17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens for Canon Digital DSLR Camera

Absolutely my favorite lens of all. As a "semi-pro" and extreme hobbyist I must say that I like the quality of images from this lens on my Canon T3i even more than I like the quality of images from my Canon 5D Mark iii and the 24-70mm f2.8 L series lens; which would be the full frame equivalent to this lens on a APS-C sensor. Yes! I know that at this juncture some of you may be shaking your heads, but it is true. Granted, the 5D does have better image quality and more megapixels, but time and time again I get better images from this lens on my crop sensor cameras. Would you rather get almost the same image quality out of a lens that is 1/4 the expense? I sure as heck would. This lens paired with a T2i, T3i, T4i, or T5i will yield similar or better image quality in most situations than the 24-70mm f2.8 L series lens will on a full frame camera. Which if you are on a budget this is the lens for you! The images are so tack sharp and spot on. I read through many of the 1 star reviews and realized that the majority of the complaints come from Canon users that "got a bad copy" of the lens. As for me, I have a great copy. It is 3rd party glass but better than ANY canon glass I own (Once again some of you are shaking your heads). To me it's worth the gamble, and as long as you got it on Amazon and it doesn't work...send it back for a full refund! In addition to photography, the creamy bokeh that you get from this lens on video is astounding as well. The image stabilization, Optical Stabilization for Sigma (OS), is spot on. The only down side to the OS is that you can hear the gears working as you shift around hand-holding. Not so loud that it would be awkward while shooting an event. The focus ring has minimal resistance which I like; It allows you to get to rack focus faster. The auto focus is spot on and fast. The focus ring also stops at infinity focus as well at it's minimum distance. A feature I like because you know at what distance your subject is and you can switch subjects quickly. For manual focus you should be able to rack focus with a short minimal turn; unlike other lenses that require you to take your hand off the focus ring and do a second turn. Some would say that f2.8 isn't fast enough, but I find it to be plenty fast for most practical applications. You will not regret this purchase!

