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Sigma 180mm f3.5 EX APO Macro HSM
Field Review
This is one of the best
lenses for macro photography. The long focal allows to isolate the
subject against a nicely blurred background and it gives a good
working distance: the Sigma 180 a macro photographer dream lens. It
offers an amazing image quality: it is so good that I have often
used it even with the 2x TC, to get even more background blur and working
distance.
Update: in 2008, I sold my Sigma 180
for the Canon 180...and I have regretted it. Read my Canon
EF 180mm f/3.5 Macro L USM field review for a side by side
comparison of the two 180 macro...
Lens Specifications
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Focal length
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180 mm
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Lens construction
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13 elements in 10 groups
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Number of Diaphragm Blades
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9 blades
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Angle of view
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9.55º (on APS-C camera), 13.71º
(on 35mm camera)
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Max. Magnification
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1:1
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Maximum Aperture
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f/3.5
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Minimum Aperture
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f/32
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Image stabilization
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No
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Autofocus
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Inner ultrasonic motor
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Full Time Manual Focus
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Yes
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Closest Focusing Distance
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0.46 meters
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Filter size
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72 mm
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Dimensions (Diameter x Length)
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80 x 179 mm
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Weight
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945 g
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Price
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$ 690
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Announced
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199X - 2005 (now discontinued,
replaced with the almost identical DG version)
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Accessories
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Rear cap, front cap, lens hood,
tripod socket, lens case
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Description
The Sigma 180 is very well built, even
though it is not perfect. It is extremely robust; the
entire lens barrel is made of metal and overall the lens is solid as
a rock. My main complaint is the lack of weather sealing - since I
always use this lens outdoor, even in harsh environmental
conditions, I'd really appreciate weather sealing. My second
complaint regards the fine "Sigma EX style" opaque black
painting: while it is very stylish, it shows scratches easily, and
it is not very resistant to water - sometimes I've used the lens
under the rain, and now the painting of my lens is completely
ruined. It does not bother me too much, since the lens works
perfectly both with and without the painting, but I'd have
appreciated a better painting, as the one of Canon L lenses.
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It is relatively big, as all 180 macro lenses (it is quite bigger
than the Sigma 150 Macro) and it
weights near 1kg. With the lens hood in place, it is nearly 24
centimeters long, but thanks to the minimum focussing
distance of 46 centimeters it still has a much better
working distance than shorter lenses.
The focus ring is very large
(it occupies almost one half of the lens) an it is designed
for a very precise focusing. You can view the reproduction
ration and current focusing distance, in meters and feet,
through a transparent window.
On the left side of the lens
there are two switches. The first one is the Focus Limiter
switch; you can choose between 0.46-0.61 meters,
0.61-infinity and 0.46-infinity. This switch allows reduce
the focus range and then it allows a faster AF. The second switch let
you select AF or MF. The AF is performed an
ultrasonic motor; it has "full time manual
focus", i.e. you can manually override the
autofocus in every moment without changing the
position of the switch and without any risk to
damage the lens.
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The autofocus is quite
slow, but it is not a surprise: all macro lenses
have a slow autofocus, because the AF has to search
the focus between a very wide range of distances (from 0.46m to infinity). You can get a
faster AF using the Focus Limiter, that reduces the
AF range, or pre-focusing manually (thanks to Full Time Manual
Focus you can switch from AF
to MF in every moment). Another way to get better AF
is by using the center AF sensor, that is the most
sensitive AF point.
The lens is supplied
with a sturdy, well balanced tripod collar and with
a large lens case. The tripod collar is one of the things
that make me love this lens;
when the lens is mounted on the tripod, it allows to switch from
horizontal framing to vertical without moving the tripod head (you
just have to loosen the knob and to rotate the camera). Other than
that, if you place the camera on the ground the tripod collar adds
some height to the lens/camera combo, making possible looking into
viewfinder (even though it is not very comfortable - I highly
recommend to buy the Canon Angle Finder-C for macro
work).
The 180mm has a closest focusing
distance of
0.46m; in other words, you need to stay at 46cm from the subject to achieve
the maximum reproduction ration of 1:1. It is far more than the 30cm of the 105 macro
or the 18cm of the 50 macro, and it allows to take photos of shy
subjects; you can increase the working distance with
teleconverters (as shown in the following table), while maintaining
and excellent quality.
| Focal
Length |
Focusing
distance at 1:1 |
Working
distance (no hood) |
Working
distance (with hood) |
| 180mm |
46.0
centimeters |
23.8
centimeters |
15.9
centimeters |
| 250mm
(180 + 1.4x) |
54.0
centimeters |
30.1
centimeters |
22.2
centimeters |
| 360mm
(180 + 2.0x) |
64.5
centimeters |
37.3
centimeters |
29.4
centimeters |
| 500mm
(180 + 2.0x + 1.4x) |
80.0
centimeters |
50.8
centimeters |
42.9
centimeters |
Similar
Lenses (for Canon EOS)
Tamron and Canon have a 180mm macro;
both of them have excellent image quality (as good as the Sigma),
but they have some disadvantages.
