logo

Info

Reviewbucket.co.uk scanned the internet for Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II reviews.
You can find all Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II reviews and ratings on this page.

Read the reviews.

Analysis

For Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II, 13 customer reviews collected from 1 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.4.

Detailed seller stats;
Amazon has 13 customer reviews and the average score is 4.4. Go to this seller.

Detail

Click to list all products in this category.

Similar Items

2.11.2010

I photograph bands, among other things, in often dark and badly lit pubs and where the difference between focussing on the microphone, guitar strings but not the face can make/break a picture. I need a lens to look serious, but not flashy, to compete with the press boys (& girls). Without wanting to sound self important, people do realise you've got a job to do and give you the space if you look the part and have the kit. It's like a taxi - you expect and are reassured if a decent and safe vehicle turns up.I've removed the tripod collar and though it's not the shake reduction model, I can handhold at 200mm at 1/50 sec, slow enough to get a drummer's sticks blurred.It handles a dream on my D700; images are bitingly sharp and can withstand cropping. That bright viewfinder really penetrates dark corners of venues and in such confines the 3x zoom range really pulls you into expressions on faces. Shallow depth of field at f2.8, 3.2 or f4 can really isolate your subject, making them more 3D and the lighting can look really effective as it gets defocussed quickly behind them. Zoom back out to include the musicians.In pattern and nature shots the versatility of a shallow depth of field is a big creative bonus. It focusses quite close - down to 1metre. It's also a superb portrait lens as you can keep a variable but comfortable distance from your subject.The layout of the focal lengths is in small, simple white numbers on the matt black of the barrel and embellished in gold is "EX Sigma", their top range, as is "Apo" (for apochromatic) which is Sigma's tried and trusted use of special glasses that help focus all three colours of the light spectrum at the same point. You may not know this, but they don't normally and this anomaly gets worse as the focal length increases.The lovely, ribbed rubber (& chunky) zoom and focus rings are reassuring and to me, in the right place - focus at the front and the narrower zoom nearer the camera. I've now developed a way that I can keep my right index finger on the shutter, my left hand fingers on the focus and fine zooming, for composition, with the top edge of the left thumb, all at the same time. It does sound 'all fingers and thumbs' and only works in practice but the balance with the D700 makes it all fluid and practical. The actions are nicely weighted and smooth - certainly less stiff than my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 EX HSM, whilst IF (internal focus) means that the lens doesn't change in physical length whilst zooming, so zoom creep (either shooting up into the sky, or downward when carrying) cannot be a problem.A/F is immediate, silent and largely very effective. It can be fooled (or the camera can) by high contrast objects (such as those microphones and guitar strings) and so I prefer to follow the action, ready and wait for my shot and fine tune the focus myself. Most pro's do the same. It's about feeling and being in, control.The Nikon equivalent might well be one of the best made but the cost, now is round about three times what I paid for this Sigma. Admittedly, that is with their VR (vibration reduction) model, the Sigma equivalent OS (Optical Stabilisation) is around double. That is serious money indeed and well out of reach for all but the well-heeled or successful professionals. But this Sigma is still such a good all-round performer and (comparatively) good value - you get a lot of good glass for the cash - that people will still want it if one needs to sell.The deep, well made, petal-shaped hood is effective, except if a low sun shines right down the barrel - causing a lot of ghosting, but any long lens will suffer that. A decent, well padded lens pouch with shoulder strap supplied as standard means good portability. The 77mm filter size might seem big but many lenses use this, especially modern, high spec zooms. I use a simple Tiffen 'protector' filter, which is plain glass and currently only £14 on Amazon.As more pics made with this lens get into my local paper than any other lens I've used makes me wonder how I coped (or not!) before getting this beauty. It instantly became essential kit.
Read more..

2.11.2010

I have owned this lens for about 9 months now. Overall I am very pleased with it. Build quality is very good with a solid well made robust lens body. Image quality it pin sharp, I have got 3 customer images loaded on this page. As yet I have no negative things to say about it. It has been used in several non camera friendly situations and has yet has been 100% reliable. Just a small moan I have got small hands but I still find the finger grips on the tripod mount a little tight to get my fingers into. This makes it difficult to hold whilst using as a hand held camera ( Canon 7D) I just hold the lens body and despite its weight it is well balanced.I feel if you were doing a lot of hand held fast work ie motor sports or air shows you might struggle with it. On a good quality tripod is is just fantastic as the pod mounts onto the lens body. Another nice lens from Sigma at about half the price of the Canon lense. This lens is not for everyone due to its weight. I carried my kit through the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim after 20 miles I was regretting bringing it along. After 50 miles I was sorry I had even thought of bringing it along and was a little sick of it. Comes with a nice carry case and a very good lens hood. As say not for every one but I love my lens.
Read more..

