Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM

[whipper_snappa]

Hey Guys,

Was at harvey norman today, and noticed a big sigma sitting in the cabinet, it was begging me to try it out. Turns out it was the Sigma 120-400. I Loved it, after i asked the salesman to stick it on the 5D i took some shots with it instore. I was very impressed with the quality of the actual lens and very impressed with the speed of the AF. i think i shot at 1/60 F5.6 400mm with ISO400. I'm not sure if OS was on or not, but it was crystal clear.

Just wondering if anyone has actually purchased this lens, if so any pro's or con's with it i should be aware of before i decide to waltz down there and purchase it?

Thanks!

[pgbphotographytas]

I have this lens and run it on my 40D, if you want to see some photos with it have a look at my blog http://pgbphotographytas.blogspot.com/ some of the latest skate park ones were taken with it.

Personally I quite like it and have got some good results but I have only had it for about 6 weeks so I have a lot of practice to do with it yet, what do you mainly want to shot with it?

Paul

[whipper_snappa]

Hay Paul.

thanks for your input i played with it for 2 minutes and fell in love with it!

I Mainly shoot motorsport, some other sporting events. Have gone to the skate park a few times but its mainly action and sporting stuff that i enjoy

also, checking out your page now, i wanna see some shots with the lens!

[pgbphotographytas]

Hay Paul.

thanks for your input i played with it for 2 minutes and fell in love with it!

I Mainly shoot motorsport, some other sporting events. Have gone to the skate park a few times but its mainly action and sporting stuff that i enjoy

also, checking out your page now, i wanna see some shots with the lens!

Well based on that I think it will suit you well.
On my page they are down a little bit if you scroll, some are with it and the rest are with the 18-55mm IS.

[whipper_snappa]

yeah sweet as, i checked em out

the lens seems a heaps good asset,

what would you rate it outa 10?

lets say like.

weight /10
sharpness /10
AF speed /10

overall /10

[pgbphotographytas]

yeah sweet as, i checked em out

the lens seems a heaps good asset,

what would you rate it outa 10?

lets say like.

weight /10
sharpness /10
AF speed /10

overall /10

yes it is good value I think.

Weight: I would say 8/10 if 10 is super heavy and 1 is light, it weighs 1.9Kg I think so it has a bit of weight to it, at first my arms would get sore from holding it and the 40D but now I am use to it and use a mono pod it is not such an issue.

Sharpness: I can't really comment on this too much as it is my first "decent" lens, if you step it down to around F8 - F11 it is better the running it wide open.

AF speed: seems to go well on the 40D, with my skate park photos and most of them seem to be in focus and it does focus fairly fast being HSM.

Over all I really like it and I think it is much better value then the Canon 100-400mm.

Paul

[whipper_snappa]

ah righto sweet as.

might actually get it, i didnt have much troubles holding it at the shop, and the 5d would be a bit heavier then my d200; but your arms would get sore eventually holding without a monopod.

thanks for your replies paul

[I @ M]

, and the 5d would be a bit heavier then my d200; but your arms would get sore eventually holding without a monopod.

Try the other way around Aaron, looking at a few specs, the D200 is just a little bit heavier than a 5D.

Either way, hand holding most long lenses for any length of time takes its toll on your photography.

( the above may not apply if you are built like an Olympic weight lifter )

[pgbphotographytas]

Try the other way around Aaron, looking at a few specs, the D200 is just a little bit heavier than a 5D.

Either way, hand holding most long lenses for any length of time takes its toll on your photography.

( the above may not apply if you are built like an Olympic weight lifter )

Yes I totally agree, the monopod was the best thing I got to hep me with this.

Paul

[ving]

ppl go on and on about weight... i have the 150-500mm version of the siggy, its a bit heavier but mounted on a d40 with batterygrip so i am guessing body wise its about the same... I do regular 3-4 hour birding session with this with a sigma external flash on top, hand held...
while you arent pointing the camera it hangs nicely from a shoulder strap cause lets face it, who sits there pointing a camera for 3 hrs straight? theres walking around, resting, waiting for stuff to happen, getting food, etc totake a break from holding the camera. the shoulder strap means you can walk comfortably for a couple of KM if you need to while carrying the camera.
the OS on my camera genareally allows for me to shoot down to 1/100 hand held tho i have done a few 1/60 at 500mm that are sharp too, but that takes some steadying.

focus speed? hmm, well mine is f6.3 max at 500 so its good is its bright but falls off when the light does... the 120-400 would be quicker but still watch the light.

IQ, mine is good from f8 on and i am asuming the 400 would be too. mine is still usable "wide" open too but IQ does drop off a bit.

