- Home
- Manufacturers Canon | Fujifilm | Leica | Nikon | Olympus | Panasonic | Pentax | Sigma | Sony | More...
- Reviews Pro Reviews | DSLRs | Mirrorless Cameras | P&S | Zoom Lenses | Prime Lenses | Mirrorless Lenses
- Photos Latest | Landscape | Nature | People | Travel | Sports | Animals | B&W | Sample Photos
- Forums New Posts | ViewFinder | Photo Critique | DSLRs | Compact System Cameras | Nature | Sports
- Video
|
|
Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX IF HSM APO Macro 35mm Primes
Product DescriptionThis high performance telemacro lens can focus from infinity to full 1:1 Life-size reproduction without accessories. The models for Sigma, Canon and Nikon AF cameras employ Sigma's HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) for quiet, responsive AF function plus "full time" manual focus.
User Reviews 
Submitted by
amattess
a Intermediate Date Reviewed: June 30, 2005 Strengths: Tough metal body. Sharp focus. Weaknesses: Weight. Speed. AF hunting. Bottom Line: Expand full review >>Duration Product Used: 2-5 years Price Paid: $400.00 Purchased At: ebay Similar Products Used: Nikon 180mm Macro Type of photography: Outdoor
Submitted by
Ferko
a Intermediate Date Reviewed: February 11, 2005 Strengths: Build. The lens itself has a tank's massivity. IF: during AF nothing rotates or extends from the lens. The only thing what changes is the rotating distance scale under a small window. The weight and size: In its category, where its "classmates" the Canon 180/3,5, the Nikon 200/4 etc. I think it is still the shortest and lightest lens, even with his 945 g own weight. Picture quality is superb, not only in the macro range, but even in the whole. Focus limiter: 3 positions (full; full to half life-size,(from infinity to 0.61 m) and from half life-size to 1:1 (from 0.61 m down to 0.46))Can be very useful. Accept 72 mm filters (note SB-29 can be used without adaptor) Bokeh is beautiful, thanks to the 9-bladed diaphragm. Sharpness, contrast, resolution, colors;(the most important things) I won't write. Just go and see it yourself. HSM: In a Nikon body it's even better than a Nikor 200mm. Silent. Full-time manual focus: you roughly set the focus, and the AF corrects it.And you still can hold the lens in your hand because focus ring doesn't rotates during AF. Weaknesses: Vignetting. NOTE: maybe YOU WON'T EVER NOTICE THIS. Open at f/4 and with a light gray background without any pattern in it this lens ONCE "delivered" this. Fully opened I've never noticed it with green or even white background when I used pro slide film. HSM: silent, but not as fast as you think. It's slow, silent, but in close distances it hardly find the correct focus. But in this range (=>very shallow DOF) the AF remains fast in the finder. Shallow DOF. This lens is not designed to be your 1st lens what you buy. You need experience to can use it. As you wish. The category. It is almost useless without a good, heavy tripod. Without it you 'll miss dozens of beautiful shots, and get nothing else but blurred, out-of focus photographs. Bottom Line: Expand full review >>Duration Product Used: 2-5 years Price Paid: $800.00 Purchased At: Budapest Similar Products Used: nothing yet. Type of photography: Outdoor
Submitted by
b_nikon
a Intermediate Date Reviewed: August 22, 2004 Strengths: - construction (almost entirely made of metal alloy) - razorsharp - HSM is really silent - wide focus ring Weaknesses: - heavy (but I don't care) - hunts at close range (macro shots) - AF is not that fast Bottom Line: Expand full review >>Duration Product Used: 2-5 years Price Paid: $590.00 Purchased At: CVI Similar Products Used: - Type of photography: Outdoor
Submitted by
Levon5
a Expert Date Reviewed: May 8, 2004 Strengths: Great sharpness and color. It appeared fairly neutral in rendition to me and it displayed that little extra sparkle that great lenses do. (The best telephoto I've used for that little extra is an older 180mm F2.8 Nikkor.) I like the having the ability to immediately overide the lens' HSM focus at any time without pushing a button and/or body switch. The focus collar is good; read 'BIG'. You can find it immediately without taking your eye away from the viewfinder. Another plus was the ability to put a tripod plate on the 180mm's collar and the camera simultaneously because the lens' tripod mount sits lower. That enabled me to utilize the camera plate immediately when I switched lenses, cutting out an extra step. Thank you Sigma! Someone was thinking! Weaknesses: Little heavy (to be expected), searches a little (to be expected w/macro). Bottom Line: Expand full review >>Duration Product Used: 21+ years Price Paid: $399.00 Purchased At: HotDigital (new lens Similar Products Used: Sigma 105mm Macro Nikon 105mm Macro Nikon 60mm Macro Sigma 400mm APO Macro-Telephoto Sigma 70-300mm APO Leica 90mm Elmarit w/Elpro VII Sigma 180mm F5.6 APO Macro Type of photography: Outdoor
Submitted by
olegv
a Expert Date Reviewed: May 6, 2004 Strengths: Very good sharpness Weaknesses: Sigma's HSM autofocus turns to be a worst I ever seen. It hunts a lot even in day light and finally focuses in wrong position. The problem seems to be in mechanical slackness and unresponsive motor. Only 30-50% of shots appears to be of adequate quality. People in service sad that its normal. Shure in case you print 4x6 its normal but for DSLR its just unacceptable. The Sigma 105 macro with mechanical coupling behaves much better. Bottom Line: Expand full review >>Duration Product Used: 6-10 years Price Paid: $600.00 Purchased At: foto.ru Similar Products Used: Nikkor 24-85 F3.5/4.5 AF-S Sigma 105 F2.8 macro Type of photography: Outdoor
|
PhotographyReview VideosPhotographyReview on Facebook |
