it was quite nice opening the heavy sigma box from its packaging. once opened, a fairly good quality cush bag contained the new lens. opened it and man is it heavy. i've had the 70-200mm canon L series lens and that lens does not compare to the weight of this sigma. of course, you do get about a 200mm more zoom... the
mounted, it looks like a camera that parents would hide their kids from. it's pretty aggressive looking if you're just a "passer-by-er". anyways - onto the TEST.
i first shot images WITHOUT the OPTICAL STABILIZER... the first thing i noticed is the motor... very loud compared to the 70-200mm L and slow - the result had fairly good quality (7 out of 10). most of the images were fairly sharp at 400mm. though i did get some super sharp images, i weren't all that impress. color isn't as vibrant as the L series lens canon offers but... that's just about it in terms of image quality. < --- it's a good thing
turning on the OPTICAL STABILIZER - BAMM! what a difference. it's like holding a 135mm lens at 400mm. IMPRESSIVE - SIGMA has 2 modes with its OS. both modes work nicely.
WOULD I RECOMMEND? yes - BUT it would of been A LOT better if the lens had a FASTER motor. of course, you can always shoot using the manual mode. = )
Strengths:
-the price is great - especially if comparing to the almighty SUPER expensive L series lens canon offers.
-the built feels solid. the carrying case is a plus - keeps the lens safe with all the soft cushiony stuff around it.
-as sharp as the L series lens
-ring mount is included.
-2 words - OPTICAL STABILIZER
Weaknesses:
-motor is loud and slow (compared to the L series lens).
Quite a good cheap super telephoto zoom.
OS does what it ought to, for stationary hand held shots.
AF does what it ought to, for stationary hand held shots.
AF tracks slow moving targets, like people walking.
But not suited to my needs - it went back to the shop within 2 weeks.
Replaced by Canon EF 100-400 L IS
Strengths:
Sharp, good portrait shots at 80mm on 20D
Passable hand held night shots at 400mm
Neck strap on tripod mount (want it on my Canon lenses now !)
Weaknesses:
Night time, huge starred flare from lights.
Reflection of off-axis lights diametrically across image centre.
Slow, noisy AF
Jerky OS while panning in mode 1 or 2
OS does not work when lens is supported, image drifts about randomly but slowly
Heavier than Canon 100-400
Incompatible with Canon 2x extender
EX surface is a PITA to clean off dust !
Similar Products Used:
Canon EF 70-200
Canon EF 100-400
Customer Service:
Jessops: Oxford - avoid like the plague
Bromley - very helpful
Bournemouth - outstanding
I needed a long tele prime or tele zoom on my Nikon D70 to take on safari and to use from an open vehicle. After reading lots of reviews and carefully considering what would be the prime use of the lens, I eventually decided to buy the Sigma OS, at about half the price of the Nikon VR.... , and I haven't regretted it yet. Although it's not a lightweight lens it's not too difficult to use it handheld or on a beanbag in a (sometimes crowded) vehicle. The OS is a very usefull function, but is has its limits at about 1/60th of a second. I took some very nice pictures at night with the new Sigma 500 flash unit. Pictures are mostly (very) sharp with nice colour, good contrast and as far as I can see a low degree of distortion.
Strengths:
Vibration reduction, sharpness, colour rendition, nice finish, can be used where other (prime) lenses are too cumbersome to use, price/quality
Weaknesses:
a bit heavy (but you get used to it), stiff zoom ring
Big, heavy, sharp lense with Image Stabilization. Works nice wide open, and IS is a godsend at 400mm handheld.
Strengths:
1) Sharpness. PopPhoto may not agree, but 400mm produces excellent 8"x10" prints.
2) Zoom ring (for those who don't like push-pull design).
3) Excellent tripod ring which may be used as a carrying handle.
4) Build quality and finish.
5) Excellent pictures !
Weaknesses:
1) Weight. Heavier than Canon 100-400 (although not by much).
2) Slow AF (on my EOS 30 body). On 1V, however, the AF is FAST, comparable to Canon 100-400 (in a dimly lit interior of the shop where the AF speed might be more dependent on the camera AF system rather than on the type of the AF motor in the lens: in bright light the USM motor may be faster, but the performance of 80-400 on 1V was impressive nonetheless)
3) Price...as usual.
Similar Products Used:
Sigma 70-200/2.8 EX HSM
Customer Service:
Well, never needed, but also they never answered any of my E-mails. Go figure...
I had been toying with the purchase of a long telephoto lens after borrowing a Canon 70-200 F2.8 L IS with a 2x tele from a friend. I cannot justify the spend on this actual item and looked at alternatives for my Canon 10D. Very please ownership of a Sigma 15-30 and reading reviews of this lens on this site and others I took the plunge and I am very pleased with the results.
My main areas of critisism are the same as others namely the weight and the stiffness of the zoom ring. The gym should sort the former and use the latter!
I am very impressed with the IS features and this has enabled me with concentration to shoot as slowly as 1/15s indoors without a tripod at 400mm.
The images appear sharp at all focal lengths and the colour saturation is very pleasing to my eyes.
Strengths:
Image stabilisation, sharpness, colour rendition
Weaknesses:
Weight , stiff zoom ring, tripod collar does not adjust to become a pistol grip.
Sample Images
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