Sigma 400 5.6 APO Macro (canon) - Is it a good value for money

[andy10]

Hi... I dont shoot too much with tele lenses.. yet there are

situations when I wish I had the long reach.. I just found someone

willing to sell a Sigma 400/5.6 HSM APO lens (1.5 yrs old) for a low

price $260.. I checked the photodo and they rate the lens at 3.1..

 

I would like to hear some feedback from your experiences.. How does

this lens perform.. Is it a good value for money.. thanks in advance..

 

cheers

Addy

[neil_lupin]

a friend of mine has one and is very very happy with it, but I have a feeling he only paid about £150 this year, so your price sounds a little high.

[gerry_szarek]

A photodo ranking of 3.1 is not great, most good primes are 3.9 and above, so don't expect things to be really go wide open or at the corners. I would get the MTF charts for the sigma and compare them to the canon offering (non macro 5.6 L) version.

 

The lens is a good value for the money since a new canon 400 will be around ~1100. If you sell your photo's I'd go for the canon, else by the Sigma.

 

GS

[yakim_peled1]

Personally, I don't think that the outer condition is of any importance, as long as everything else works fine - focusing, zooming and, of course, the final image.

 

Look at the glass in well lit place. Check carefully the front and rear elements. Look through the lens to a clear blue sky. You should see nothing but clear glass.

 

Load a roll of a good slide film (e.g. Velvia or Provia) and shoot - with tripod - a brick wall (to test distortion - there shouldn't be any) and the sky (to test vignetting - there shouldn't be any). Try most apertures, especially wide open and closed down. Write down everything. Look carefully at the slides using a good loop.

 

Does it focuses smoothly ?

 

A few minor things, is mounting and dismounting the lens hood works fine ? Is the tripod collar (does it have one?) mount easily on a tripod ?

 

All went well ? Like the pictures ? Buy and be happy.

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.

[andy10]

Thanks for your feedback.. One more question.. Does this lens works well with EOS 1V or later DSLR bodies.. Are their any compatibility issues with it.. Though I would test the lens with my camera but any information will help me be carefull..

 

thanks in advance..