The Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD is hands-down my most-used lens. In fact, 1 out of every 5 photos in my Lightroom catalog were taken with this lens. It’s my go-to for a couple very simple reasons.
1) It’s sharp. Especially for a zoom lens.
I’m always happy with the image quality on this lens. There is a bit of a chromatic aberration issue on the wide end of the zoom, but most wide lenses will have that, especially wide zooms and especially at this price point, and literally two mouse-clicks in Lightroom will fix that.
2) It’s zoom range is versatile.
This lens has approximately the same zoom range as your average kit lens. And camera manufacturers don’t come up with those numbers by accident. That focal length range is INCREDIBLY common. Most of the pictures you ever take will be somewhere in that range. That’s why they sell cheap kit lenses with that range. But this is no cheap kit lens, even if it has the same proven focal length versatility.
3) It has a wide, constant aperture.
The main problem with cheap kit lenses is their narrow maximum apertures. And when you zoom in, the aperture gets even more narrow. Not only does this lens open all the way up to 2.8 instead of 3.5, but it stays at 2.8 throughout the whole zoom range.
4) It’s inexpensive
$300. That’s it. Amazing, stabilized, sharp, versatile, fast zoom lens for $300. I’m pretty sure Sigma does it with some kind of dark magic. But it’s so good and affordable that I actually own two. And I’m not exactly rolling in dough. (That’s why I keep pushing my Amazon affiliate links!)
So imagine the versatility of a kit lens, but the bokeh of a higher-end lens without quite the price of a higher-end lens. Whether you shoot Nikon, Canon or Sony, this is the perfect APSC Zoom lens for just about anybody!
You can get it at Amazon through my affiliate link.