NEWB Question: Sigma 17-70 vs Kit lens

[RedMatrixXRS]

i just ordered a sigma 17-70 from adorama about 10 minutes ago to replace my kit lens. i have gotten some good shots with the kit lens so far. the problem that i have with the kit lens is the slow AF and softness at some ranges. i wanted something faster with a better reach for a walkaround lens so i ordered the siggy 17-70 after searching around and saw some sharp images here with the 17-70. i also looked at the Tamron 28-75 but i wanted to keep things wide enough for occasional landscape shots.

so my question is......how much more should i expect to get from the siggy over the kit lens (exept for the longer reach of course)? should i expect much? if so, what should i expect? any body have any comparasin shots?

[Coco-Puffs]

Originally Posted by RedMatrixXRS

the problem that i have with the kit lens is the slow AF

umm...USM is faster than Sigma's AF; at least thats always my experience. I still havent bought one bc I cant decide if I want the versatile 17-70 or the quality 18-50 (and risk getting a bad copy) so I cant say for sure but I'm pretty sure its slower.

And I thought the 1mm wider end was more than the 20mm long end.

[Margie]

I just bought the Sigma 17-70 today also. I posted a photo from it in another thread a few min. ago. I think I will do some side by side comparisons with the kit lens, too. If I do, I will post them also.
Margie

[lakiluno]

my kit lens isn't USM. They aren't always.

[05Xrunner]

yea only special bundle kits had the USM kit lens...I had the regular one. and its focus was no faster then my tamron 28-75

[Mr. Clean]

My personal opinion after having owned a 17-70 is that you should be very happy with the differences in build quality and image quality. AF time is about the same though.

[gef]

I find the Sigma AF a bit better in low light over the kit. I want to do a comparsion between the two, but I haven't had the time to pull that together yet...

[evandavies]

Not sure about AF time but I think its better and more accurate in low light. I´m sure you´ll be happy with the 17-70 as its sharper and faster (f/stop) than the kit lens.

Samples:
http://www.pbase.com/evandavies/sigma_17_70
Note- very few have been post sharpened

[Tee Why]

The 18-55 Kit lens has USM on Japanese Models if memory serves me right.
As for the sig. I think you will see a noticable diff over the kit lens in terms on color, reduced CA, contrast, and some improved sharpness.

have fun

[FlashZebra]

Originally Posted by RedMatrixXRS

i just ordered a sigma 17-70 from adorama about 10 minutes ago to replace my kit lens. i have gotten some good shots with the kit lens so far. the problem that i have with the kit lens is the slow AF and softness at some ranges. i wanted something faster with a better reach for a walkaround lens so i ordered the siggy 17-70 after searching around and saw some sharp images here with the 17-70. i also looked at the Tamron 28-75 but i wanted to keep things wide enough for occasional landscape shots.

so my question is......how much more should i expect to get from the siggy over the kit lens (exept for the longer reach of course)? should i expect much? if so, what should i expect? any body have any comparasin shots?

These two nice test reports might put the diffrences of these lenses into focus.

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/len...3556/index.htm

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/len...2845/index.htm

Enjoy! Lon

[Tee Why]

Oh, a thing about "scamorama" is that they often send you an e-mail asking you to call regarding your order and they try to upsell you or sell you accessories before they send the order. I hear if you ignore the e-mail, they'll send it anyway a day later.
Kinda sucks as this tactic can delay the shipping of your order by a day.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by Tee Why

Oh, a thing about "scamorama" is that they often send you an e-mail asking you to call regarding your order and they try to upsell you or sell you accessories before they send the order. I hear if you ignore the e-mail, they'll send it anyway a day later.
Kinda sucks as this tactic can delay the shipping of your order by a day.

I've not seen that happen, and I more-or-less split my orders between them and B&H.

[Guineh]

Originally Posted by Tee Why

Oh, a thing about "scamorama" is that they often send you an e-mail asking you to call regarding your order and they try to upsell you or sell you accessories before they send the order. I hear if you ignore the e-mail, they'll send it anyway a day later.
Kinda sucks as this tactic can delay the shipping of your order by a day.

Having ordered from adorama several times, I've never once seen anything more than the standard "your order will be processed shortly" e-mail. Never once have they asked for a phone call. The only problem I had with them was a reverse coupling ring was on back order, but that came a few days later.

[Nick_C]

The Sigma 17-70 is a LOT better than the kit lens, at least that has been my findings, I noticed a significant improvement in sharpness & contrast when I upgraded to the siggy.

For the money you get a lot of lens, whilst the macro cannot compete with a true macro lens, if you dont do a lot of that sort of stuff then who wants to spend extra on a macro lens for the odd occasion when you might want to take a closeup? the 17-70 fits the bill perfectly here.

As far as focussing speed, im quite sure there are faster lenses from Canon, but if you forget all the techy stuff & just go & take photos you will find that its more than enough, I can track moving objects no problem at all, so I see no need to spend anymore money on anything better, remember once you get out of the really cheap end of lenses & start to spend more & more, I think as with all things there will be the law of diminishing returns coming into play, you gradually get a little bit better here & there but it gets less the more money you spend, you end up paying huge sums of cash to gain that slight advantage.

Nick