EOS Crop Body Junkies, Who is gonna be the first to get 17-55 f2.8 EF-S

Blurmore

When they announced this lens...I poo poo'ed it. Said I'd never pay 1100 dollars for a Canon lens w/o the red ring. Now after 2 years my 17-85 IS USM just aint doin it for me. Doesn't focus quick enough/accurately, not sharp enough, don't use the 85 end enough to justify it. Sure...I'd love to have a 24-70 f2.8 L, but it just aint wide enough to do the job in one lens. I've thought of picking up a 24-whatever Tamron f2.8 everyone raves about, and sending my 17-85 in for adjustment....but is it really worth it? Will it come back any sharper at 17mm at f4? I doubt it. Will it backfocus...probably. I've actually stopped using this lens for shooting groups in the church after weddings, putting more faith in my feet and my 28mm f2.8 at f4. The thing that gets me is...will this new lens be any better??? Sure it is bound to focus faster being a f2.8, and probably more accurately. But will it be any sharper at the short end wide open??? There I have my doubts. SO who is so 2 feet into the EF-S boat that they have it on pre-order...anyone had their hands on an early copy??? please weigh in...

Mike Lane

If you don't need the extra stop or IS, I'd say go for the 17-40 f/4. But obviously I don't know what the performance of the 17-55 will be like. Maybe it'll be as close to L glass as you can get like the 10-22. Maybe it'll be kind of crappy like the 17-85 (but probably tons better than the 18-55 is my guess). Personally, given that it's fairly expensive, I'd wait to hear the reviews on it before I bought it.

ziggy53

I have the Sigma 18-50mm, F2.8 EX DC and I find it to be an exceptional lens, and an exceptionally usable range for interior work and event photography. Here's a review:

http://people.freenet.de/stauber/sigma/

... and here is a synopsis from the review:

"This test showed me that the lens is really usable at f/2.8 at all focal lengths. The fact that it does get even better stopped down is to be expected and doesn´t spoil the results wide open. At f/8, the Sigma 18-50 F2.8 performs almost like the best primes. I am very excited about this lens and I would give it a Highly Recommended in dpreview terms."


ziggy53

cmason

At that price, I would rather have the 24-70L. I already have 10-20, and 70-200 covered so this isnt that interesting to me at the moment

herion

ziggy53 wrote:

I have the Sigma 18-50mm, F2.8 EX DC and I find it to be an exceptional lens, and an exceptionally usable range for interior work and event photography. Here's a review:

http://people.freenet.de/stauber/sigma/

... and here is a synopsis from the review:

"This test showed me that the lens is really usable at f/2.8 at all focal lengths. The fact that it does get even better stopped down is to be expected and doesn´t spoil the results wide open. At f/8, the Sigma 18-50 F2.8 performs almost like the best primes. I am very excited about this lens and I would give it a Highly Recommended in dpreview terms."


ziggy53

I agree with Ziggy - I have a tack-sharp Sigma 18-50 and use it as my general walk-around lens.

ScottMcLeod

My only qualm with sigma is SLOW autofocus, that doesn't work well in low light.

How is the 18-50 f/2.8 sigma AF?

Also, where's the cheapest place to get one?

Nikolai

I wish I had enough funds for it..
From what I read of pre-production reviews, it's essentially an L lens w/o weather sealing and a red ring:-). The only thing that kinda makes me hesitant is that I *love* the 17-85's zoom range and I often use its tele end. So losing those 30mm will be a substantial hit for me And having both 17-85 and 17-55 would not make sense financially. :uhoh
Anyway - at this point my next glass is 70-200/2.8 IS (along with TC 1.4x)...:):
Just my 0.0000002 of the f/stop :-)

ziggy53

ScottMcLeod wrote:

My only qualm with sigma is SLOW autofocus, that doesn't work well in low light.

How is the 18-50 f/2.8 sigma AF?

Also, where's the cheapest place to get one?

Sigma chose not to use their HSM technology in this lens, so it could be better. That said, I use it for a lot of indoor, both with and without flash, and I don't find either the focus speed or the noise a problem.

I'm saying that it's good enough at everything that I have no plans to even look at the new Canon, the Sigma is that good!

I bought mine at Sigma4Less.com and I have to admit that I love buying stuff there. Always a good experience.

I have been cautioned that they deal mostly with "gray" (import) merchandise, so warranty may be a potential problem, but you can get a Mack warranty that beats the OEM warranty and still save money.

BandH can't be beat for total service and I shop Adorama from time to time.

Best,

ziggy53

ScottMcLeod

ziggy53 wrote:

Sigma chose not to use their HSM technology in this lens, so it could be better. That said, I use it for a lot of indoor, both with and without flash, and I don't find either the focus speed or the noise a problem.

I'm saying that it's good enough at everything that I have no plans to even look at the new Canon, the Sigma is that good!

I bought mine at Sigma4Less.com and I have to admit that I love buying stuff there. Always a good experience.

