Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality Optics from Sigma, 16 Dec 2008
First bear in mind that this lens is the mk.II variant of the original, so when reading reviews on other sites please look out for the 'II' designation to be sure you're looking at the right lens (as we all know the first incarnation had its flaws) I'll briefly talk through a couple of areas that I feel important about this lens and list them below:
Build:
Let it be known that this lens is built like a tank, it feels very solid and its also quite heavy, but there is definitely a feel of quality when you use it. The focusing and zoom rings are nicely damped and large enough to be used comfortably. They each have rubber grips that never slip, and have good durability too. The EX finish on the lens is nice, it is hard wearing, and takes abuse quite well, but please don't abuse the lens.
Optics:
This lens has a lovely bokeh, very creamy and soft, and when stopped down it can be tack sharp. At f/2.8 it is soft, and the depth of field is like a razor, stopped down to f/8 or so for portraits is a dream, but I would never go further than f/11 because the quality drops from there (not a bad thing though) I found the sharpest results to be at 100mm f/4 and I use this for portraits as its my favourite setting. There isn't much CA, and hardly any distortion on either end of the zoom scale. All in all, the image quality is very good.
Features: The autofocus is silent and fast, even in continuous auto tracking focus mode it hardly ever drops out of focus and has to hunt, this is really a good lens in that respect. The shorter focusing range of 1metre is great for macro, and you can resolve a lot of detail at 200mm. The lens comes with a really nice pouch, quite big but very padded. It also comes with a lens hood that is nice and deep and well built (although plastic) and there is a tripod ring too (which is metal)
Notes: There isn't any weather-proofing on the lens, and there certainly isnt any image stabilization, but if you're sniffing at these aspects, you're looking at doubling the cost of the lens by going for the pro Canon or Nikon range...
I hope this helps, any questions feel free to contact me.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A good option for non-Nikon and Canon users, 20 Jun 2009
Nikon and Canon users are spoilt for choice when it comes to the range of lenses they can choose from. As a Pentax shooter the choice is a lot less. This Sigma lens give me the sort of quality I was after at what I consider to be a reasonable cost.
Performance of any lens at the extremes of the range will never be as good as in the middle but I have found images captured through this lens far superior to any kit lens and it gives Pentax a very good run for the money. f2.8 is a useful tool to have even if you don't use it all the time.
Build quality is good and solid and the focus is very quiet.
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0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doubtful purchase...., 10 Jun 2009
I should say I have returned this product, unused, as a result of - after I thought I'd done my research - reading two further reviews (not on Amazon, but on photo sites) that suggested variable quality and perfomance from this Sigma lens. In fairness, as far as I could tell, the construction and condition of this product was A1; delivery/service was fine; it's just that the two reviews I subsequently read made me wonder if this was really a trade up from the existing Nikkor 70-210 f4 lens I had or whether if I needed wider aperture I should save up for the Nikkor f2.8 which has blinding reviews. I suggest if considering this lens you review all the options first, including whether you need f2.8, what's available s/hand, and I'm afraid I probably did not. Plus there's an underlying feeling that you pay for what you get - there is a reason Nikkor lens attract a premium; but be warned it's a hefty one.
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