Customer Reviews

Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX IF HSM Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(3)
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I hope no one takes John B. Stafford's word here. Research the web for reviews on this lens and see the samples of what it can deliver. Most pros agree that this lens is not only extremely well build but it delivers very sharp and contrasty images on par with anything that Canon lenses can do, if not better.

I read an enthusiastic review of this lens in Shutterbug magazine about a year ago, in which its performance was compared favorably with similar lenses made by Canon and others. Without question, this lens has both the optical and mechanical performance one expects from first class premium lenses made by Canon and Nikon. I was especially impressed to see superb photographs taken by this lens for both closeup and nature photography. Unless one truly has a compelling reason for the Canon 180mm macro lens - and the only ones I can think of is that maybe its autofocusing is quieter with slightly better optical performance - then I suspect that the typical user of Canon 35mm autofocus SLRs will be quite satisfied with this lens. Without a doubt, this is one of the finest lenses being offered by a distinguished third party lens manufacturer.

I've had this lens in my bag for almost five years and have used it countless times with my EOS 3. I use it both for macro and for normal photography due to its extreme clarity as well as it's fast focus motor. While in macro, depending on your composition, it may have do some motor searching in order to obtain focus, but outside of macro the focus is very fast. I often use it with the automatic eye focus on the EOS 3 and this lens performs beautifully. The *extra* 80mm gives you some valuable distance from potentially nasty subjects, (i.e. bees), and yields more camera position versatility over the Canon 100mm macro model, contradicting a previous reviewers post. The glass is very clear and sharp. If I have to pack light, this lens is the one lens going in my small shoulder bag. It's well worth the money, believe me.