Sigma f/2.8 70-200 mm OS - First Impressions

robbins.photo · Dec 24, 2013

Well the Sigma F/2.8 70-200 mm arrived today, haven't really had a chance to test it out completely but so far I'm fairly impressed. It focuses fast even in low light, and the image quality was actually much better than I expected.

Just a real quick test shot I took this morning, not my finest work to be sure but it's more than a little cold out there today so it was more or less a "Ok, lets get this picture taken and get back inside where it's warm" sort of deal.

The lens is a little longer and a little heavier than my trusty 70-300 mm Nikor, but certainly not as heavy as I've heard it described. The zoom arrangement is backwards from what I'm acccustomed too, so I'll have to get used to it but overall it isn't a huge concern. The focus ring is awfully close to the zoom ring so I've noticed I have to keep that in mind when hefting the camera but again just something that will require a little practice.

Other than that I'm extremely impressed so far, the low light capabilities are fantastic and the speed is a real step up from where I was at previously.

baturn · Dec 24, 2013

Thanks. This is a lens I'm seriously considering.

robbins.photo · Dec 24, 2013

baturn said:
Thanks. This is a lens I'm seriously considering.

So far I'm liking it - I've found it's a lot easier at least for me to remove the tripod ring and just stash it in the camera bag. I will be needing to replace my bag, the lens just barely fits in the Lowepro I have and that's only if I take it off the camera, it's just to long otherwise.. lol. That's ok though, I was toying with the idea of upgrading to a backpack anyway so now I just have a good excuse to do that. The OS and autofocus motors are a little louder than the Nikkor but not so loud that it's really any sort of an issue.

I am really impressed with the autofocus speed - and it's lowlight capabilities. I want to get it outside for a bit more and see how it does wide open at 200 mm and do a few more tests, but I'm thinking this one is going to be a keeper. I took a couple of pictures of the dog in low light and they came out crisp and sharp without having to shove the ISO through the roof and still being able to keep the shutter speed above 1/500. The few test shots I did do it nailed the focus pretty much immediately regardless of light level and the resultant photo was nice and sharp.

That was a quick test shot I took of wonder mutt. The lights in the room are off, the only light source is the sunlight coming in from the window behind her, and it was a pretty grey and overcast day today. My 70-300 mm 4.5 would have choked on this shot.. lol - but the Sigma nailed it with no problem at all.

manicmike · Dec 24, 2013

Think it's worth keeping the 70-300 with the new lens?

hamlet · Dec 24, 2013

Congratulations on your new acquisition.

robbins.photo · Dec 24, 2013

manicmike said:
Think it's worth keeping the 70-300 with the new lens?

That's going to be a really, really tough call actually. The IQ on the 300 is slightly better overall I think, and it's got just that little extra zoom - and boy it's just such a great lens it would be very hard to part with even though I don't think it's going to get used nearly as much as it has in the past.

I'll probably hang onto it for now - My next planned upgrade is going to most likely be a D7100, might be interesting to get one of those harnesses that will let me carry two cameras, put the 200 mm on the 7100 and the 300 mm on the 5100 and carry them both. Then I think about that and it strikes me that I may have just gone completely overboard.. lol