Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 Contemporary DC Macro OS HSM Lens for Nikon

I purchased this lens just over a year ago. Ive used it casually for both indoor / outdoor photography and had good results. Now over a year old, its been to Europe twice and I used it almost exclusively on a recent trip to France. We all want to take as many lenses as possible on a shoot, but when you are traveling, you often have to make sacrifices. This was a great lens for the trip. I shot indoors, outdoors, landscapes, with and without flash in some incredibly dark places. I was very impressed with the 17- 70s performance as a multi-purpose lens. 17-23 gives you great wide angle options for larger rooms, buildings and gardens. 30-50 worked well allowing me to compose and fill the frame with a subject at near distance. 70mm helped bring things in I just couldnt get close enough to. The lenses focus is extremely sharp (at all focal lengths). Of course every lens has its "sweet spot" range but I have no complaints here for a lens at this price point. Color and clarity are also excellent. The focus ring is nice and wide, smooth (with the right amount of drag), and is easy to grip when manual focus is used. There is no zoom creep when you carry the lens barrel down and hiking. It stays put (retracted). On this trip, I visited several exhibits that did not allow any flash photography. This is where a F2.8 lens is really useful. I was happy with the raw captures and got some compliments on many of the photos. The "OS" on this lens is great. You can be tired, or a little shakie and no one will be the wiser. Ive only shot a handful of video with this lens, but like stills, its performance has been nothing less than excellent. This lens is a nice step up from a comparable lens in a "kit" camera package, but is by no means professional grade. That said, you will notice a big difference between the photos shot with this lens in comparison to a "kit lens" that comes with your camera. Youll be VERY happy! Its quiet, takes super sharp photos and is extremely versatile. Price new (Amazon) or refurb from direct from Sigma is extremely appealing. The pics below are Mendocino, Liverpool, Sausalito, Paris and the Loire Valley.

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For Nikon D500 Users We would like to announce the availability of new firmware and support for the lenses listed below. This update resolves the phenomenon that the exposure may not be accurate when these SIGMA interchangeable lenses for NIKON are used on a Nikon D500, which was released on April 28th, 2016 by Nikon Corporation. For customers who own the applicable products listed below, please update the lens firmware in accordance with the following information. [Applicable products] SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art – Nikon mount SIGMA 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM | Contemporary – Nikon mount SIGMA 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM | Contemporary – Nikon mount SIGMA 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports – Nikon mount, when attached to TELE CONVERTER TC-1401 or TC-2001 * Lens firmware update is not necessary if the lens is not used with TELE CONVERTER TC-1401 or TC-2001. [Benefit of this firmware update] It has corrected the phenomenon that applicable products listed above show some underexposure depending on shooting conditions when they are mounted on a Nikon D500.

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I looked at all the tests.. read the reviews and they are right. This think is sharp like crazy for a standard range zoom. It beats just about any current lens in the 16-80 ish range The best part is that it is consistent at all focal lengths with minimal softening at the edges when wide open at 17 mm The rest of the time It is sharp across the frame. Just about every other lens will have 1-1 very soft corners that require you to stop the lens down to get a consistent sharp image corner to corner. No this lens.. Tests at DPR and SLRGEAR confirm this. DPR talks it down for some reason. But looking at the tests and my experience make it the best "kit range" lens out there for the money. The Sony 16-50 f2.8 might be a bit sharper but has weak ranges and I like the extra 20mm of zoom. The Sony version has no OS.. since the camera has it. Some complain.. I think it means the lens optics dont float and shift the image at all, so I am fine with it being left out of the Sony version. I took off one star for the quiet clicks it makes when focusing that sometimes can be heard on video.

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I have two of these lenses and both copies work very well. They are a touch soft at their widest apertures, but that is quickly sharpened up with just a bit of stopping down. I run one of these lenses on a D5100 and the other on a D7100. They focus fast and true, the colors are excellent and the soft bokeh is great.

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