Sigma 70-200 f/2.8

I took the new lens for a test drive at the LA Zoo today. I like. It's significantly cheaper than its Canon and Nikon brethren. Reported to not be as sharp wide open as either, but I shot it at 2.8 quite a bit (cloudy day) and was happy with the results.

It's got a good heft to it, feels much like the canon 70-200. Focus is pretty quick on the 5D mark II (relatively old auto focus system). It's VERY quiet, more so that I remember the canon being. The optical stabilizing system works pretty well. Probably saves a stop at least for hand held shooting. Images are fairly clean in terms of chromatic aberration (this lens uses some FLD glass).

Given the price point, I'm very happy with it. Time to list my canon 70-300DO and start socking away money for the Sigma 120-300 2.8.

Left to right/top to bottom:

157mm, ISO800, f/2.8, 1/1000, manual focus (through thick wires that confused my AF)
200mm, ISO800, f/2.8, 1/200, AF
200mm, ISO800, f/2.8, 1/800, AF
200mm, ISO800, f/2.8, 1/1250, AF
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couple 100% crops for good measure
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Thanks! I'm happy with the decision to get this and the mark II rather than the mark III (body only).

Yep, even a couple feet away at 170mm f2.8 they're still visible.

For reference, My wife took this with the 40D, f/4, only 45mm.
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The fencing almost killed this frame too. He was moving too fast for me to MF, and the wires confused the hell out of the AF. Fortunately he was doing fairly repetitive laps around the enclosure, so I was able to predict where to set up shop and aim.

200mm, ISO800, f/2.8, 1/250, AF

Pixel peeping, it's a bit soft, but I think it has much more to do with the cage than the lens.

Edit: and it looks like I need to crop the right side a little more.
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haha, well the D7000 is fantastic. I still want one. This lens is "only" 1200 bucks. Way cheaper than Nikkor.

 

Never used the Nikon, but I hear good things.

I compared some photos I took with the canon copy +1.4x to these (different subject, lighting, body, etc so purely superficial). Colors from this copy seem about as good. Aberration is much better with the sigma (though I hear the newer version of the canon lens is pretty good). Vignetting seems well controlled even on a full frame. Hard to compare sharpness or AF since I used them on dramatically different bodies (7D vs 5D2).

Only thing I don't like about this glass is the name. It's a friggin mouth full! Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS. Sometimes it's written with FLD at the end too. Comeon sigma. It's a lens, not a language..

 

Nice.

Yah, next time I go to yellowstone I'm considering renting a super-tele prime (600 f/4 or so) See if I can have it shipped out there so I won't waste rental time in transit.

 

Awesome about that 50-500. I usually shy away from super zooms (10x - wow!).

Would like to try it one day though. But I'm obsessed with the 120-300 f/2.8. Add a 2x, and you're at 600mm 5.6. Good lord!

Part of this purchase was the trial run the brand. So far I'm liking it. A buddy rented the 50mm 1.4. Seems nice. Build is definitely better than my canon copy. Nice that it uses 77mm filters too.

 

I imagine. I've used 400mm on a crop sensor which frames like 640 on 35mm. Huge pain. Good advice.

Is shooting on a monopod out of the question?

 

Many bodies come with the ability to micro adjust focus on a lens by lens basis now too.

I guess I got lucky, mine seem to be pretty dead on.

 

I believe it's the same AF system as the original 5D (which I haven't used).

The AF sensors are quite a bit bigger than the dot used to represent them in the VF. They are looking for the highest contrast point within the viewing area of each sensor. So while you may put it somewhere deliberate, if the sensor finds a higher contrast point nearby it will hone in on it.

Shooting at 1.4 when I have to (prefer 2.8 for DOF and sharpness reasons), focus on my son's eyes tends to be pretty good, as pupils present good contrast.

I read a while back (maybe on luminous landscape) that the line type sensors (on the 5D/II, only the center point is cross type) tend to be arranged vertically, so if you're having trouble locking onto a horizontal, try rotating the camera. Good tip, particularly if you're into architecture photography).

The 5D3 represents a quantum leap from the 2. Something like 40 cross type (two lines overlaid to form a + shape, thus sensitive horizontally as well as vertically), and 5 double crosses (two cross type on top of eachother, one rotated 45deg to form a star shape, thus sensitive in both diagonals as well as horizontal and vertical). I have major "3" envy, but for the majority of what I do, the antiquated system in my 5D2 and 40D is more than sufficient (although for one thing the 3 is supposedly better at shooting through fencing).

1Dx takes it a step further, integrating AF with metering, so you can spot meter at any of the 61(?) AF points. Pretty nifty if you're doing things that move quickly. For me, spot meter and them compose works well.

I think Nikon has the metering advantage with their RGB 3D zone system. They may also have AF linked metering.