Sigma 17-50 vs 17-70: which is the best in class lens for wide-angle zoom at a reasonable price?
Which is the high-level lens for regular use and exceptional circumstances? Read on to make your own informed decision.
In this comprehensive article, we have compared these sigma lenses in several features, along with giving edges.
We also include a specs comparison table so you can quickly check what they cover and how they will perform.
Sigma 17-50 Vs 17-70: What Is The Key Difference?
The main difference between sigma 17-50 vs 17-70 is that sigma 17-50 has 17 elements in 13 groups in lens construction while 17-70 has 16 elements in 14 groups.
The Sigma 17-70 has a least focusing distance of 22cm while the 17-50 has 28cm. Furthermore, the sigma 17-70 is lighter than its counterpart.
Quick Comparison table
specification | Sigma 17-50 Lens | Sigma 17-70 Lens |
---|---|---|
Lens Construction | 17 elements in 13 groups | 16 elements in 14 groups |
Angle of View | 79.7 – 31.7° | 79.7° – 22.9° |
Number of Diaphragm Blades | 7 (Rounded diaphragm) | 7 (Rounded diaphragm) |
Lowest Aperture | F22 | F22 |
Minimum Focusing Distance | 28cm / 11in. | 22cm / 8.7in. |
Maximum Magnification Ratio | 1:5 | 1:2.8 |
Filter size | 77mm | 72mm |
Dimensions (Diameter × Length) | 83.5mm × 91.8mm / | 79mm × 82mm / |
Weight | 565g | 465g |
Sigma 17-50 vs 17-70: In-Depth Comparison
Let’s collaborate and discuss the features of Sigma’s 17-50 and 17-70 lenses:
Build quality and handling
Edge: Sigma 17-70
The Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM C lens is considerably compact with an 8cm length and a 465g weight. Still, this lens offers fast maximum apertures.
Sigma states this model is around 30% smaller compared to the other models of the brand, including the 17-50.
This Sigma 17-70 is comparable with the Rebel T5i or Canon EOS 70D in terms of style and size.
The build quality of this sigma 17-70 is also excellent, especially at the price point.
This lens is constructed with a plastic shell along with a metallic part and TSC (thermally stable composite).
It also includes a durable brass bayonet mount. The optical elements of this lens are made from high-grade glass.
Its focus ring is slightly narrower and has a half-ridge for easy grip.
This lens allows zooming from 17mm to 70mm. The max length of this lens is 12.5cm at 70mm.
Last but not least, it comes with a plastic petal-shaped lens hood and is compatible with 72mm filters.
Conversely, the sigma 17-50 is 9.2 cm in length and its weight is 565 g.
This lens is engineered with all black and plastic construction along with a rubberized coating for good traction.
It has a metal lens mount and plastic 77mm filter threads. Plus, this Sigma 17-50 lens has a 3/8-inch wide focus ring whose focusing range is 45 degrees.
It comes with a petal-shaped lens hood, which adds an extra 1 1/2 inches to the overall length, and the interior is deeply ribbed.
You can also reverse the hood for lens storage.
Focusing
Edge: Sigma 17-70
As mentioned above, the Sigma 17-70 lens has a narrow focus ring which has half the ridges.
It has hard stops at either end of the range to allow you to set focus at infinity. Its 72mm fixed filter thread is an exciting feature for Polariser users.
For auto-focusing, the Sigma 17-70 is a quick performer as it takes only 0.15 seconds to lock onto the object.
You won’t also experience much hunting even in both good and bad light as this lens focuses precisely almost all of the time.
This lens is also an extremely quiet performer due to its Hyper Sonic Motor, making the lens suitable for video recording.
This lens is also features built-in vibration reduction to make the operation quieter.
Another exciting feature available is the full-time manual focus override, which you can use by rotating the focus ring.
You can also focus manually and internally via the focus switch on the barrel.
The Sigma 17-50 also has a hypersonic motor; however, it isn’t as satisfying as its counterparts.
Despite this, it doesn’t have a full-time manual override. It means you have to disengage the autofocus first to get override autofocus results.
However, its short focus throw will let you focus within a quick time of around one second from close-focus to infinity.
Despite this, this lens produces a bit of noise, and you won’t be able to rotate its 77mm filters while focusing.
Despite its minimum focusing distance being 11 “and the maximum magnification ratio being 1:5, making it well suited for shooting close-up subjects.
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Chromatic Aberrations
Edge: 17-50
You can see the chromatic aberrations of the sigma 17-70 as blue or purple fringes along the contrasty edges.
You can also detect it in some shots, but these aren’t too prominent.
On the other hand, the sigma 17-50 has a magenta-green variety of chromatic aberration.
You can easily notice it in the high contrast areas and mostly in the extreme corners. You’ll find this feature handy when using the lens wide open.
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Vignetting
Edge: Sigma17-50
When using the sigma 17-70 with its maximum aperture, you’ll experience significant light fall-off in either end of the zoom range.