After purchasing this lens I had to join the chorus of praise heaped on it. I had all the intentions of getting the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS to go with my new Canon EOS 60D . However the recent January-March price drop of $60 sealed the deal. I figured it was worth the gamble, or as I've often seen it referred to "the Sigma lottery". The reviews on this lens have been in for a long time, and most of them are quite positive. Some even rate this lens better than the venerable Canon EF-S 17-55. However, there is also the black cloud that seems to hang over Sigma's head - that of variable quality control. You'll see the bitter reviews of folks with bad experiences right here. If you hang around the camera forums, this can get to be even more depressing. People going through all kinds of tests for their lenses, constantly trading them back in for better copies. Or, claiming after going through 2 or three or five copies finally giving up. The brand that usually seems to pop up most often is Sigma. Perhaps because they (more than others) have a range of lenses that go toe-to-toe with the big boys. In some cases they're just as pricey as Canon or Nikkor. The 17-50 is claimed by some to be as sharp, and even sharper than the 17-55 at above f4. For almost half the price I figured it was worth a shot, and this seems to be one of those rare cases where I really feel I got my monies worth. There are some trade-offs in features, but not quality. One thing I'll mention right away that I've seen mentioned elsewhere, and that's a "rattling" noise the OS makes when you shake the lens. Now, it never occurred to me to shake my lens. But I guess I'm odd that way! So, now than I finally have the thing I shook it. You know what? I don't hear it. I mean, I can hear a bit of movement, but nothing like my EF-S 17-85 for instance. Take that for what it's worth! I decided to first test the lens on my "I know how it works and I know it's working" XTi Rebel. The first shots looked promising, and further tests showed it to be sharper than many reviews I've seen. I've posted a photo of the lens center and extreme corner at 17mm f2.8, where the lens is purported to be at its worst. It only gets better from there! After pairing to my 60D, well, keep reading! Fit and finish: This new Sigma no longer uses their matt crinkle sort of rubberized finish. While I liked the old finish, it showed marks, collected dirt and is very hard to clean. The new matt finish is smooth and nice, perhaps nicer than the speckled finish of the Canon EF-S series. The lens feels as of-a-piece, there's not a hollow spot or loose fitting anything anywhere. One complaint I see popping up regards the lens hood fit. At first I was all there with the "it barely hangs on" thing. Jeez, what's up with that? Oh. Duh. You rotate it a bit harder and it snaps in place. A firm "click". Nice. It's not going anywhere. This is very different from past Sigmas and the Canon EF-S lens hoods, which while nicely finished are still flimsy and don't fit all that great. The interior is not ribbed like old Sigmas, nor flocked like Canons, just a simple matte finish. At least it didn't cost $35! Other than that you'll find a zoom lock, AF/Manual and OS On/Off switches. One bizarre characteristic can be seen when viewing the mount and back element. If you zoom the lens out and the element travels inward, the camera's electronics are exposed! I found this weird enough to check my other lenses, and no, this is unique. I guess just don't check it out in a rainstorm and you're good to go. My final comment is that there is no distance scale window (just a distance scale on the barrel), an obvious price cutting issue. I don't really use the scale for a lens this size, but miss the little jewel like window all the same. Function: It is extremely solid and operates smoothly. The zoom is nice and smooth with a good amount of equal resistance in both directions. There is zero creep, and even still there's a zoom lock. This can't be said for the EF-S 17-55. The biggest issue I've got as others have mentioned is the overly thin rotating focus ring and short focus rotation of about 45 degrees (!) with hard stop. This is not a big issue for me in still photography, but it seems this could be a problem with video and somebody as ham-fisted as I am. The feel of the focus ring while smooth offers almost no resistance. In comparison, my other lenses are far superior in feel. Again if manual focus is a priority then this should be a consideration. The switches are a huge improvement over some past Sigmas, and each snaps quickly and firmly with identical feels. The zoom lock is quite small and there's no chance of accidentally hitting it, but it's large enough and has a positive enough feel to find and engage with confidence. Performance: The AF is fast, as fast as any lens I've got. Perhaps it's so fast because of the short focus ring distance? It's not at all noisy. No hunting, no hesitation. Even in low contrast conditions it's just bang on. Considering the horror stories I've heard about the AF, this is another one for the mystery files. OS is another thing - while I've got a pretty steady hand (at certain times of the day, depending on barometric pressure and planet alignment) I'll assume it's doing its job. All the low-light shots with slow shutter speeds I've taken look great - consistent down to 1/10. 1/6 not so much. They claim 4 stops worth so I'll assume it's 3 and call it good! The OS is not at all noisy either, it was enough to concern me at first! I had to put my ear up to it and depress the shutter to confirm its operation when I first started. Summary, AF and OS are everything they should be and more. IQ: It's incredibly sharp across the board. At 17mm and f2.8 is tack sharp center, with a slight softening in the corners - and I do mean slight. at 28mm and above it's mind-boggling. Seriously, I simply can't believe how sharp this thing is wide open. I'd have to say if there's a sweet spot it's around 5.6, but it really is wonderful up to about f/11. Typically, pixel peeping at 100% can be a depressing thing on a Canon APS-C camera. Now I just giggle! Vignetting is quite apparent at the shortest focal length as would be expected, but very evenly gradated. CA is evident in extreme corners at all ranges, most notably distant high contrast objects. On my copy it only seems to be red fringing towards the outside, highly controllable in PP. Barrel distortion is pronounced at 17mm both vertically and horizontally. In comparison, my Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 has almost no vertical distortion at 10mm. Distortion is pretty much gone by around 24 up. Really nothing unusual for this type of lens. I've actually found my distortion problems go away after owning a lens for a few weeks anyway! Why? I tend to stop shooting brick walls and start shooting other things instead. Of course, the vignetting and distortion are easily fixed as is CA using Lightroom, Photoshop, DxO or a host of other applications. Contrast is another place this lens really shines, as what I would expect from an L series lens. Colors are deep and rich if slightly on the warm side. Flare seems well controlled, I've shot pretty much into the sun with no issues. Bokeh? Meh. It's good, pleasing actually, but nothing I'd call creamy or recommend the lens for. Bright objects do tend to have outlines, but no real fringing, odd shapes, holes or halos. You'll be able to find lots of samples both here and in reviews at lenstip dot com or photozone dot de. Pros - Great fit and finish - Excellent size and weight - Fast, accurate AF - F2.8 is better than usable! - Sharp, great contrast - Better than advertized corner sharpness - Low CA - Image Stabilization - 60% the price of the EF-S 17-55 - Comes with case - Comes with lens hood - Center pinch and edge pinch lens cap like most "modern" lens manufacturers (hello Canon?) - Great warranty Cons - Skinny focus ring - Rotating focus ring - Manual focus turn only 45° - Focus ring hard stop - Mediocre focus ring feel and resistance - No full time manual focus - Vignetting at lower focal lengths - No distance scale window - Short focal length - Possible QC issues - Always run the risk of future EOS body incompatibility with third party lenses If you need an f2.8 type lens, I highly recommend giving Sigma a look. If you're looking to replace your kit lens, or are really only going to have 1 lens you may consider something with more of a focal length like the EF-S 15-85 f3.5-5.6. Basically in this category of lenses there are only about 4 choices. The Canon EF-S 17-55, the Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP , the Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC and this. IMHO, the Tamron lenses are out of the running for either being sharp with no VC, or not sharp with VC. Tamron build quality is good but not great IMO. The Canon is top notch IQ but not top notch build, and then (are you listening Canon?) you still have to pony up for a mandatory and potentially lens-saving hood. All I can say is this is a perfect "specialized" walk-around for crop bodies as others have mentioned. For indoor shooting it's a winner. You've got f2.8 in a small well built package that's razor sharp at f4 and above. See my chart test for opinions on f2.8. When introduced this was a pricey lens and it was hard to not consider just spending the extra $200 for an EF-S 17-55. But slowly the price has come down. At its current street price of around $650, it's a deal. Buy it, test it and if you do get a defective copy, then you've been fortunate enough to buy it from Amazon, right? Send it back and get another one, it's just that easy. And speaking of easy, this one is an easy 5 stars.

