New Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM

B

budha

Active member
This looks like it could compete w/ the Tamron and Canon equivalents. Has anyone heard about this thing yet? It seems to have IS as well.
 
jon,

It is constant aperture. There is another one like a 17-70 that goes from 2.8-4...so I think that is the one you're talking about.

You can read about these lenses from a ton of online press releases, but I can't find any info on when they come out/price/etc.
 
I searched Sigma's site and didn't find anything. The only thing I saw was this video with a rep talking about Sigma's 5 new lenses. In the description they say late march/april. Hopefully there's more info about these lenses sometime this month.

http://www.vimeo.com/9789154
 
Gene,

How do you know it has a short focus throw?

Also, there is a 17-70 mm one but it is f 2.8-4. Where in the focal range does it turn to f4? If the aperture starts getting smaller at 50mm, wouldn't it be worth it to get the lens anyway just for the extra throw around the same price?
 
Budha. I looked at the picture of the Sigma and you can see the focus ring has a very short distance between the first number and infinity, which indicates a very short focus throw. Tamron is the same way, very short focus throw which really sucks for rack focusing.

The best lens in the class (which I'm going to get) is Canon 17-55 f2.8. It still has a short focus throw but is reasonably longer than the Tamron and the focus ring feels much better. It is $400 more, but worth it just for the mechanics.

As for the Sigma, I would wait until you see some quality reviews. Photozone.de does good tests.

But, the constant f2.8 aperture is nice.

On the 17-70 f2.8-4 (variable aperture), you will record a flicker as you zoom and the lens changes f-stops. It's really annoying and ruins the shot. For example, I shoot pool skateboarding from time to time and you have to zoom in and out while you follow the skater from where you are to the far end of the pool. In that case, you need a flicker free zoom (constant aperture).
 
For stills, the flicker does not matter because you're just taking one frame. It matters for video only because it's a continuous shot and the flicker is a BIG shot killer IMO. Generally for video it's nice to have constant aperture. For stills, it matters less.
 
Well i happened to have gotten one in an ebay auction,it was in pristine condition but it didnt fit my needs. I have a 7d in which i'm using singularly for shooting videos. The focus on this lens was very short,the focus is pretty soft for wideshots,but for anything very close it looks great.Being that the lens was listed as being so wide(17-50mm f/2.8) and having a constant f-stop of 2.8 that made my buying it an easy choice.Unfortunately it seems not to fit my needs,if your a person that films or photographs things very close (butterflies,words in a book etc)the macro on the lens is great but if you shoot videos and your looking for a lens that can hold you over until you can rap your hands around that ellusive tokina or something or other...this is not the lens for you to buy. i'm not bashing the lens as being a bad lens,it just was'nt compatible for my video needs.Ultimately you have to decide the tools that work best for you,this is just my 2cents...
 
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The Sigma has HSM which means it's probably a lot quieter when auto focusing than the Tamron. The Tamron's loud.
 
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