Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX APO IF HSM

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Mine rear focussed at all focal lengths when open. I would shoot the same way as I do with the Canon but it always shot with the focus hitting the ear and not the eye.

I got this as a backup or assistant lens. I found that when @ F5.6 or smaller, all shots were in focus. However, @ F2.8 nothing was hitting the focus point I had selected. If you were to get a copy that hits focus wide open, it would be equal to the sharpness of my Canon L (same range). Where it was focussing it was wonderful and sharp/contrasty.

I will be getting a Canon as the second. Sad

(can't keep trying multiple copies and paying the shipping)

does not have the build quality of the canon but then your not likely to be using this lens in the rain or not taking care of it.

I choose this lens over the canon f4 70-200L and I'm glad I did. te extra stop is a god send. lens is heavy to use but then any other 70-200 f2.8 lens is heavy. I have this lens on my 20D most of the time. zoom ring bit stif but nothing too bad. nice finish on the lens too.

I miss my 70-200mm IS f/2.8L,which was stolen!!

I've owned this lens for about a month now, and I can't find anything I like about it. The Canon 70-200 IS is built way better than this, and so is the image quality.

I really can't find any without nitpicking, I guess I would like it to have metal filter threads instead of plastic.

I was leery about purchasing this lens because for an additional $200 I could have had the Nikon 80-200mm 2.8. However after taking some pictures with this lens and comparing them to pictures from the Nikon I can actually say that the Sigma is sharper. I must have an exceptional sample because I shot a test series of shots from f2.8 to f11 and only noticed a few lines per inch drop in sharpness, basically not perceptible except in the largest enlargements. Contrast on the other hand is noticeably worse wide open, but I can live with that, as it is easily fixable in Photoshop. I am very pleased with this lens optically and am glad that I did not purchase the Nikon. I am not afraid to use this lens at f2.8, something I can’t say of other 2.8 zooms I have used.

For my money this is the greatest lens. Adding anything or changing anything on the lens would detract from its abilities. This lens is fast, accurate, quiet, and easy to work with. I've had other f:2.8 lenses, all of which had something that was negative. Not this lens. I have three Sigma lenses, 12-24, 24-70, and 70-200. Add the TC and I am set for just about anything.

In low light it can hunt with AF sometimes

Really is a superb lens. For the price you just cannot fault it. If it had IS it would be perfect for the job.

after coming from the realms of a Canon f4.0:L 70-200 that constantly suffered from backfocus problems on my 300D - I sold it to another guy with a film camera where it worked perfectly - go figure!?

In search of another lens in that zoom range and not having the moolah to go for the canon 2.8L; I opted for this one and I'm glad I did.

The focus was slower than the canon it replaced - but you had to really devpote some attention to notice it - in normal use you would find it just as fast I would say. One thing I did notice though is that i could actually "hear" it - albeit ever so faint but that's probabvly down to my bat like hearing more than anything else I would imagine. In short - it's QUIET Smile

It very rarely hunts and focuses nice and swiftly - tracks wonderfully with AI too.

It works flawlessly at 2.8 where I expected it to be soft in truth - well it "can" be soft at that f-stop but surprisingly not as much as the 70-200f4L was.

Crucially for me was how well it could accurately focus at all ranges exactly where my center point was located - and in this regard it performed magnificiently - pushing it even with oblique shots of people's heads at f2.8 where I was trying to get just the eyelashes in focus - A tall order even I suspected - but when finally loaded to the PC and upon viewing to see that even these dire tests showed 100% successful results had me salivating quite a bit.

In short - the lens can be heavy - not as heavy as a Canon 2.8 L in the same league mind you - but - for me anyways - a manageable weight. Everything is easy to operate - nothing is overly stiff not even the zoom ring which on Sigma can be stiff as a plank in some lenses. it doesn't noticeably suffer from any zoom creep either - nice feel and build quality throughout.

This is a lens I can very highly recommend to any user - if you find you have a bad one - then that is because it is indeed for whatever reason a genuine flawed item -(dropped during shipping etc..) return it and get another!

All shots I take with this lens continue to please - nice vivid colours - almost on a par with L glass - tack sharp focus and detail. CA hardly noticeable and doesn't bother me.

