Sigma 24-70 f2.8 HSM?

Anybody got any input on this lens? Sometime in the not too distant future I will be looking for a lens in this focal range for shooting landscapes. The Nikon 24-70 is supposedly great but heavy and spendy. The 82mm filter size on the Sigma is a slight turn-off and I've read that it's 50/50 whether you'll get a good copy or not. Some say poor quality control is common with Sigma (true or false). I have their 150mm macro and it's awesome. What other similar lenses might you suggest. I did notice a Nikon 24-85 for sale in the classifieds forum. Although I'd loose AF with that lens that might be OK if the price was right. Thanks for any advice.

Bruce, QC with Sigma might be suspect, especially with certain lenses. However, with a new product, they will work very hard to provide you with a good copy. I purchased a 17-50 2.8 recently and found all sorts of issues. It took a few tries, but they were able to find a lens that met their standards. I couldn't be happier. I had a similar experience with a 10-20 several years ago. They really do make an effort to please, and I ended up with two fantastic lenses.

I have no experience with this lens, other than reading reviews on line, which seem to give it ok ratings. Reported weird rainbow-colored lens flare, poor edge and corner sharpness when used at F 2.8, less than smooth bokeh and the 82 mm filter size would be a deal breaker for me, at least as a landscape lens.

The Nikon alternatives are both significantly better, and worth considering even at 3x the price.

Thanks Gene. Sigma has an older version of the 24-70 that goes for around $500, but they have come out with a newer more compact version with better AF and supposedly better glass for $900 or so. I think it might be a year old and there are only a few full reviews that I could find but they all said it was much improved over the previous. It was a close match in IQ with both the Nikon and Canon. I had decided to go with the Nikon 17-55, but when I saw the new Sigma with a little more length and good reviews I thought it might be the way to go. I can't see a reason to ever open up beyond f7 with whichever lens I get, so if it's a little soft wide open I'm OK with that.
I appreciate your response Gene you gave me some great advice awhile back when I was learning to use the Sigma 150mm.

The Nikon 35-70 f2.8 lens is also a very nice lens and not too big. Not sure which camera you use but I have had good results on both a D200 and D700.