Customer Reviews

Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 APO EX DG Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must admit I did not buy this monster of a lens - it came to me the old fashion way (no it wasn't stolen) my parents purchased it for me - they have more disposable income than I. Well after having had it for a little while, there are a few things I have learned: 1. Don't unleash this beast around other photographers or anyone else for that matter unless you are a total camera snob and are trying to compensate for certain inadequacies. 2. Use a monster tripod - this beast weighs over 100 lbs.. 3. Let the lens come to ambient temperature before using. 4. Do not use it for photographing ANYTHING from the deck of your home in San Francisco - unless you want your neighbors phoning SFPD complaining that you are a voyeur - SFPD was impressed with my photos of the Palace of Fine Arts and Alcatraz. Now I wanted this lens for nature photography - this is what I do for fun. Unfortunately, I think the lens is much too large and heavy to be transported with any ease other than hiring a Sherpa.

First of all, many of you seem to be getting a laugh from the reviews and comments. The intimidation of this lens would probably lead everyone to think its a missile, rather than a piece of photo gear. Though I haven't dished out $30k to buy this, (no average Joe will)I was able to borrow it for a few from a friend's dad, who owns a large photography company in my town. I thought I would give an actual honest review.

Alas, it's large. Paraphrase that a bit better -- it's huge. It is virtually impossible to take rewarding photos without a heavy-duty tripod. It weighs about as much as my three year old son does. That being said, this lens is downright outstanding for nature, animal, or sport photographers. I personally used it for scenic photos, and it got the job done in a fashion never thought possible. I was able to take a photo of small birds from great distances in a way that I could see the specks of dirt on their feathers. Keep in mind, its not a considerably long focal range. 200mm in reality is not very long, but when used with a tele-convo, I can take pictures at focal lengths close to 1000mm. All in all, build quality is stellar.

When used on my 5D MII and 1D Mark III, I noticed the colors didn't pop as much as my other lenses, in particular the ones apart of the "L" series by Canon, but I did notice that this lens works great in a large array of light sources. At a mere f/2.8 or so, you can take pictures without having to worry about low light conditions. Obviously, larger light = clearer pictures.

If your looking for a great lens that portrays a great focal range, great build quality, and a nice companion for your (hence) professional photo career, this lens is for you. Its no small cost, obviously you all know that. Besides the cost, there is nothing bad to say about this bad boy. Honestly though, I don't truly recommend this to any hobbyist because I know you all can use the money toward something a little bit more 'down to Earth'. If you make a decent amount of profit from your company, go for it. You won't regret taking the plunge if you do.

Well, I finally decided to spring for the Sigma 200-500 f/2.8. For under $30,000 I couldn't pass up the deal. I know, carrying a 37lb lens around may seem like a chore, but the savings in gas to drive to photo shoots more than compensates for it. I actually do most of my Florida and Georgia area outdoor wedding and landscape shoots from my rooftop now. The IQ is tack-sharp even wide open at 1000mm (w/ 2x converter, obviously) The issue I had, was when the FBI and Homeland security showed up at my house. I was shooting a wedding in downtown Orlando, which is only about 30 miles away, from my roof. The house was surrounded and guns drawn on me. You see, I live near enough to a major airport that the neighbors mistook it's green color and imposing size as some sort of ground to air missile launcher. I would strongly consider coloring it a light color to minimize thermal expansion during the day, and marking the side "Not A Stinger Missile". Also, it is a nice walk around lens for family trips to the zoo. Low light performance is superb. Most photos can be taken without flash, on a moonless night, following a massive power outage, by simply lighting a fart during the exposure. Experiment with differing brands of beans, as it affects the color temperature of the raw shot.

As a wedding photographer I found this lens to be an invaluable part of my wedding day coverage gear. It never leaves my camera.

