Lens Reviews - Sigma 135-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG ASPHERICAL

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

The Little BIGMA !?!?, Monday, 16 October 2006


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		4.0

Hi there. To jump right in I bought this lens as an alternative to my amazing but huge Sigma 50-500mm "BIGMA" lens. In retrospect this one isn't much smaller but it is certainly easier to use handheld. (Yes you can shoot the BIGMA handheld folks!) I use the lens mostly for up close nature subjects, but given enough space and enough light or a tripod, it takes great portraits too. However, keep in mind with its widest angle at 135mm you may want to carry another lens in your bag along with this one say an 18-70mm or even a 28-125 or 200mm. I have also found this to be an exceptional lens for zoo photography! as it is light enough to carry on your camera all day and under bright sunlight, fast enough to use without a tripod (see pictures) Construction and over all feel of the lens is very similar to Sigmas EX series lenses and that is a definite plus, and despite the fact that it does not have the HSM motor, autofocus is reasonably quiet. Lens (glass) quality is supurb and the lens shipps with a lens hood (adds another 3 inches to the length!) a sturdy case and a tripod mounting ring. Focus and exposure is excellent all thru the lenses range, however at 400mm under certain lighting it tends to hunt for focus, and images occasionally can be a little soft at 400mm. Using a tripod or higher ISO will usually correct this problem. The size of the lens is the biggest problem that I can see especially if you intend on mounting it on a D50. You may feel like you have a lens with a little box on the end and in a way you do! However if you will be using a D200, D80,or a D70s the camera body should balance out and make everything feel great ( I use mine with my D200 and it is perfect!) But also please note this is a "DG" series lens (digital only" so it is not reccomended for use with full frame sensors (D2X, D2Xs) I can also tell you that this lens (despite what Sigma says) will work with teleconverters! In fact using a Sigma 2X teleconverter on this lens I was able to use autofocus to some degree all the way up to 800mm!
I am a professional, and I shoot almost exclusively on Sigma glass, for the simple reason that they are well made lenses at SANE prices! In fact the only lens I ever had a problem with was a Nikon lens! While it is true that the Nikon counterpart to this lens is faster it is also true that it costs about $1000 more. Thats a big chunk to pay for something that you can compensate for by simply using camera setting and good old know how! As always thanks for reading and happy shooting!!

SiNMiN

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