I have been cautioned that they deal mostly with "gray" (import) merchandise, so warranty may be a potential problem, but you can get a Mack warranty that beats the OEM warranty and still save money.

BandH can't be beat for total service and I shop Adorama from time to time.

Best,

ziggy53

See, that's my issue with the lens. I couldn't justify spending 350$USD on a lens that didn't have HSM, especially shooting dance photography.

I guess I'll have to try that new Canon lens and see how it goes. I'll ask head office near here to send a sample to the store for evaluation so I can try it out for a few weeks.

ziggy53

ScottMcLeod wrote:

See, that's my issue with the lens. I couldn't justify spending 350$USD on a lens that didn't have HSM, especially shooting dance photography.

I guess I'll have to try that new Canon lens and see how it goes. I'll ask head office near here to send a sample to the store for evaluation so I can try it out for a few weeks.

Scott,

I can cost justify $350 a long time before I can justify $1100 for something similar. There is nothing magical about HSM, it is better, but not by an awesome amount.

The motor in the current Sigma is a good match, much better than the "consumer" motors, and I have no problem following subjects in event venues. I have not tried dance venues because my daughters are away from that activity, but I think it would be OK. (I always used video for dance related stuff.)

Wide-angle lenses don't have to move the glass nearly as much to achieve focus, compared to a 70-200mm for instance. There I really appreciate the speed of the Canon USM technology.

The best test would be side-by-side tests of both. Maybe you could get the new Canon and the Sigma and tell us your practical experience after testing?

Thanks,

ziggy53

Nikolai

Ziggy,

ziggy53 wrote:

Wide-angle lenses don't have to move the glass nearly as much to achieve focus, compared to a 70-200mm for instance. There I really appreciate the speed of the Canon USM technology.
ziggy53

While I agree - in theory - with your statement, I'd like to point out, that, according to my experience, focusing speed difference between EF-S 18-55 "kit" (no usm) and EF-S 17-85 IS USM is huge, *especially* in a low light. It's most likely more noticeable in longer tele lenses (as you said), but for me even for the midrange glass USM works nicely.

Just my 0.00002 fo the f/stop!

ziggy53

Nikolai wrote:

While I agree - in theory - with your statement, I'd like to point out, that, according to my experience, focusing speed difference between EF-S 18-55 "kit" (no usm) and EF-S 17-85 IS USM is huge, *especially* in a low light. It's most likely more noticeable in longer tele lenses (as you said), but for me even for the midrange glass USM works nicely.

Just my 0.00002 fo the f/stop!

Nikolai,

Canon has 5 different lens focus motor technologies; AFD, MM, USM, Micro-USM and Micro-USM II:

"Autofocus Motor
Designation Description Notes
AFD Arc Form Drive Original EF Lens motor - compact but slower and noisier than USM lenses
MM Micro-Motor Compact cheap motor typically fitted to "consumer" lenses
USM UltraSonic Motor Ring-type USM lens - the fastest quietest AF motor with benefit of Full-Time Manual focus (see below)
Micro-USM Micro-USM Motor Cheaper form of USM (using micro-motor rather than USM Ring)
Still quiet but not as fast and does not generally provide FTM.
Mark II version of Micro-USM introduced in 2003"

In addition, there are different sizes and torque-speed specifications for different motors in each category.

The difference between the two lenses you mention is huge because they represent the two extremes in motor technology.

There are many other motors available which are less extreme in characteristics and I believe the motor technology in the Sigma 18-50mm, f2.8 is one of the more advanced.

I have two Canon lenses with the ring USM to compare to, the EF 24-85mm, f3.5-4.5 USM and the EF 70-200mm, f2.8L USM, and I would compare the Sigma in question similar in focus speed to the Canon 24-85mm, which is not too bad. Neither is as good as the 70-200mm "L" lens, which is phenomenal in focus speed, despite it's much larger size.

Thanks,

ziggy53

ScottMcLeod

ziggy53 wrote:

Scott,

I can cost justify $350 a long time before I can justify $1100 for something similar. There is nothing magical about HSM, it is better, but not by an awesome amount.

The motor in the current Sigma is a good match, much better than the "consumer" motors, and I have no problem following subjects in event venues. I have not tried dance venues because my daughters are away from that activity, but I think it would be OK. (I always used video for dance related stuff.)

Wide-angle lenses don't have to move the glass nearly as much to achieve focus, compared to a 70-200mm for instance. There I really appreciate the speed of the Canon USM technology.

The best test would be side-by-side tests of both. Maybe you could get the new Canon and the Sigma and tell us your practical experience after testing?

Thanks,

ziggy53

I'll see what I can do. Sigma's been trying to push glass on us recently at the store...

Nikolai

Ziggy,

ziggy53 wrote:

Nikolai,

Canon has 5 different lens focus motor technologies; AFD, MM, USM, Micro-USM and Micro-USM II:
....
ziggy53

Thanks for the info!
I was not pushing against Sigma, or anything else, for that matter.
My only point was that USM vs. non-USM is a big difference even at the mid-range, not only on far tele side.
Cheers!