Help with abbrevations, please - Sigma Lens

[Parago]

Ok, so now I'm on the hunt for a telephoto lens so I'm doing searches on ebay, froogle and what not but what copletely confuses me are the abbrevations included in the lense's names.

What I want is basically the Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 (important) APO for a Nikon D50. I don't even know what the APO means but I've heard it's important. Difefrences I've noticed:

There's apparently a Macro lens and a non-macro lens, correct?
Some have 'DG' included in their name, what does it mean and what's wrong with the lenses that don't have 'DG'?

What about EX and HSM?

I found a dozen lenses on ebay that seem right but all have varying names, meaning varying abbrevations, and I have no idea anymore.

I'd like to get the macro one but that's not mandatory, what's most important to me is the long focal length combined with the 2.8 f-number.

HELP! :blushing:

Thanks!

 

[digital flower]

Here are a few to get you started from Sigmaphoto.com:

HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor)
This lens uses a motor driven by ultrasonic waves to provide a quiet, highspeed AF.

DG (DG Lens)
These are large-aperture lenses with wide angles and short minimum focusing distances. With an abundance of peripheral illumination, they are ideal lenses for Digital SLR Cameras whilst retaining suitability for traditional 35mm SLRs.

EX (EX Lens)
The exterior of this lens is EX-finished to denote the superior build and optical quality, and to enhance its appearance.

 

[fmw]

All of these terms other than APO are marketing terms or terms relative to compatibility that are described on the Sigma site.

APO is short for apochromat or apochromatic. It simply indicates a lens with better correction for chromatic aberration than other lenses. These lenses usually employ what is termed low dispersion optical glass to assist in the superior color correction.

Different colors have different refractive indices as they travel through the elements of a camera lens and so they tend not to want to focus at the same point where they come together at the film plane. Some colors bend or refract more or less than other colors. Chromatic aberration, which describes this characteristic in camera lenses, causes softness or, in the very worst cases, something we call "fringing" where one end of the spectrum (usually the blue end) will actually appear beyond the borders of the subject. In other words, since the different colors refract differently they can become dispersed across the film or sensor plane. The APO technology uses glass that contributes less to this dispersion of colors and allows the lens designer to do a better job of correcting chromatic aberration. An APO lens should be sharper than one without the technology. Now you have a bunch of addition terms to look into.

 

[Parago]

Thanks you guys, so much. I'm embarrassed I didn't even see this on the Sigma website - I'm only always looking at the lenses themselves. :blushing:

Is anybody using this lens and how happy are you with it? What is an alternative? The Nikkor? How do they compare?

 

[Big Mike]

It's said to be a pretty good lens and it a fair bit less expensive than the equivalent Nikon or Canon.

If you have the money, the 80-200 F2.8 VR would be a better choice...but the price is quite a bit higher.

 

[Parago]

It's said to be a pretty good lens and it a fair bit less expensive than the equivalent Nikon or Canon.

If you have the money, the 80-200 F2.8 VR would be a better choice...but the price is quite a bit higher.

Yea, no.. not really. The Sigma is already pushing it but I know I have to upgrade - I just went professional, my website is up and I'm under just a little bit of performance pressure now..

Maybe one day, fingers crossed, I'll be able to afford the high end stuff, for now this wil ahve to do. Thanks anyways BigMike.. I always appreciate your input.

 

[a5i736]

I have the sigma 70-300mm and I love it! its not as sharp as i would like it, but for the money you can't go wrong.

 

[Johnboy2978]

I have this one and I bought it exclusively for a wedding that I shot a few months back.
http://www.sigma4less.com/sess/utn;...ofocus+Lens+for+Pentax+AF+=28SG70200F28DPX=29
It's a nice lens and having a constant 2.8 aperture through out the focal range is quite nice. My only real complaint with it is that it's so heavy. The weight makes it a little difficult to hand hold at slower speeds but it's a really nice lens. They didn't have the macro available when I got it or I probably would've gone with it. Many of the review I read favored it over some more expensive glass: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=102&sort=7&cat=37&page=2

 

[Parago]

Thank you so much, I've definitely set my heart on the Sigma lens now and I've found a couple of used ones on ebay.

There's one right now which has one problem. The seller calls it 'sticky in the small aperture range causing over-exposure.' He says that's fixable for about 125.- - is that true?

 

[Johnboy2978]

I'd probably pass on that one.

 

[Parago]

I'd probably pass on that one.

Yea I decided to not take any chances. I'm pretty confident I will get one under 600.- tho. Wish me luck.

 

[el_shorty]

I own this lens and I love it, its sharp and fast, its one of my most used lenses, you can see some photo I've taken with it here, photos 1-2, 4, 6-8, and here, photos 1-2, 5-7.