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  | sent on 26 Gennaio 2017 Pros: Construction; Stabilisation; Affordability now secondhand; HSM AF fast and quiet; Zoom lock (essential, but can be fiddly and difficult to engage) Cons: Weight, far too heavy for its specification - the figure given in the Juza spec is 100g less than it really is; AF apparently incompatible with lower end DSLRs; Stabilisation on mine is noisy Opinion: I'll say this honestly that comparing this lens in all manners to its predecessor, which I had (and mostly hated) the 135-400mm Apo, is like comparing an old Skoda with a Passat, but is still way off the mark of the lens that I will one day buy, Nikon's new G 80-400mm VR. I used to own Nikon's old D 80-400mm with its very basic VR and poor 400mm sharpness but traded it in for exchange for this Sigma's bigger brother, the very popular and transforming 150-500mm OS, which I still have and occasionally still use. Sigma have, of course, replaced that lens with yet another leap forward in every aspect, with the two 150-600mm's. They have not replaced the 120-400mm, however and are unlikely to, everybody wants longer and longer focal lengths, of course. But those lenses (and my 150-500mm) are just too big and heavy to carry around as a general purpose long zoom, whereas the new Nikkor 80-400mm G is around the size and weight of a 70-200mm f2.8, big, yes, massive, no. Even on DX, 400mm is generally too short for birds and wildlife, unless you are in a hide, in which case you probably specialise in wildlife photography and so have a better fixed lens, with the possibility of extending via matched extenders. My friend, who passed on this 120-400mm to me for a modest sum, bought it for birds on his D800, found it too short and far too heavy - and has recently gone to Mirrorless anyway. I use a 400mm for its isolation and compression properties in the landscape, both rural and urban. 25% more telephoto gain over my Tamron SP 70-300mm VC might not seem much but it can make a real difference. However, the Sigma weighs 1kg more than the already quite heavy Tamron 70-300mm VC, yet in partnership with a Nikkor 18-140mm VR and 10-24mm Nikkor, in a rucksack, makes for a weighty but not too uncomfortable way of having the range in 35mm terms, 15-600mm, in just three lenses, all with good to excellent quality on the D7100. As for sharpness, the Sigma 120-400mm is good but nothing much more than that. Often its haze and poor light that seiously degrades image quality and in theory should be similar to the 150-500mm. Amateurs and enthusiasts will like it as you can get some very decent quality if you stop the lens down a bit and use it properly, but professionals will not. But professionals had the same attitude to the 150-500mm, but they could afford Canon L, the new Nikkor or exotic fixed lenses that cost the same as a good used car. I've generally avoided maximum aperture so cannot really say how well it performs at 400mm f5.6 but I guess that images would be usable and when some extra sharpness is added in processing. My Tamron 70-300mm SP would easily beat the Sigma at all focal lengths, even at its maximum of 300mm. I've not really tried at closest focus either. So, I can only recommend if you're after reasonable and affordable quality and price and don't pay very much for one either. Reselling could be a problem in the future too, or at least for a decent price. For me, it's an interim stop gap but unlike that old and awful 135-400mm where I felt that my pictures were rather wasted by the often poor (especially 400mm) image quality, I know that this 120-400mm gets me good results for quite little money, but at 400g more than the new Nikkor 80-400mm, the overriding feeling is it's just a bit too heavy. In many aspects, 7/10 would be the right score but if you consider that it can be bought for £300 (500 Euro?) for a good used example and when compared to the alternatives and for the overall package (you also get a padded case, deep and decent hood, metal tripod collar) with its HSM focusing and effective stabilisation, then I have to award 8/10 |
  | sent on 29 Agosto 2012 Pros: quality, sharpness, easy to use, compatibility, silent Cons: quite heavy Opinion: fantastic lens... still learning how to pull the most out of it but already convinced by its quality and performance... great way to spend 1.000,00€... you will never regret the buy! absolutly fantastic! Even when attacehed to the Canon EF 1.4x converter, still can be operated with manual focus, at F:8 with no wories, sharp enough to get great moon pictures for instance... |
The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.
