Good focal range and fairly good close focusing ability, F2.8, well priced if you hunt around, full frame image circle.

Soft unless stopped down.

Pre-purchase reasons for buying this lens:

· It sat well priced with my healthy but balanced hobby budget.

· It had, on paper at least, the ability to capture more images in low light, hand held.

· It cast a full frame image circle (making it more future proof and able to be shared with my film based camera).

· Its 24mm-135mm focal length would be good for 80% of the subjects I shoot, minimising lens changes and therefore dust on the sensor.

· It shared a 77mm filter with other lenses in its relative price and quality range, such as the SIGMA 135mm–400mm APO DG and SIGMA 10mm-20mm DC, suitably complementing a kit covering common focal lengths with no overlap.

· It has a manually selectable aperture ring (backwards compatible with my old SLR).

· It has internal focusing, making it more filter friendly.


Whilst researching this lens, I figured that the poor reports on sharpness and build quality etc. were a result of stepping up in the world of expectations, those above that of kit lenses. I reasoned that a lens of this price and specifications should not logically be compared (as some have) to the likes of “L” series lenses; and with this in mind, would likely see a big improvement on what I had experienced in my photographic infancy.

This position proved to be true of build quality, easily beating my kit lens when it came to the smoothness of zoom travel and general “feel”. Unfortunately I must agree with those that say this lens is not sharp; people will likely consider purchasing this lens for flash-less-indoor-“party” type use, thanks to its bright f2.8 aperture, but wide-open images are too soft to be anything but “ok” snapshots. If you are on a tight budget and you are specifically looking to shoot in low light, you may consider buying a fast pre-loved prime. That said, if you are able to stop down to around F8 results are more than acceptable.

After 5 months of use, my advice:

· If you can, don’t pay retail price for this lens; this should alleviate some expectations.

· If you have the money and image quality is your primary concern, this is probably not the lens for you.

· Compared with “kit” digital only lenses, this is a big and heavy lens.

· Build quality is generally good, zoom is smooth, manual focus ring is OK; but my copy creeps when shooting up, down or carried around.

· Best not to consider this lens for its wide-open abilities, at these apertures it is VERY SOFT.

· If you intend to shoot a lot of portraiture shots, you may be pleased with the soft-feathered affect to edges produced in images, especial from RAW conversions at wider apertures.

· Sharp images can be obtained at all focal lengths if you are able to stop down to around F8.

· Being bright or “fast”, does make for easier manual focus, which is handy because auto focus is poor in anything but the brightest of light on my Pentax *istD.

· It has fairly good “macro” (not strictly correct I know) abilities.

Conclusion

Value for money is not exclusively about absolute quality, nor does it have to be the cheapest price; it is the consideration of these things in balance. Do I like this lens? YES! Would I recommend it? Not specifically, make up your own mind based on your needs.

Reasonable quality, a lens which fits in well with my intended focal line-up, cheap enough to use without fear, wherever I intend to take photos……..