Summary: ( My purchase included the sa-7n quartz-date body and Sigma 28-70 2.8/4.0 High Speed Zoom and postage)
In short: The greatest value for money one can get!
Because of the excellent intuïtive ergonomics, the numerous options are just so very easy to use! Depth of field, AE-lock, mirror-UP, autobracketing, multiple exposure, infra-red remote-control etc. etc. it's all just one or two switches/buttons away. This makes the sigma sa-7 an ideal camera for newbies as well as experienced photograpers.
It's a camera which invites you in a very pleasent way to explore the broad posibilities of modern photography.
There are no fancy pict-programs as with the budget-canons. But i find those very annoying and mystifying. I know people who still don't know what they're actually doing after years of using those pic-settings.
Especially in combination with the (metal-bayonet!)High Speed Zoom this camera focusses extremely fast and accurate.
In minimal light conditions the autofocus sometimes hunts a bit, but no more than other slr's I've used. But i agree there are better AF-SLR's
As with all autofocus cameras though, much of the autofocus-speed depends heavily on the lens ans it's maximum aperture.
This High Speed Zoom with it's 2.8-4.0 aperture truely makes this Sigma a very good performer.
The body is light en compact, well designed and built and handles well (even with my bigger hands).
Strengths: ergonomics, load of features, cheap, good sigma lens-array,
Weaknesses: Not the fastest auto-focus around.
Minor: Only 1/2000 shutter speed and 1/90 flash-sync.
Summary: The following comments refer to Sigma SA-7 with 28-70/2.8-4 HSZ lens. The intended purpose of that photo camera is to allow control over the picture-taking process, since the affordable P&S cameras are really poor in that area. Other options in that class were Nikon F/N75 (the grip was too small even for my wife's hands), Canon EOS Rebel Ti/300V (kit with a 28-90 - a lens that is not regarded well), Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 5 (felt flimsy, with gaps between the shell parts ).
Impressions:
The operation is very simple. The camera feels like a tool - ant it is indeed a marvellous photographic tool!
The focusing is fast in day light and can be slow in low light with low contrast targets. I got very good photos of landing aircrafts.
The photos come out well exposed (in auto). I like to manually setup the camera unless I am in a hurry. To me, the lack of picture modes indicates that Sigma regards its customers as intelligent and interested people.
By covering parts of the DX code on the film canister with tape, the camera can be cheated to make 38 exposures with 36-exp. film. The bundled batteries were sufficient for 8 or 9 rolls of 36-exp. film. I expect that the new ones I bought will be more durable.
The optical remote works from the front of the camera, and is OK.
The sound of the camera in action is a pleasant one.
Summary: After a lot of reading online and buying magazine after magazine and reading reviews and looking at features, I bought the SA-7, accompanied by two Sigma lenses; a 28-80 and a 70-300. For $300 this camera simply can't be beaten - a body & two lenses all for less than a middle-of-the-range Canon? Bargain!
The lenses are initially a bit 'sticky' as you zoom in and out, but this loosens up a lot with use (although it doesn't disappear completely). I've had this camera for about 4-6 months now and have shot about 100 rolls through it and have no major complaints about it. The exposure system is pretty good for such a budget camera, although you can get great results if you use the Shutter and Aperture options yourself instead of relying on the computer. Almost all controls are easy to get to and easy to remember, apart from the location of the bracketing and AEL buttons, which are located right on the very back of the camera behind the shutter release. Unless you are a contortionist it's very awkward and annoying to use these - after a week of shooting in places like Death Valley and Mt Rainier where you have to constantly over or under exposure shots you soon learn to hate these buttons placements!
Auto-focus is good, but a bit slow on the uptake on moving objects, when needed in a hurry or if something is sitting against a background. I missed a shot of a Golden Eagle sitting 4 feet away from me in the middle of a desert eating a huge jack-rabbit due to the autofocus 'hopping' in and out and trying to get a cactus behind it. By the time I'd switched to manual it'd flown away and I only got it's butt. I'll NEVER forgive Sigma for that!
I was very disappointed to learn that I am stuck buying Sigma lenses, as they are very pricey (although clarity on the ones I have is great), but the package I bought makes the sigma ideal as a learners camera, and then relegate it to a 'back up' once you improve (which is what I'm saving up to do now). Basically if you can't afford a Canon, Nikon or Minolta body and want a light-weight, well put together camera that has a host of features, this is the one for you.
Strengths: Price.
Excellent quality of Sigma lenses.
Can use camera almost immediately without even reading the manual.
