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Sigma 17-70mm vs Pentax 17-70mm

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swhang

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I am looking at choosing one of these two for my basic walk around lens.

The sigma is 2.8-4.5, whereas the Pentax is 4, but it has SDM and rubber seals, so at least the dust is prevented from entering into the camera.

Does anyone compared the two?

Does anyone know when the sigma loses its 2.8?
 
swhang said:
I am looking at choosing one of these two for my basic walk around lens.

The sigma is 2.8-4.5, whereas the Pentax is 4, but it has SDM and rubber seals, so at least the dust is prevented from entering into the camera.

Does anyone compared the two?
Click to expand...
There have been alot of comparisons and the general consensus is that they're about equal. You gain a stop on the wide end with the Sigma and a third of a stop at the tele end with the Pentax. The Sigma focuses alot closer, down to 1:2.3 which is pretty useful. But you're right, it doesn't have the weather seals if that's important to you.
swhang said:
Does anyone know when the sigma loses its 2.8?
Click to expand...
It loses it almost immediately, probably around 20-21 mm.

--
http://picasaweb.google.com/chrswggl
 
The Pentax DA17-70mm only has a seal on the back mount, between the lens and camera body, it only protects water from entering the dSLR. The lens is not weather-sealed like the DA* lens or the new WR kit lens. Pentax does not advice using the DA17-70mm in the rain, its not sealed, only some but not enough to go dancing in the rain with it ;)

I have the Sigma and find it great, wide open its usable through most of its focal range, but one stop up and things are very good, two stops up and it plays with the best, very sharp. Its also well built.
--
jamesm007,
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z77/jamesm700/
WSSA member 266PX
 
swhang said:
I am looking at choosing one of these two for my basic walk around lens.

The sigma is 2.8-4.5, whereas the Pentax is 4, but it has SDM and rubber seals, so at least the dust is prevented from entering into the camera.
Click to expand...
The seal on the Pentax is only on the mount, it doesn't have full weather sealing. The Mount seal is useful if you shoot in light rain or something and just cover the lens.
swhang said:
Does anyone compared the two?
Click to expand...
The Sigma advantages are performance in the center and at 70mm, and macro ability. Performance at f/2.8 is fine in the center, but pretty bad at the corners. Treat it as an f/4.5 lens and it does a lot better.

The Pentax advantages are better corner to corner performance at wide angles, SDM for silent focusing, and a mount seal.

I own the Sigma, and it is a nice lens, sharp enough for many wide open, but really shines around f/7.1 or so and is very nice at the longer focal lengths.

I would prefer the Pentax because of the sharper corners at the wide angles, and I don't mind giving up a bit in the corners at the telephoto end. Even though it is slower at the wide angle end, I don't think you really give anything up, as the Pentax generall performs better at the wide end.

I have the Sigma because I got it cheap. Great value for a lens. http://www.photozone.de has information on both lenses for the Pentax mount.

Eric
--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)

See my Blog at: http://viking79.blogspot.com/
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28177041@N03/ (updated daily)
See my PPG Shots: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/erictastad (6/5/09)
 
Everything said below, plus I would add the Pentax lens has better metering and colour. My Sigma needed a 0.7 stop adjustment to prevent highlights from blowing out and had a slightly warm colour cast.

Much happier with my Pentax though the Sigma is much cheaper now in UK.
viking79 said:
swhang said:
I am looking at choosing one of these two for my basic walk around lens.

The sigma is 2.8-4.5, whereas the Pentax is 4, but it has SDM and rubber seals, so at least the dust is prevented from entering into the camera.
Click to expand...
The seal on the Pentax is only on the mount, it doesn't have full weather sealing. The Mount seal is useful if you shoot in light rain or something and just cover the lens.
viking79 said:
Does anyone compared the two?
Click to expand...
The Sigma advantages are performance in the center and at 70mm, and macro ability. Performance at f/2.8 is fine in the center, but pretty bad at the corners. Treat it as an f/4.5 lens and it does a lot better.

The Pentax advantages are better corner to corner performance at wide angles, SDM for silent focusing, and a mount seal.

I own the Sigma, and it is a nice lens, sharp enough for many wide open, but really shines around f/7.1 or so and is very nice at the longer focal lengths.

