17-50mm f2.8 EX DC Optical Stabilised lens for Sony Digital SLR Cameras with APS-C Sensors

I wanted a zoom lens to replace the 18-55 kit lens on my Nikon D5100. I also have the Nikon 35mm 1.8g, but in practice I tended to use the zoom lens more despite the lower image quality. I was looking for great image quality and sharpness with effective stabilisation. The wide constant aperture was a bonus rather than a necessity. This lens was recommended to me by a wedding photographer who chose it instead of a mega-expensive Nikon. I chewed over this for ages - I considered Tamron equivalent both without VC (cheap) and with (not as cheap but not as good?), also the bargain Nikon 50mm 1.8 for image quality. The Sigma is very expensive in absolute terms for an enthusiast like me, but in the end the reviews swayed me. I had some reservations about what I had heard regarding variations between samples, but I decided that I would test the lens extensively on arrival. If there were any shortcomings I would simply use Amazon's excellent return system until I found a good one. After the 30 day mark there would be Sigma's 3 year guarantee to fall back on. I am pleased to report that this has not been necessary - it's a good 'un. The lens arrived in great condition - it is solid and heavy and feels like a professional item should. In use the weight helps dampen vibrations and is a positive thing. It resembles my Sigma 10-20 EX in looks and feel. It takes good images! I have compared it in "blind" tests with my other 2 lenses at 35mm on a tripod. As expected the Sigma wins with the 35mm close behind. In particular the Sigma is much better than the 35mm at controlling CA. Although worthy, the kit lens is beaten hands down, especially towards the edges of the frame. The AF works very well, I tested this and found it was bang on - more accurate than my manual focussing skills. I would give this lens 5 stars if it was less expensive, but I guess you get what you pay for. This lens ticks all the boxes - great build and image quality so far, with stabilisation and useful zoom. I think however that if you can adapt to framing without zoom and have steady hands that a couple of Nikon prime lenses could do some of the job, possibly for less money. The Sigma gives good results at the 17mm end, which I find useful. I am very happy with this lens and would buy it again.

I have been using this lens non-stop for the past 3 years for both photography and film making and I have to say for the price and performance it’s one of the best lenses to use for an APC-S camera body. I was so confident in my initial choice of the lens I bought two, which I use for different functions and it satisfied my needs during those times. Just so you are aware I use a D5500 body along with it, which is known for having 1.5 x crop factor. With that in mind here are the pros and cons. PROs: - It’s versatile as an all-round photography lens. The 17-50mm on APC-S is the focal equivalent to a 24-70 on a full frame camera. At 17mm It is awesome for landscapes/wide angle shots, whilst the 50 mm will behave quite like a 70mm prime for portraits. - Uses a 77mm thread for filter which is common for most fixed aperture lenses - Between the 35-50mm range the lens offers great bokeh for portraits. - Having a fixed f/2.8 aperture is brilliant for low light photography and filmmaking and it feels like you have multiple prime lens. It allows plenty of light onto the camera sensor to keep the ISO & shutter speed at low values. - The auto focus is fast and silent on the D5500 at all focal lengths, and the optical stabilisation is great for capturing sharp images that are stationary or moving. 6. Focusing is pretty accurate on wide to medium shots and is useful for manually focussing at infinity if landscape photos are your niche. 7. The addition of a lock mode is great to eliminate any breathing when in use or aiming down. 8. At f/4-5.6 the images and video produced is super sharp, which is where you should be working from most of the time. CONs: 1. The lens is a lot heavier and bulkier than other kit lens to compensate for the fixed aperture. 2. The build quality takes a hit due to price reducing. Some people might like the finish others won’t. 3. You can feel and hear the internal components move around if you shake the lens and the supplied lens hood can easily fall off. 4. The zoom and focus rings are arranged opposite to normal NIKON lens, which can be jarring to new users. 5. The manual focus range is extremely limited especially in close up shots, so be aware of the minimum distance you can rack focus to whether in manual or auto. 6. At f/2.8 on all focal lengths you can notice the image sharpness gets a bit soft and there is a subtle vignette at the lower focal length range. 7. The focal length zoom is an external rather than internally function which isn’t great for filming unless the camera is station at all times. Considering most people who are looking at this len probably are starting out with either/both the 18-55 Nikon kit lens and Tamron 70-300 VC, this of course is the natural progression to advancing your photography. Along with the NIKON 35 mm and 50mm prime lens this would be among my go to lens if I started again from scratch. As a film maker or vlogger, I will admit it might not tick all the boxes and that’s in part due to the negatives addressed. If you really are on a tight budget by all means go for it, but if you’re going to do it professionally I’d often recommend saving the money and getting the sigma art 18-35mm f1.8 and future proof the investment. Regardless of the negatives I still love this lens as it is overall a good purchase, it’s ideal for travel being an all-around lens and can produce truly stunning images with minor issue being fixable in post. I absolutely would recommend this.

