Sigma HSM APO AF 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG Lens

[Ewannawe]

Anyone have any experience of this lens? http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog/pro ... 56-dg-lens

I'm looking for wildlife zoom and just can't afford a good prime, but think this might be an acceptable alternative.

[David Kilpatrick]

Used it on full frame Nikon D3 and it's a superb lens, very good value for money right now and the Sony mount versions have just started to reach shops at slightly under £600 in the UK.

David

[Tony Meredith]

Ewan, I've been considering this lens myself. I'd be interested to know how it compares to the Sony 70-400G in terms of focus speed/accuracy and IQ. In Australia the Sigma is slightly less than half the price of the Sony.

[Ewannawe]

Thanks for the response David. I'm rather puzzled by a current e-bay sale

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0356396090

..it looks a bit tatty but could just be a really bad picture. Maybe purchased overseas, I believe the lens first made its appearance around Jan 2008? I've e-mailed seller to ask if he can confirm date of manufacture.

[David Kilpatrick]

No HSM Sigmas for Sony predate photokina 2008 as far as I know, so if the lens is older, it may simply not be HSM - which is a big negative. But if it is HSM, it could be six months old or so, and the Zen finish gets dusty or handled pretty easily - also his pix are overlit, making it look worse. I'd check with the vendor that this really is HSM.

NB: the standard teleconverter he has for sale does not work with HSM.

David

[alphaomega]

I considered this lens before I eventually settled on the Tamron 70-300 on account of weight. As I recall this Sigma weighs in at 1.640 Kg. Some of this weight is because of optical stabiliser, which is of no use to me. I simply needed a lighter lens hence the Tamron, which is doing fine for my purposes. David Kilpatrick seems to think that the Sigma performs well. I wonder if by switching off OS some of the disadvantages of the moving lens parts can be avoided and thus the lens will generally perform better on as Sony or Pentax body using in body stabilisation? Generally I think that Sony owners are getting a raw deal from Sigma being forced to purchase Sigma/Canon/Nikon lenses with a Sony mount and paying for lens OS and extra weight.

[harvey]

Generally I think that Sony owners are getting a raw deal from Sigma being forced to purchase Sigma/Canon/Nikon lenses with a Sony mount and paying for lens OS and extra weight.

I had a look at the Sigma web pages yesterday and the impliciation is that there is no OS in Sony/Pentax
versions although the weight is the same:

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/lenses/ ... -400mm.htm

Can anyone compare this to the much more expensive Sony 70-400mm for the 120-400mm range.

Harvey

[Greg Beetham]

If you have a look at the Sigma site, it's a tad inconclusive what the exact position is with this lens with regard too the A-mount, they claim it's a [new] lens, whether there was an older version replaced by the current version, or, this is an entirely new lens, is not clear, thing is, the individual page on the lens has it available for SIGMA, CANON, NIKON, SONY/MINOLTA, PENTAX, http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses ... avigator=3 BUT the lens chart lists it as unavailable for the SONY mount http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_chart.asp.
Also the individual lens page has appendix notes such as *1 OS function is not available....perhaps, reading between the lines, that might mean that they forgot to put the asterisk after the SONY/MINOLTA notation, and it might be a bit of a gamble whether the lens (if it is indeed available for SONY) actually has HSM in the SONY version.
Greg

ps. Ha, I see Harvey beat me too it, while I was typing.

[David Kilpatrick]

This lens does not have OS in the Sony mount. The 18-250mm I'm testing at the moment does, and I can say in advance it really adds nothing. I have done comparisons between the OS and SSS, and I would prefer the SSS option any time. Shirley refused to take the lens to Venice because of its weight, and the disconcerting image shift when composing caused by the OS. She tried it with OS on, and off (with SSS). She has not tried OS before, unlike most Canon users who are used to the swimming image thing. She didn't like it at all and much preferred the unstabilised viewfinder.

Technically, the OS image even in very easy conditions seems to be softer than the 'parked' image with SSS. The OS group movement does seem to decentre, or take away some sharpness.

David

[Ewannawe]

These are good points that are being raised. You are paying for something that is not needed and further more may well just be disabled in the A-mount version.

So that leads me to still looking... 9hrs left on this one..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0354339833

Is that one of the hit and miss Sigmas, or a decent enough lens?

[KevinBarrett]

So that leads me to still looking... 9hrs left on this one..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0354339833

Is that one of the hit and miss Sigmas, or a decent enough lens?

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=397

It's scored a 4.10 on dyxum, which isn't great, and most of that is the build rating of 4.83. Color and Flare are below 3.9, ouch. Open-ended reviews from dyxum are all over the place. I think it's current bid of 150 pounds is fair, but there are already three other bidders contesting it, fighting tooth and nail with 11 bids so far.

[David Kilpatrick]

Take a look at my report:

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2009/03/0 ... ck-rechip/

This is the same lens (the later APO version looks quite different - earlier standard versions came in two or three different finishes, including gunmetal and khaki). The vendor does not say whether the lens has been rechipped, but in order to autofocus, it must have been.

David

[Ewannawe]

Maybe I should just consider a 2x converter for my beercan? What would that do to full zoom sharpness?

I'm just getting back into photography after a long lay off. I started off with a Zenith EM with standard 50mm and dabbled a bit with home darkroom, that was 30 years ago. Quite honestly I'm a bit lost with all the new technology and terminologies but am picking things up quite quickly I think. I'd love one of the top end zooms, (wouldn't we all), but at the end of the day I favour convenience too, so the weight of the lens is also an issue (aside from the price!), I could spend hours in a hide but prefer to wander and look for opportunities, such as these two taken with the 70-210 minolta, around full zoom and handheld.

[Dr. Harout]

Beautiful shots, Ewan.