Customer Reviews

Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally was looking into the 70-300mm APO macro by Sigma and the 70-300mm lens by Canon. I chose this one because I was reading the reviews of the 70-300 by both comapnies, and it seemed that at the 300mm length the lens was very vey soft. Too soft to make a decent print. So I looked into this zoom range and it didnt bother me that it was only 200mm because I have the Canon XT and the 1.6x crop factor would make the zoom over 300 mm, which is more than I need. Plus, I saw pictures of this lens on one of the review site, and at the 200mm end, the pictures were not that soft! THey seemed like they could make a decent sized print.

Going with my hunch, I bought this 55-200 mm lens and boy am I glad I did!! The autofocus has great speed for the money I paid. Its a little noisy, but I actually like it. At the long end, I was using a shutter speed of 1\500 of a second and my hand shake (which you could def. see) was not apparent in teh photos. I would say at 1\150 and less would certainly make blurry pics. I plan on using a tripod at the long end for the most part. The build and feel of the lens is amazing. THe lens hood is awesome too. it goes over the lens and locks on the other way for easier carry around. and the speed of the lens is def. fast enough if you are out in broad daylight. Indoors things I believe would be a mess. Color rendition is quite nice as well. So overall, it is very sharp at the 55mm side, and decently sharp at teh 200mm size.

The only con I see is that you will need a step up ring for 58mm filters. I have a 58mm polarizer and was bummed about this...but step ups are really cheap, so its no biggy.

I bought this for my trip to AZ that I am going on soon. We will be going to the zoo and bird sanctuaries so it seems perfect for the occasion. I think this lens is amazing for the price. GO BUY IT!

*UPDATE* I just took some test shots. All from a tripod on a sunny day. I took 18 shots total, in the progression as follows: 55mm at f/4.0, 55mm at f\5.6, 55mm at f\8.0, 55mm at f\11.0, and I did this with the zoom lengths at 70mm, 105mm, 135mm, and 200mm respectively. All were shot with a Canon 350D. What I found was 55mm-105mm were sharp w\ all fstops, 8.0 and 11.0 being the best, but you couldnt really tell the difference. Then when it hit 135 mm, it was a bit soft at 5.0 and 11.0...8.0 was decently sharp, and then at 200mm the sharpest was at 11.0. When I say sharpest, I do believe it could make a pretty decent sized print. I mainly print 12x18 w/ my 350D, and I assume I could make that size print with this lens. There was some CA in all my shots, but I CS2 could easily fix it. I will update you after I come back from my trip to AZ!

*UPDATE*
Just got back from my trip. Went to the zoo with this lens and it is great! Took many pics, got some great shots of peacocks and parrots, etc. Feathers are really sharp. I also took pics of birds in their natural habitat. The lens was pretty sharp, and def. made decent photos. Autofocus hunts a bit, but for the most part, great lens!

Many owners of Digital Rebels have the standard Canon 18-55mm kit lens. While useful, the kit lens has some serious limitations, one of which is its lack of sharpness at the 55mm telephoto end. The Sigma 55-200mm provides a much sharper image and wider aperture at 55mm making it a good complement to the kit lens. Overall image quality of the Sigma is fairly good, especially considering the price, and the 200mm (320mm 35mm equivalent) telephoto end provides much needed reach to your photography.

The Sigma 55-200mm is one of the newer line of digital-only lenses. On the Rebel XT, it encompasses and 35mm equivalent focal length range of 88-320mm. Focus is fairly fast and image quality is relatively good. The lens is small and light compared to other lenses with similar ranges making it a great match for the rather small Rebel XT. The lens uses a 55mm filter thread, however, which means you'll need a step-up adapter ring if you want to share the same 58mm filters as the kit lens. All in all, this is a pretty good bet if you're looking for an inexpensive second lens to expand your photogtaphic horizons.

This lens picks up where my standard 18-55mm left off. I have a Canon Digital Rebel XT. The motor of the Sigma is kind of raspy, but my ear is also closer to the motor than everybody else's. Another thing - I wish the zoom wasn't so stiff. Other than that, the lens is good value. I think an equivalent from the Canon manufacturer was in the $200 range.

I bought this lens hoping it would give me the over all photo lens capability for general photography I want. This lens for the money has come close to that expectation. It is a very good lens. I have shot close to 100 photographs of people and scenes, great clarity for the price. I have no complaints so far.