I used this lens for Fuji X-T3 camera using Fringer Pro EF-FX adapter. I want a low light 2.8 zoom lens with optical stabilization. Fuji 16-55mm did not have any stabilization so I decided to give this a try. optically, this lens is not better than Fuji 16-55mm. It's not a noticeable difference in the center. It is, however, noticeable in the corners at 2.8- but not significant. If you're not pixel peeping then you will be fine. one thing that i think this Sigma excels over Fuji 16-55mm lens is the color rendition. I just prefer this Sigma colors than Fuji lens..and on a Fuji X-T3, this lens really shines. the size of this lens and the adapter combine is not much bigger than the Fuji 16-55mm lens itself. This lens, however, has image stabilization which is very helpful in video. This definitely make handheld possible when shooting video. the focusing is loud in video, but bearable. You can always use an external mike or use manual focus to get rid of noise. The manual focus on this lens, however, can be difficult as the range of manual focus is quite small- slight turn will shift out of focus right away.. with all these + and - s in mind, i think this lens is great for what it is- low light performance, sharpness, and versatility... 17-50mm range is very useful as a walk around lens for sure. I would pick this over Fuji 16-55mm for the value/performance ratio and over Fuji 18-55mm for its constant 2.8 aperture... I definitely do think optically, this lens is much better than Fuji 18-55mm in every way.

Pros: very sharp, no purple fringing, excellent optical stabilization (OS) Cons: AF struggles a little in lower light scenes, prone to flaring, Canon USM motor still better in my opinion I've been using this lens on a Canon 10D for the past two weeks and am really pleased with it. Images are sharp (very sharp at f/5.6 and above,) and focus is accurate. f/2.8 is actually usable, which was a pleasant surprise, though on a wide zoom lens like this I tend toward higher aperture settings and greater DOF. However, at wide apertures with the lens at 50mm I could get a respectable background blur with closer subjects, but nothing like the creamy-smooth blur of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. I'd view the Sigma as a very good lens for photo-journalistic shooting, but wouldn't really want to use it for traditional portraits. And of course it's terrific for landscapes and general outdoor shooting. With the Sigma, there is virtually NO PURPLE FRINGING or any other notable chromatic aberrations in high-contrast scenes. This has been a problem on older Sigma EX lenses I've owned but it seems they have really made improvements here. Image quality is good from corner to corner, even at the extreme edges at 17mm. Colors are neutral though a bit underwhelming, and I do find that a little saturation boost is needed in post-processing (I shoot in RAW format so this is an easy fix in my workflow.) The Sigma OS works great! I've gotten sharp, printable pictures at 1/3rd second hand-held! I like it much more than the Canon 17-40L that I previously owned, which had painfully slow/inaccurate auto-focus in lower light. The Sigma has struggled with low-contrast scenes in very low light too, but not as much as the Canon did. The Sigma is smaller and lighter than the Canon, too. AF is reasonably fast, though not as smooth/quiet as the better Canon USM lenses. I had wanted the Canon 17-55 IS but my camera doesn't support EF-S lenses, so I'm very happy to report this seems to be a great alternative if you have a 1.6x crop digital camera with the Canon EF mount. Only con I've noticed is a bit of flaring when the sun is in the frame, but that's common enough with most wide lenses. Overall it's a keeper! Now I'm just hoping the durability has improved too, as this has been another problem with Sigma lenses I've owned in the past. Solid 4 star rating; could even call it a 5 "for the price."