14.1.2012

Received my sigma 70-200 f2.8 macro lens on thursday all the way from Germany as the product appears to be discontinued and difficult to find here in England. Upon opening I was impressed with the sheer size and weight of the lens however I knew what to expect with regards to its spec. As a previous reviewer pointed out it is built like a tank and has a very high quality feel to it and when coupled to a D5100 the lens kinda dwarfs the smaller set of Nikon dslr's (3100,5100) however the photos speak for themselves, at 2.8 the images I have taken are slightly soft but stopped down to 3.5 (my prefered aperture for this lens) still gives a nice creamy bokeh.I have no problems through the focal lengths except I am not entirely convinced with the 'macro' feature which tends to hunt quite a lot on my lens. On the whole i would recommend this lens to any keen amateur that wants to progress in photography ,the reason i went for this over a Nikon telezoom (55-300, 70-300) was mainly due to the constant f2.8 right through, which gives more options in low light situations. My personal advice is to Skip the Nikon kit zooms and front the extra £100 on this cracking set of glass!
Read more..

1.1.2012

This lens is stunning. I've had it for a few days now and have tested it across an urban environment and am well satisfied with it. Many others give a detailed breakdown of performance, from my perspective I've never felt happier with a lens. It 'feels' right in the hand - some might say heavy - I'd prefer robust and well constructed. I'm an amateur with several published photos and it's more than adequate for the quality that I need. I do a lot of sports photography so usually shoot at such a speed that OS isn't an issue, meaning I can make considerable savings by purchasing this lens rather than the later OS system. I can't rate this lens highly enough and would recommend it to anyone.Delivery was quick and hassle free.I can only commend this company for the speed with which they provided the lens, and the way they kept me in touch with picking and shipping through personalised emails.
Read more..

6.10.2012

I was torn between sticking with the canon or going with this lens. A friend of mine has one for his Nikon and loved it. I figured worse case I could send it back.This lens does everything I could have hoped for. I shoot a lot of sporting events and when I am outside I can use almost any lens, but once I move to a indoor event I need to have the f2.8 to make up for the poor lighting conditions.I have had this lens for almost a year now and am still impressed with the pictures it produces... Third party lens seem to be the way to go price wise and now with this type of quality I doubt I will buy another L lens from Canon.Save yourself some cash and add this to your bag.

25.3.2011

Useful lens for the money: used mainly for sports shots at Athletics and Rugby. Images really crisp 70 to 150, in most conditions at f2.8. Stop down to f4 in low light for long zoom shots and images still great. Frequently use the mount on a monopod, and find the quick release to switch between portrait and landscape handy.After a couple of months use the Lens started to exhibit bizarre behaviour on autofocus: Sigma email support fantastic and quickly diagnosed an issue with the lens (and not user error) so returned the lens, and they replaced the autofocus motor under warranty, so back and working really quickly. 10/10 for customer care.

20.6.2009

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.

5.2.2010

Origanally I was going to get the Canon 70-200 f2.8 but then I saw this little guy. Build quality is great and so is the picture quality. I was going to knock a star off for it not having any image stabilization but then it does have a fantastic minimum focas point of only 1 metre which in my eyes seals the deal. Also it comes complete with the tripod adapter ring and hood which I believe are extras on the Canon. Ok perhaps the Canon lenses have better optics, and look a bit more up market but they cost twice as much. So basically what a bargin........

10.3.2011

The lens is optically very good in the wide end up to 100 mm and I love to use it for all kinds of subjects from portrait to landscape. The telephoto end is soft in the corners and shows noticable color aberration with full aperture but stopping down to 8.0 gives good results. Another problem is front-focussing but fortunately this can be coped with by setting the focus micro adjustments to a full +20.

9.7.2009

great lens at an amazing price (compared to close to double for the canon 'L' equivilent) sharp as a tack, solid build, great range and very fast.my one complaint is the sigma coating they use on all of their lenses which gets dirty quickly and i awful to clean.Highly reccomended for anyone who is looking to expand their collection of lenses with a high quality telephoto that doesn't cost the earth

3.4.2014

I have had this lens for a few years now on a D7000 but when I changed to a D800 I'm so glad I didn't sell it. Great for studio photography. I use it for wildlife, studio models/portraits and shooting small products .

List All Products

Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy