Customer Reviews

Sigma 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS APO RF Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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

 

 

This lens is a great alternative to the Canon 100-400IS. The advantages over the Canon are:

-Twist zoom vs. the Canon pushh/pull zoom (personal preference)

-Less conspicuous black lens (versus Canon white lens--again a personal preference)

-20mm wider (VERY useful)

-and of course ~$400 cheaper!

The Sigma does lack HSM, so it is slower to focus (and louder) than the Canon or the Bigma, but once you have a target locked in your sights it keeps up with most birds/planes/cars. You will notice the slower AF most when going from close to far subjects (and visa versa).

I have used the Bigma (Sigma 50-500) and would recommend this over the Bigma for everything except for people who truly need the 500mm (birders especially). The OS (Sigma's Optical Stabilization) is truly amazing on the 80-400. When it kicks on at 400mm and you see your subject hold steady, well it's amazing. I've been able to get handheld shots at 1/125 at 400mm. You CANNOT do that with the Bigma. :-)

This is a heavy lens, but so are the 100-400, Bigma, and anything else in this class. Seriously, it's very heavy. Seriously... :-) If weight is an issue, check out Canon's 70-300IS. You'll lose 100mm at the long end, but you'll save a GOOD couple of pounds.

Having said that, I have no problems hiking around with this lens for 6+ hours (though I'm stronger than the average person, but not a muscle-head). The Sigma 80-400OS coupled with the Canon 17-85IS makes an amazing combination, and makes you ready for anything you may encounter.

The Sigma EX 80-400 provides the same optical clarity and sharpness as the Canon 100-400L lens, but for $400 less. The image stabilization works beautifully; I've taken handheld shots at 400mm with a shutter speed of 1/100 - try THAT with an unstabilized lens! AF is a little noisy, and is said to be slower than the Canon, but by all accounts it's not much, and the only time it's really noticeable is when trying to change focus from a very close object to one far away. And since you can use manual focus at any time, it's easy to give the focus ring a quick nudge with your thumb or finger, to lessen the distance the AF has to move the glass internally.

I have had my Sigma EX 80-400 lens for about a month, and am very pleased with it. It's extremely sharp and clear, and provides good clarity even at wider apertures. The zoom is smooth (although it's hard to zoom from one end to the other without repositioning your hand), and the image quality is excellent. It is a heavy lens, but not too heavy to carry around. It comes with its own padded nylon carry-bag and a lightweight but very functional lens hood, and the tripod mounting collar doubles as a nice carry-handle for the lens and camera when not mounted on a tripod.

Highly recommended!

I purchased this lens in lieu of the Canon 100-400 L OS, to save a little money. It wasn't a bad decision, but I will qualify it with the following note. I've used this lens on the Canon 30D crop sensor and on the 5D full-frame sensor. This lens works much better on the crop sensor. You'll get more telephoto and less distortion. On the full-frame 5D, the lens is at its limits on vignetting most of the time and I've found the results to be mostly unacceptable. It produces reasonable sharp shot and the OS works very well. It is a slow focuser though. Build quality is good and solid, though a bit heavy it isn't difficult to carry around and use. Final thoughts...if you are shooting a crop sensor camera, this is an excellent walk-around lens with good range and good results. If you're shooting full-frame, I'd avoid it.

I was considering both the Canon 100-400 and this lens. I opted for the Sigma for cost and I very happy with it. Though it's not a light lens, with the OS, I can hand-hold it even with a 1.4 extender in daylight. I prefer the ring zoom over the Canon push-pull because all of my other lens have it.

Very pleased with this lens.. espcially like the OS for hand held shooting. Photos are sharp. Debated betwwen this lens and the Canon 100-400mm... Selected the Sigma based on reviews and cost savings of $450. Works well with my Kenko 1.5 teleconverter for a Zoom of 600mm though the auto focus is slow with the Kenko unit.

I use this lens with these cameras, all Canon EOS: 30D, 40D, 5d Mk II. It works extremely well with all of them. There is a slight vignetting with the 5d Mk II, most observable when a circular polarizer is used at max polarization. Otherwise images are of very high quality. You can see some images here:

http://lajuntablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/mccainpalin-rally.html

These were with the 40D from about 125 feet.

and here:

http://lajuntablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/dnc-protest-march.html

also with the 40D at distances of 50 feet to a couple of city blocks.

I've used this lens for the last 4 years and taken about 2500 photos with it. It's been used on an EOS 3, a 10D, a 20D, a 5D, and a 400D (which looks quite funny, you can hardly see the camera). It takes a very good photo and the image stabilisation is very helpful, for me about 2 stops. Focus is a bit slow compared to USM but bearable. It is heavy, but so is any other zoom in this range. I would buy it again without hesitation (unless I become really wealthy). It extends a long way when zoomed and with the lens hood on it looks really big.