This is my first lens purchase outside of the kit 18-55mm lens and the only thing I can say is that this lens blows the kit out of the water. Pros: -Build Quality: This lens is built like a tank. It's very solid, and also very heavy compared to the 18-55mm kit lens. It is much bigger and is just of higher quality overall -Image Quality: I'm a VERY novice camera user, but I could see an incredible difference in both my photos as well as videos in how sharp/detailed the images look as well as how nicely blurred the background can be. -Value: This is both a wide angle prime and a standard prime. You can buy the international version (which I did) for less than $300. By far the best value in its category in my opinion. -Optical Stabilization: This works very well in my experience and this thing takes amazing handheld video as well as stills. Cons: -Literally the only thing I can even begin to complain about is the autofocus. This isn't really an issue for me as I almost always record external audio of some sort, but if all you have is in-camera microphones, you WILL hear focus noise. It's very clicky and can definitely be annoying. I can't dock it a full star for this but I would dock a half star if that were possible here on Amazon. Overall, it's a great lens. You should buy it. If you are on a budget like me, it's a clear choice over a fancy Canon L Series lens.

I had some reservations about buying this lens since the focal range was already covered by the 18-200mm kit lens that came with the Canon 60D I bought. However, I also own a Canon G15 which has an f1.8 lens. Obviously, the Canon 60D can do things that the G15 cannot, but I have learned to appreciate the advantages of having a fast lens. The ideal application for this lens is anywhere you could use a flash, and either can't use one for various reasons or don't want to use one for aesthetic reasons. For example, I used it in the Henry Ford Museum to shoot some of the exhibits. If you want to show a 19th century steam tractor as it appears in the museum, using a flash just does not do it justice. Being able to capture all of the available light (and the ambiance) requires a fast lens. Setting the lens at f2.8, using an iso400 speed, and reducing the exposure by 2/3 of a stop results in a photo that looks very much like the real thing. Sharp, clear lines, throughout 95% of the image falling off only slightly around the edges at f2.8. Close it down to f4 and the entire image is sharp and clear. At the other end, (f18-22) can be used for landscapes but it really shines for portraits opened to f2.8 or f3.5. 09/06/2013 Update to review I spent Labor Day weekend in Michigan's upper peninsula in Munising. This is an area with lots of waterfalls, that is what I intended to photograph. I used a Tamron 10-24mm wide angle lens as well as the 18-200mm kit lens that came with the Canon 60D I was using. On the shots that I used the Sigma lens I was surprised at how much sharper the image was. Same camera, same settings, (1 sec exposure, f18-f22 approx.) but compared to the Canon kit lens and the Tamron wide angle lens, noticeably sharper. Don't get me wrong; it's not that the Canon lens or Tamron lens were not sharp, they were. But the Sigma was just better. I was surprised at the difference since I had the lens at a small aperture for depth of field and used a tripod for a long exposure. Good investment for more than just the large aperture.

This is a fantastic lens! I've had it for over a month now and I've been using it a while for different shots and so far I am extremely happy with my purchase. This lens is pretty heavy; if you've bought a canon camera and are used to the feel/weight of the stock 17-50mm lens, you will be shocked at how bulky and heavy this lens is. But there is no doubt whatsoever that it far surpasses the canon stock lens. It's cristal clear and takes stunning images; The zoom and focus rings are smooth and feel good; the lens itself feels extremely sturdy and well built. It comes with a quality hard plastic lens hood and a decent lens cap. It has autofocus and image stabilization. Attached are some photos I took with the lens so you can see what it looks like. Overall extremely pleased with this lens and it's absolutely worth the money. Hands down would buy again.

