Is this a deal.

[Raw photographer]

Is this a deal, i have never bought anything from ebay before but i would like to upgrade. Im not sure if this is a good lens for the price. I have a Canon 75-300mm right now is this a worthy upgrade. I will be paying in Canadian Dollar.

Thanks.
Sigma AF 120-400mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM Lens Canon EF #110 | eBay

 

[480sparky]

Sigma AF 120-400mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM Lens Canon | eBay

 

[Raw photographer]

Sigma AF 120-400mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM Lens Canon | eBay

Thanks but every listing i click on says listing has ended

 

[480sparky]

Sigma AF 120-400mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM Lens Canon | eBay

Thanks but every listing i click on says listing has ended

That's the idea. It tells you what they sold for.

 

[Raw photographer]

Ohhh sorry about that i will look again.

 

[Raw photographer]

Thanks those are surprisingly low cost for some pretty good equipment.

Thanks.

 

[Soocom1]

the lens is one of the "Bigma" (play on Sigma) lenses. Its not small.

The price is dependent on several factors.
1: Overall condition.
2: Fungus, haze, dust mechanical operation.
3: age.

Distance and country of origin are also important and when people talk reviews read the complaints. The positive reviews to me are nearly meaningless. Its the negatives that I read looking for patterns of behavior or consistent complaints about service, time frame or other issues. if they start showing a regular pattern...watch out.

 

[Raw photographer]

Yes i agree 100%.

Thanks.

 

[480sparky]

Another thing to consider about reviews is the level of photographic competence of the people writing them. Mostly, they're knee-jerk reactions by rank amateurs, not detailed analysis by a seasoned pro.

And weekend-shooter may consider something a design flaw or manufacturing error simply due to their ignorance of it being a function of the design that cannot be engineered out, such as vignetting in ultra-wide lenses. An experienced shooter will simply mention such vingetting, and point out that it can be corrected in post, even pointing out a one-click correction in PS or LR.

A casual shooter may say their lens is defective because they can't shoot at f/3.5 at the long end of the focal length range, not understanding the lens is only capable of f/5.6 there.

 

[Soocom1]

Another thing to consider about reviews is the level of photographic competence of the people writing them. Mostly, they're knee-jerk reactions by rank amateurs, not detailed analysis by a seasoned pro.

And weekend-shooter may consider something a design flaw or manufacturing error simply due to their ignorance of it being a function of the design that cannot be engineered out, such as vignetting in ultra-wide lenses. An experienced shooter will simply mention such vingetting, and point out that it can be corrected in post, even pointing out a one-click correction in PS or LR.

A casual shooter may say their lens is defective because they can't shoot at f/3.5 at the long end of the focal length range, not understanding the lens is only capable of f/5.6 there.

Good point.

I forgot to add and this post reminded me of this.
When doing reviews, the complaints from ignorance is abound..

Even "technical" and/or neunaced reviews of something that has complaints can be tricky if the person is complaining about something they don't understand or lack the comprehension of just as sparky points out.

If you review something like banks or insurance companies and look at the complaints most of the time the "customer service" complaints are about not getting their way.

The ones that stand out is when a repeated problem like a particular part fails or if someone sent money and the product didn't come in or there are key words the repeat from one complaint to another.

 

[Derrel]

The 120-400 was never very highly regarded, and was always A relatively low-cost lens

 

[Original katomi]

Just another thing
Some sigma lenses do not play well with canon I don’t have much to pass on as I passed on the lens at the time
But there is a cut off point date wise where some will work some don’t, have you looked at canons version
Sigma Issues A Lens Incompatibility Warning For Canon 5D Mark IV & Other EOS Cameras
The link is to an article about sigma/canon not playing nice
Hope it helps

 

[vintagesnaps]

I never thought Sigma was supposed to be all that great.

On ebay sellers describe a lens or camera or anything however they want; saying it's in good condition means ___?? whatever they think is good, doesn't mean it is. They can price it however they want.

I've bought from KEH and even in Bargain condition an item can be perfectly good, just maybe not so pretty. I've also bought from Adorama online, and Pittsburgh Camera Exchange (onlinephoto on ebay I think). Also Central Camera in Chicago although they don't seem to list much online and use their ebay page as an outlet/sale listings (but I found a 1940ish Leica lens from them with the original customs certificate that's brassed but nice and sharp).

I found it takes some looking but it's possible to find some gems and some good bargains out there. If there's still a camera swap in your area that would be a good bet.

edit - Just remembered you're in Canada, have you tried Henry's? I live in the US but had no problem buying from them and it doesn't take nearly as long as it used to (since I remember buying hockey stuff that would take like a month, I wondered if it got shipped out of Winnipeg by dogsled.)

 

[480sparky]

I used to consider Tamron in the same Little League as Sigma, but they turned themselves around. No reason Sigma can't as well.

 

[Designer]

Is this a deal, i have never bought anything from ebay before but i would like to upgrade. Im not sure if this is a good lens for the price. I have a Canon 75-300mm right now is this a worthy upgrade.

So this increase of 100mm on the long end is an upgrade. I think I would look beyond Sigma for your upgrade lens. There is more to lens construction and image quality than 25% more reach.

If all you're after is a long lens, why not consider a genuine Canon lens?

canon telephoto lens | eBay

Save some money for a good tripod, and you're all set.