New Sigma lenses

B

byte

Suspended / Banned
Messages
67
Name
Gav
Edit My Images
Yes
G'day all :wave:

I am looking at grabbing a couple of lenses to either replace some I have or to bulk out and complete my lens collection for now.

I purchased a Canon 550D with a kit lens and also came with a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II and a Canon EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 USM III.

I was thinking of purchasing
  • Sigma 105 mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM MACRO (as quiet interested in Macro and this lens seems to be a good one)
  • Sigma 8-16mm f4.5-5.6 DC HSM (I drive through the Moorlands twice a day and thought this might be good for landscapes
  • Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM

Are these lenses fit for the purposes mentioned above, and are they any good? I dont have a massive budget but could just about afford these 3.

Or are there other lenses that might do better than these within the same range?

Thanks for any assistance

G
 
I've only had the 17-70 Sigma lens which was not an EX version and I was very happy with it.
The EX range are meant to be their better quality lenses, but Sigma have had a bit of a reputation for poor quality control where a good lens can be a bit hit and miss. Although I believe they are getting better.

If you get a good one, you should be very happy happy, The 70-200 gets some very good reviews and comes highly recommended as an alternative to Canons equivalent.

My advice is to buy locally (from UK) so that if you get a bad copy it will be easy enough to exchange.
 
Although I haven't got any if the lenses mentioned (yet-saving for the 70-200), I do have 3 other Sigma lenses an have been more than happy with them.
 
Sigma 105mm : Take a look at the Tamron 90mm as well. To be honest there isn't such a thing as a bad macro (1:1) lens though.

Sigma 8-16mm : Excellent lens, nothing really like it for a crop body.

Sigma 70-200mm OS : I sold my MKI EF 70-200mm f2.8 as I picked up one of these for a decent price and it performs as well, if not slightly better. Again an excellent lens but the Tamron OS has since been released and is looking a bit sharper with decent AF performance (although dearer).

As already mentioned, source from the UK as you don't get the 3 year warranty if it's an import.
 
Last edited:
I also don't have those specific Sigma lenses, but do have two others. the 10-20mm and the 30mm F1.4. Both of which i'm very happy with, the 10-20mm covers the very wide angle landscape stuff very well. & the 30mm prime is as near to a fast nifty fifty as you'll get for a crop sensor.

Looking at your choices i'd suggest comparing the 8-16mm to the 10-20, as i'd be suprised if you'd use it fully wide open and you may have more luck finding a good second hand 10-20mm than the 8-16 version

regarding the 70-200mm, I bought a second hand canon 70-200 F4L which is a superb lens. If you're happy to live without stabilisation you ought to be able to get one second hand for £200-300, new are around £500. Think the stabilsied ones are about double that. The sigma is desperately trying to live up to the Canon, some of the reviews seem to say that it comes close, but there are times where you do get what you pay for
 
My advice would be to slow down, think carefully, and only buy one lens at a time.

To build a system, best starting point is to get the standard zoom right, as it's usually the lens used most, then build around that. Suggest look at Canon 17-55 2.8 IS.

Then decide where you want to move next, ie macro, super-wide, or tele. And there are lots of options in all those sectors.
 
Thanks, great advice and comments guys.

Think I will look at a macro first, and think I will likely go with the sigma 105mm for that, but will have a look at others suggested first :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top