Super compact and lightweight, large aperture telephoto lens with life-size macro capability.
This large aperture telephoto macro lens enables you to shoot up to 1:1 life size close-ups. Its large F2.8 aperture makes it an ideal lens for digital SLR as well as film SLR cameras.
Two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements control various color aberrations and assure high image quality. Super Multi Coating gives superb color performance whilst cutting down flare and ghost. Its compact, yet advanced, construction has an overall length of Length 137mm, maximum diameter of 79.6mm, filter size of ɔ72mm and weight of 895grams.
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F2.8 large aperture tele-macro lens
Tele Macro lenses have a greater Working distance. It is possible to enjoy Macro photography, even when you are far from subject. This enables you to capture the small animals and insects without disturbing them. Very narrow depth-of-field allows selective focusing and less distracting backgrounds. Large aperture of F2.8 is ideal for sports, action and indoor photography.
It is equipped with two pieces of Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements
Two SLD glass elements control various color aberrations and assure high and sharp image quality.
Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) with full time manual focus override
The HSM models provide ultra quiet high-speed autofocusing as well as full-time manual focus override.
Floating Focusing System produces excellent optical performance
A floating focusing system moves two different lens groups in the optical system to different positions. This system compensates for astigmatic Aberration and Spherical aberration. Since focusing does not change its overall length, this lens is easy to hold and use.
Super Multi Layer Coating
“Super Multi Layer Coating” of this lens gives superb color performance whilst cutting down flare and ghost caused by reflections from the digital image sensor.
APO Tele-Converter EX (optional)
It is also possible to use this lens with Sigma 1.4x EX and 2x EX APO Tele-Converter. When this lens is used with the 1.4x EX or 2x EX Apo Tele Converters (optional), it becomes a 210mm F4 AF tele-macro lens or a 300mm F5.6 MF tele-macro lens respectively.
The lens is finished in the sigma's smart, hard-wearing EX mat finish. Also included is a quick release tripod collar and deep bayonet-fit lens hood. Focusing is internal so the lens does not change size and you can focus closer. This is a definite boon. Auto focus smooth and almost silent, thanks to Sigma's Hypersonic motor technology. A three-position focus limiter avoids the lens hunting though its full range. In terms of image quality, the more you stop this lens down the better. Wide open, the centre image quality is ok with out being exceptional and the edges are worse. But closing the lens down to f8 and f11 see's a worth while and significant improvement in quality. This lens's optimum aperture in probably f11. Chromatic abrasion and distortion have been well corrected for this lens. Contrast and colour balance are also good and resistance to flare is also okay. This lens will work sigma's 1.4x and 2.0x converters to give you a 210mm f4 with the 1.4x and 300mm f5.6 with the 2.0x MF tele-macro lens respectively. I tried it with the 1.4x converter ad the quality dropped surprisingly little, especially at the optimum settings.
Verdict
This is solidly made lens that performs well and it’s a
great focal length if you want a comfortable working distance from the subject.
Not cheap, but worth it.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I have borrowed a friends Where did you buy this item?: N/A When did you buy this item?: N/A
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided Pros: Quiet AF, tripod collar Cons: wide aperture performance
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 13 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.2
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.2
AF Speed
4.4
Value for Money
4.2
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Great lens except for a very slow focus, Thursday, 27 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I borrowed this lens off a friend of mine during a recent visit to Pakistan and I have to say after my less than satisfying experience with the performance of my sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 I am very pleasantly surprised with the quality of this lens from the perspective of image quality. The saturation from this lens is absolutely fantastic and the focusing is very sharp. The bokeh is really beautiful and leaves little to be desired. It's very impressive indeed and seriously competes with high quality Canon glass. It has one serious drawback and that is the speed of its autofocus system. It's really slow, especially in low light (lots of hunting) which is what f/2.8 is supposed to be for. This wasn't too serious a problem for me because I was using it for portraits of people who were mostly seated but I think I'm a Bit spoiled by the speed of my 70-200 f/4 L IS which has a very fast and sharp AF system. That said, this is a macro and really isn't meant for sports shooting and the like. For a solid macro lens with a nice focal distance that does a good job doubling as a portrait lens this is a great buy. If you don't need the extra mm's though you might want to look at the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro as it's a bit faster with great image quality as well, and on top of all that it's a few bucks cheaper. This is definitely a great lens though and if it fits your requirements don't hesitate to buy it. You'll be pleased with your results.
