Sigma 24-70 f2.8 HSM vs MACRO version?

asking on behalf of a friend - i only owned a tamron 28-75mm so i can't really answer his question.

in terms of IQ/bokeh/color/contras​t/AF Accuracy (not speed!), how would you rank the sigma HSM vs sigma MACRO vs tamron? the first two is extremely confusing - there seems to be no consensus on which is better ( when the HSM is supposedly better? ).

he thinks 24mm is really useful, but only if there isn't much sacrifice in IQ over the tamron.

just to clarify things (for those who are not clear on the different 24-70 versions)

sigma 24-70 non macro came out first, followed by macro version, then the HSM version.

please help guys!

The HSM one is a lot better than the older versions. The HSM one is extremely under-rated:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=0​&APIComp=3

Go through the comparisons there on it, it might surprise you how good it is. Only thing that seems better in the crops there is the 70mm 2.8 center of the Tamron. Downside: 82mm filters. They have the 24-70mm non HSM available, but not the "macro" one.

The macro and the original non-hsm one are quite old, too, I'd be nervous about grabbing an old used Sigma, lol.

ok guys, my friend got the 24-70 HSM. i tried it and it was indeed stunning.

on my tamron, i frequently had to stop down to f/4 to make it look sharper and vignette less - but on the sigma, i can use f2.8 confidently!