Name brand VS. third party

I am needing to buy a decent telephoto lens. Maybe a Canon 70-200

f4 or maybe a Canon 200mm f2.8 prime. But lately I have considered a

third option, a Sigma lens such as the 70-200mm f2.8 EX APO HSM. And

what I would like to know is if a Sigma is as good as buying a

Canon. Is there that much difference? What are the differences? I

am looking to shoot HS football, and other events with this lens, and

would like to stay at at least f4, preferably faster. Any input,

oppinions, experiance or advice would be greatly appriciated.

 

Thank You, Travis Vowell

When I sold all my Canon FD equipment to make the transition to autofocus equipment I learned quite quickly that the Canon lenses would sell immediately and in some cases would bring prices that exceeded what I paid for them when new even after 15 years of gentle use. My Kiron lenses with matching doublers, on the other hand, wouldn't even draw a bid. They were highly rated lenses when I bought them, and quite expensive as well, but nobody wanted them. If you care anything at all about resale value stick with the genuine Canon lenses. I'll let others comment as to relative technical quality, but the resale issue alone is enough to sway me to the name brand. I've stuck with the genuine article ever since and haven't been disappointed.

I, unlike most people here on photo.net it seems, don't buy equipment just to sell it. I buy equipment to actually use it.

 

I got me a Sigma 70-200 because it was cheaper than the Canon version. How does it work? It works great. It's nice and sharp (perfect sharpness from f4) and fast focusing due to the HSM.

 

If you're one of those people who buy Canon because they're planning to sell their eqipment layer, buy Canon by all means. If you're planning on shooting with your stuff then get whatever is most cost-effective, in this case the Sigma.

I too, unlike most people here on photonet, don't buy equipment just to sell it later, I buy it to use it. Over a period of 15 years I shot thousands of photos with my Canon FD lenses. They produced superb images. At the end of that period when I chose to upgrade to newer technology I was rewarded with much higher resale values than I would have reaped with third party lenses. There is nothing cost effective about giving away third party lenses that have no resale value. Sooner or later every serious photographer has to deal with the issue of upgrading to newer technologhy. The most cost effective way to deal with this issue is to stick with the name brand products.

I have shots thousands of motorsports photos with a Canon 70-200/4L and a Canon 80

-200/2.8L. In June one of my friends helped me out one day and I used his Sigma 70

-200/2.8 HSM lens. It focused just as quickly as my 80-200/2.8L and was just as sharp.

However, when looking over the photos that night I noticed a slight yellowish cast in the

images taken with the Sigma.

 

Given that yellow cast and Sigma's reputation for spotty quality control I'm sticking with

Canon lenses. My old 80-200/2.8L is still going strong. If you can't afford the Canon 70

-200/2.8L you should look for an 80-200/2.8L. They bring $500-$650 depending upon

condition. Mine was near the low end of that range.

Travis,

 

I shoot mostly youth soccer and recently evaluated two Sigma EX lenses, the 120-300mm f2.8 HSM and the 70-200mm f2.8 HSM, against the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM. Since the performance between the Canon and the Sigmas is for all practical purposes the same, as far as my inexperienced eyes and the eyes of several folks at my local shop can tell by looking at my photos, I chose the Sigma equipment. Given the lack of objective performance difference and my budget sensitivity, it was not that difficult a decision although it took me awhile to shoot enough with each lens to form my opinion.

 

I have not noticed the aforementioned color problem, nor any tendency to flare on the part of the Sigmas. For my uses, the Sigmas seem to be excellent and I'd make the same decision today even more decisively.

 

Good shooting!