The fast, f/2.8 aperture is necessary for getting the shot in dark, cavernous churches. With more and more churches restricting photographers to the back of the church for the entire ceremony while uncle Bobs and Aunt Bobettes flash away from the third row like a pulsating strobe at a 70's era disco, this lens allows you to get right into the middle of the action. It's a bit mean-spirited, but it can also be used handily to knock those point and shoots across the room. There's enough leverage on this bad boy to give them a healthy enough smack that they break into several pieces before they ever hit the far wall. To those who aren't in on the tactic it just looks like you were panning with the candle lighters..... I suggest a tripod so that you can more precisely target the cameras you want to take out in a single sweep, but the lens is fast enough to shoot the entire wedding hand-held.

I wish they hadn't painted the barrel military green though..... unless they went all the way and made it green cammy and then I could hide behind it and take stealth shots. I could probably even sneak to the front of the church without being seen and get some nice closeups of the rings being placed on fingers.... although you wouldn't be able to tell they were fingers at such close range...... or rings.....

I've also mounted skateboard trucks on mine so I can quickly scoot from one location to the next. The sheer size and weight make it extremely stable and people will definitely get out of the way because it looks like an Abrams tank headed toward them at high speed. I've rigged up a seat that slides into the flash mount on the camera but I'm still having difficulty working out the steering. If anyone has any ideas, please pass them along in the comments.

About a year ago, I made the decision that I was going to buy my first DSLR. Before this, I had only used disposable cameras at wedding receptions, on vacation, and at home. When I found a used Canon XS for a great price I figured I would jump on the deal. The only issue was that the seller did not include any lens with the purchase. At any rate, I figured this was not an issue since I could get exactly what I wanted. After searching for a few minutes, this beauty popped up on the screen and I knew I had to have it. I had no idea how I was going to pay for it since the price is a bit steep, but I am an optimist so I knew everything was going to work out. Unfortunately the very next day my mother had an "accident" and regretfully passed away. After 7 month of going through courts and lawyers I finally received enough to purchase this bad boy as one of the beneficiaries of her estate. I immediately rushed to the computer to purchase this and as I hit the payment confirmation button, I received a funny tingly feeling in my nether regions.

After waiting a week or so, I got a call from the delivery company that this little beauty had arrived. I was so excited that I scheduled the first delivery date possible. The next day, I had butterflies in my stomach as the Tractor pulled up with the lens strapped to a low-boy trailer. This was a smart move on the delivery company's part since it made off-loading easy and significantly reduced the center of gravity. Once they were finally able to figure out how to get it in the house, they left me with my new toy. I was like a kid in a candy store. I was really impressed that Sigma even included a crowbar to open up the crate. Well, long story short these are my findings:

1. Great walk-around lens: Just make sure you give yourself enough space to explore the area. (I am a body builder so the extra weight is not an issue for me.)

2. Fast autofocus: You will want hearing protection though since the autofocus motor rates in at just a tad less than 120 dB! You will also want to have a firm grip on the lens since it has a fairly significant kick when the autofocus engages.

3. Easily adaptable: I was quickly able to design a turret to mount this lens to the top of my Smart Car. This allowed me to produce stunning images while on safari in the African wilds!

4. Precision Construction: Sigma engineers were really thinking when they gave users the option to use synthetic or conventional oil in the on-board oil tank. I have been giving this glass a lot of use and haven't had any of the seals blow yet (I recommend 10W if you plan on shooting a lot in cold climates).

5. Macro photography is amazing! I was able to discover that an atom is not the smallest unit of matter. This won me the Nobel Prize....SCORE!

6. Additional accessories: Sigma was graciously designed a supplemental tripod made of carbon nano-tubes that can be yours for a mere $14,500.

7. A money maker!: I was contracted by the CIA's Division of Science and Technology to study the flight paths of UFO's 10 million light years away.

8. Love the olive drab finish!!

Look, I could go on and on all day on the pros of this unit. My best advice would be to stop reading this review right now, and buy!! If I had to choose one thing that I did not like about this lens, it would be this: DO NOT OPEN THE END CAP IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT!! I accidently made this mistake and this lens magnified the light so much that I completely incinerated 4 houses on my block......sorry.

