Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM AF Standard Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I bought this lens several months ago because I need a wide zoom lens for my full frame DSLr camera, Nikon D700. Previously I use Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 and Nikkor 35mm f/2.8, but I feel I switching lenses all the time is quite cumbersome for type of photography I like to do, event photography.This lens is regarded as high-end lens, the one usually used by serious photographers such as professionals and advanced amateur photographers.Nikon does not have many lens optimized for full frame camera. Nikon does offers Nikon 24-70mm AF-S f/2.8, but it is simply too expensive considering I am not full time photographer.Fortunately, last year, Sigma launched 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM. This lens attracts my attention especially because I can use it in full frame camera or crop frame camera (Nikon D90. D300, D60, etc). Here is the list why this lens is attractive:* Price: More than half the price compare to Nikon AF-S 24-70mm* Size: It is compact, but the diameter is big. It takes 82mm filter.* Built Quality: Great built quality, typical of Sigma EX (high-end lens)* Image Quality: Sharp, good contrast, consistent result across focal length and aperture. Smooth bokeh but not as good as prime lens such as 85mm f/1.4* Focal Length: 24mm is quite wide for many purpose although if you primarily take ultra-wide angle, consider Nikon 17-35mm or 14-24mm. 70mm is decent range, not too long and not too short.* Auto Focus: Quiet and fast, tracks well thanks to HSM (hypersonic motor).Despite all of above, there are couple things that I personally do not like: Sometimes, the auto focus switch automatically switch to manual focus. Until now, I don't know what trigger it. Although I like the compact size (short), but I feel the lens is not as comfortable to hold as the thinner, 77mm lens.ConclusionI highly recommend this lens for anybody who love "affordable" high quality lens. The lens works very well in full frame DSLR cameras, but it also works great in crop sensor camera. You can get a lot of value out of this lens even though you have crop sensor camera.The only difference of mounting the lens on crop sensor camera will be the focal length. In crop sensor camera, it is equivalent to around 35-105mm. It might not wide enough in tight space, but looking at the positive side, you gain 35mm of extra focal length, which is great for head and shoulder portrait. I posts some photos in my blog [...] and also some related post/site that relate to this lens. Please check them out.

I needed a good zoom for weddings, I have been using a canon 24 1.4 and Sigma 50 1.4 and shooting at 2.8. The 24-70 gives me the 2.8 I like to shoot at plus the range I like to shoot at. I love the Sigma 50 1.4 on my 7D it gives me the look I want. But inside with more then 2 people in the picture I needed to much room so I stopped to switch to the 24L. The problem I found with primes is after an hr of pictures most people start to get grumpy and dont like any delays and stoping to switch lens is a delay so I got the 24-70 2.8 to cover 95% of my pictures.I had to set my focus adjust on the 7D to +10 for this lens. With the +10 I have just a tiny bit of FF at 24 and a tiny bit of BF at 70 but you have to be at 100% to see it. For cameras that do not have the focus adjust the +10 would be a large problem so if you dont have FA get the canon or plan on sending it in for adjustment, its worth it :)A friend ask me to shoot his Hockey game so I used the 24-70 and was very very hapy with the results, out of 66 pictures not one was out of focus. The lens was always in focus. I am not saying it was perfect but it was good enough that you cant tell at 8x10 print size. On my 7D the focus was fast and accurate.There are some reviews on the net that show this lens has bad corner resolution at 70mm and there are some that show it has better corners then both the Canon and Nikon 24-70's. The corners on my copy are good but not perfect. The Sigma 50 had about the same resolution at 1.4 as the 24-70 at 2.8 but with the 50 at 2.8 its a bit better. The bokeh is ok but the 50 is better. The colors are good on both and the 24-70 has very little CA.Dave

I wanted to love this lens. I wanted to so bad. It's exactly what I needed at the price I needed to pay for it. The build quality is pretty good. It's a hefty lens and comes with it's own bag. The colors I get with it are good and the coatings seem to be OK as well.But the FOCUS! I got this a week before a wedding. I put it through the paces with loads of test shots and it seemed to perform great. So I used it for the wedding and it went great! I LOVED my new lens over my kit lenses I had. Until I looked at my photos. Turns out that my camera had focused on the barn behind the subjects on just about every formal portrait shot I had taken.I thought it was just me, so I beat myself up for it. But on every shoot since then, it has popped back up. EVERY picture I've taken with it looks soft. I've been increasingly more careful with the focusing of it, but it will continuously lock onto the background, or just miss the focus altogether by just a hair to where nothing in the picture is quite "in-focus". Unfortunately, it's past the 30 day return window (I bought it on 03/08/16) so I'm hoping to get my money back and just get the real thing. There is not point in having a sharp and fast lens if it will never give you in focus pictures...