 | sent on 01 Marzo 2025 Pros: ? Cons: ? Opinion: Reading your reviews, this lens caught my attention, especially for the quality/price ratio and for having a long focal length without multiplying my 70-200. The only thing, I can't find is compatibility with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. In your opinion, obviously with Canon mount, is it 100% compatible? |
 | sent on 02 Marzo 2021 Pros: Construction quality - Optical quality - Price of used car. Cons: Considering the purchase price... Nobody. Opinion: It is the lens that you do not expect at the price you buy it (obviously in the used). Prices vary depending on the conditions but are worth every single penny paid out. Beautifully built, it looks solid and reassuring. 21 stabilized and corrected lenses apochromatically in 1.8 kg of weight do not make him a "feather" to wear cheerfully around. He deserves respect and attention. He deserves a solid tripod. It deserves the intervention of the photographer who must not just press the shutter button. It deserves focus control and a decent iris (f 8.0). It deserves a good light. If given all this attention, it will return sharp photos with balanced colors, indistinguishable from those made with more "bland" optics. Used on FF Nikon and on Aps-c Fuji a show! I'd buy it back a thousand more times. Super recommended if the range of focals it covers is for you. |
 | sent on 06 Giugno 2018 Pros: Excellent sharpness and quick autofocus engraving compared with a apochromatic telescope of equal focal length 400 mm I can say that from the photos made with the two instruments do not see the difference and I'm talking about a fixed focal length telescope 70 mm diameter tested on new Orion as excellent brand Hayford so do you!! Cons: Weight but it's such a serious flaw??? Opinion: For me it is worth a vote of 9 after having tried it for some years now certainly the weight is not small but it is due to the sturdy construction so better ' it goes from if I can better use it on a statin as I do from the camouflage shed for the wildlife photo but it's worth the P Ena ' cause we have a quality optics ' at a balanced price built in a solid and reliable |
 | sent on 27 Settembre 2017 Pros: Handy, reliable, great storage, good sharpness and speed. Cons: Absent AF limiter now suffers from the project in comparison with the current optical production. Opinion: I used Sigma for two years, in situations of outdoor sports. I feel satisfied with both the sharpness and the down to the max focal point, as well as the ease of maneuverability. After all, I can say that after many positive reviews I had seen, I wanted to buy it for a challenge and I had to recapture. I recommend it especially to those who do not need extreme speed. Very good. |
 | sent on 06 Settembre 2017 Pros: Excellent construction, excellent sharpness (maybe less than the extreme focal lengths at the maximum aperture), very fast and silent focus, excellent stabilizer, endowment. And do not forget the price. Cons: Maybe a little bit of weight but also competition does not offer feathers. It would have been preferable to have the capability of removing the tripod bracket even with the lens mounted on the body. Opinion: Excellent value for money. Used very little but with excellent results for both natural and sports photos. It has an instant focus and a high quality sharpness, maybe drops to the maximum apertures but to go safe just close a diaphragm. Having a good tripod could increase the satisfaction of getting great natural and sports photographs. |
 | sent on 04 Agosto 2017 Pros: Well done. Good quality, sharpness up to 300 then close one stop and is perfect. Easy to use, very quiet. I have the A-mount version and (fantastic) I also have my stabilizer, so I can choose whether to use his or her car body. MAF fast but if I limit it from the car body A99 it becomes a lightning strike. Cons: A bit heavy but 1.7Kg and 0.8 of a total machine 2.5Kg., If you think weighs just like a Sigma 150-500. All in all bearable. Zoom clutch a little soft, with shoulder strap in the travel tends to stretch if not stuck to 120mm. Opinion: Taken used at 271 €, it has given me very good results (you know when you take it right away) I did not even make microregulation (which I will definitely), silent and sharp, if it closes 1 or 2 stop at all focal points. Compared with a Sony 70 / 300G (which I did not like but maybe my defective) and with a SP70 / 300USD Tamron (very good if closed at f8), a Sigma 170-500 (sold immediately) .RAGGED ON 21- 09-2017: rnMicroregolato to +5 I would say it is perfect, great for birdlife as well. Not even too heavy for hand photo of flying birds. I use it to F11 and ISO1600, perfect for SONY, when you turn on the machine with the lens mounted, activates the lens stabilizer (that of the machine must be activated), not before it does not work properly in combination with the internal one to the car body.rn |