So far I am very very happy with this lens. I purchased the lens last week Jan 2019. I was concerned about the focus issues some have reported. Auto Focus: I have ZERO focus issues at the long or short end of this lens (Whoo Hoo!)...Tested with focal chart, Tripod, and halogen shop lights for light source. I tested on both my new EOS LS2 and 77D (Christmas 2018). There is a "slight" front focus at minimum distance to target, at 17mm, and I do mean "s l i g h t". Maybe a 1/64th? So slight, I cant tell if its the lens or me shaking the tripod (AKA my technique). Sigma Dock NOT compatible yet: This lens is NOT compatible with the Sigma Lens Dock (at least not yet), which I bought at the same time as this lens. So, if you have focus issues with your copy, I guess you will have to return the lens to Amazon for refund, of send in to Sigma. Fortunately, my copy is working great with both of my new cameras. Based on this, I will probably be ordering more Sigma lenses in the future so, I will just hang on to the dock. And hopefully the dock will support this lens in the future. The 2.8 Aperture is a huge difference over the canon 18-55 kit lens for background blur (you know, the "B" word). Manual Focus: Works great for me and I actually prefer the shorter focus ring travel distance of this lens when manually focusing. Colors look very good on my canon bodies and the lens is as sharp or sharper that the canon at 2.8/17mm than the canon is at 4.0/18mm and improves from there. I don't know if it is from the glass quality, the coatings, or the physical larger size of the glass in the Sigma, but it is awesomeness! Motor is louder that the canon STM lens, obviously...But I shoot photos and not video, so this is a non-issue for me. Zoom Ring Lock: Has this at the 17mm position...I like this, though the lens does not seem to walk when held vertically. But I would rather have it than not. Auto focus works good in live view or through the optical view finders. Image stabilization does work, but the canon system may be a slight bit better here....again, not huge for me since the Sigma OS does work very well on my copy. I will have to do some real world testing to wring this feature out. Build quality is very good for this price point...I am very pleased. Comes with nice carrying pouch....Nice touch! Comes with Lens hood! Canon does not, and that irritates me...I would rather they included it, and upped the price. CONS maybe?: Focus ring, as others have noted, is always coupled to the motor when AF switch is engaged. You have to keep your hand off of it when Auto Focusing...and if you force it or turn it with the AF switch one, Sigma says you could damage your lens. So don't do that. LOL I just simply modified my had position and on I went....no big deal to me. Longevity: We will have to wait and see. Summary: I am very pleased, and if this lens holds up, it will definitely be replacing my 18-55 Kit lens, EF 40mm 2.8 pancake, and my EF-S 24 2.8 pancake, as a single everyday/walk-around/portrait lens. Still keeping the EF 50mm 1.8 though. LOL