Nice one Sigma...thumbs up.

No IS, It's not white :)

A great alternative to the Canon versions for those on a budget. It's quite usable at f2.8 although I think it's not quite as good as the Canon f2.8 when used wide open. Heaver that the Canon non-IS version, not as heavy as the Canon IS version.
Works quite well with the 1.4x converter with very little quality loss at f4.0-f5.6 From f6.7 and up there is no visible quality loss.

it isn't white :D it seems this cause problems for some people

When I bought this gem, it was completely unusable at F2.8 and F4 on my 300D, slight frontfocus at 70 and 200 mm-s good picture at 135mms, so I thought maybe the kens is defective, I was right, the AF system wasn't calibrated well, so I send it for a recalibration, along with my cam... They recalibrated it in one day... then I was astonished by the pic quality at f2.8 it delivers a very good picture - but you need to apply some USM to get a contrasty pic, as you have to do in canon's case... I have a baby L *70-200 4L also, for travelling lightweight, the pics are undestinguishable, except for sigma's yellowish tint, but as I like the canons colors better I get rid of yellow colors in during conversion.
For some days I have a Canon BiGL *70-200 2.8L it was a bit heavier than the sigma, in other terms they qualified the same on my friends 1Ds, i borrowed it for a quick field test... You can justify the canon price if you're a working pro, canon has better mechanism in it's lens, if you do shooting for living you can count on canon, you can count on sigma also but have in mind that the sigma's internal build quality is not the same as canon's, optically they're virtually the same...
If you have a piece that is unusable at 2.8, then make a quick test, then get it recalibrated, or recalibrate yourself, maybe the error was in you...

Greetz Alex

unusable image at f2.8, like a newspaper photo clipping

I do like this lens, but I cant keep the photos taken at f2.8 (I dont know why I get this in my lens reading other reviews) they are like news paper photo quality very unsharp and missing details. I have had Sigma look at it, to be told its in perfect order. I think the Canon f4L would be my choice now, knowing this. I also have a Sigma 2x teleconverter which can only be used in manual focus mode when on a 10D with this 70-200. BTW I am a Sigma fan and this is the only lens I have had problems with.

The felt like finish attracts dust and grease. Quite heavy. I will use a monopod when doing pro photo sessions.

I have been a professional Fashion, Beauty and Advertising photographer for over 20 years. I have worked in every format and have been published world wide in everything from Harpers Italy to L'Officiel to "W" etc. I have not shot long lenses for years. I am primarily a wide angle shooter. For some reason, I was attracted to this lens. None the less I bought it. The lens is very tight above 3.5 and quite acceptable wide open at 2.8. When I unsharp in PS images start to really pop when using my standard formula of 0.7 to 1.0 pixels at 100 percent and then to add more punch 50 to 60 pixels at 10 to 15 percent. I will use this lens on my Manfroto mono-pod and quick release head. I will not hand hold it unless in a controlled environment with flash.

I tested this lens under several conditions and found that at 2.8 at 200mm to be quite sharp, if your point of focus is dead on. You must be very discerning in choosing your focus point, as the fall off is quite radical. It can be used for beauty and fashion in a way akin to a tilt shift lens if you are somewhat off axis. The drop off is that extreme, especially at 200 (320) on my Canon. From 70 to 200 at 3.5 and above it is extremely sharp. In fact it has been rated as actual being a better performer than the Canon 70-200 2.8 L in the prestigious "British Photography Journal". Photodo gave it a 3.9 rating which translates as Very Good which was similar to the rating given to the Canon 70-200 2.8 L. I compared this lens to my Tamron Di Macro 90 mm lens and was astonished by how sharp this lens is in direct comparison to this fixed focal length macro. It comes very close to the resolution of the Tamron Di Macro 90, a brutally sharp lens to say the least. The "Bokeh" on this lens is rendered dramatically but with finesse. It blows out the background radically from 2.8 to 5.6 at 200 mm and quite nicely at 70mm between 2.8 and 4.0. My only complaint would be the 1.8 meter minimum focus distance. However this is not a major problem as it does come in well if you increase the focal length. For my Canon 20D, it is a 112 to 320 F2.8 Lens. One more thing. The HSM is fast. In fact using it under my working conditions, I cannot imagine focussing faster than what this lens is able to accomplish. I generally use the one shot setting on my Canon 20D. I appreciate the manual focus over-ride compensation, even when in its' auto focus mode. The quality of workmanship of this lens is plush. It belies its' low price and is exemplary in its' finition and use of materials. The textured metal finish used is very pleasing to the touch. In a word it just smacks of "Class".

