Sigma Lens hobbyist-Photographers - Gifted or Cursed?

Hi guys,

when talking about Sigma... did anyone of you try Sigma 17-70mm/f2.8-4 (the new one version) with EOS 600D (T3i Rebel) body?
I am still a newbie in photography and it is just a hobby for me but I am not sure about these lenses. A few people told me rather to buy C 15-85mm lenses because the first version of Sigma lenses (17-70/f2.8-4.5) failed shooting with 18MPix body... but it is about 300$ for me to spend for C lenses and I want be sure whether it is really necessary ... bcause the new version may be usable with that body...?

Any experience pls?
And pls forgive me my english level
Thx a lot

i have a Sigma 10-20 for about a year now. And this lens is great! no issues with it at all

first copy of 30mm f1.4 front focussed - Amazon sent a replacement within a day - tested both the lenses before sendign the first one back. The second copy has the AF spot on

I never had a problem with Sigma.
I had a Sigma 30mm, now a 85mm. And recently I just helped my friend and bought a new 30mm which works flawlessly too.

Sigma 10-20mm was fantastic! Didn't use the AF though.

Sigma 30mm was really good too!

Sigma 85mm.... latest generation.... BAD. AF degraded and sent in for calibration. Came back in almost he same state. Can't focus on anything. Always does this kind of bracket focus much like how focus is done in live view. Overall, not impressed.

Post deleted. My memory and info were both faulty. Getting old stinks!

Dave

Ha, I missed this thread passing the first time, sorry to resurrect from last month.

I have 4 sigma lens and one sigma teleconverter which cover pretty much everything I use. I have no complaints other than the terrible peeling paint they use on the older lenses, but hey, it's just cosmetic!

I'm sure there are a few more faulty sigma lenses than there are from canon and nikon but it seems to get a little overplayed on the forums sometimes.

They also make some unique lenses that really don't have equivalents from canon, I like that they're willing to give that a shot.

My kit is mostly sigma ex lenses and I have had all good luck. I often wondered as well about the bad press on here, but then again if I got a bad one I would feel different. The 17-50 is ridiculously awesome, the 10-20 is well documented here, and i Just got the 100-300 f4 and am so far blown away by it. I think all my lenses are 95% or better than canon equivalents and at 70% the price they suit me just fine. I personally love the ex build quality and will happily shoot sigma as a non pro. I use my lenses for work and for fun and couldn't be happier with sigmas quality for my needs. What is lost is that in many cases sigma makes lenses that if they said " canon " would be much more heralded than they are. For all the fanfare of the 17-55, the 17-50 is right there with it for $400 less.

my friend has a 30mm 1.4... focus spot on and sharper than anything i've seen (maybe except my 24-70? lol)
tried on my cam, and still works like charm...
that is one sigma i'd like to buy if i didn't plan on going FF at all.

I have the 120-300, 50 1.4 and just got the 24 1.8. I bought used the 120-300. It's been a workhorse sports lens and while not quite the Canon 300 2.8 for IQ, it's darn good. On my 40 D, the 50 1.4 took my favorite photo ever, out of the box, 1st few clicks. I have moved to the 7D and am so happy with both, I wanted a wider prime and opted to get the 24 1.8 this Christmas over the 30 1.4. I also have the Canon 17-55 (never been truly happy) and 70-200 (awesome).

24 1.8 just arrived and it front focuses. What's in focus is tack sharp and it's consistent. MA should handle it, but I haven't had time to mess with it. I am a little bummed and wondering if I should send it back or deal with it. I still have my 40D as a backup (haven't tried it yet) but expect it will only be usable on my 7D with MA. I am wondering if I should send it back. Thoughts?

I guess I would send it back.

I am looking at that lens. I mostly shoot interior design for work and think I would like that lens. I am kinda thinking that that the 7D is really my next move though. I like the xsi a lot but it is ready to move into a backup role.

Okay. I tested the 24 1.8 with MA on the 7D and it is unusable on my 40D. I am really unhappy above about 400 iso, no matter. Defeats the purpose of 1.8. This one is going back. Maybe I finally got bit by the Sigma inconsistent bug, but this lens is nowhere near the quality of the 50 1.4. I am not sure whether to get the 30 or just wait to get the 24L til I can afford it.

I had a sigma 50mm that was a complete dud. MA could not get it anywhere near focusing. I just recently got a Sigma 85mm which is spot on great.

Here's what I've found with Sigma.

Like Canon, they make some pretty crappy lens.
But they also make very nice lenses for the money. They may not beat out the thousand dollar Zeiss or L glass, but for what they're marked the performance is usually better than expected. There is some quality control issues, but if you send it in it almost always comes back DEAD ON perfect. The customer service is very simple and you're covered under warranty for...5 years I believe (I live in the US). I'm not sure what the issue is.
Sigma puts out some solid stuff, and when they dont they own up to it and get it fixed.

There are a couple things here....
1.) Sigma doesn't have the bad name you think. For every gripe, there are plenty of happy Sigma customers like myself.
2.) Sigma does seem to let more lenses out of the factory that are out of calibration than they should. That just means you need to check it out when you get it and allow for time to return it and get another if needed.
3.) There are enough "Canon only" people who think that Canon is the be all and end all of lenses and anything else is junk. This can be amplified by number 2 when a person like that decides to buy a Sigma and gets a bad one.

Sigma makes some great products. Don't fear them. Of the seven Sigma lenses I've owned, only the 30mm f1.4 needed to be returned for an exchange. One thing nice is that their lenses come with a 3 yr warranty on non-EX lenses, and 4 yrs on EX lenses.