New to photography, I decided to read a multitude of reviews on the camera itself as well as the kit lens. Like many who read the reviews, I found that near 90% of the reviews were not in the kit len's favor, and thus decided to search for a different lens to go with my canon Xti body. I debated between this lens and the 70-300, knowing that the 70-300 would be better for sports, but much less useful for those group/portrait shots. I then found this nify little lens and decided, knowing that the Xti has a 1.6x multiplier, that the equiv. of a 88-320 would be just fine compared to the 70-300. Budget was also a concern and I was able to eventually find the Sigma for under $150. This lens isn't the quietest, fasest, or sharpest lens available, but it sure does the job for shooting well lit sporting events and more than does the trick for a new photographer looking to really get started with a dSLR!

I have used this lens in my arsenal for over a year. I have shot thousands of shots with it from fashion to still life to personal landscape details. I love it. I have no complaints or serious critiques. This is a budget lens, but it performs like a pro level if you work within its strengths -- speed, clarity, weight, quiet and the metal mount is an asset.

I've shot in multiple conditions from bright sunlight to deeply shadowed interiors. I have pushed the ISO to compensate for any aperture limitations and gotten great images. Well, let's just say that my clients have been very happy.

I tend to do dramatic product shots and portraits. When my stuff appears along side the guys that shoot with the Blads and Mamiyas, the images compete in the gallery (30x40 prints), online (global site launches), print collateral (national print).

I encourage any new shooter to go for it. Get this lens, learn it and work the possibilities. You'll be pleased with the creativity you can get from it. I am 4 year newbie and work with a Canon 350D (seriously). I get crazy looks from more experienced shooters all the time, but when they see my images in Hay House coffee table books and online with global brands, the looks turn into professional dialogue. I learned from Dean Semler that, "our eyes are still the best tools we have to shoot with." He said, "use what you have to the best of your ability to get YOUR shot ... by any means necessary." Sure, I aspire to use the heavy hitter labels, but not instead of, only including them to my current equipment mix.

Last note: Don't let anyone compel you to spend beyond your means to achieve a look. If the 'labels' went away, we would all be looking to use whatever equipment that provided us the best image that fit our vision.

God bless with success.

I bought this to save some money on a zoom lens but found that the sharpness just wasn't there. I did all sorts of test shots using both the AF and the MF but both really didn't wow me. There is also no image stabilization and I had lots of camera movement in my photos. I went with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras instead and returned this. The Canon lens is worth the extra money because the photos are super sharp. The Canon was also faster with the AF and much quieter and also has the image stabilization that really makes a difference. I took some up close photos as well as far away and both were very very sharp so this lens is a perfect all around lens. While its no macro lens, you still can get great up close shots with a little patience.

Pros:
Budget price
Ok photos
Good zoom length

Cons:
Photos not very sharp compared to the Canon
Noisy AF
Slow AF
No Image Stabilizer

Given the specs on this lense, you should only expect to be able to use it at the long end of the telephoto range in good light levels.

Overall - i've been absolutely satisfied for it, and can't get over the price. The only time i found myself wanting for a better lense, was an indoor graduation, low light levels, from very far away. The shots were dark, and when i slowed it down a bit to let in more light, i obviously got blurry pics.

In every other situation, and in the mid telephoto ranges - the image quality has been excellent, and have not had a problem with the light.

The lens is nice and light weight but kind of slow to focus and the focus isn't as sharp as I would've thought. I have trouble with my eyesight so I really rely on on my autofocus. What looks great through the lens doesn't always look so hot in production on my computer. I'm sure there's a bit of a leaning curve and I'll probably get used to it and compensate for it. Can't beat the price.

This is a very nice lens - I read several reviews and decided to go for it. The colors are a bit on the warmer side (more red than reality) - but you can fix it either on the camera (by lowering saturation) or on ACDSee (reduce red color).

Perhaps a bit on the soft side, but I am learning that DSLR images are great and lend themselves to sharpening with any software without much noise or artifacts. After a tad bit of sharpening, its difficult to tell the picture apart from a much more expensive lens. Very nice background blur, so portraits at the park, or garden, or the beach look fantastic.

Very pleased with the lens - for $149 its an amazing product.