Just a couple of points. There seem to be some complaints by some users of this lens when used in conjunction with the Canon 10D. There have been several problems associated with back focus issues and the 10D. I did own a 10D and did have some of the aforementioned problems. I suggest to anyone with this problem, to submit the lens and the camera to Technical Services and ask Canon to fine tune your specific camera with the lenses in your arsenal. They will attempt to find a happy medium. Another issue is the concern that this lens is not sharp wide open. Most large aperture lenses suffer this anomaly. Much can be rectified in post production. However I have found that with a long focal length and extremely fast lens that your focussing must be spot on, or you may misread an out of focus image with that of an incorrectly focussed image. Remember that if you are not perfectly perpendicular to the subject, the fall off will occur very quickly, especially wide open. Get used to your lens before passing judgment about it's sharpness and performance. This lens is comparable to any of the finest lenses on the market. Secondly... Would I recommend this lens? Highly and that includes professionals and hobbyists alike!

PS: Here is the http://www.photozone.de lens rating. Sigma sits quite comfortably within the top of the class:

Canon EF 2.8 70-200 USM L
4.07 (3) = very-good

Sigma AF 2.8 70-200mm EX (HSM)
4.02 (5) = very-good

Canon EF 2.8 70-200mm USM L IS
4.02 (3) = very-good

Nikkor AF-S 2.8 80-200mm IF ED D
3.98 (4) = very-good

Nikkor AF 2.8 80-200mm IF ED D
3.90 (3) = very-good

Pentax SMC-FA 2.8 80-200mm ED (IF)
3.87 (5) = very-good

Nikkor AF-S 2.8 70-200mm ED-IF VR D
3.67 (2) = good

Tokina AF 2.8 80-200mm AT-X Pro
3.36 (4) = good

Tamron AF 2.8 70-210mm LD
3.35 (4) = good

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London: http://www.slave-unit.com
Paris: http://www.virginiaberthy.com
Don't forget to click on my name: Benjamin Kanarek

You may also view my work at my Yahoo group FashionMode 1:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fashionmode1/

Not an L lens. No focus limiter switch. Black paint coating chips easily

While not a Canon L lens, it is very close, or at least my copy is. Focus is quick and quiet, and the images are very nice. Works well with the 1.4X converter, but poorly with the 2X unless you have a LOT of light. This lens spend most of it's time on my camera. I recently sold this lens after almost 2 years of strong preformance. If you are in need of a fast sports lens but no budget for Canon L or Nikon glass, this is the lens for you.

lack of IS/OS, min. focusing distance

I am stunned by this piece of glass. Very sharp, only slightly softer wide open. Great bokeh, great contrast. And all that for less than half the price of the Canon. AF is nearly instant and spot on, manual focus and zooming is very smooth. Detachable collar is nice although it gets a bit in the way when zooming. Solid build. Light for what it does. Works still near perfect with the 1.4xTC, a bit less with the 2xTC. Nearly impossible to get it to flare bad. IS/OS would've been nice of course but you can't have everything. Minimal focusing distance is also not too thrilling.

Little heavy, not as fast as Canon's L USM lenses (pretty close though!)

I bought a used copy of the lens from a fellow FM member and have pretty much fallen in love with it. Even in lower light and with my 300d, it still could do a decent job with sportsbike photos...definitely impressed with that! I found that with the 300d + battery grip, the balance is quite nice...I usually keep the tripod collar in my bag...this also lightens up the lens a little.

This week, I'm going to try it out at a local hockey arena and see how it performs there, but I fell confident that it will work great!

It was very soft, didn't work very well with servo.

I had a very hard time getting any sharp images out of this lens. The focus ring felt a little bit too flimsy to me as well.

I really love ths lens and pictures witch come out. I use with Canon 10D, and i don't have any problem.