- Extremely Sharp !!!
- lightweight
- Nice finish
- Seems to be built well

- none that I can see for the price !

Wowww !!! ...is all I can say.

I got my first set of prints back from the lab today (shot a roll of Fuji Superia ISO 400). I borrowed/used the lens to take some portraits of my nephew (8 weeks old). I subsequently bought the lens. I also took some snaps of my parents. Boy is this lens sharp !, just ask Mum and Dad. They hate the lens because it rendered amazing detail ... every wrinkle on their skin is plain to see on the photo's I took !!! (I think a soft focus filter is in order).

I bought this lens because I wanted a quality Macro lens to complete my Photography arsenal of equipment. I looked around and whilst I am and avid Nikon user I could not justify the price difference between the Nikon and the equivalent Sigma lens.

Anyway, this lens is fantastic. Colour, contrast, and sharpness are first rate, as one would expect from a 'Pro' class Macro lens. It is too sharp for Portraits infact (you may need to soften the shot). It works fantastic with my F90x and I find it hard to believe that the Nikon equivalent is any better (just look at the reviews !)

Buy, you will be pleased...overall a perfect 5/5 in all respects

Customer Service

Never needed (so far)

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No other 'Macro' lens used

1:1 Macro
Well-built
Wonderfully sharp

AF/MF switch on lens is cumbersome. A truly ridiculous design. Metal hood doesn't reverse-mount to store.

Every shot with this lens comes out incredibly crisp. AF is reasonable with N70. MF has good feel. Nice to have a 2.8 tele in my bag. A very good lens at a great price.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-300 IF "macro"

Excellent optics
Good construction quality

2-stage Man/Auto switching is a real pain
Supplied with nice soft case - but does not fit when (screw-in) hood is fitted!

Very good optics indeed. Up to the 105 micro, the old Tamron 90 2.5 and the even older Vivitar Series 1 90/2.5 - all super sharp lenses. AF is a little slow in the macro range, but then, it usually is, and is of limited use in true macro working anyway. The clunky AF/MAN changeover is awkward - and could have been done better. This lens cries out for HSM and continuous manual over-ride (rather like the 180 3.5 HSM). Nice green belt pack supplied - but what a shame you have to unscrew the hood every time to use it! Hmmmm.... While the optics are definitely 5-star, for me these handling qualities detract. Good value, great performance, but handling is so-so.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

I also use a Nikon 70-180 ED macro + previously owned the 105 2.8 AF-D

Light weight
Super SHARP!!

Slow AF

This is really a great lens for a wide variety of photography: Macro, close up, portrait, fine art, low light...you name it, even landscapes! The best value in it's class...by far!! For the money it's a gem and it outperforms the Nikkor 105/2.8 I have used for many years. Buy this lens without hesitation!

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF105/f2.8

Excellent Glass
Price
Construction Good

None

Very good lens, use with no trouble (so far) with a Canon D30 Digital. Didn't really get this lens intentionally, needed a portrait lens fast for an overseas trip. After reading previous reviews I'm inclined to agree, and this is from a guy who feels he's betraying his Canon pedigree by buying elsewhere!

Customer Service

Not tried.

Similar Products Used:

135/2L USM
135/2.8 SF

Extremely sharp lens
Price
Macro capabilities

Auto focus hunts occasionally before gettin into focus

Excellent value for the money. I have been very satisfied with this lens' performance so far. Portraits have shown excellent detail. I have used a Contax G system in the past before recently getting an SLR and I was initially concerned about a drop-off in quality of lenses compared to the Carl Zeiss lens used in the G system. However, I did some research and settled on a Nikon F100. This is the only non-Nikon lens I own and that is because of the unanimously great reviews I've read about it. I can say that I totally agree that this is a "best buy" in terms of a macro lens in this focal length. It stays on my camera about 90% of the time.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

None

Sharp as a tack
Build Quality
Price

The occasional AF 'search'

Absolutely top flight lens for the dollar. A pro quality lens at a consumer lens price, perfect for the aspiring nature photographer or portrait specialist. Solid as a rock. I personally don't find the two phase switching from AF to MF that bothersome. A small annoyance at the most. Before you buy anything else, make sure you check this baby out. You won't regret it.

Customer Service

N/A

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Canon EF 100mm Macro

1. Quite crisp
2. 1:1
3. Sturdy feel
4. Cheap compared to other 1:1 macro lenses.
5. Embedded front element gives comfort to the clumsy.
6. Many more!

1. EX finish may be too sparkly for the ultra manly.
2. Two step MF to AF process
3. No full time manual focus like more expensive lenses.
4. It would be nice if the hood was custom instead of a 58mm screw on.

Compared to the lens that came with my camera this macro lens is priceless. Quite sharp, f2.8 is fast enough for me. Got back some superia and velvia from the shop, very crisp shots, great colors. AF doesn't work very well in close ups, but I like the feel of the MF ring, its sturdy. And despite what some other reviewers say, AF is not useless, its not USM but it works fine in good light and at normal shooting distances. Oh ya, and its sparkly, the first thing my girlfriend said was "ohhhhh its sparkly" great lense.

Customer Service

Haven't had to use it thank god.

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28-80mm canon (yuck)

f2.8 Macro lens, good for
micro and portrait photography

AF hunts, large noise

The best lens I have! Sharpest and and good color saturation.
Worth every penny. Compare to canon 50mm prime lens, it
is even better, or at least not worse. It can be use for
macro and portrait lens. I have a lot fatastic portrait pictures
using this lens. Do not buy Canon or Nikon 105 Macro, they
are two time higher in price. Can they also two times higher
in optics? definitey not! Because Sigma 105 Macro has the
best optics. I can not image better. But the AF of Sigma is
really a problem, very noisy and slow. In my canon camera,
it always hunts. But I don't care, because it is maily for
portrait and macro, (105 mm not for spots) in such cases
manually focusing is quite enough.

By the way, I always think trade my Canon gear to Nikon,
the only reason I can not make my decision is because I
have this lens!

Similar Products Used:

canon 50 f1.8
canon 28-105 usm
canon 28-70 f2.8
canon 70-200 f2.8

beautiful appearance.

very soft in the edge area

this lens is highly recommended in value rating by
many review. so i bought it. but i find it very very soft. my old NIKON 70-210 AF is much better than this one. i am very upset. maybe SIGMA sell the 3rd party products to china. but i shall never
buy SIGMA again.

Customer Service

none available in shanghai

Similar Products Used:

AF nikon 85 /1.8
AF nikon 105/2.8