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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Large aperture telephoto zoom lens incorporating Sigma's original Optical Stabilizer function
This large aperture telephoto zoom lens, incorporating Sigma's original Optical Stabilizer function, covers focal lengths from 70mm to 200mm and offers a constant aperture of F2.8 over the entire zoom range. The OS function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. It makes shooting easy for many types of photography such as portraits and sports. Two FLD ("F" Low Dispersion) glass elements, which have performance equal to fluorite glass, and three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction of color aberration. Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting. The lens incorporates HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), ensuring a quiet and high speed AF as well as full-time manual focus capability. It is also possible to attach Sigma's optional APO Tele Converters.
Super Multi-Layer Coating
The lens is equipped with Sigma's own unique OS (Optical Stabilizer) function. This system offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible, making telephoto shooting easy. Mode 1 is ideal for general photography and Mode 2 is designed for panning subjects such as racing cars. For Sony and Pentax mount, the built-in OS function of this lens can be used even if the camera body is equipped with an anti-shake function. As compensation for camera shake is visible in the view finder, the photographer can easily check for accurate focus and ensure there is no subject movement.
* For Pentax and Sony mounts, it is not possible to use the AF and the built-in OS function of this lens when attaching it to film SLR cameras as well as Pentax ist series and K100D.
* When using the OS function of a lens with a camera which incorporates a stabilizer unit, please turn the camera's stabilizer unit off.
* This lens cannot be used with film SLR cameras with the exception of the Nikon F6 and Canon EOS-1v.
Compact construction
This lens has a compact construction with a diameter of 3.4in, overall length of 7.8in. and weight of 50.4oz. This compact and lightweight construction makes it ideal for many types of photography such as portraits, landscapes and sports.
Excellent Optical Performance
This lens features two FLD ("F" Low Dispersion) glass elements, which have the performance equal to fluorite glass, and three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements providing excellent correction of color aberration. The Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting and ensures high contrast images. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range.
* FLD glass is the highest level low dispersion glass available with extremely high light transmission. This optical glass has a performance equal to fluorite glass which has a low refractive index and low dispersion compared to current optical glass. It also benefits from high anomalous dispersion.
These characteristics give excellent correction for residual chromatic aberration (secondary spectrum) which cannot be corrected by ordinary optical glass and ensures high definition and high contrast images.
High speed and quiet AF
HSM indicates lenses equipped with a Hyper Sonic Motor, driven by ultrasonic waves. Incorporation of HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) ensures quiet and high speed autofocus, while allowing full-time manual focus override.
* For Sony and Pentax mount, AF will not function with DSLR cameras that do not support HSM.
Rounded diaphragm
This lens has a rounded 9 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive bokeh to the out of focus area.
Lens Construction
In a conventional lens, focusing requires an extension of the entire lens or the front lens group. However, to better accommodate autofocusing mechanisms and closeup photography, a need has arisen for lenses that do not change their length during focusing or suffer from focus-dependent variation in aberration. Therefore, Sigma has developed focusing systems that only move elements within the lens barrel. These incorporate smaller and lighter moving lens elements which help improve auto-focus speed. With their unchanging barrel length and small variation in the center of gravity, these lenses also enhance balance and stability for the photographer. Furthermore, since the front of the lens does not rotate, polarizing filters can be used with extra convenience.
Specifications
| Lens Construction | 22 Elements in 17 Groups |
|---|---|
| Angle of View | 34.3 - 12.3 degrees |
| Number of Diaphragm Blades | 9 Blades (Rounded diaphragm) |
| Minimum Aperture | F22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 140cm / 55.1in. |
| Maximum Magnification | 1:8 |
| Dimensions | Diameter 86.4mm x Length 197.6mm /3.4in. x 7.8in. |
| Weight | 1430g / 50.4oz. |
MTF Chart
MTF (Modular Transfer Function) is one of the measurements that evaluates a lens' performance, and it contrasts sensitivity at different spacial frequencies. The horizontal axis is in millimeters and shows the distance from the center of the image toward the edges, and contrast value (highest value is 1) is shown in the vertical axis.