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First non-canon lens, Friday, 11 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I wanted a longer reach macro lens and couldn't justify the cost of the Canon 180mm macro. After reading many positive reviews I decided to stray from the Canon lineup and purchase this lens.
I can't compare this to other macro lenses since this is my first macro lens, but the build quality (with the exception of weather sealing) and sharpness of this lens is on par with my four Canon 'L' lenses.
On the down side the autofocus does hunt when I've tried to use it, but, with the shallow Depth of field in macro shooting I strictly use manual focus and autofocus is a non factor. Also, I don't own any other 72mm lenses which means having to buy more filters if I want to use them.
Great price, build and IQ. Would also recommend a set of Kenko extension tubes, and steady hands.
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Great lens, Saturday, 28 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a great Macro lens, if you take your time to learn how to use it.
It's tack sharp, handles very well, construction quality is very high.
I got a long macro lens because of the longer working distance and the more pleasing background Blur you get. It's a bit harder to use, because DOF becomes narrower and any movements are magnified. With some practice, this became a non issue, and it's quickly become my favorite lens. The IQ is great( sharpness, contrast, bokeh, color). It feels well balanced on my 30D with battery grip and Canon twinlite flash. A bit on the heavy side, but well balanced.
The only downside is AF speed. For macro and tight portraits this isn't an issue, as I use MF only for these shots, but this is a lens I would never use for sports or action photography( specially compared to my 135L). As this review is about the lens and it's intended use( macro), I give it a 5 star rating.
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Super Sharp Macro lens , Monday, 19 May 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This lens is amazingly sharp, it is right up there with anything else on the market, including Canon's L lenses. It's one of the sharpest lenses I have ever owned in over 25 years shooting. It is well built, and includes a good lens shade and tripod collar. It is a macro lens, you need to keep that in mind. Macro lenses tend to be slow focusing. They also have very shallow depth of field at close distances. These are not valid criticisms of this lens, it's just the nature of macro lenses and macro photography. If you are doing macro photography you should be using manual focus at least 95% of the time. You will also need to use a tripod with this lens. If you hand-hold this lens for macro work, you'll never get the results it is capable of. Buy this lens, use it properly, and you'll be thrilled by what it can do.
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AF doesn't work, Thursday, 13 March 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
2.8
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
2.0
I purchased this lens about a week ago. I have not had the opportunity to shoot many pictures with it but from the first time I tried it the Auto Focus failed to work with the shutter button. It does focus (fairly accurately) with the AF button on my Canon 40D. I contacted Sigma and after 4 days they had not given me an answer. I wrote again and the reply I got was that maybe because the 40D was a new Canon model the engineers had not taken some adjustments into account. They also said that it would take them about a week to get a reply from the engineers. With Canon I usually get a reply to my email within one day and the explanations to my questions are accurate and to the point. This is not a cheap lens but compared to a Canon L lens its very much less. I guess the poor service and the engineering flaw is the difference in price between a Sigma and a Canon L lens.
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Excellent Macro Value, Wednesday, 05 March 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
I purchased this lens for macro nature photography, and is paired with either a Canon 20D or a Canon 1DS MK III. I chose this focal length because of the enhanced working distance over a 100 mm lens. The lens is tack sharp, and autofocus works well except for close macro work (where you would opt for manual focus anyway). I have used the lens with Kenko extension tubes, and it works flawlessly. It is every bit as good as Canon L glass at a much lower price. It includes a tripod collar and a very well-made cushioned lens case (not those ineffective pouches Canon uses!). What more can I say? It is a flawless piece of equipment.
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Sharp as a Tack, Sunday, 17 February 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
The lens is sharp and the extra reach is a plus especially out in the field.