Ein sehr guter Standardzoom mit durchgängiger Lichtstärke f/2.8 und einem Bildstabilisator für APS-C-Kameras wie der 70D oder auch den dreistelligen Canons, z.B. 700D, 750D etc. und ist damit NICHT für Vollformat-Kameras geeignet. Äußerlich gibt es keinen Grund zur Kritik. Das Bajonett schließt gut ab (das Objektiv ist nicht spritzwasser- oder staubgeschützt), der Zoom-Ring läuft problemlos, der Fokus-Ring ist jedoch nicht gedämpft und bietet nur einen sehr kurzen Weg womit manuelles Einstellen zur Geduldsprobe wird. Es gibt einen Lock-Schalter gegen unbeabsichtigtes Ausfahren des Tubus. Zwei Schalter: jeweils zum Aus/Einschalten des AF bzw. des Bildstabilisators. Das Design stammt noch aus der Zeit vor Sigmas "Global Vision" Design, daher passt es mit goldener Schrift und goldenem Ring - Eigenschaften der "EX" Serie - eher zu Nikon. Lediglich im ausgeschalteten Zustand klackert das Objektiv im Inneren bei leichter Bewegung schon bedenklich. Ich vermute, dass das Stabilisator-Element keine Parkposition kennt und daher im stromlosen Betrieb lose ist. Das hört sich tatsächlich im ersten Moment nach einem defekten Objektiv an, scheint aber normal zu sein. Prüfen kann man es nur insofern, als dass das Klackern aufhört, sobald das Objektiv an der Kamera montiert und diese eingeschaltet und auch aktiv ist. Altmodisch finde ich den Zoom-Ring, der sich manuell nur dann bewegen lässt, wenn der AF ausgeschaltet ist. Schlimmer ist jedoch, dass dieser Ring sich beim fokussieren mitdreht, und da das Objektiv eigentlich angenehm kurz ist, quittiert der Ultraschall-Motor Blockaden des Fokus-Rings z.B. durch Finger beim halten mit einem hohen pfeifen. Das Objektiv bietet also keinen Full-Time-Manual-Fokus wie alle Objektive von Canon mit USM- oder auch STM-Antrieb. Das sind jedoch die einzigen Kritikpunkte, die ich habe. Andererseits ist die Bildqualität absolut in Ordnung, lediglich zum Rand lässt sie nach, insbesondere bei Offenblende. Dennoch kann man auch bei f/2.8 sehr gute Fotos machen, solange bildwichtige Elemente eben nicht am Rand positioniert werden. Mein Exemplar war richtig eingestellt, getestet im Feld, mit Charts sowie später mit Reikan Focal Pro. Einen Vergleich zum Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II VC kann ich nicht machen, jedoch bewog mich der schnellere und vor allem leisere Ultraschall-Motor des Sigmas eben zum Sigma. Im Vergleich zum Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM "Art" schneidet das 18-35 in allen Punkten besser ab (Haptik spitze, 1 1/3 Blenden lichtstärker, Bildqualität exzellent, Full-Time-Manual-Fokus), bietet aber keinen Bildstabilisator, hat einen kleineren Brennweitenbereich, wiegt deutlich mehr, ist größer, und kostet über das doppelte. Ich verwende beide Objektive gerne je nach Situation, es sticht also meiner Meinung nach nicht eines das andere aus. Das 17-50 ist ein wunderbares Immerdrauf, das 18-35 ist schon eher ein Spezialist, wenn es um Freistellung oder Available Light Situationen geht. Unterm Strich bin ich mit diesem Objektiv äußerst zufrieden und an die beiden Kritikpunkte (Klackern des OS im stromlosen Zustand und kein Full-Time-Manual-Fokusring) gewöhnt man sich. Im APS-C Bereich kann man mit diesem Objektiv für etwas über 300€ einen lichtstarken Standard-Zoom erwerben, der sich sehen lassen kann. Definitiv eine Kaufempfehlung mit 5 Sternen. Wichtig: Sigma bietet eine Verlängerung der Garantie auf drei Jahre an, sofern das Objektiv von Sigma Deutschland "in Verkehr gebracht" wurde. Bei meinem Exemplar, das ich über Amazon erhielt ("verkauft und versand durch Amazon"), war das NICHT möglich; vermutlich auch, weil das Objektiv zwar aus der EU, aber eben nicht von Sigma Deutschland stammte. Ob man an dieser Stelle auf Amazon oder Sigma schimpfen soll, überlasse ich dem Leser. Interessanterweise ist es Tamron bzgl. seiner 5-Jahres-Garantie hingegen egal, aus welchem Teil der EU ein Objektiv stammt. Wer daher auf die 3 Jahre Garantieverlängerung von Sigma Wert legt, einfach innerhalb der 30-Tage Rückgaberecht bei Sigma telefonisch die Nummer prüfen lassen und im Problemfall das Objektiv zurücksenden - oder mit nur einem Jahr Garantie leben. Update 25.02.2020: nach knapp 4 Jahren kann ich sagen, dass das Objektiv noch immer sehr gut funktioniert und mich bisher nicht im Stich gelassen hat. Es klingt ausgeschaltet immer noch nach "Cola-Dose", aber der Fokus trifft nach wie vor zuverlässig und der Zoom-Ring lässt sich gut drehen (noch immer an der gleichen Canon 70D wie beim Kauf). Von daher eine gute und günstige Alternative zu Canon-APSC-Objektiven in diesem Zoombereich und mit gleicher, durchgängiger Lichtstärke von f2.8.

