Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM

Here's a mini-review I wrote up on cinema5d:

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I just received this brand new lens and wanted to share my first thoughts about it. Coming from Sigma's 24-70 f/2.8 MACRO which I always found a little soft, this 17-70 is definitely sharper. And the beautiful color from the 24-70 appears to be intact, so these lenses should be fairly interchangeable from a visual perspective. It's not as flat as the Canon 17-55, sharpness is close though at f4. I never liked the Tamron 17-50 despite everyone else absolutely loving it. The color on the Tamron always looked cheap to me, and the thing felt like a cereal box toy.

In terms of build quality, the 24-70 is a tank and the 17-70 is more of a mildly armored humvee. The compactness is quite nice though, and the weight balance when mounted on the 7D is perfect. Also, the macro on this lens is beautiful, simply wonderfully beautiful, much closer than the 24-70 or any other midrange zoom I've used (especially the Canon 17-55). Sigma really did a good job on making this an overall usable lens, not mindblowing in any category, but damn good across the board.

For film use, which is the only use any of my lenses have seen, the manual focus is a little touchy but feels good. I've not had any trouble achieving critical focus by eye on the rear LCD because, like I said earlier, this lens is fairly sharp. The 24-70 always seemed just a little bit soft so critical focus was interesting. The optical stabilization works well to remove fine vibrations, but tends to wander for a moment when getting into position. Should be great for pix, jury's still out on film utility.

My only complaint is that it's not a constant 2.8, which explains how they kept it so compact. However, even at f4 on the wide end, this lens is going to be more usable (to me) than the Tamron or Canon equivalent. I don't really do a whole lot of nighttime closeups or low-light macro. In those situations, the 55 f/1.2 serves nicely.

Overall, I'm very happy with this lens and suspect it wll replace my 24-70. This one is a keeper and the price is excellent - 415 brand new to the door. My advice, ditch the Tamron 17-50 and pick this one up with a fast prime tele. That's what I did and so far, so good.
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Thanks but that's one of the few reviews I could find on the lens! How is the OS? Does it compare to IS? Any updates with it on video use?
 
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