An Incredible Lens at any price point

I have been a professional Fashion, Beauty and Advertising photographer for over 20 years. I have worked in every format and have been published world wide in everything from Harpers Italy to L'Officiel to "W" etc. I have not shot long lenses for years. I am primarily a wide angle shooter. For some reason, I was attracted to this lens. None the less I bought it. The lens is very tight above 3.5 and quite acceptable wide open at 2.8. When I unsharp in PS images start to really pop when using my standard formula of 0.7 to 1.0 pixels at 100 percent and then to add more punch 50 to 60 pixels at 10 to 15 percent. I will use this lens on my Manfroto mono-pod and quick release head. I will not hand hold it unless in a controlled environment with flash.


I tested this lens under several conditions and found that at 2.8 at 200mm to be quite sharp, if your point of focus is dead on. You must be very discerning in choosing your focus point, as the fall off is quite radical. It can be used for beauty and fashion in a way akin to a tilt shift lens if you are somewhat off axis. The drop off is that extreme, especially at 200 (320) on my Canon. From 70 to 200 at 3.5 and above it is extremely sharp. In fact it has been rated as actual being a better performer than the Canon 70-200 2.8 L in the prestigious "British Photography Journal". Photodo gave it a 3.9 rating which translates as Very Good which was similar to the rating given to the Canon 70-200 2.8 L. I compared this lens to my Tamron Di Macro 90 mm lens and was astonished by how sharp this lens is in direct comparison to this fixed focal length macro. It comes very close to the resolution of the Tamron Di Macro 90, a brutally sharp lens to say the least. The "Bokeh" on this lens is rendered dramatically but with finesse. It blows out the background radically from 2.8 to 5.6 at 200 mm and quite nicely at 70mm between 2.8 and 4.0. My only complaint would be the 1.8 meter minimum focus distance. However this is not a major problem as it does come in well if you increase the focal length. For my Canon 20D, it is a 112 to 320 F2.8 Lens. One more thing. The HSM is fast. In fact using it under my working conditions, I cannot imagine focussing faster than what this lens is able to accomplish. I generally use the one shot setting on my Canon 20D. I appreciate the manual focus over-ride compensation, even when in its' auto focus mode. The quality of workmanship of this lens is plush. It belies its' low price and is exemplary in its' finition and use of materials. The textured metal finish used is very pleasing to the touch. In a word it just smacks of "Class".

Just a couple of points. There seem to be some complaints by some users of this lens when used in conjunction with the Canon 10D. There have been several problems associated with back focus issues and the 10D. I did own a 10D and did have some of the aforementioned problems. I suggest to anyone with this problem, to submit the lens and the camera to Technical Services and ask Canon to fine tune your specific camera with the lenses in your arsenal. They will attempt to find a happy medium. Another issue is the concern that this lens is not sharp wide open. Most large aperture lenses suffer this anomaly. Much can be rectified in post production. However I have found that with a long focal length and extremely fast lens that your focussing must be spot on, or you may misread an out of focus image with that of an incorrectly focussed image. Remember that if you are not perfectly perpendicular to the subject, the fall off will occur very quickly, especially wide open. Get used to your lens before passing judgment about it's sharpness and performance. This lens is comparable to any of the finest lenses available on the market today. Secondly... Would I recommend this lens? Highly and that includes professionals and hobbyists alike!

PS: Here is the http://www.photozone.de lens rating. Sigma sits quite comfortably within the top of the class:

Canon EF 2.8 70-200 USM L
4.07 (3) = very good

Sigma AF 2.8 70-200mm EX HSM
4.02 (5) = very good

Canon EF 2.8 70-200mm USM L IS
4.02 (3) = very good

Nikkor AF-S 2.8 80-200mm IF ED D
3.98 (4) = very-good

Nikkor AF 2.8 80-200mm IF ED D
3.90 (3) = very good

Pentax SMC-FA 2.8 80-200mm ED IF
3.87 (5) = very good

Nikkor AF-S 2.8 70-200mm ED-IF VR D
3.67 (2) = good

Tokina AF 2.8 80-200mm AT-X Pro
3.36 (4) = good

Tamron AF 2.8 70-210mm LD
3.35 (4) = good

You may visit my London and Paris agents sites to view some samples of my work.
London: http://www.slave-unit.com
Paris: http://www.virginiaberthy.com
Don't forget to click on my name: Benjamin Kanarek


You may also view my work at my Yahoo group FashionMode 1:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fashionmode1/