Sigma or Canon 24-70mm Lens

Im looking to get a 24-70mm lens for my Canon 5D but am having a hard time deciding if I should get the Sigma or Canon lens.

Money is not necessarily an issue but if the Sigma lens has the same image and build quality as the more expensive Canon, I would go with the Sigma (new or used).

I have read some reviews on both lenses and some of the people mentioned that the lenses have focusing/sharpness issues.

I never used one of them but maybe this will help you:

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L on Canon 5D
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/528-canon2470f28ff

Sigma AF 24-70mm f/2.8 EX HSM DG on Canon 5D
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff...igma2470f28eos

bye
Robert

The EF24-70mm F2.8L USM has a venerable reputation for image quality; I have one, and I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

Personally I steer clear of 3rd party glass -- I've just never seen the logic of buying a Ferrari and then putting Toyota wheels on it.

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Originally Posted by Colin Southern

Personally I steer clear of 3rd party glass -- I've just never seen the logic of buying a Ferrari and then putting Toyota wheels on it.

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Oi ! I drive a Toyota and you won't catch me putting Ferrari wheels on it.

I tend to agree about third party lenses though and put my money into matching glass for the camera.

I'll probably just buy a used Canon 24-70mm over craigslist.

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Originally Posted by Dave Humphries

Oi ! I drive a Toyota

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You're lucky, I drive a Ford (Fix Or Replace Daily) :(

I had a Ford for 10 years and it really didnt give me any problems.

In addition to the original post, what are some good portrait lenses aside from the 24-70? I am looking to get serious with my photography and want to start doing portraits and events.

I already have the 50mm 1.8 lens and am wondering what other focal lengths are used for portraits.

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Originally Posted by Ramblinman

I already have the 50mm 1.8 lens and am wondering what other focal lengths are used for portraits.

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Hi Paul,

Well as you have a 5D, which is full frame, I would have thought you should be looking for something in the range of 70-200mm at say, f2.8, or wider if possible.

Cheers,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ramblinman

I had a Ford for 10 years and it really didnt give me any problems.

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I heard that there was one person who had a good run! I've had problems with ...

- Electric windows (rattles)

- Electric windows (switches)

- Electric mirrors

- Gearbox

- Distributor

- Oxygen sensors

- Suspension bushes

- Rear lights

- Front lights

- Oil pressure switch

- Water pump

- Seatbelts

- Seat

- Brakes

- and probably more I can't remember :(

Good god man, that sounds like an old Ford to me :D. I had a Mustang with the 302 V8, so at least those were fairly well built. The only problems I had with the car were caused by the previous owner.

Speaking of Ford's, I have a 2004 Ford F-150 with 72,000 miles on it. The engine failed on Friday and it's in the shop right now to find out how many thousands of dollars it's gonna cost me to get it to run again. Sorry to digress, I'm just a little bitter on the subject right now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ramblinman

In addition to the original post, what are some good portrait lenses aside from the 24-70? I am looking to get serious with my photography and want to start doing portraits and events.

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For portraits on the FF I'd recommend the EF 135mm f/2.8 with SF a very good underrated Lens. Even though not USM it's fast in focussing. The adjustible Softfocus is really invaluable for portraiture and a little less than $500 new for a fast prime...
The SF needs a lot of practice/experimentation to estimate the results but you can do stunning results OOC which are very hard (if at all) to reproduce in PP. Really woth the effort IMHO.

Another lens for Portraiture would be the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. Nice affordable prime lens can be had for less than $400 new.

One underrated facet of a good portrait lens is the bokeh it produces. Smooth bokeh, IMO is essential so that the OOF areas do not compete for viewer attention with the areas that are in focus.

I've owned the older Sigma 24-70 and the Canon 24-70L. The Sigma went back because it missed focus at 70mm about 1 shot in 10. I sent it back and ordered the Canon lens. It had to be factory calibrated... I will say this, a properly calibrated Canon 24-70 is a thing of beauty. It is very sharp across the range now on the 5D2 body.