Sigma AF 17-35mm f/2.8 4 EX HSM Lens

Pros: Incredibly wide angle with zoom flexibility, sharp photos, light weight
Cons: Lack of full-time manual focus, loose manual focusing, requires huge 82mm slim filters

I couldn't take a picture of Notre Dame, and I hate missing a shot. The streets in Paris were too narrow for me to back far away enough from the building to take a decent photo with the 28-80mm lens I was using at the time.

Why you need a...

Pros: Sharp! No vignetting from single filter; Good focal length range at a good price
Cons: 82mm diameter (for filters) might mean having to buy more filters.

UPDATE: I switched cameras from my old film camera to a new Canon EOS-20d digital. In doing so, I lost some of the functionality of my lens. My lens required shipping back to Sigma to be "re-chipped". I have since learned that this is also true for the ...

Pros: Able to resell it after a few films.
Cons: You want to resell it after a few films.

Based on some good reviews and indeed interesting specs, I bought this lens. What a disappointment! Even at f8 (and a tripod, just to make sure it was not due to camera shake) negatives were NOT really sharp anywhere at 17mm. Distortion was acceptable...

Pros: Fast, excellent resolution, great ergonomics, price
Cons: None of any consequence

I bought the second version of this lens (18-35 /f3.5-4.5) in 1994 and I absolutely love it. The lens is lightweight, sharp as a tack, covers a very useful range of focal lengths, and is one of the very best "travel photography" lenses that I have ever...

Pros: Cheaper then Nikon lens, light.
Cons: Not good at 35mm

Good lens overall but with limitations.

This lens will produce sharp images on my Fuji S2 when it is at 17mm at all f stops, but crank it up to 35mm, the image is sharpest at f11, any higher or lower, the image is blurred and looks out of focus. Therefore, I would use this lens only for outdoor landscape, and preferable on a sunny day.