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| sent on 11 Agosto 2016
Pros: Quality of build and finish; Smart appearance; Unique specification, usable at all apertures; sharpness at most settings; Handling; Stabilisation; Value; Close Up facility (it's not true macro); AF accuracy (on my example and with D7100)
Cons: Manual focus can only be engaged by switching off AF on lens and camera; Focus ring rotates (but not front element, so polarisers etc are no problem); Resistance to flare worse and less contrasty punch than with Nikon marque lenses
Opinion: Unlike the majority, standard lenses are my least used optics, most of my photos are taken at 10mm, or 300mm. But, of course, a good standard lens is essential. I originally bought the previous model secondhand for my (then) D7000 and I liked it, both the focal range, sitting within my standard kit of Nikkor 10-24mm and Tamron SP 70-300mm VC. But its wide aperture performance, especially at the edges weren't good enough for the live music photography I was doing then. So, I sold that lens and got both a Tamron SP 17-50mm f2.8, which was a brilliant little lens and a used Nikkor 16-85mm VR, which is also very sharp and great for walkabout landscapes. I came to dislike the little plastic Tamron as it was horrible to use, with its shuddering zoom action and didn't suit my big hands at all. I sold that and got a used Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 Pro, which is much better to use than the Tamron and is wider and generally performs just as well. Basically, I now needed a stabilised fairly fast standard zoom for when I am wandering about towns and landscapes before dawn and after sunset and without a tripod. The 16-85mm is still very capable but is very slow, especially at the longer end and at night for moonlit shots and fireworks, it's almost impossible to focus accurately, even manually. It's also quite tired now, being 5 years old - I will still use this lens, for bright days out. The new Contemporary Sigma is updated, both optically and cosmetically over the old one and has three special elements, so you get quite a lot of lens technology for your money. From lens tests I've seen, general opinion is that the wide end performs about as well as the previous model (sharp in the centre at all apertures, but slightly soft in corners up to about f4.5) but the longer end is much improved, meaning that even f4 at 70mm gives a fully usable crisp image, with a nice bokeh. It's a lovely lens to use, the AF working perfectly, even in almost dark urban scenes, meaning that the awkward manual focus selection is seldom needed. The extra one stop brightness over my old 16-85mm makes a lot of difference too. I did find though that against the light, the largish front element, which does not appear to have been multicoated much, does flare quite strongly against strong light. And, even with a good polariser, the colours and contrast are just not up there with the Nikon. I was also slightly worried by very strong street light sources creating a smearing effect, but trying this genre further, found that this was not so much of a problem as I previously thought. So, this nice compact lens is a good all-rounder - not quite professional enough, optically, to be used just for night shots - but still does a fair job and better when stopped down a little - not really a portrait lens (f2.8 needed for that) and not really a macro either - one-third life size is handy to have for the occasional flower head and seems to render these well too, but certainly not true macro. But, as a lens that does most things well and just as well, or even better, than the competition and considering the good value too, plus the latest and stylish design and finish, then it's a most useful lens. The OS works (on my sample) silently, to the point where I was not sure if it was working) very well too - I got perfectly sharp results at 17mm and 1/4 second! Out in the landscape, then that might be too optimistic but it certainly adds to the usefulness of the lens, which, in conclusion, is not perfect, in almost every department, but very good in all, so 9/10 from me. It's also worth noting that it's fitted with a reassuring brass mount and focus scale AND reasonable lenshood, the latter two being increasingly left out these days, in the pursuance of profit from greedy and overpriced marque brands. |
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