Are Sigma lenses worth it?

Question

I always feel that I should buy a Canon lens for my Canon camera, and Sigma would just be a cheap knock-off. Is that the case?

Answer

My wife and I own three Sigma lenses: the "bigma" (50-500mm), my 17-70mm f/2.8-4, and her 30mm f/1.4 prime. We absolutely love them, for their respective strengths:

• Noone touches the Bigma for range. Yes, it's soft. Yes, it's unbelievably big and heavy. But it's a disturbingly versatile lens.
• The 30mm is incredibly sharp, and f/1.4 is something you just have to use to understand why you want it.
• My 17-70mm is a great compromise lens; it's almost always attached to my camera, and I switch off when I have a particular need.

And, quite frankly, it's tough to touch Sigma on price. As with all things, they have their good lenses and their bad lenses (just like Canon); be sure to check sites like photozone.de for quality tests before plunking down your money.

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