However, you can avoid this by slowing down to f/8. You may also experience some noticeable barrel distortion at the 17mm focal length.
The vignetting won’t be a huge issue with the Sigma 17-50.
It produces an extreme corner that is half a stop darker than the middle of the frame when used at 17mm and ƒ/2.8.
The other focal length produces a third of a stop darker corners at ƒ/2.8 and other apertures don’t produce much corner shading.
Macro Performance
Edge: Sigma 17-70
The sigma 17-70 delivers relatively better micro performance. The minimum focusing distance of this 17-70 camera is 22cm/8.7in and the max magnification ratio is 1:2.8.
At 70mm. its working distance is 5.52 cm.
Conversely, the Sigma 17-50 provides fair micro performance along with its 0.2x magnification.
Its minimum close-focusing distance is 28 cm. So, comparing these two, the 17-70 model allows us to get closer to the subject.
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Bokeh
Edge: Both
Bokeh prefers the out-of-focus areas of a photograph and expresses itself in qualitative terms like, creamy, smooth, and harsh.
The Sigma 17-70 comes with an iris diaphragm and seven rounded blades to deliver nice bokeh.
Similar to the 17-70, the Sigma 17-50 also has a rounded seven-blade diaphragm that also effectively contributes to a satisfying bokeh quality.
Sharpness
Edge: Both
The center image sharpness of this sigma 17-70 is impressive. There is an obvious fall-off of the sharpness at its corners, along with a few purple fringing aberrations.
After zooming in further than 45mm, the lens will bring the maximum aperture. The sharpness remains brilliant even at the low-light f/4 aperture.
The edge sharpness is also improved. However, the corner sharpness looks to degrade a bit at f/5.6 before improving slowly until it reaches the maximum sharpness at f/11.
Overall, the Sigma 17-70mm offers magnificent sharpness from f/2.8 to f/22. However, you’ll notice it at shorter focal lengths like 45mm or less.
The Sigma 17-50 also provides sharp central performance through its zooming range and various degrees of corner softness.
Since this Sigma 17-50 lens is stopped down, its corner softness has also improved. It also has some points of tack-sharp image quality.
However, when used wide open at a 17mm angle, this lens may deliver the worst corner softness.
Nonetheless, it will be reasonably light and will complement the sharp, generous central area nicely.
Stopping down to ƒ/16 or ƒ/22 is sigma 17-50 delivers light softness across the frame.
Zooming to 50mm, 28mm, or 21mm, the lens produces fairly good corner performance. The sharpest point of this 17-50 model is 50mm at ƒ/8.
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Distortion
Edge: Both
Sigma 17-70’s barrel distortion is also visible and acceptable, especially given its minimum focusing distance of around 8.6 inches.
After zooming, the lens’s maximum aperture reduces to f/3.2 while the sharpness remains good and the distortion reduces noticeably.
At a time, the corner sharpness improves along with the purple chromatic aberration’s appearance.
Conversely, the barrel distortion on sigma 17–50 appears after zooming too wide.
But you won’t find distortion in the center and may get a little pincushion distortion at the end of the telephoto.
While using a 17mm lens, distortion can be at its worst, approximately 0.75%.
At around 24mm, the distortion is a bit linear and meet-ups at the zero-distortion point while the pincushion distortion becomes -0.3% in the corners.
Despite this, this lend will let you turn the curve back into a straight line efficiently using most of the image processing software.
Sigma 17-50 vs 17-70: Which Lens is the Best?
Both the Sigma 17-50 and 17-70 lenses are designed for APS-C-sized camera bodies to offer an effective view field of up to 80mm.
These are compatible with a large variety of subjects and are perfect large-aperture standard zoom lenses for most digital SLR cameras as well.
In comparison, we find the Sigma 17-70 is fairly better than its counterparts in terms of build quality, focusing performance, and macro performance.
However, both of the lenses have a couple of shared features. Still, we prefer the 17-70 models.
FAQs
What Is A 17 50 Mm Lens Good For?
The Sigma 17-50 has a nice focal length.
This lens will give you great performance whether you need to shoot around-the-house shots, landscapes, or full body shots.
This lens also works well for taking head-and-shoulders portraits and close-up pictures.
Is Sigma 17 70mm Full Frame?
The Sigma 17-70 is a standard zoom lens suitable for APS-C cameras.
This lens is also compatible with Sigma and Nikon APS-C bodies.
While this lens covers up to 70mm, the focal length for a full frame would be up to 112mm.
Does Sigma 17-50mm Have Image Stabilization?
The Sigma 17-50 lens has four stops of optical image stabilization.
Apart from that, it has Hyper-Sonic Motors, two-touch control, and FLD glass.
Final words
Overall, both the Sigma 17-50 and 17-70 cameras look great, and they are great all-around lenses for the money.
You can confidently attach either of these lenses to your DLSR cameras all day and get unbeatable sharpness and macro capabilities.
Finally, invest in the most appreciated lens based on your preferences and needs.