 | sent on 04 Agosto 2016 Pros: Price, sharpness at all focal lengths, (intermediate diaphragms) good stabilizer, fast focusing, (with good lighting conditions) good construction. Cons: weight, Opinion: Excellent price-quality ratio, a amateur photographer I do not regret an original in my case Sony 70-400.rnComunque to get the most, given the weight need a good tripod. Too bad you can not remove the bracket without removing the lens from the camera. You hear that the Sigma often have defects in construction, I have recently purchased two Sigma lenses. 10-20 f3.5 and 120-400rne veramento are very satisfied of the two lenses. |
 | sent on 13 Marzo 2016 Pros: Speed ??and silent AF, price, build quality. Cons: find negativity is really hard, having to just look for: lack of weather sealing. Opinion: Taken mainly for sports use. After much research of data and testing, I preferred the same money to buy the new sigma that Pompone Canon used. After some months of use I am very pleased with the performance, and his ring in operation and not to pump much more comfortable for my taste. In some sports outdoors it is a much more suitable than the 70-200 lens, giving the possibility of a greater choice of shots and allowing you to take home a little more interesting shots. |
 | sent on 09 Marzo 2016 Pros: Fast focusing, build quality Cons: Weight Opinion: Excellent value for money. I can say that can give a lot of satisfaction in nature photos. In sports use it behaves very well. The focus is lightning fast, very good sharpness even at 400. The weight is felt but it is manageable, stable support is preferable in case of long stalking. |
 | sent on 04 Aprile 2015 Pros: Surely primarily qualitàprezzo then speed focus and strength Cons: Weight, (but I think cmq on average with other paintings by a certain focal) Opinion: L I used three years ago and I must say that gives me a lot of satisfaction in nature photos! Despite being stabilized x shoot always use a tripod x sharper images more possible! Council a protective neoprene x greater grip and safety ... I can not make comparisons with other paintings because I only used this, but I recommend it to those who want pretty pictures for a good price !!! |
 | sent on 12 Novembre 2014 Pros: Cost, focal length, AF speed, stabilizzatore.rn Cons: Painting delicate, zoom ring down with respect to ground, there is no clutch to zoom, then vertically shortens. Opinion: Bought as used again for the right price, the positive opinion in globalità.rnBuono lens stabilizer, comes up to three stops, sharpness usabilissima at maximum focal length of 12 mp aps-c closing two stops, at room temperature a fast and fur morbido.rnAutofocus precise, awkward zooming rotating direction, but there is abitua.rnIl weight is felt, but it is still usable freehand, in good luce.rnIn shadows or cloudy preferable tripod, using improves even a little bit nitidezza.rnOttimo purchase for general wildlife and birdlife if you can get close, it has the performance of a drive, but not the cost of acquisto.rnPreferito compared to 150-500 brother to the sharpness similar, but its lower weight, the big brother is almost relegated to use in the shed and began to be unwieldy freehand. |
 | sent on 06 Novembre 2014 Pros: Build quality and image, price / quality ratio, stabilizer Cons: Weight and manageability Opinion: I have this lens for 2 years and use it often because I like the prospect of paintings spinti.Poco after the purchase has failed to focus, but thanks to the excellent service in a few days, thanks to the guarantee I have recovered the lens fixed and now goes to the grande.Vorrei use a bonus multiplier 1.4 even if I lose the 'AF, is there anyone who has ultilizzato? |
 | sent on 28 Ottobre 2014 Pros: Quick to focus, sharpness, quiet, robust, value for money Cons: Too heavy sometimes needs support, monopod or tripod, bracket trepiende very annoying Opinion: I just bought this lens and I'm learning to use it is my first zoom of a certain quality, it is very fast in focus, the sharpness is very good. For excessive weight freehand I found a little difficult, because after a while you do get a wrist much. However, it is a great lens. |
