[stevenb]

Hm, dpreview writes that the USB dock fixes the problem only partly. The lens still misfocusses  at distances between 0.5m and infinity because the USB dock software does not offer any calibration steps for distances in between.

 

 From experience I can tell you that AF misfires are the biggest detriment to good photos.  I once shot a Sigma 70-200 2.8. In the end I used it  only at f/5.6 or smaller because it was impossible to know if and when the lens would focus accuratly wide open. Your only chance was to shoot 5-6 photos and hope that one of those would be focussed correctly. Micro adjustment or Sigma-Service did not help as the degree of misfoucs greatly varied between focus distances and focal length.

 

This is why I recommend to people who shoot ouside a controlled studio environment to better go for the less stellar but more accurate lens rather than buy the "sharpest" one,  only to end up with unsharp photos because the lens does not focus properly in real life.

 

 Since I shoot only canon lenses I never had a misfocussed image that I couldnt blame on my own improper technique (one shot AF-mode only, of course). I am not a a brand loyal but this is just a fact.

 

 And yes, I still have an Aps-C Eos 50D (all of my Burma images have been shot on this camera). Nowadays I mostly use a 5D3, however.

Well, i am not a professional photographer but try to improve my hobby. (Btw: Imho all the companies like Nikon, Canon, Sigma,... make most of their money with photographers like me and not with the professionals). For me the package sounds very good and i can live with 4% misfocusses at 18mm since i focus manualy most times and indeed shoot 5-6 fotos a time.  And what it makes easier for me: I don`t face any problems with any agency. 1.8 will give me a bright picture in the viewfinder of my D7000. We will see what Photozone will say to this lens while dpreview is for now the only source complaining about the AF of this lens.