Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good lens for semi-pro medium resolution, May 26, 2008
I agonized over several super telephotos before committing to this lens. I am a seasoned photographer and, after two decades of serious amateur photography, I am beginning to sell my work.
My previous review of this lens jumped the gun a bit. After having the opportunity to give it a work out, I have to modify the review.
If you are using an unforgiving sensor, such as the 5D, this may not be the lens for you. For cropped frame cameras (i.e., 20D) this serves as a useful extension to a medium range telephoto. If you demand 4MP+ tack sharp images, you will find this lens is superfluous in the bag. At best, it's a medium resolution lens that will work well for web imaging and smaller prints. At medium to small resolution, this lens is a great bargain and is highly functional. I found the autofocus to be sufficiently fast and accurate.
CAVEAT: To get decent imaging with this lens, you need to know how to shoot super-telephoto. This has to be locked down/stabilized. This lens is no different. Extended beyond 300mm, mirror lock up is likely necessary.
The physical feel of this lens reminds me of the old Nikkor 300mm. It's heavy. The lens appears to be well built and rugged.
If I was able to, I would tweak my product rating to 3.5 stars. It's a great buy, but definitely not a pro lens.
|
|
|
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Sharp, Not Matter What, May 31, 2008
Bought this from Amazon at the same time we bought the Sigma 10-20 super wide and the Canon 100MM Macro. Those two lenses are great, this one is a complete dog. Unfortunately, we have been so busy with the other two only recently have we had the need to use this one. The clarity is simply poor at all focal lengths and F stops. Does not matter if hand held, or on a tripod with a wireless flash, it's a dog. Just tried to return it, today is the 31st of May, and Amazon says my return window expired yesterday. Now I'm going to have to deal with Sigma I guess. I'll never buy another Sigma lens.
|
|
|
3.0 out of 5 stars
It all depends..., August 19, 2009
1. This lens can be a great lens, or a headache. Somehow, and probably also because of its weight, this lens can not be easily handheld, and can not produce a reasonable sharp image if not on a reasonable high shutterspeed - nothing below 1/250 at all...
2. Locked down on a solid tripod (I mean a rock solid tripod, and without any mikey mouse battery grip) it will produce tack sharp images and the most beautiful color ever.
3. This is a lens for work in good daylight only because of it's f/4.5 to 5.6 and the fact that you need a higher shutter speed to get sharp pictures. Forget this lens for anything else. Needless to say, that I consider this lens as a dream if used properly. ( For the newcommers..this is a long range lens, flash is not realy relevant).
4. Focusing is smooth and sufficiently fast for most types of work. You will get some search when you get close to 400mm especially if you are not in absolute good light. Up to about 360mm no problem at all even without perfect light. This is an autofocus lens - manual focus is obviously possible but not very convenient because the focus ring is not damped at all which makes exact focusing a bit more difficult and takes the extra second.
5. The build quality is very good and this lens will hold up to some beatings. Good quality and solid build. With it's range of 135-400mm, it is obviously a heavy lens - what do you expect?
Summary: This lens should get two ratings - 2 stars and 5 stars. Used in good light conditions, with adequate shutter speed, or locked down on a solid tripod, this lens will produce amazing quality images - it would deserve 5 stars. Build quality would also deserve 5 stars. Considering especially the inadequate and unrealistic high price, but also the small limitations, this lens deserves two stars only. I therefore mixed my rating and gave three stars. I purchased my lens used (like new) for 400 dollars from a reputable dealer and the lens is definitelly worth the money.
I earn my bread with photography and performance counts, high picture quality counts. This lens delivers!
Lens diameter: 89mm. Lenght: 183mm (at 135mm setting), and 280mm long at 400mm setting, plus an extra long included hood of an additional 76mm. Filter size is 77mm, not rotating. Weight: 1210 grams. It has a nice smooth black color similar to Nikon or Tokina lenses, and not the usual greyish Sigma color. The tripod collar is a must but easy removable if you handholding your camera.
Tips: Don't expect great performance for indoor sport. Use this lens according to it's ability. On a bright sunny day, on the beach, in the snow, good studio light, good daylight anyway - a great performer. Best, locked to a good heavy tripod, mirror locked up, good light, use of a release cable or remote. I use this lens a lot in the studio where light is no problem and I can shoot with a reasonable low shutter speed. This lens performes best between f/8 and f/11 - tack sharp and beautiful color. (I use this lens on a Nikon D200, D300, F90x.)
I know... you want to use this lens for wild life photography and need the 400mm...
In this case, focusing can be a trauma if the lens is set to full 400mm and you shoot into dark bushes. If you don't have good light, the lens will run back and forth and it takes a while of noisy focusing - your bird will fly away... You just have to stay below 360 or 370mm, or switch to manual focus - you will get used to it. Alternative lenses without these minor problems and the same 400mm focus length will cost you about 4000 dollars or more. Look into your valet and make your decission.
It appears like Sigma started to build a great 5000 dollar lens, but then started to cut back to make this lens more affordable. The result is a compromise, giving you a massive focal lenght of 400mm (650mm on a Dx sensor digital camera) without the full prime performance of an expensive pro lens.
You need to decide if the small deficiencies outweigh the capabilities of this lens - obviously considering the price. Before I pay 1400 dollars or more, I spend just a couple of hundred dollars more and buy a pro lens f/2.8, 70-200mm and crop when I need to go longer - but again, I don't shoot wildlife.
I like this lens because I like good colors and sharpness, and I don't mind the little extra work, tripod etc. to get the high performance out of this lens...
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Saving...
of the latest digital cameras and accessories, the most active discussion forums 