The Tamron SP 180mm f/3.5 Di LD Macro
has internal focus, but it doesn't have ultrasonic AF motor and it has
not full time manual focus, that may be useful if you photograph a
very active subject. The image quality is on par with the
Sigma.
The Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
has slightly better built quality, but the image quality is the
same, and it costs twice: in my
opinion, it is not worth the price difference. The only real
advantage of the Canon is the possibility
of using Canon TCs, while
the Sigma 180 Macro can use only Sigma teleconverters.
Sigma has also another long macro lens,
the Sigma 150mm f2.8 EX APO Macro HSM DG. This lens is quite
similar to the 180 f3.5, but I wouldn't have any hesitation to
choose the 180: in my opinion, the 30mm of difference are much more important
than the difference between f/2.8 and f/3.5, in particular for a
macro lens (insects and other macro subjects are not easy to
approach and you need as much focal length as possible, while you
won't use often wide apertures as f/2.8 or f/3.5).
Image Quality
The Sigma 180 Macro has superb image
quality. The sharpness is excellent between f/5.6 and
f/16; at f/3.5 it is a little softer, but still usable. If you compare an image taken at f8 with one taken at f3.5 you surely notice a
difference of sharpness; nevertheless, the results at f/3.5 as still amazingly
good, in particular if you consider that the Sigma 180mmm is a macro lens,
optimized for relatively small apertures (f/8-f/16). I wouldn't hesitate to use
this lens wide open. The
smallest aperture (f/32) is very soft, but this is not a
defect of the lens (all lenses are soft at small apertures,
due to diffraction). The chromatic aberration is almost absent,
even wide open. I have never had problems of CA even in high
contrast situations: this is a great accomplishment, that attests
the quality of the lens. In 2005, Sigma has renewed its entire
range of telephoto lenses with a "DG" version of every
lens. According to Sigma, the DG version is optimized for digital
cameras, and it has a better anti-reflective coating. Personally, I
think that it is more a marketing strategy than an actual
innovation; I have never had flare issues with the 180 Macro
"not DG", reviewed here.
The following samples show the
excellent quality of the lens at f/8 and f/16 (the smallest aperture
that I recommend to use). The photos had been taken in RAW format and converted
with Photoshop CS2; I processed them to optimize the image quality (contrast, color,
sharpness), and I saved them as
high-quality JPEG for web display.
Click on every image to download the full size JPEG sample.
Please respect the copyright! These images can be printed only to evaluate the
quality of the lens, for personal purposes. All other usages are prohibited.
"250mm Macro" : Sigma 180 + 1.4x TC
Mounting the Sigma 1.4x TC, you get a 252mm f/5.0, with longer working distance, better
background blur and the possibility to reach the reproduction ratio
of 1.4:1!
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Even though I use very often the
teleconverters with my 600 f/4, so far I hadn't thought about the
improvement of background - since I use the 600 f4 almost always wide
open, there is not background improvement with TCs: the background blur
is the same both with a 600mm at f/4 or a 840mm f/5.6. In macro
photography, instead, I often use small apertures, as f/8 or f/11: at
the same aperture, a 250mm gives a more out of focus background than a
180mm, so the 1.4x TC gives a real advantage in term of separation
between the subject and the background.
What about image quality? The 180 is
a very sharp lens, and it is pretty good even with 1.4x TC, even though
it is not as good as my "sharpness monster", the 600 f/4 L IS.
Wide open at f/5.0 it is a bit soft, but from f/8 to f/16 it is very
good. To measure the sharpness loss due to the TC, I have taken two
photos of the same test target, the first with the 180, and the second
one with the 180 + TC. In the second photo I increased the distance
between the camera and the target to compensate the increased
magnification; my goal was to capture two identical images, to compare
the absolute sharpness, not the magnification.
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| Sigma 180,
unprocessed crop |
Sigma 180 +
1.4x TC, unprocessed crop |
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| Sigma 180,
processed crop |
Sigma 180 +
1.4x TC, processed crop |
Both the test photos had been taken at
f/11, one of the sharpest apertures. At this aperture the difference
is quite small in the unprocessed crop, and it is even smaller after
a bit of post-processing.