The readings at 10 lines per millimeter measure the lens' contrast ability (red lines), repeating fine parallel lines spaced at 30 lines per millimeter measure the lens' sharpness ability (green lines), when the aperture is wide open. Fine repeating line sets are created parallel to a diagonal line running from corner to corner of the frame, are called Sagittal lines (S) and sets of repeating lines vertical to these lines are drawn, called Meridional (M) line sets.
Distortion
effective distortion: When you take a picture of a lattice pattern, it will appear as the blue dotted line shows. the red line illustrates how the lattice pattern will appear in the actual picture when any lens distortion is taken into account.
relative distortion: In this chart, the horizontal axis shows the ideal image height (the distance from the center to the edge of the image [mm]). The vertical axis shows the extent of distortion. The extent of the distortion is represented by how much Y, which is the actual image height, grows (or shrinks) against Y0 which is the ideal image height.
Extent of distortion: D[%]=(Y-Y0/Y0)x100
When you take the picture of a square object, if the distortion amount show a minus value, the image will be seen as expanded (Barrel distortion). If the distortion amount is a plus value, it will be seen as a recessed (pincushi on distortion). When the distortion value is close to 0, the appearance of distortion is very minimal.
Vignetting
The horizontal axis shows the image height (the distance from the center to the edge of the image [mm]). The vertical axis shows the amount of light in the image (based on the amount of light in the image center being 100%). If the peripheral amount of light is lower than the center, the four corners of the image will be darker (vignetting).
Product Description
Available Warranties for This Item
Customer Reviews
12/15/2011 - Update. I've had this lens a whole year now and still love it - more every day. It is solid, fast and accurate. I'm kind of sorry I seem to have started quite a stir in my description of the Stabilization sound. It really is not bad at all. It was more of a first impression. No regrets on this lens.
I also have a TOKINA 11-16 f2.8, and a Canon 17-55 f2.8 These three lenses are all I need for quality shooting from ultrawide to telephoto. -TXJAVA
2/1/11 - update. Official price drop. New price now $1399 - that's more like it... If you have been on the fence with this lens, time to give it another look. I still love this lens. -TXJAVA
12/15/11 My apologies in advance for a long review. There are not a whole lot of reviews out there for this lens so I'm hoping I can help some others make a good decision. Summary: It is a great Lens, but perhaps not for everyone.
I have been watching this one since it was announced. I tried it out at the local Camera shop and fell in love with it. I decided at that moment, I was going to own this lens.
The initial drawback was always price. At $1699 (sixteen-ninety-nine) it seems a bit high. Yes, this is a quality lens with a 2.8 constant aperture throughout the zoom range and a very good OS optical stabilization (IS in Canon's terminology) but at that price it is only a few hundred less than the highly rated excellent Canon 70-200 2.8 IS ii. So I've been waiting patiently for the price to move.
Well one day, quite unexpectedly, the price at the "B" Camera vendor was $350 (three-fifty) less. Suddenly, at $1349 (thirteen-forty-nine) it was near my strike price (I think the lens should sell for $1200 or so). So I watched to see if the "A" internet vendors would match. They did not. I knew this was less that wholesale for the lens, so I ordered one from the "B" vendor. (The next day the two "A" vendors matched the price - Sorry Amazon, you were not fast enough). The lens arrived a couple days later, VERY well packed. With Amazon, packing can be a bit hit or miss. By the time the lens arrived, all the vendors were priced at the original $1699 (sixteen-ninety-nine). Hmmm, maybe it had been a price mistake.
