Sigma F/2.8 70-200mm

I've heard it is very well made (being EX) and all metal body. I also heard its incredibly sharp, but the HSM isn't that fast and it can sometimes hunt in low light. If you need fast focus, go for USM.
 
The F4L is such a sharp zoom lens, if not the sharpest L zoom, it's awesome and such a bargain. at this price it'd be silly not to :D i love mine
 
I had the Sigma f2.8 a year or so back but had to sell it :(

The lens itself was built really well. Felt solid and was comfy to use. If anything, i found the images a bit soft but i remember reading somewhere that this can be the case with some of the sigma's :confused:

Re the focusing, i don't recal it being as fast as my Canon USM lenses. ALso, if i remember correctly, the Zoom positioning can be a pain due to the Tripod mount.

For the money though, can't go wrong! Infact, i've recently thought about buying another one of them!
 
Last edited:
Sounds like the concensus is that the Sigma is softer, but better in low light, the Canon is sharper but worse in low light?

Realistically, how much difference does the extra couple of stops make to shooting indoors? I hate using the flash, but I want nice sharp pics and can't afford a Canon F/2.8 70-200 :/
 
well naturally the sigma is going to be better in low light, this is not one of the canons strong points being f4. what body are you using? if i had a 30d i'd be more than happy shooting iso3200 in low light at f4
 
9designs2 said:
F2.8 to F4 is One stop, so rest ISO setting from 100 to 200 etc and problem solved !!!
Click to expand...

Is it really that simple ?

Im also looking for a lense to use with a high shutter speed so light is an issue.

Honest question
 
nolimit said:
starscream, if you have 5D now don't be afraid to pump the ISO upto 1600 indoor! you will still get great results.
Click to expand...

Oh I know ;)

If the 5D is good enough to shoot indoors with the Canon 70-200mm I'll go with that. It's just that even though the 5D is amazing in low light, to shoot with at 200mm it's going to need a high shutter speed and I'm checking that it will be able to cope without needing to as open as F/2.8
 
IS the Sigma 2.8 at both ends of the lens. I mean is it 2.8 at 70 and maybe more at 200mm. The F4 is F4 throughout the whole soom range regardless and tbh the L would be my choice. You could knock the ISO up on the 5D and lower the shutter speed below 250 and still get some good results. Whats the point of well exposed pictures if they are not in focus. The F4 in my mind id the way to go.
 
TBH for me the one I would choose would be the 70-200 f/4 IS, although that could be over your budget. The IS would be a godsend, I think maybe more so than the extra stop. :)
 
I have the Sigma and I find it an excellent lens for the money.

I do a lot of shoots at my swimming club and have found the low light capability outstanding.

Here is one of my favourites it was shot with my brothers 20D at 1/1000 sec, f2.8 at 168mm. It is straight from the camera just resized.

Obviously you could present it much better with some post processing, but as a basic raw image I think it shows how good the lens can be.

141_4199%20(Medium).JPG


Here is another showing that when you can get a bit more light on the subject the sharpness is more than acceptable.

This one is at 70mm and 1/800 sec at F5, again straight from the camera with no post processing except resize.

142_4298%20(Medium).JPG
 
I have the sigma and it's a 1st class example, it's razor sharp and the bokeh is smooth as butter :)
I have the older EX DG (the one before the macro)

Wide open @ f/2.8
IMG_3544small.jpg


This is with a cheapo 1.5x t-con
IMG_6532copy.jpg


As good as it is I'm thinking of selling it at some point to get the Canon IS version purely for the IS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom