Sigma lens for Canon EOS

[desmond_quinn]

I have a Canon EOS 3000 with the basic 35-80 mm lens.

I like to take good quality holiday and family snaps and would like

more flexibility and to do some animal and bird photography. I'm not

going into publishing but might try competitions. Having read mixed

reviews for the Canon 75-300mm lens, I was thinking of getting the

Sigma 28-300 mm Compact Hyperzoom which has had good reviews and

which seems to do everything.

Any views please? Is the Sigma lens compatible with the camera? Is

it as good as the reviews claim?

Thanks

 

Desmond Quinn

[NK Guy]

10x zooms are packed with optical compromises.

<P>

<A HREF="http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html#28200">http://

photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html#28200</A>

[beauh44]

Hi Desmond, You probably won't get too many people recommending Sigma lenses in a Canon forum. I do own 1 Sigma lens - the 20mm f1.8 prime. After owning it only about 6 mos, it died and I had to return it for repair. In fairness to Sigma, they fixed it in a timely manner and the glass itself is actually not bad at all - but it's a prime lens and should be pretty sharp. Some other issues: There has been compatibility problems between Sigma and Canon. Canon's EOS is a proprietary system and they're not telling Sigma what's going on in their lenses. That means Sigma must reverse-engineer the lens and what works today might not work on a future Canon body. (I've had no problems with my Sigma and a new, Canon 10D though) The other issue is that Sigma lens covers quite a spread, optically speaking. Rarely can one lens, trying to "do it all", do it as well as either primes or lenses that aren't trying to go from wide angle to telephoto like the 28-300mm. You didn't mention your budget, but you might look at the Canon 28-135mm Image Stabilized lens which will help quite a bit with hand-held shots. I own it as well as the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L IS lens, which is incredible, even with the 1.4x teleconverter. I look at Sigma this way: If there's a certain focal length I'd like to own and the comparable Canon product is waaaay too expensive, then and only then would I consider the Sigma. Just my .02 worth. Best wishes...

[desmond_quinn]

Thank you very much for replying. The problem is budget! The Sigma Lens is £189; the Canon 28-135 is £349 and the 70-200"L" £679. The question for me, as an amateur taking basically holiday snaps, is whether the gain in quality of picture is going to be noticeable in ordinary 6X4 format; and if so will it be worth paying so much more for?

 

I understand your comment about future compatibility with Canon, but since I have read that the 75-300 lens is of poor quality I'm not sure what to do for the best! That lens is about £149 and for me, not cheap.

 

Desmond

[gareth_harper]

I can't comment on the 35-80 lens as I'm not familar with it.

However I do have and use a 75-300 f4-f5.6 USM and for the money it is a good lens. For holiday snaps and stuff it will be fine. I've done 10x8 inch full face grabbed portrait B&W prints with it and it still has some impact even at 300mm. I'm hoping to be able to get hold of a 70-200 f4L soon as I am aware that the lens I've got is not the sharpest but that's not to say it is a bad lens. It should be fine for entering competitions. What's really important in competitions is the actual photograph itself, a super sharp lens will help but it's not everything.

Look out for mint secondhand examples to save a few more pennies.

Also consider getting hold of a 50mm f1.8 for general use. This lens is only 80 quid new and is absolutely razor sharp, everybody should have one, there's also plenty kicking about on the secondhand market.

I'd be wary of going down the superzoom route, one lens just can't do it all, I suspect these lenses will be pretty soft and distort quite a bit.

At the end of the day use what you can afford Desmond. Also have a look at 7dayshop.com for cheap film etc if you are based in the UK.

[brian_tao]

The only superzoom I've personally had great experiences with (and have heard many, many other surprisingly favourable reviews for) is the Sigma 50-500mm EX lens. IMHO, this lens somehow manages to break the "more-zoom-less-quality" rule of thumb. I cannot vouch for the Sigma 28-300mm, but I would not expect it to be up to the same quality as their 50-500mm.

 

While I agree that Canon lenses are in almost all cases superior in image and construction quality, they are not always the best value, and it is not at all unusual that a non-Canon lens will surpass a photographer's requirements. The photographer may not think so, but that's a subjective opinion. ;-)

 

I own the Sigma 15-30/3.5-4.0 EX, the Sigma 28-70/2.8 EX, the Sigma 50-500/4.0-6.3 EX, the Sigma 1.4x EX teleconverter, the Tamron 90/2.8 SP Macro, the Canon 50/1.4 and the Canon 70-200/2.8L IS. I have returned a couple of Sigma lenses (the 17-35mm I had was horrible, and I didn't like the 105mm macro), but I am very satisfied with the ones I have now. Would I trade the Sigma 15-30mm for the Canon 16-35/2.8L? Sure, if I didn't have to pay for it. ;-) But seeing as how the one Canon lens costs as much as my two short Sigmas, the teleconverter and the Tamron macro lens, I'd rather have the lens variety.

 

And if you want to know why I chose the Canon 70-200 over the Sigma 70-200 (which is also excellent)... the IS feature alone is worth the price. If I had to choose between the non-IS Canon f/2.8 and the Sigma, the Sigma would win.

[vsevolod_krishchenko]

There are only two good ten times zoom - Canon 35-350 and Sigma 50-500 :) Still some people think these are bad lens too...<br>

As far as I understande, you have limited budget. I own Sigma 50-500 and this is quite good lens for sunny days. Almost forgot - 50-500 is 2kg monster...

[vinh_trinh_quang]

I own sigma 28-300 and D10. They work with eachother very well although can not compared to Cannon lens. See my picture you will find out more. Cheers.

[desmond_quinn]

Thanks all.

 

In the end I went for a Sigma 28-200mm bought on ebay for £108 ($150). It seemed a good deal and should give me the flexibility I'm looking for. Thanks again though for the advice.