it up.
I use this with my K-30.
Image Examples:
My favorite shot with this lens so far: http://500px.com/photo/30266631
F2.8: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8576106913/in/photostream/lightbox/
F2.8: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8576116737/in/photostream/lightbox/
F6.3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8576121531/in/photostream/lightbox/
F8: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8577216948/in/photostream/lightbox/
F8 100% crop. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8575936053/in/photostream/lightbox/
F8 Bokeh: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8576159105/in/photostream
F11: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63892866@N03/8576117597/in/photostream/lightbox/ | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: March, 2009 Location: Cotati, California USA Posts: 4,460
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 1, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Versatile length, great color rendering, nice close focusing, and sharp. | | Cons: | funky snap on hood. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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This is a wonderful lens that I've finally given a full workout (for one month on my K20d) It's staying in the camera bag. I love the color rendering of it and it's a very nice AF FF lenses as well. I was surprised that it's quite good with a lens reversing ring for macro too (a little hard to use though). It's close focusing feature is a plus. I rated it down just a bit because the manual focus ring on the lens is rather small and just a bit hard to use. It's not really a problem but just not as good as say a Pentax quick shift system.
What else is there to say. This one is a keeper.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: So Cal Posts: 2,080 | | Review Date: September 20, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $120.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | sharp, better coma control than pentax legacy 24mm lenses | | Cons: | complex moustache distortion, flimsy, poor quality control by sigma | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 8
Camera Used: K10d, Sony a7R 36mp full frame
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this Sigma 24mm F2.8 AF Super Wide II autofocus lens was the holy grail of 24mm lenses, back when i was shooting with the k10d.
i've owned three of these autofocus versions, and a manual focus version, most of which i tested on the sony a7r.
i dropped one of the three autofocus versions on a rock, from maybe two feet up, and it blew apart like a cheap watch... bye bye $124 :-(
here is a comparison of the three lenses that i have; you can see from the big photos how a couple of 'em have issues on the sides, even at ~f/10... the quality control that sigma did was not up to par to what we see from the old pentax glass:
24mm lens sample variation: Three Sigma 24mm lenses compared
here is one of the those lenses on the 36mp full frame sony a7r, compared to a couple of other legacy slr lenses:
Sigma 24mm F2.8 AF Super Wide II comparison, on the sony a7r | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 1,972
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 12, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $180.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Top sharpness, rallly wide on film!, FAST AF, metal body and good built, feels solid | | Cons: | Flares, CD/AF front focusing with K-01, rare to come by | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K10D, K-01, Z1p
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This lens is with me for nearly 2 years now. I originally bough it for my K-01 and was really enjoying it immensely, but I always prefered it in manual focusing than AF as it tend to be inaccurate. After using it on my Z1p on film and then on K10D on few occasions with AF on - I can tell you now that this lens is superb on Phase detection Autofcous lenses. My Z1p and K10D focuses in an instant and super accurate, where K-01 really struggles to nail the focus.
My copy came with original lens hood but I replaced it with cheap rubber one for 28mm lens - on APSC offers greater flare control. And you need it! This lens is quite prone to flare - my SMC-K 24mm f2.8 is superior in this single point .. and maybe colour saturation too is sometime more pronounced in SMC K24. But apart from those Sigma is much sharper wide open and in the corners and on edges, AF works great when needed and MF is very easy to use thanks to great sharpness of this lens. At f2.8 is as sharp as none of my other f2.8 lenses apart from SMC-A Macro 50mm f2.8 which obviously is sharper but other than that Sigma really rules. I will never ever part with this lens !
In certain very bright conditions with light in the frame it can flare and lose of contrast is evident , but both are fairly easy to avoid with good lens hood and proper positioning.
Superb lens, I would give it overall 10 if not problems with AF with contrast detection focusing on my K-01.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2015 Location: mid nth coast,nsw Posts: 6,141 | | Review Date: May 31, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | bargain price | | Cons: | not weather sealed | |
I scored this and 2 other zooms for the equivalent of U$ 60, so I think I paid $20
I used it on the K50 mainly and really liked the images it produced.However, when I got the K1 it really excelled.first shoot was after sundown on my beach walk and the images were superb.Very happy to get this at a bargain price and its always in the K1 bag.I think that itll be great for pixel shifting( haven't tried this lens yet only the DA16-45).Looking forward to the next opportunity.
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