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Very good product, Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
After reading almost only good things about the Sigma 150mm Macro i decided to buy one myself. I am very satisfied with the product. The images the lens products are very good. The only thing i can think of what bothers me a little bit is that the focus is a bit slow, but thats not really a problem. Therefore it is very silent. :) The lens is made very well with good materials. So if you want to start taking macro pictures go and get the sigma 150mm.
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One of the best mid-tele macros, Sunday, 09 December 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
Sigma's EX line is the Sigma equivilant to Canon's L series. These are Sigma's top of the line lenses and the 150/2.8 Macro is no exception.
This is one of the finest mid-tele macro lenses out there. I've been able to get some incredibly sharp shots with this lens. The 2.8 aperture means you can do some low-light shooting and that you'll blur out everything but your subject. Depending on how close your subject is and how good you are at focusing, you might blur out some of the subject at 2.8 as well.
This is a great lens for product photography to macro bug shots to mid-range tele subjects. Just don't expect fast focusing. Using the focus limter switch helps for tele shots, but seems to make things slower in macro. (Normally, using the limiter should HELP when shooting macro!)
The pluses are: included case, strap and hood. The 2.8 and incredible sharpness. The focus limiter switch. And the very decent working distance.
The minuses are essentially slow focus and hunting when shooting macro. Some purists would suggest you should be using MF instead of AF for macro anyway and they have a point. My old eyes don't see as well as they used to so AF is important to me.
In conclusion, if you're looking to get a mid-length telephoto lens, especially for macro, you can hardly do better, particularly for the money. Sure, the Canon 180/3.5L will give you better color and contrast, but at nearly three times the money.
This is a great lens!
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A great lens!, Wednesday, 17 January 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
I am relatively new in photography and in my little experience I have only used Canon lenses for my camera, an EOS 350D. Eager to get involved in macro photography, I bought this lens a couple of weeks ago and I was extremely impressed when I got it. It is, of course, bulky but it has a magnificent sense of touch and an absolutely silent and quick focusing mechanism. I can't say about picture quality as I haven't tested it much yet (everything I shot so far was great), but it was a wonderful surprise to see that it came with its hood, ring and case, all in such an attractive price! Well done, SIGMA!!!
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Excellent non Canon L lens, Saturday, 14 October 2006
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have numerous Canon L lens, the 135L, the 200L, 24-70L, the 70-40L, additionally the canon 60 mm macro lens, the 50mm f/1.4, and the 85 f/1.8, lens; this lens and the Tamron 200-500 zoom are the only non Canon lens that I own. This lens stays on my camera more then any of the above lenses. The 2.8 aperture, the ability to do macro and 150 mm distance gives it such flexibility that it stays on my camera 1Ds the most and it is often on my 20d (the 1.6 multiplier makes it a little less flexible).
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Difficult to use, Friday, 10 March 2006
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
I am a beginner in using SLR. I used this lens to take several photos of my watch. this lens will hunt around for about 2 times if you set it to full focus range. The viewfinder looks reasonably bright. HSM is silent, seems to be silent than my Canon 50 F1.4 USM. However, this lens is SUPER difficult to use. It is a 150mm Macro lens. The depth of field is so short when focusing close and at F2.8. How short is that? just take a look with the watch photo i uploaded. (the 3 hands are just about total thickness of 1mm ...) So, if you want to have decent depth of field, you need to narrow it down to about F11 or even smaller. You will need a tripod in this case... And, Even slight movement of flowers caused by wind will make it out of focus... ( I actually use AI-servo when using this lens to take flowers~!) Don't spend money on this lens unless you are a pro in macro photography. Wait for the 70-200 Macro...
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Sharp. 2.8 is nice but be warned..., Wednesday, 22 February 2006
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is very sharp. I usually buy Canon L but I made the exception for this one after reading other reviews. This lens is on par with L sharpness and gives you some good working distance if you are shooting something that scares easy. Be warned though, if this is your first macro lens and/or first experience with macro photography, when you get close, your focus area is tiny and particularly at f2.8! If you don't already have one you may want to get a tripod as well. I was able to get some hand held shots with a lot of light from a window so I could use higher f stops.