So enough of that - What do I think of the lens? I still love it; however, there was something that I had not noticed in the store. When the OS system started up (1/2 press of the shutter key), it made a fairly loud click and then the Gyros sounded like very distant fire truck sirens. I literally though that there was a fire truck outside. But it turned out to be coming from the lens. Mind you, it was not loud, but it was disconcerting. I own the excellent Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS and the IS system on that is near silent. I've been spoiled by that lens. I went down to the camera shop to see if their copy had the same sound. It did have some OS sound, but I had not noticed before above the ambient sound in the store. The store model did not sound like my copy. So I called the "B" Vendor and they quickly sent me a new lens.
The new lens arrived today and it too had the OS sound but not as noticeable as the first copy of the lens (I was able to compare side by side). Is the sound bad? No not really, but it is different than the low level "whurl" of the Canon IS system.
That said, the OS system does work very well. It is especially nice at the tele- end of the zoom. You can really see that camera shake through the viewfinder, and then you press the shutter release ˝ way and suddenly it locks into place. Very nice, very cool. I have been able to take nice sharp pictures as low as Ľ second - and that is at the long end of the zoom. Impressive!
The rest of the build quality is very good. Both the focus and the zoom rings operate very smoothly and with just the right amount of resistance.
The lens is heavy (over 3 pounds). The rebel series cameras will benefit from the extra holding power that the extra battery grip offers. It comes with a tripod collar so you can use it on a monopod. A lens hood included (wish Canon would include hoods with all their lenses) there is even an extender for APS-c crop sensor cameras. However, I don't intend to use it.
The pictures I have taken have all been great. It is a bit soft at 2.8 (as many lenses are), but still within my tolerances. The 2.8 aperture really helps for indoor shots. It is great because you can sit across the room and shoot away without bothering those in the room. F4.0 lenses just do not give you enough light for indoor shooting, especially sports. Seems like it would be a great lens for weddings and other indoor events. As for picture quality, I've seen some web reviews that compare this with the Canon and the Sigma comes out pretty good. I do not see any CA at all on my copy. Focus is fast and accurate with no front or back focusing - it is spot on. It is not as fast or quiet as the canon, but still focus motor is still very good. You also have full time manual focus override. So for those of us who are mere enthusiasts or hobbyists this is a great lens to have for the all-important 70-200 tele- range. Pros might want to stick to the Canon version.
All and all, this lens is a keeper. It takes great pics, the OS is very effective (although a bit loud) and the nice 2.8 aperture really shines. Lastly, one of the real reasons I got this is because it is black. You are already conspicuous when you have 8" of lens hanging off the end of your camera at your son's basketball game, or your daughter's rehearsal. You really start to look ridiculous when you have 8"s of a white and black striped Canon lens. (I know I have lost some of my credibility with that last statement, but I just prefer black lenses...)
So the choice is yours. If you are looking for a lens in the 70-200 or 75-300 range, save your money up for a fast 2.8 version with stabilization, you will not be sorry. Those less expensive f3.2-5.6 or lower lenses are just not as practical as a good 2.8 lens. If you can afford the Canon and don't mind the black and white stripes, by all means get it, otherwise, get this one, you will be very pleased that you did.
One of these days, i'll upload some pics.
So, why consider a third party lens at all? Well, if you're here you know it's because of the magic of f/2.8. All of that glass gives you twice the light of an f/4. We're also not all made of money. $1,000 extra is a lot of coin for a lens, especially when your livelihood doesn't depend on it. There are definite advantages to the Canon (or Nikkor) brands. Metal builds. Weather resistance (not waterproof). Guaranteed forward compatibility. Peace of mind. Oh yes, and that red ring for Canon shooters.
That said, I've come to like the Sigma brand as of late. They're upping their game and producing some of the very best macro lenses on the market, and a huge range of UWA lenses for crop-sensor cameras. I've had great luck with my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM and Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD . Since I'm lacking a good lens with range and speed, a fast telephoto seemed in order. I honestly invested in Canon to own one of those gray beauties, but wanted to keep an open mind (and less open wallet) when it came to a new lens.