Image Quality at
1.4:1 ratio
Other than increasing working distance,
the teleconverter increases the maximum magnification. With the Sigma 1.4x TC, the 180 reaches a
reproduction ratio of 1.4:1, at the minimum focussing distance of 46
centimeters.
The results are quite good,
actually a bit better than what I expected. It is pretty
soft wide at f/5.0 - but I'd never use this aperture at
1.4:1 macro ratio, the depth of field is way too thin! At
f/8 and f/11, the lens reaches its maximum sharpness, and
the detail is very good. I've been positively surprised to
see that even at f/16 it is still quite sharp - a very good
result, considering the magnification. The smallest
apertures, as expected, are very soft due to diffraction;
f/22 is already unusuable for my personal standard, and f/45
is ridiculously soft (I can assure you that the photo taken
at f/45 is perfectly focussed and there is not motion blur -
the extreme softness is exclusively a result of
diffraction).
Image
Samples: Sigma 180mm + 1.4x TC
The image quality, as shown in the
previous tests, is really good. The sharpness is still
excellent. The following samples show the quality of the lens
at various apertures. The photos had been taken in RAW format and converted
with Photoshop CS2; I processed them to optimize the image quality (contrast, color,
sharpness), and I saved them as
high-quality JPEG for web display.
Click on every image to download the full size JPEG sample.
Please respect the copyright! These images can be printed only to evaluate the
quality of the lens, for personal purposes. All other usages are prohibited.
"360mm Macro" : Sigma 180 + 2.0x TC
Combined with the 180, the 2x
teleconverter gives a 360mm f/7.1, with 2:1 macro capability - amazing! What
is even more amazing, is that the image quality is still good - after post processing, it would be difficult to
tell if a photo has taken with the bare lens of with the 2x
TC. To measure the sharpness, I repeated the same studio test
that I did with the 1.4x - I have taken two
photos of the same test target, the first with the 180, and the second
one with the 180 + TC. In the second photo I increased the distance
between the camera and the target to compensate the increased
magnification; my goal was to capture two identical images, to compare
the absolute sharpness, not the magnification. The following images are
100% crops from photos taken at f/16 (the sharpest aperture of
the 180 + 2x).
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| Sigma 180,
unprocessed crop |
Sigma 180 + 2.0x TC, unprocessed crop |
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| Sigma 180,
processed crop |
Sigma 180 + 2.0x TC, processed crop |
The lens is very soft wide open
at f/7.1, but it improves a lot stopping down: it is good at
f/11, and very good at f/16: a remarkable result. The
image at 2:1 is quite good - at this
magnification, the sharpest aperture is f/13, but the lens is
usable at every aperture between f/11 and f/16.
Image
Samples: Sigma 180mm + 2.0x TC
Nowadays, I use the 2.0x TC on
the lens almost all the times. With the 2x I almost always shoot at
f/11 or f/16, that are the
sharpest aperture of this combination. The following samples show the quality of the lens
at various apertures. The photos had been taken in RAW format and converted
with Photoshop CS2; I processed them to optimize the image quality (contrast, color,
sharpness), and I saved them as
high-quality JPEG for web display.
Click on every image to download the full size JPEG sample.
Please respect the copyright! These images can be printed only to evaluate the
quality of the lens, for personal purposes. All other usages are prohibited.
Other Reviews
Conclusions
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Pros
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. Excellent sharpness between f5.6 and
f16, very good even with the 1.4x TC and 2.0x TC
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. Good built quality
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. Full time manual focus thanks to
ultrasonic AF motor
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. Excellent price/performances ratio
(the Canon's and Nikon's equivalents cost almost
twice)
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. The focal length allows to
isolate the subject against a blurred background
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. Closest focusing distance of 46cm
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Cons
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. Lack of weather sealing and so-so
painting
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. Slow autofocus
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. Lack of image stabilization (this is
a very minor cons, since this lens is rarely used
handheld)
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Conclusion
In my opinion, the Sigma 180 is the
best lens for macro photography. Some aspects could be improved:
a better painting, weather sealing and image stabilizations,
useful when you have to shoot handheld, would make it
practically perfect. That said, it is one of my preferred
lenses, for its image quality and background blur.
I highly recommend this lens to everyone
interested in macro photography!
Do you have
comments or questions?
If you have comments or questions about this
article, feel free to ask in the Juza
Nature Photography Discussion Forum!
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