[whipper_snappa]

aaahk cool beans

cheers for that guys,

also i've got the battery grip on the d200 aswell so that adds a bit more weight but its nothing i cant handle. i will most definatly buy a monopod when getting this lens then, sounds stupid hand holding every shot with the dam thing haha

[pgbphotographytas]

Sounds good, let us know once you get it and what you think of it.

Paul

[myeewyee]

Hmmm... I'm strongly considering buying a Sigma 120-400mm second hand. I'd love some more opinions on this lens if anyone else has one.

[David]

I am considering this lens myself for telefoto purposes beyond 100MM to 400MM because 300MM wont cut if for the birding and wildlife stuff I am eventually going to get into after I clean up the other end of the scale (10mm through to 100MM with three Sigma lenses: only got one so far).

Good luck with it.

PS: There is a Sigma 135MM-400MM which is heaps cheaper than the 120-400MM but I dont think it is EX or HSM..from memory.

I dont think Canon or Nikon will give you a 400MM + capable lens for anywhere near the price of the 'foreign' providers if $$$ is a key issue. You start shelling out serious money beyond 300MM with Canon from what Ive researched to date.

Cheers David

[Audible]

I'm also considering this lens to replace my 135-400mm sigma. mainly to get the OS. Figure if I ebay the 135-400mm, the change over price may be worth it to gain the extra two stops worth when hand holding.

The 135-400mm isn't a bad lens optically. There are no noticable distortions or CA (unless you pixel peep and look for them). Compared to my 70-200mm F4L, the sigma will always come off second best.
But for what it is and comparing it to other consumer grade lens, its pretty good. Optically the only real downer is that it's a bit soft over around 340-350mm but stopping down to f9.0 fixes that. I've taken moon shots with this lens @ f11 and gotten good crater detail right across the moon face.

The problems with the 135-400mm are barrel creep, focus speed (compared to my other lens) and the lack of OS. The new 120-400mm looks like it solves all those problems so this lens looks like being a bit of a winner.

BTW, what price did Harvey Normans have the lens for?

[mcdesign]

I bought this lens quite recently, haven't quite got used to it yet but very happy with what I have got so far within the limits of my photography, this was taken with the lens prefocusing on the tree and then pressing the button at the (right!) time, as you can see I need a lot of practice.

[bradhk]

I have this lens. I bought it to go to the Macau Grand Prix last in 2008. I actually found it too long from where I was sitting at that circuit and mostly used my 50-150 for panning shots. I did get a few shots with the 120-400 and it was the first time that I had shot motor sport. Having said that, I am happy with the results I did get with the lens.

This was at 270mm f8 1/350, not the worlds greatest motor sport photo but I was happy with it as a first attempt.


another at 120mm f4.5 1/1000



OS is very impressive, in test shots inside my house, i was getting reasonably sharp hand held shots 400mm at 1/6 sec.

[Pine]

Hey Guys,

Was at harvey norman today, and noticed a big sigma sitting in the cabinet, it was begging me to try it out. Turns out it was the Sigma 120-400. I Loved it, after i asked the salesman to stick it on the 5D i took some shots with it instore. I was very impressed with the quality of the actual lens and very impressed with the speed of the AF. i think i shot at 1/60 F5.6 400mm with ISO400. I'm not sure if OS was on or not, but it was crystal clear.

Just wondering if anyone has actually purchased this lens, if so any pro's or con's with it i should be aware of before i decide to waltz down there and purchase it?

Thanks!

I had to do an "AFMicroadjust" on my Canon 7D to get the Sigma 120-400 to focus acurately. Was as much as 7 clicks out.

[janedene]

Hi,

I'm a keen amateur photographer who has never joined any kind of forum before so am looking forward to participating. I'm wondering if anyone can help. Ive been thinking about the Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM lens and wanted to get opinions or good alternatives at around the same price.

[Mikerudd]

I recently purchased the Sigma 120-140 after considering the 150 -500. Weight difference and size was the deciding factor. First few attempts were a tad disappointing on my Canon 7d but I put that down to getting the balance and feel as I was hand holding. I read some people think focus is soft - I believe this lens is excellent value for money and you will pay SIGNIFICANTLY more for the Canon equivalent for just marginal improvement. Now i am consistently getting GREAT results with fabulous depth of colour and sharpness. I am keen pilot and will be using this lens for aircraft photography and views from the cockpit... perfect choice. None of my photographic clients are complaining and i am confident my photos will get published in the mags when i get using this lens for my business. Lens is very well built too.