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Blurryeyed www.juzaphoto.com/p/Blurryeyed  |
 | Sigma 180mm Macro f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Pros: Working distance, sharpness, OS Cons: For me none, a lot of people complain about the weight of the lens but for me it has not been a problem at all, but I have owned 2 180mm macro lenses before so I guess I knew what to expect. Opinion: This is the best macro lens I have ever used, I have owned several macro lenses over the years beginning with the old 90's version all metal Canon 100mm f/2.8 that elongated as you focused closer to your subject, then the Canon 100mm 2.8 USM followed by the Sigma 180mm f/3.5 then the Sigma 150 OS and also the Canon 180L and the Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS.... None of them compare to this lens. This lens is sharp and bright. In the past I have done a lot of reversed lens macro which is very rewarding, shooting up to 4:1 with a 28mm lens reversed on a full set of tubes, but it is also very challenging and requires an elaborate flash setup, you don't just grab your camera and go. I bought this lens to have a good telephoto prime in the 200mm range that also has macro capabilities, when it arrived I was stoked, it is a beautiful lens, truly striking. It replaces my Sigma 150mm macro that also has OS, which I feel is a better lens than either of the Canon lenses I have owned, but this lens is on a different level than even the 150. I have never thought that OS was important on a macro lens because honestly I didn't think that it worked for macro, but I can tell you that after shooting with both the older Sigma 180 and the Canon 180L that the OS on this lens actually works, you can use this lens in the field without the aid of a tripod or flash and get excellent results, something that was difficult at best with my other two 180's. For the inexperienced in macro, the longer the focal length the more difficult it is to control motion blur when shooting at or near full macro, the 180mms on Canons and the 200mms on Nikon were almost useless for handheld macro in the field without either a good flash solution or a tripod and as far as I am concerned tripods themselves are pretty much useless unless you are in a macro studio or shooting flowers on a very still day, everything seems to move in nature and your DOF is so very thin, for me handheld macro is the only way I want to shoot in the field, you have the freedom to move with your subject while not lugging a tripod all around the field. Anyway, to summarize, the build quality of this lens is excellent, the focus is slow for a big prime lens but that is always to be expected on a macro lens, Sigma made a big leap forward in the finish and styling of this lens, it is a big gorgeous lens, and most importantly it has the best IQ of any macro lens out that that I have seen and I have owned quite a few, and lastly and very important for a macro lens of this focal length, it is easy to use albeit heavy for some. Also, one last note.... this lens absolutely and in no uncertain terms smokes the Canon 180L sent on February 26, 2019 |
 | Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 II DG HSM Pros: 12mm Rectilinear Ultrawide, solid build quality, fast focus, low distortion. Cons: Maximum aperture, border sharpness, inability to accept filters. Opinion: It is embarrassing to admit that I own three ultra-wides at the moment, of the three I think that this lens is the least sharp but that is not to say that it isn't sharp, the sample images below show that the sharpness of this lens is more than adequate to make wonderful images. The other two lenses being the Canon 16-35 f/4 IS and the Tokina 16-28 f/2.8 are just a bit sharper. The Sigma does things that the others can't because of the 12mm wide focal length, it delivers great photographs and until the Canon 11-24 came out it was the widest rectilinear zoom lens available for full frame cameras. Personally I do not care to spend the money for the Canon 11-24 and based on some of the reviews that I have read about that lens I am not certain that it would be a better performer than the Sigma. Some of the outstanding points about this lens is that color rendering and contrast is very good, and distortion is very well controlled. Distortion is evident at 12mm but by 16mm where most ultrawides are at their widest distortion is minimal. One very big plus for me is that I own both Canon formats, full and crop frames, with this lens in my bag will never feel the need to buy an array of lenses cover both cameras, the wide end of this lens is still plenty wide on my crop frame camera and the lens covers me up to 24mm where my 24-70mm lens pics up. I recommend this lens for those who want to get really really wide or who like me own both formats and don't always carry your full frame camera body. sent on March 02, 2016 |
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