Usable 1.8 on FF D700, no purple fringing, lightweight, fast and sure focus, close focus 7" from lens on FF, CHEAP

Some LOCa's present early on, some barrel distortion, hazy corners until stopped down

This is a superb little lens for little money. I got lucky with my sample - focus is spot on on the D700. It's quick and sure - even in near darkness! The photodo mtf results are no joke - this is sharp wide open! There is a little to be desired in the corners - but for what it is I am impressed. I've compared it so far to my Nikon 20-35mm @ 28mm and here's what I came up with: Wide open sharpness is comparable. That's 1.8 vs 2.8 - this is in the center - both have fuzzy corners until f5.6 and up. The little Sigma kills the Nikkor in wide open CA. The 1.8 exhibits minor and tolerable LOCA's until f4 - but no purple fringing. The Nikkor is horrible - prob 2 pixels of CA that are obvious until f4 where they cease happily. The nikkor wins in distortion at this focal length. Probably +4 barrel on the little Sig. Use on film bodies (mf) is a pain because the focus ring turns maybe 1/8th rotation from close until infinity. It's really light focus rotation too - a light breeze could change it - perhaps not the best for mf use. The 1.8 lets a lot more light in than the Nikkor - the same stop requires a 1/60th vs 1/20th shutter opening for the nikkor (with more fall off - but the Nikon isn't stuck at 28mm either...) It focuses damn close, is sharp wide open and is fun to use. Nice bokeh - easily obtained with 1.8. Great for shooting the kids. Decent flare resistance. Nice 14 point sunstars (7 blades). Would love to see a shootout between this and the Nikon 28mm 1.4 and/or the Nikon 35mm f2. Check ColinJamesPhoto at flickr for samples...

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 20-35mm, 14-24mm, 28-105mm, 35mm - Sigma 24mm 2.8

Might make a good paper weight. Will sell it as soon as possible - who knows maybe for as much as I paid!

Doesn't work with the D-Rebel and Sigma has no intent of servicing it after the sale. Save your money and buy somebody else's lens. I won't make the Sigma mistake ever again.

I'm extremely disappointed in this lens - but even more so with Sigma and their standard of customer service. Mated to my EOS 300D (Digital Rebel), the lens returns Error Code 99. I contacted Sigma USA asking to get the firmware updated. I was willing to pay shipping up front and asked for a quote for the work. They sent me an email claiming the lenses worked fine with the Rebel, and asked me for more information on exactly what caused me to think there was a problem with their lens. When I provided the serial number, they promptly reversed themselves. The lens is now magically incompatible and was not designed to work with the Rebel. Their only remedy is to offer me a new lens with my trade in for a mere $183.00 US. MSRP on a new lens is $210, and PriceGrabber.com says it's much lower. The moral of the story is thrice: 1. Avoid Sigma like the plague unless you prefer getting nothing for something, 2. Buy used at your own risk as technology goes marching along, and 3. Again, avoid Sigma - their customer service is worthless. A complete waste of time and money.

Customer Service

Sucks. Their comment to me when I told them they were not servicing their product was "Thank you for your suggestion, we will forward your complain to our headquarters in Japan Have a great day and enjoy" Unbelievable.

Similar Products Used:

EOS, Tamron, Tokina

sharp good colour fast all most all low price good quality(made in japan)

none

It cant get better than this.For Documentary and photojournalism you got a very good tool.!Even for macro work and with digital cams you get stunning results.Its one of the best 28 mms out there,still my favorite is German,but they are in another league and class.Sharp,good colours and good vignetting;only superlatives! buy it.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

From Nikon Carl Zeiss Leica and others

Fast & Autofocus is quick!

None

this lens is wonderful for use with digital, I used cheaper 28mm's & they had dreadfull chromatic colour around highlights, this is a super lens & had great results from it including at night at full apeture.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28mm f/2.8 Centon 28mm f/2.8 for a bad comparison

Fast f1.8, wide 28mm, in a tiny package Focus very close (a foot or so) Excellent sharpness and contrast wide open Fast, fairly quiet AF Small 58mm filter size Much cheapter than similar speed Canon 28mm

Not quite as ruggedly built as EX series

This is a stunning little lens! At 28mm it's ideal for the 1.6x crop of Canon digital cameras as an equivalent to the "standard" 50mm prime lens. It's fast (f1.8) and compact (58mm filter size and smaller than most consumer zooms) and very sharp even wide open! AF performance is good and distortion, CA and other artifacts are virtually non-existent. If build quality is not a concern, this lens is better than my Sigma EX primes in almost every way (except for Macro performance, my EX 24mm can focus down to about 2mm!)

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28mm f2.8 Sigma EX 24mm f1.8 Macro

FAST, easy to focus manually, well-made.

none worth mentioning.

I bought this lens while in college, working for the school paper. It was great for indoor office shots, non-flash events, and sports sideline shots. Sadly, I sold it; I would buy another; much better value than the Nikkor 28mmf/1.4; the difference can't be worth $1200.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 24/2.8, 28/3.5, 35/2.0

fast, sharp pics..great price

non that I could find at this price

Cover sports for local newspaper...Have had no good luck with Sigma...bought this because of review I read...for High School basketball it's a dream come true...fast, sharp..Use on my D30 and love it....they got this one right...great lens

Customer Service

Haven't used

Similar Products Used:

Canon, Tokina

High aperture, value

Low retail value, but you won#t like to resell.

I used the first version that had more metal and was a very fine lens. Now, I own the second version for more than a year on a Nikon. The focusing ring for MF has too much play, AF works OK. 1.8 is a reserve that can help a lot, but stopped down to 5.6 the lens is much better. Nikon offers a 2.8 for the same price. The 1.4 looks nice but costs x times more. Sigma makes extremely nice wide angle lenses and from version to version mechanics gets better. Comes with perfect lens shade. Filter diameter is 58mm... uncommon. Field curvature and distortion are not as well corrected as for the Nikkor with 2.8. For a high aperture lens still good.

Similar Products Used:

1.8/28 apsh. I, AF/MF Sigma 2.8/24 I and II, AF-Nikkor 2.8/24, 2/35...

Lite, Sharp, Bright, Quick

A little slower focusing then the Nikons.

Great when you want a prime 28mm lens. Definately a good value verses the Nikon, and better then any other non-Nikon28mm lens I could find.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28-80, Sigma 28-80, Sigma 28-300

Very sharp images indeed.

See customer service.

Excellent optical quality, f1.8 knocks zooms for 6, great price, but Sigma should talk to Minolta about the 700si AF speed.

Customer Service

Repaired 3! times for broken scaling ring (whatever that is?). Minolta AF motor too brutal for it, IMHO. Sigma didn't charge for repairs even when out of warranty.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 24mm f2.8