user39059
 | sent on 08 Maggio 2014 Pros: robustness, maf fast, value for money, motor hsm Cons: tripod bracket sometimes annoying, over 200 mm. needs a support or really stable tripod, stabilizer Opinion: I have recently purchased the above objective used, so I have not had to try to find everything thoroughly. From what little I could see I was impressed both as sharp as either color rendition. The only flaws that I have pointed out, are the tripod bracket which is sometimes annoying shooting freehand and stabilizer that when compared with that of the Tamron 70-300 I find it somewhat lower, namely the stabilizer tamron is really impressive as a Once focused, the live image freezes, something I can not say the sigmoid. |
 | sent on 16 Settembre 2013 Pros: Speed ??focus, sharpness, image stabilization. Cons: Needs a support really stable. Opinion: After having struggled for weeks I realized that the sharpness and moved to the maximum extent depended only on the stability of supporto.E 'advisable to use the live view. At 120 and 200 mm with a 7D files are almost identical to those of the Canon 70-200 f/4.Possibilità use freehand up to 200-250 mm if you do not suffer from Parkinson's. |
 | sent on 27 Agosto 2013 Pros: Value / Price - stabilizer (such as efficiency) - HSM - interesting excursion Cons: Stabilizer (such as noise) - sharpness - heavier - ring is not removable without removing the lens from the body - lens of reasonable quality Opinion: I got this Sigma 120-400mm OS just for fun but it has proven extremely attractive to the focal length, the speed of the focus and the presence of stabilization. A tele like that proposed less than 700 € new is great, of course, is lower than other competitors, slightly lower than the 150-500 brother as quality and much lower than the Canon 100-400. For sports and nature photography is ideal for an amateur photographer, the extreme excursion allows you to shoot a bit everything, stopped down to f / 8 is very pleasant (at TA is unobtrusive, is good at f/5.6) and dual image stabilization helps a lot , the latter (perhaps in my case) very noisy. I do not understand why do the tripod ring so you will not be able to remove without removing the lens, really uncomfortable because in some situations bother ring, lens hood is plasticky and decent quality (like most of the sigma lens hood) . My copy (thank God) does not suffer from any problema of f / b focus. For those who want to try for the first time to the wildlife and sports photography is the ideal lens. |
  | sent on 11 Aprile 2012 Pros: AF system, excursion Focal, stabilizer, price Cons: Weight, sharpness at room temperature Opinion: The Sigma 120-400 was my first big lens, I bought a used two years ago and with this view I approached the sports and nature photography. I was able to exploit it in various outdoor events and in the presence of good light is good to close the aperture to f / 8 to gain sharpness, also thanks to the stabilizer can use his free hand. Do not recommend to take the Sit for a whole day or at the end of the neck and shoulders scricchioleranno! The focus is then another of his strength, the ultrasonic system allows you to fit the subject well, even if it moves quickly (es.auto racing). Also in sport is the most useful focal range so as to frame the subject at its best! In the natural I was companion for several shots, and unfortunately, I have complained several times a poor quality TA, especially if accompanied by grazing light that does not illuminate the subject in full! For the record, reporting that after 6-7 months of use I started to notice a lack of focus (front-focus to be precise) which manifested itself first at low mm. (120-200 approximately) and then become intollerabie the maximum excursion (400mm.) from there I took it to the Service from Sigma (Milan) and have settled within twenty days. Since then, the quality, in my opinion, it is a bit 'down, but maybe it was just my idea! I sold it only because I preferred him to the 400L in the lighter, with a MAF instant accompany as silent and a top. |
 | sent on 03 Ottobre 2011 Pros: Fast focus Cons: High weight Opinion: Excellent value for money. Now, I do not know how to work his rival, but I must say that in 'use sports which I' ve dedicated behaves very well: Focus lightning, very good sharpness, even when out of 400. Tried a few portraits and here he does his duty, giving interesting bokeh effects. |
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