This is a great lens. Have had it for 2 weeks now. Mostly use it in macro mode in my search for the Higgs boson. But when not using for subatomic particle work, I use for weddings. One client was getting married a few hundred miles away. Of course I didn't need to fly in for the wedding...thank you Sigma. Yes, this lens has its drawbacks, we all know about them - yes you are actually focusing on things that potentially happened long ago - get over it. With low CA and a flat field of view - I can live with the drawbacks.

One note: my copy FF a little when inside the earth-moon radius, and I don't have AF micro adjust on my rebel xt. Sent in to Sigma for adjustment and came back fine. Even with all the trouble, still great upgrade from my kit lens.

It's easy to see the logic Sigma followed to adeptly and ingeniously corner this market (estimated number of prospective customers in parentheses):

The item is designed to appeal to photographers (1.5 billion), who are professionals (500,000), photographing wildlife or pimples on athletes' faces (2,000), who can justify a $29,000 expense (100), who don't mind handling 37 pounds (15), and whose professionalism isn't threatened by it being bright green (1). Unfortunately, that guy was eaten trying to get a close-up of a lion before this thing was designed.

Who knew such a ridiculously large lens could be so good for "panning?"

Some may feel that this lens is a tad pricey but many forget about the needless things in their life that they can sell in order to purchase this beast. I immediately sold my vehicle because I was finally able to convince myself that I only use my vehicle a couple hours out of the day. It was sad that I even had to contemplate selling my car for this camera attachment but to somewhat justify my hesitation in selling it, I do drop off my children at school and use it as transportation to and from work every day. So, once I sold it, I realized that I had to come up with another $21,000.

I tried selling my apartment, but my landlord indicated that I could not legally do that. Whatever, Jim (Because I have learned not to burn bridges from past experiences, I stopped having open houses. Plus, the lawyer and court fees would put a damper on my upcoming Amazon purchase). Where was I going to come up with this $21,000? That's when a Sigma light bulb went off in my head.

I sold my two children to the Pesticide & Insecticide Testing Corporation. I feel it was a solid move on my part because they explained that my (now their's) children would always have enough to eat, exercise every day, and have a doctor present 24/7. With the money I made with this no-brainer sell and the under-the-table cash my wife was getting from working on the prestigious corner of Main Street and Almond Street, I was finally able to make the purchase of a lifetime.

I even had some extra cash leftover, so I decided to buy my first digital camera. This green monster looks great on my brand new Canon Rebel XSi. Thanks Sigma!

I was at my local camera shop when my eyes were bestowed on this turd beast. I asked the guy, "Wow, I did not know you guys sold actual military vehicles," (Ok, so it wasn't a question). He responded, "No you silly Sally, that's a camera lens". I was all, woah, say whaaaaatttt? Gave him all the change in my pockets and 7 credit cards later, I was carrying this turd beast out the door. Called a buddy to bring his Ford F350 super duty (Ford, built Ford Tough), put the lens in my Honda Civic, and followed him home (I'm not good with directions). You pay for what you get, the lens is tack sharp, crisp bokeh, and is colored like an actual turd. But after months of use, I do have one gripe: I've pulled my back, dislocated shoulders, and twisted my knees. But Sigma, being the reputable company that they are provide health insurance upon purchase of the lens. Yah, you just sign some papers and pay your monthly dues, and you're set; some liability issues I suppose. Glad I paid my dues, now I'm stuck here in my room on a wheel chair shooting birds and neighbors with my BB gun (What? I ain't about to risk more injury, c'mon mans).

Pros: excellent lens

Cons: dangerous lens

Took this bad boy to the top of the Chrysler building and threw it off. It shattered into a million pieces, exactly as expected. Completely satisfied, would highly recommend.