| Are you looking for just such a lens for your | | | | three. |
| digital SLR camera? | | | | My personal findings are these: |
| Sigma has a lens that will step up to the plate for | | | | |
| almost any situation. It is the Sigma 18-250mm f | | | | 1. When compared to my all purpose walk around |
| 3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM IF Lens. And it is | | | | lens, the Sigma 28-75 (which has served me very |
| manufactured for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and Sony | | | | well over the last 4 years), the image quality was |
| DSLRs. | | | | equal or better in every shot. Plus the optical |
| This beauty has been attached to my Canon 30D | | | | stabilization made it possible to take sharp low |
| almost constantly since I purchased the lens. I | | | | light shots without the use of a tripod. |
| have been extremely happy with the images it | | | | 2. Compared to my Canon 70-200mm f4 lens, I |
| has produced. | | | | was totally surprised that the Sigma 18-250 |
| I have always been a fan of getting a better lens | | | | matched the image quality in every case. And, |
| than the kit lens that comes with a DSLR | | | | again, the optical stabilization made it possible to |
| because the kit lenses have been rated as lower | | | | take hand held images that were not possible with |
| quality than some of the other lenses that are | | | | my Canon lens (Canon makes a 70-200 f4 IS, but |
| available. I also prefer a wider focal range than | | | | I don't own that one). |
| what the kit lens offers. | | | | 3. The biggest surprise was when I matched my |
| I will admit that the kit lenses have been | | | | new Sigma lens up with my dedicated macro lens, |
| upgraded in the past year. They now include | | | | the Sigma 105mm macro. The Sigma 18-250 was |
| better optics and image stabilization. But the focal | | | | the hands-down winner in image quality. I could |
| range is still only 18-55mm in most cases. Having | | | | focus on a bee gathering pollen at less that 2 feet |
| the range of 250mm is a huge advantage. The | | | | away using the 250mm focal length, and the |
| optics throughout the entire range are strong. So | | | | sharpness was better than the dedicated macro |
| you could have just one lens instead of two or | | | | lens. |