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Sigma 28-84mm F3.5-4.5 Review RSS Feed

Sigma 28-84mm F3.5-4.5

Sharpness 
 7.5
Aberrations 
 7.0
Bokeh 
 7.5
Handling 
 7.0
Value 
 8.0
Reviews Views Date of last review
3 20,732 Fri January 27, 2012
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $15.00 7.67
Sigma 28-84mm F3.5-4.5
supersize


Description:
Manual focus with 'A' auto-aperture setting.
Mount Type: Pentax KA
Price History:



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Site Supporter

Registered: September, 2010
Location: DFW Texas/Ventura County, CA
Posts: 33,091
Review Date: January 27, 2012 Recommended | Price: $10.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: versatile, useful range, cheap, nice bokeh
Cons: colors/contrast not great, flare, CA
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 7    Value: 8   

My lens was included in an ME Super bundle, so my cost was only about $10. The other reviewers have already touched on the main points - it's a decent walkaround lens, not outstanding in any way. I find my copy to be decently sharp, even wide-open. Colors & contrast are not up to SMC Pentax standards, but with a little pp, can be much improved upon. The focus ring is wide, turns smoothly, and has a long throw. The stock hood is pretty much useless. It's too small, and screws into the focusing barrel, which limits its usefulness. I fitted a 58mm rubber 3-stage hood, and saw IQ improvement immediately. Don't try using this lens without a hood, you will get flare & washed-out images. In my opinion it's a worthwhile lens for a beginner, or for someone looking for an economical MF zoom, who's not afraid of doing some pp on their images.

edit May 3, 2012: I upgraded my rating a bit. The flare can be mostly controlled with a decent hood, and I like the way this lens renders OOF areas. Smooth & pleasing bokeh under certain conditions.

Some sample shots taken with an *istD here: https://picasaweb.google.com/pindfw/Sigma2884F3545MFZoom?authuser=0&feat=directlink
   
Forum Member

Registered: August, 2010
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 91
Review Date: September 6, 2011 Recommended | Price: $20.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: versatility
Cons: weight, image quality is not stunning, aberrations
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 7    Value: 8   

This is an adequate zoom lens with slight but noticeable reduction of quality at both wide and telephoto ends, and modest maximum aperture.

Quality is so-so, although this is unfairly compared to my other lenses from the same time period, most of which are prime and were more expensive.

Photos from this lens are never super sharp, and the bulkiness makes it less useable and less enjoyable to use than my alternative walk-around lenses, a 50mm or 28mm, or even both.

I rarely use this lens, as I favour my pentax prime lenses on film, and on digital the current kit zoom lenses are sharper, lighter, render colours with better saturation and have autofocus, so there isn't really a niche where this lens performs better than anything else.

However, as a beginner lens on film it covers wide to telephoto and the optics aren't too bad, the manual focus is fine and it does everything quite well, so I wouldn't overlook it.

The plastic rings feel a little brittle and breakable, but the lens is still in perfect working order so it was built to last.

Note on price: I got this lens at a charity shop; I assume the price would usually be higher (if you can find it elsewhere.)
   
Site Supporter

Registered: July, 2009
Location: Montco, PA
Posts: 154
Review Date: June 30, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: useful zoom range, good glass
Cons: slow focus, not-great hood

I inherited this lens from a family friend along with an old ME and a few other lenses (hence the $0 cost). When I took the lot to a local camera place to get it checked out, the tech was very impressed with this lens in particular, though his explanation included a bunch of terms I didn't understand at the time. I had it up for sale, but when nobody bought it, I figured I'd give it a shot on my K2000.

After a couple hundred photos (a few good, mostly mediocre or just plain bad), I have to say that I really like it. I think most of the bad photos were due to my inexperience using manual focus lenses, which was only made worse by the lack of focusing aids in the K2000's stock focus screen. (I'm planning to get an aftermarket screen at some point.)

The range of focal length provided is very useful for everyday use, and the optics seem to be very high quality. To explain the "slow focus" complaint, yes, I realize it's a manual focus lens, but what I'm referring to is the sensitivity of the focusing mechanism. There seem to be a lot of rotations from one end of the focus range to the other. Again, this might just be inexperience on my part, but since I often shoot things at varying distances, adjusting the focus can be time-consuming. Also, the lens hood threads into the front of the focus-adjustment barrel, so depending on what focal length the lens is set for, attaching or removing the lens cap can be a pain, and the lens hood just doesn't perform function for which it's designed when the front of the lens is flush with (or beyond) the lip of the hood.
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