Great lens BUT I found some snags I was not expecting. I use this lens on a Nikon D7200 I love... Sharper than anything comparable I could find (see DXO Labs tests for info). Needle sharp at f3.3 wide angle and f2.8 zoom. Good light transmission makes it great for low light photos. Great value compared to Nikon. Sharpish at f11 so okay for landscapes. Not so keen... Can't switch from auto to manual focus durunh a shot without first switching on manual. If hand accidentally touches focus ring then it hinders auto focusing. Zoom ring works opposite way to Nikon lenses which feels odd. Flare can be a slight problem, more so than with Nikon originals where I find a lens hood unnecessary. Focus tracking of a person walking or running towards the camera works amazingly accurately with Nikon lenses but not with this lens. Perhaps the focus motor is too slow. In bright sunlit high contrast scenes with this lens the camera over exposes by about half to one stop which burns out highlights. That does not happen with original lenses. Overall, I am a tad disappointed but still rate it a great lens for the money. One last thought, the lense I received was a grey import with a 1 year warranty instead of the 3 years Sigma UK offer.

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!

J'ai acheté cet objectif pour remplacer le 18-55 du kit de mon appareil photo. Je suis satisfaite de mon achat. Points positifs : Très bon objectif, très polyvalent et lumineux, avec un très bon piqué. Points négatifs : A la prise en main, l'objectif assez lourd et j'ai trouvé la bague dure à tourner au départ. Après plusieurs mois d'utilisation, je ne sais pas si ça vient du fait que je m'y sois habituée mais j'ai l'impression que celle ci est un peu plus souple.

Ich habe dieses Objektiv jetzt seit mehreren Jahren und habe einiges damit gemacht, inkl. Filmszenen unter sehr schwierigen, dunklen Bedingungen gedreht. Die Bildqualität ist sehr gut, mehr muss man eigentlich nicht sagen (auch laut Messungen von Dxomark), das Bild ist scharf vom Zentrum bis in die Ecken, es gibt keinen Farbstich, normale Vignettierung, geringe Aberrationen, und vor allem: sehr geringe Verzerrungen im Bereich 21-50mm (bei 17mm sind sie etwas stärker). Das ist wirklich super und wichtig, zumindest für mich. Ich möchte nämlich, dass gerade Linien auch wirklich gerade sind. Es ist stabil gebaut und hat ziemlich genau die gleiche Größe und das gleiche Gewicht wie ein 24-70mm f/4 für Vollformat -- was ja auch optisch genau sein Vollformatäquivalent ist. So soll es sein! Das Objektiv kann problemlos in anspruchsvollen Situationen eingesetzt werden. Das "Klappern" im Objektiv ist die optische Bildstabilisierung (OS), das ist KEIN Defekt! Bitte, Leute, bildet euch etwas, bevor ihr ein solches Objektiv kauft! Die OS funktioniert sehr gut, ich kann mit dem Objektiv problemlos aus der Hand filmen, ohne dass das Bild wackelt. Jetzt zum Autofokus: Ihr müsst dazu wissen, wie DSLRs (im Gegensatz zu Spiegellosen) fokussieren. DSLRs fokussieren nicht mit dem Bildsensor (das geht nicht, weil der Spiegel davor ist), sondern mit einem speziellen Fokussensor. Das kann bei manchen Kamera-Objektiv-Kombinationen dazu führen, dass das Bild aus Sicht des Bildsensors nicht wirklich im Fokus ist, obwohl der Fokussensor es meldet. Das Ergebnis sind leicht defokussierte Bilder, und man denkt "das Objektiv ist mangelhaft". Das stimmt aber nicht! Die "besseren" Nikon-DSLRs (z. B. D500, D750 oder höher) erlauben im Menü eine entsprechende Fokusjustierung der Kamera-Objektiv-Kombination. Ich hatte z. B. mit dem Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 an der D750 immer wieder deutlich defokussierte Bilder, es sah furchtbar aus. Nachdem ich die Justage gemacht hatte, war alles super. Bitte denkt daran, das kann wirklich notwendig sein! Wenn man das Objektiv aber an einer Spiegellosen benutzt (ich benutze es an einer Nikon Z50 mit Adapter), gibt es nie Fokusprobleme, der Fokus sitzt IMMER perfekt, ohne Ausnahme. Das liegt daran, dass eine Spiegellose direkt den Bildsensor zum Fokussieren verwendet, es ist kein spezieller Fokussensor involviert, so dass keine Diskrepanz auftreten kann. Wenn ihr das Objektiv aber z. B. an einer D5600 benutzt, dann könntet ihr ein Problem haben. Denn die D5600 erlaubt keine Fokusjustierung. Es hängt dann vom Zufall ab, ob die Kamera-Objektiv-Kombination gut zusammenarbeitet. Ich empfehle, das Objektiv an einer Z50 zu benutzen. Ich habe dem Autofokus nur 4 Sterne statt 5 gegeben. Warum? Weil das Objektiv (a) keinen "Manual Override" des Autofokus erlaubt (der Autofokus-Modus blockiert absichtlich den Fokusring), und (b) weil sich der Fokusring außen bewegt, wenn der Autofokus aktiv ist. Man muss also immer aufpassen, das Objektiv nicht den Ring anzufassen. Daran gewöhnt man sich schnell, das ist kein Problem -- aber na ja, 5 Sterne sind das jedenfalls nicht. Der Fokusmotor macht ein gewisses Geräusch. Nicht sehr laut, aber dennoch hörbar. Falls ihr filmt und sich euer Mikrofon in der Nähe des Objektivs befindet, wird das Motorgeräusch auf der Tonspur sein. Insgesamt würde ich dieses Objektiv sofort wieder kaufen. Damit macht man nichts falsch, auch für Video ist es sehr gut geeignet. Das Preisleistungsverhältnis ist wirklich außerordentlich gut.

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.

The product was delivered way before the committed date in excellent condition. The packing was very good. I highly recommend both the product and the seller