I would prefer the Pentax because of the sharper corners at the wide angles, and I don't mind giving up a bit in the corners at the telephoto end. Even though it is slower at the wide angle end, I don't think you really give anything up, as the Pentax generall performs better at the wide end.

I have the Sigma because I got it cheap. Great value for a lens. http://www.photozone.de has information on both lenses for the Pentax mount.

Eric
--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)

See my Blog at: http://viking79.blogspot.com/
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28177041@N03/ (updated daily)
See my PPG Shots: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/erictastad (6/5/09)
Click to expand...
--
Steve

Any fool can take a picture OF something. Its much harder to take a picture ABOUT something.
 
*isteve said:
Everything said below, plus I would add the Pentax lens has better metering and colour. My Sigma needed a 0.7 stop adjustment to prevent highlights from blowing out and had a slightly warm colour cast.

Much happier with my Pentax though the Sigma is much cheaper now in UK.
viking79 said:
swhang said:
I am looking at choosing one of these two for my basic walk around lens.

The sigma is 2.8-4.5, whereas the Pentax is 4, but it has SDM and rubber seals, so at least the dust is prevented from entering into the camera.
Click to expand...
The seal on the Pentax is only on the mount, it doesn't have full weather sealing. The Mount seal is useful if you shoot in light rain or something and just cover the lens.
*isteve said:
Does anyone compared the two?
Click to expand...
The Sigma advantages are performance in the center and at 70mm, and macro ability. Performance at f/2.8 is fine in the center, but pretty bad at the corners. Treat it as an f/4.5 lens and it does a lot better.

The Pentax advantages are better corner to corner performance at wide angles, SDM for silent focusing, and a mount seal.

I own the Sigma, and it is a nice lens, sharp enough for many wide open, but really shines around f/7.1 or so and is very nice at the longer focal lengths.

I would prefer the Pentax because of the sharper corners at the wide angles, and I don't mind giving up a bit in the corners at the telephoto end. Even though it is slower at the wide angle end, I don't think you really give anything up, as the Pentax generall performs better at the wide end.

I have the Sigma because I got it cheap. Great value for a lens. http://www.photozone.de has information on both lenses for the Pentax mount.

Eric
--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
My next lens is going to be a 17-70mm. I'm tilting towards the nearly $600 (US) Pentax, but the under $400 Sigma is also tempting.

I have a feeling that the day I have the money is the day I'll make the final decision. I expect that to be in the next four weeks.

--
Charlie Self
Meandering Mind: http://charlie-self.blogspot.com/
http://www.charlieselfonline.com

 
I have the pentax 17-70, and also had the sigma 17-70 on my canon, the pentax is better also it was a toss up between my tamron 17-50, but when i bought my K20D i asked Klaus at photozone.de which 2 lenses he replied Pentax DA 17-70 and the Pentax 60-250 or DA 55-300 which i picked the 55-300;)
--
300.
 
Thanks everyone for replying!

With everyone's input, I decided to get the Pentax 17-70 because of its excellent image quality, constant aperture, SDM, and rear seals to keep the dust and moisture out of the camera.

The rebate from the K7 purchases helps big time. A $90 rebate, which from the options, is the best bang for the buck.

Purchased from Adorama for $479.95 (cheaper than Amazon by $30)... with the $90 rebate, it comes out to $389.95! I better not find a better deal from a reputable store.
 
SpartanWarrior said:
I have the pentax 17-70, and also had the sigma 17-70 on my canon, the pentax is better also it was a toss up between my tamron 17-50, but when i bought my K20D i asked Klaus at photozone.de which 2 lenses he replied Pentax DA 17-70 and the Pentax 60-250 or DA 55-300 which i picked the 55-300;)
Click to expand...
I've finally settled on exactly that combination - DA 17-70 and DA*60-250. :)

I used the DA 16-45 for over 3 years and the DA 55-300 for a year, and was very happy with taht combination. I'd wanted something sharper and faster for my bird shots bought a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 which is a fine lens (and big and heavy!) but when the 60-250 finally appeared about 4 weeks later I bought it 2 days later! It's an outstanding lens. :D

I've just bought a DA 17-70 to replace my trusty 16-45, so far I'm very pleased with it, especially the range to 70mm and so far haven't missed the loss of the 1mm at the wide end (it would have been nice if it was 16mm though!). :D

I did try a DA*16-50 for about a month (I was fortunate enough to borrow one) and I was very impressed with the IQ above 24mm, but less so at the wide end and I found I disliked the handling (zoom ring too small and focus ring too large, plus it was a tad too fat and heavy). The 17-70 is easily as good IQ wise, but only (as with any lens) if you get a good one! ;)
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK
 
Very long time back I was planning a Pentax f/4 combination. 12-24, 17-70, 60-250 but finally I did not get the 60-250 because it is too expensive.