Weaknesses: Locked-in to very expensive Sigma lenses.
Lack of back-lit LCD information panel.
Positioning of AEL button.
Summary: Perfect amateur photography package. Picked it up at B&H b/c came with two lenses. I also own a Nikon N80, Nikon FM10, F3, F5. The Sigma is my favorite all-rounder. Love the styling... not as dated as most of the Nikons. Much better build quality and ergonomics than comparable Minolta, Canon, Contax, and Pentax. Lenses are absolutely fantastic for price range - very easy to assemble a formidable collection. Not as pretty as Carl Zeiss or Hasselblad... but then again, what is? Found my Sigma lenses gave much better results than most, if not all, my Nikon Nikkor lenses.
Sigma SA-9 gives not many more features, but also a good buy.
Strengths: Excellent instrument for beginners and amateurs. Esp students of photography.
Huge arsenal of inexpensive but great-quality lenses.
Intuitive features.
Ergonomics.
Build quality and finish.
Weaknesses: Would love more shutter speeds.
Wish more expensive third party lenses would fit.
Similar Products Used: Nikon N80, F3, FM10, F5, Canon EOS 1V, Canon Elan VII
Rating Reviewed by: David Smith(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date September 18, 2003
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for 1 to 3 months
Review 5 of 13
Price Paid:
$299.00
from B&H
Summary: NOTE: Price above is for a kit with 2 zoom lenses.
BACKSTORY: I have been using an old manual SLR (Rollei SL35) for nearly thirty years, but it is partially crippled due to various mishaps including a salt water dunking twenty years ago. It has parts that need constant tightening in the field so they don't fall off. My wife has been wanting to learn how to handle an SLR for several years as she is unsatisfied with the limitations and quality of a series of point & shoots, but in fairness I did not want her to attempt to learn on this crippled old beast (perhaps killing it outright in the process).
Soooo.... Last spring I/we began shopping around for a new camera. In my limited prior experience, used SLRs seemed very overpriced seeings how they seldom come with a warranty over 90-days, if any. I began comparison shopping among the various entry-level SLRs, which offer similar features; all-auto with a subset of manual features. I needed a body that offered full manual control and a few 'high-end' bells & whistles -- notably DOF preview that are lacking on some of the entry-level models. This is where the Sigma SA-7 came into my radar. /END OF BACKSTORY
The2-zoom lens bundle offered by B&H (and several competitors) clinched it for me. I was determined to get a usable focal range with the body, and 28 -- 300 is very usable for 90% of my needs. We took possession of the kit at the end of June, and have shot ~50-60 rolls of 400 ASA consumer color neg film in it alongside the old Rollei and its 28mm & 50mm primes, and Vivitar 70-210.
I'm very happy with the ergonomics of the Sigma gear in all modes, auto and manual. The build quality and finish are excellant except for a sticky zoom on the 70-300. I am not disappointed with the optics of the two consumer zooms either, whcih (I gather from some technical reviews) are quite respectable in their class. I do love the light weight of it (the entire kit weighs about as much as the Rollei and a single prime). Everything has worked reliably and precisely, yielding roll after roll after roll of perfect exposures, mainly relying on the matrix metering, sometimes area metering and sometimes using exposure compensation. I've never used AF before, so I have nothing to compare it to. Various reviews I've read say that the Sigma single-point AF system 'ain't the best', and I believe them. I basically leave it turned off (the lenses work perfectly well in manual mode). Another, minor quibble is with the noisiness of the film advance. Finally I have also read of some concerns about the fragility of this nearly all-plastic gear. I have treated the Sigma gear very carefully because of this. In particular I don't expect the lenses to have a long lifespan, or much resale value. But it's so cheap in the first place -- who cares? The bottom line is that this is an excellent kit for anyone who needs an affordable system that will enable them to get out and shoot with a tremendous focal range on a full-featured SLR, on a budget.
Strengths: Price.
Ergonomics -- in all modes.
'Pro'-features: DOF preview, mirror lockup, eyepiece diopter, multiple exposure, mid-roll rewind.
Build and finish qualities (if you don't mind plastic).
Weight (an excellent reason to not mind plastic!).
Picture quality from consumer lenses is very good when stopped down. Pro-quality lenses are also available (at a fraction of 'name' mfg. offerings)
Weaknesses: Probable fragility
Noisy film advance
Single-point AF
Similar Products Used: Non-auto SLRs: Rollei, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus (this is the first auto-anything I've tried)
Customer Service: Needed to contact for missing IR remote control -- received in three days shipped from Sigma in NYC to eastern Canada.
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