So, I read every single review I could lay my hands on. I even brushed up on my German! I asked people on photo forums for every thought and photo they'd post. In Europe, this lens is garnering rave reviews, winning awards and placing incredibly well in comparisons. In the end of course, it comes down to "going rogue" or sticking with the known commodity. Emboldened by my recent experience with the Sigma 17-50, I took the plunge.
That said, this lens is far and away better than I ever imagined. When it comes to reviews and reviewers, the top of the line lenses by Nikkor and Canon have obviously jaded everyone. The bar is set incredibly high. Remember that when Sigma introduced this lens, the first generation lenses were the target. And here, Sigma succeeds in spades. It's only when compared to the second generation it has some shortcomings - but it also succeeds over its competition in places.
The optical traits of this lens are complex, and when examining detailed MTF charts and other data, I'd agree with a lot of it. But where the rubber meets the road so to speak - optically this lens simply stands up to comparisons, period. I was fully expecting to see softness at f2.8, weak edges and poor contrast. Well, if you have to A/B photos with the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II at 100% to see the difference (and you do), then the Sigma has already won the first round. Seriously, this lens is quite sharp at f2.8 (especially from 100-200, which is at odds with some review MTF charts), and then at f4 competes with pretty much anything. The big weakness I've found exists around f2.8-5.6 at 70mm, and that's red CA on distant (<50') contrasting objects. The flick of a slider, or using the lens's filter in Adobe RAW or Lightroom solves it. Really, I'm guilty of pixel peeping in the first degree, and scan around my shots at 100% far too often. Not only is this completely unrealistic, but extremely gratifying when I can't find anything to complain about! Once you move beyond 70mm - say 135 up this lens is amazing. Photos of flowers at f2.8 reveal every single hair on a honey bee, and all the little crystals of pollen on its legs and the flower stamens. And it gets sharper from there? Wow.
Okay, optically this thing rocks. But really, where are the shortcuts? I'll continue to outline the characteristics of the lens in sections to give you my thoughts (such as they are) of tradeoffs and omissions.
IQ:
The lens is sharp. Some very minor softness is exhibited at the edges, and more in the very corners of an image depending on focal length. According to charts, there are certain focal lengths + apertures where the center is actually softer than mid-frame, which is sharper than center frame in other places. As I mentioned, it has complex optical traits. Have I personally found those places and said "oh, look!"? No. I'm still looking though! There's a lot more to a good lens than sharpness.
Color and contrast is wonderful. If you own any Sigma lenses, the color has the same warmish cast - which I've come to prefer over Canon's slightly crisp-cool blue coloration. Care needs to be given working wide open however, and attention given to your histogram. I find it a bit more sensitive here than my 17-50 f2.8, but just a bit.
Distortion is negligible. I've already mentioned CA, which is one of the few things that annoy me with any lens. It's absent for most of the range and apertures. If you point the lens at the sun, you will get flaring. It's most noticeable again at 70. I don't believe it's any worse than any of the other 70-200 fast lenses; it's going to happen with that many elements in a lens. Shooting in the general direction of the sun poses no issues. Unlike many telephotos or poorly coated lenses, work against reflective and bright objects is not a problem.
Bokeh, it's marvelous! This really rivals some of my older primes. This is something I've personally always deemed secondary for image quality in a zoom. But when you've got it, it's noticed and appreciated. Foreground and background images blur wonderfully, you can just see that plane of focus simply slicing through your image. There's no etching, busyness or vortex effect. Light reflections are frosty and shimmer, just hanging in space. Colors blend effortlessly. The end result is far better than I ever expected here.
Low light performance is great. There's something that's really hard to pin down, but it's more than just romanticized. Yet it's accurate. I was taking photos of flowers in our backyard just at dusk, the sun was down but in the summer evening the light was wonderful. Somehow this lens caught it. I was floored. I took pictures the following evening with 2 other lenses and this one, and got the same effect only from the Sigma. Somehow it just gets the color of the light, and you just know when it was. You can feel the dense air and stillness of the moment. Simply magical. Could you get the same effect in PP? Probably, especially if you had a shot from this lens to compare it to! That sounds silly, doesn't it? Indoors, you can capture images with only the slightest light coming in from the windows. Here again, by not having to crank up the ISO, and dropping the shutter speed, the ambiance of the moment is yours for the taking. This is all enhanced by the creamy dreamy bokeh of the wide-open lens and the abilities of the OS. This lens will be pushing your creative buttons with a heavy hand.