Sigma 17-70 for sure is a winner if we are talking about cost / performance. However, I like the Pentax's colour and constant f/4. I don't need a f/2.8 at the wide end and I prefer a slightly bigger f at the tele-end.
richardday said:
SpartanWarrior said:
I have the pentax 17-70, and also had the sigma 17-70 on my canon, the pentax is better also it was a toss up between my tamron 17-50, but when i bought my K20D i asked Klaus at photozone.de which 2 lenses he replied Pentax DA 17-70 and the Pentax 60-250 or DA 55-300 which i picked the 55-300;)
Click to expand...
I've finally settled on exactly that combination - DA 17-70 and DA*60-250. :)

I used the DA 16-45 for over 3 years and the DA 55-300 for a year, and was very happy with taht combination. I'd wanted something sharper and faster for my bird shots bought a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 which is a fine lens (and big and heavy!) but when the 60-250 finally appeared about 4 weeks later I bought it 2 days later! It's an outstanding lens. :D

I've just bought a DA 17-70 to replace my trusty 16-45, so far I'm very pleased with it, especially the range to 70mm and so far haven't missed the loss of the 1mm at the wide end (it would have been nice if it was 16mm though!). :D

I did try a DA*16-50 for about a month (I was fortunate enough to borrow one) and I was very impressed with the IQ above 24mm, but less so at the wide end and I found I disliked the handling (zoom ring too small and focus ring too large, plus it was a tad too fat and heavy). The 17-70 is easily as good IQ wise, but only (as with any lens) if you get a good one! ;)
--
Richard Day - 'Carpe Diem!'
Gloucester UK
Click to expand...
--
Good pictures do keep the memorial moment.
http://matchkk.blogspot.com/
 
Yup... Klaus is right.

I had the K10 with the kit lens, the 50mm 1.4 primes, and the sigma 70-300.

I bought a K7 last week, so I felt like I needed to upgrade the lenses, especially with the rebate that comes with the K7. The 1.4 prime though is a keeper, especially b/c when I bought it, it was less than $200 and now it's $250+.

So with this forum's help, I decided to get the Pentax 17-70 f/4 and the Pentax DA 55-300.

Both of them have rebates.

Final price:
Pentax 17-70: $389.95 (Adorama's price of $479.95 - $90 rebate).
Pentax 55-300: $289.95 (Amazon's price of $349.95 - $60 rebate).

Thank you Pentax! There is no way I could have gotten similar lenses from Canon or Nikon (especially the 17-70 SDM) for a comparable price. Wahoo!
 
I have owned both lens, by far the Pentax 17-70 out performed the Sigma, I end up giving that lens to my daughter. I enjoyed the speed of focus, good quality pictures from 17 to 70. I also liked the close focus capacity of the Pentax.
 
Hi,

I previously owned the Sigma 17-70 for 18months & can say that it's an excellent lens - most of the shots on my website were taken with it...

I recently had the opportunity to purchase a used Pentax 17-70 & did so to compare it with my Sigma - IQ wise it's a very close run thing, in fact I'd say the Sigma is very slightly sharper.

I have now sold the Sigma however - the thing that won me over with the Pentax is the colour/contrast rendition of the pentax 17-70, whilst there's nothing wrong with the Sigma the Pentax version just produces more pleasing images to me. The SDM is also a nice feature

I must admit though if I was considering both to buy at the current new retail prices I may well still go for the Sigma - I don't think the Pentax DA justifies it's significant premium over the Sigma

Simon

--
http://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/

Landscape photographs of North Wales, Anglesey, Snowdonia and Scotland
 
I have the sigma and like it, especially because it focuses close. At 17mm, however, barrel distorsion is clearly noticeable. I do not know the barrel distorsion of the pentax, but on a K7 il will be automatically corrected.
--
Jacques Bijtebier
 
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