Discussion of lenses, brand or independent, uses and merits
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As the last few lenses move out from those Ritz Camera outlets that are closing soon, a few Sony-mount deals popped up. Aside from the real steal (a Quantaray/Sigma 18-200 for under US$150), I also picked up a Sigma 28-90D Macro. It's not really qualified, but it goes to about 1:2.3 so it's more of a macro than I currently own.. but I cannot find any info about this lens. I see it at Labelle Cameras marked (IMP) like an import? It's f/3.5-5.6, weighs about 250g and seems to do decent work from what I can tell.. especially for the price of US$10 and change (a co-worker says it's $8 and change now, 90% discount). Worse still it's being sold in boxes that say 28-80, and my copy came with a warranty card for a 70-300 but it really is a Sigma. Maybe it's too old to show up anywhere, even on Sigma's discontinued page? It's just a D, not DC or DG.
Does anyone have any info on this lens? I don't expect miracles, but I'll run it against my Minolta 35-105N to see how it shapes up.. once I'm done comparing the 18-200 against my Tamron 18-250!
I have the Quantaray version of that lens. It was bundled with my Maxxum 5 and it did well enough for me on film. I ran a test on it beside my Tamron 17-50 and Sony 18-70 at f/8 and 28, 35, and 50mm focal lengths.
The results (without uploading nine boring pictures) show that it's as soft as the Sony in the corners, and about as sharp as the Tamron in the center. Likely due to its FF design, it controls CA marginally better than the Sony. Barrel distortion was on par with the Sony--surprising because I thought the Sony would do a little better than the Quantaray at its extreme wide angle.
One bonus I found in my investigations: The Sigma/Quantaray 28-90 has nine aperture blades which, combined with the close-focus ability, makes for some big beautiful bokeh, even at f/5.6.
Like a lot of liquidation sales, the good stuff tends to go early, when the discount just isn't that great. I did pick up one of these lenses at $19, and thought it was a deal then! I figure I can treat it as a macro lens for the few times I need to get that close. The box and manual are marked 28-80mm, but the lens is clearly marked 28-90mm. (If you look at a photo of the 28-80, it sure looks like it's the same.) Mine has the full 8 pins -- I read that some only have 5.
It seems sharp enough, and handy for doing macros! But as for bokeh, I've gotten some funky bokeh out of it. Not impressed by that, but in macro mode, it seems better, maybe.
My store also had some Quantaray 70-300s, but they were not derived from any Sigma that I recognized.. probably old models getting dusty in a warehouse. They were in the upper $40 range at last report! I tested one, it was snappy to focus but I wasn't really into it ($65 when I looked) - I may regret passing on it, but I have chosen not to. If it had looked like the Tamron Di I'd have grabbed at least one. I considered myself lucky enough with the 18-200 and 28-90. The 18-200 is very competitive with my 18-250, other than range I give it a slight edge. A very pleasant surprise!
I also got some other deals there, other than the Sigma.
I picked up a 2x teleconverter -- only 50% off, which doesn't sound much compared to some of the deals near the end, but cheap enough for me to call it a good deal. Even though I tried it in the store, I was a bit hesitant, but it turns out that it's pretty decent. Better than I expected, although, I haven't been able to give it a real workout (as it needs a lot of light).
The 28-90 seems like a particularly good deal, though. Hard to beat that for the money, even if the quality is marginal. Really, I don't mind the plasticky construction -- it's well-built. It's just that some of the photos I've taken don't seem quite right, but then again, others look good and sharp. I need to figure out what is with this lens. (It didn't come with a hood -- maybe it could use one?)
I also picked up some misc. odds and ends. With only 2 days left, the deals are really crazy, it's just that there's not much left. No more lenses, no more filters, not much of anything. I got a combo bluetooth and cardreader for $2 -- formerly $70 or something crazy.
Mine did have a hood, lucky me! I will need to check for bokeh issues - I was surprised to see after your post that my copy has nine blades, so I would expect decently soft backgrounds. I guess I'm done testing the 18-200 so I can move on to this lens.
It's so odd to see a plastic mount painted silver to appear as metal: good try Sigma!
but it really is a Sigma. Maybe it's too old to show up anywhere, even on Sigma's discontinued page? It's just a D, not DC or DG.
If it had looked like the Tamron Di I'd have grabbed at least one. I considered myself lucky enough with the 18-200 and 28-90. The 18-200 is very competitive with my 18-250, other than range I give it a slight edge. A very pleasant surprise!