Breathing
Just a word about lens breathing. When I purchased the Sigma, I was also testing the Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD. In comparing the 2 lenses (which I did heavily for a few days), the close distance difference was quite noticeable on the Sigma. This may or may not drive you nuts. To me, if what I see is what I get, I'm fine with it. But, if you compare the shrinkage to another similar or fixed lens, be aware that you'll lose reach. It seems most noticeable at 70mm, but is apparent throughout the range. To offer an unscientific guess, I'd say it's about a 20mm loss. I believe it's in good company with the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II being about the same in that regard. Not many mention this, but it is a weakness of the lens and is worth noting.
OS
Sigma's Optical Stabilization is very good, but not amazing. Smooth handling pays off, sloppy shooting is not entirely compensated for. I have easily managed shots down to 1/12, but alternately, have had some with obvious motion blur at even 1/60. I have not used setting 2 for panning yet - but will insert my thoughts when I give that one a spin. I'm quite sure a lot of what I'm experiencing has to do with the weight of the lens. Other telephotos I've used seem better, but they also weigh a fraction of the Sigma. When initiated, you'll detect a slight jump in the viewfinder, and a very subtle "clunk" as it engages. Complaints about "noisy OS" should be taken with a huge grain of salt. The OS remains engaged for about 2 seconds and shuts off with a similar clunk. While 3.15 pounds of lens doesn't seem like much at first, fatigue does set in after a while. Consider a good monopod or similar if dedicated shooting over a period of time is anticipated.
Unfortunately for Sony and Pentax users there is no version without OS available. Read more ›
Here are my thoughts on this lens after extensive shooting throughout the day.
Bokeh : 5 Stars
This lens has incredible bokeh, at 9 aperture blades, it really blows the background quite nicely with beautiful bokeh balls. I love how it really brings out my subject.
Construction Quality: 4 Stars
The construction quality on this lens is good but not excellent. The overall feel is solid, the barrel of the lens is made of hard plastic. The focus and zoom rings have the same textured feel of the O.G sigma brand. It looks a bit awkward but unique at the same time. Even though the construction of the lens is made of plastic, it feels durable and not something you have to baby.
Optical Stabilization: 3 Stars
This is too bad. For the extra amount you are paying for this lens vs the non OS version, I really don't think the extra 400 dllrs is really worth it. I tried both modes and none of them really make you say OH WOW! I've had some image stabilized lenses made by Canon and I did not get that excitement as I had with those lenses. Let's just say for comparisons sake, the "Optical Stabilization" is half of that in a IS in a L lens, still useful to a certain degree though.
Auto Focus: 5 Stars
The first thing I did with the lens is test the auto focus, I wanted to make sure that it is in sync with the auto focusing points of my Canon body. It kept up quite nicely and it didn't search for my focus points even during low light conditions within reason. I really enjoy the focusing mechanism on this lens albeit a bit on the loud side.
Image Quality: 5 Stars
For the cost of the lens, the elements within it provide a great end result on your images. Sure, there's some miniscule CA in some focal ranges but you really need to blow the image up to see such artifacting. The images that I have taken thus far are great and I have no complaints in this category. Sharp images, great contrast along with the bokeh at 2.8 and it will make you smile.
This is my short review of the lens, take it for what its worth and I hope to see this lens in the hands of those who are skeptical on the Sigma brand. Be a pioneer, this lens will be a great additional to the serious amateur, not for the professional though - stay with your white lenses and red rings.
I wanted to see for myself.I'm vey pleased with the lens.I have had no problem with it. Read more
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