Still waiting for my new camera body so I'm not able to test the features such as image quality and AF speed before I write this review. But I will just talk about the service I received from the seller and the build quality of the actual lens delivered to me. First, the shipping is amazingly fast! It took just seven days from the lens shipped from Japan to it was delivered to me in Canada (shipped two days after order placed), while Amazon gave an estimated delivery time of one and a half month! Great seller and shipping! So, here's the lens I received. The lens's is brand new and the box nicely wrapped with bubbles to protect it from damage. The box contains the user guide, warranty and the actual lens (with lens hood) contained in the sigma lens bag specially designed for this 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD lens. The lens looks nice and tough, although made of plastic. The outstanding gold ring, which is the symbol of Sigma EX class lens, gives it the feeling of professional, and the large front glass (77mm filter size) looks handsome as well. A good news of this lens is that Sigma has already changed its old skin-feel lens coating (complained to drop easily) to the new coating, and the problem that lens hood being too loose on some old versions of this lens has been fixed. Now comes to the rings and switches. The zoom ring is designed with a good feeling with smooth zooming operations. However, this does not mean that you can enjoy zooming with this lens: the zoom ring is relatively tight compared to original Canon lenses. Same thing appears on many other Sigma lenses. It is not a problem, but it does impact users' experience using this lens. So I will remove 2 marks out of 100 from here. Focus ring is fairly smooth when focusing manually, and is not so tight as zoom ring, which is good. The AF is driven by an HSM motor, which provide fast and quiet auto focusing. It is easy to see from the focus ring that it only covers less than 45 dgrees to focus from minimum distance to infinity. And as I said I don't have my new camera body here so I can't test whether it is quiet with auto focusing, but I guess it can be very fast. One thing that disappointed me is that although an HSM is installed, the lens doesn't employ full-time manual focusing, which means you can't turn the ring to change focus status while AF is on. I will take 5 marks from here. The lens has an AF-MF switch and an OS ON-OFF switch, and they work well. There's another switch beside the zoom ring, saying "lock" on it. In many other reviews it was called the "zooming lock", which I would disagree, because this switch can only be used at the 17mm point, and protect the inner tube of the lens from coming out when travelling. It cannot be locked at any other focal lengths, nor can it keep the lens in a fixed focal length when shooting, so personally I regard this switch as not quite necessary. 2 marks taken from here. One of the biggest issue that other reviewers talked about this lens is the cracking noise when you shake it. I guess that must be part of the Optical Stablizer. I don't think it's a big problem. Nobody shake the lens when shooting anyway. So I only take 2 marks here. Overall the lens results 89% in build quality, which still reaches a five-star. If you would like to know the image quality of this lens you can refer to other reviewers' writings, and I look to test it as soon as possible.

Me encantó, muy práctico para foto y video. La apertura a 2.8 se preserva en todo el rango de Zoom, por lo que es una muy buena adquisición, así te evitas comprar otros lentes como el 24, 35 o 40 mm que son 2.8. Tiene estabilización óptica, por lo que es ideal para vídeo. La única desventaja es que solo es para sensores recortados, así que si cambias a full frame habrá que cambiar de lente.

This is a very versatile lens with low and fixed aperture, the seller is excellent and very professional they take care of every detail till the lens reaches you.

La uso con gran soddisfazione come lente principale ormai da 2 anni. L'autofocus è veloce e non mai riscontrato problemi di front/back focus (lo sconsiglio nei video invece perchè un pò rumoroso e meno veloce degli ultimi canon con tecnologia STM), l'apertura costante a 2.8 su tutta la lunghezza focale è in genere appannaggio di lenti molto più costose, personalmente trovo le immagini molto nitide già a f2.8 a f4 sono fantastiche, inoltre il mio esemplare si comporta piuttosto bene anche ai bordi. Lo stabilizzatore è molto efficace e personalmente riesco a sfruttarlo anche a 4 stop.La qualità costruttiva è ottima (molto migliore di un ben più costoso canon 17-85 che possiedo), purtroppo il peso non è molto contenuto, e alla lunga si fa sentire. Un altro appunto riguarda la ghiera della messa a fuoco, mi avrebbe fatto molto piacere se fosse stata full time manual focus ma purtroppo non è così. Infine sono rimasto molto sorpreso nel trovare paraluce e custodia inclusi nella confezione, altri produttori potrebbero prendere esempio. Personalmente a distanza di 2 anni sono ancora soddisfattissimo e ripeterei sicuramente l'acquisto (io lo pagai 360), agli indecisi consiglio un ottimo video confronto molto completo su youtube di un certo Christopher Frost tra 4 obiettivi: questo sigma 17-50, il famoso canon 17-55, il tamron 17-50 ed il sigma 18-35.