Yourlensreview - Lens - Sigma 17-70 F/2.8-4.5 DC Macro

- Price
- Usually sharp
- Build
- Range
- Macro quite useful in some circumstances

- Soft corners at the wide end
- Some distortion at the wide end
- f/2.8 drops down fast
- Large filterdiameter of 72mm

Ok first, I started using a dslr (pentax k10d) with this lens one month ago, so realise that I don't have lots of experiences with all kind of lenses.
But so far I am pretty happy with my decision to start with this lens. It wasn't very expensive and I like the range.

The build quality feels very good, it isn't wobbling or doesn't feel light. I like the rubberized finish which give it a good and comfortable grip. It has a non-rotating frontelement. The focusring rotates while autofocussing though, but that is just a matter of getting used to in my opinion.

So far it seems to be sharp to me, except when you are using a large aperture at the wide end, soft corners will appear then. But ok it is not an expensive lens.
The chromatic abberations seems to be well controlled.

The autofocus is very fast in daylight and indoor conditions. But will hunt on lowcontrast objects when it is getting darker.

Considering the price this a good lens for someone searching for an alternative for a kitlens, and delivers a significantly better performance and buildquality.

ps. the second example is cropped