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Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO HSM IF Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras | List Price: $669.00
Discount Price: $594.95
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Brand: Sigma
Binding: Electronics
Release Date: 2006-05-04
Features: - Telephoto macro lens with Canon AF mount
- Special low-dispersion glass for high image quality
- 150-millimeter focal length
- f2.8 maximum aperture
- Ultra-quiet high-speed autofocus with full-time manual focus override
AF doesn't work [Posted on 2008-03-14]
I purchased this lens about a week ago. I have not had the opportunity to shoot many pictures with it but from the first time I tried it the Auto Focus failed to work with the shutter button. It does focus (fairly accurately) with the AF button on my Canon 40D. I contacted Sigma and after 4 days they had not given me an answer. I wrote again and the reply I got was that maybe because the 40D was a new Canon model the engineers had not taken some adjustments into account. They also said that it would take them about a week to get a reply from the engineers.
With Canon I usually get a reply to my email within one day and the explanations to my questions are accurate and to the point.
This is not a cheap lens but compared to a Canon L lens its very much less. I guess the poor service and the engineering flaw is the difference in price between a Sigma and a Canon L lens.
Super Sharp Macro lens [Posted on 2008-05-20]
This lens is amazingly sharp, it is right up there with anything else on the market, including Canon's L lenses. It's one of the sharpest lenses I have ever owned in over 25 years shooting. It is well built, and includes a good lens shade and tripod collar.
It is a macro lens, you need to keep that in mind. Macro lenses tend to be slow focusing. They also have very shallow depth of field at close distances. These are not valid criticisms of this lens, it's just the nature of macro lenses and macro photography. If you are doing macro photography you should be using manual focus at least 95% of the time. You will also need to use a tripod with this lens. If you hand-hold this lens for macro work, you'll never get the results it is capable of.
Buy this lens, use it properly, and you'll be thrilled by what it can do.
Great lens [Posted on 2008-06-29]
This is a great Macro lens, if you take your time to learn how to use it.
It's tack sharp, handles very well, construction quality is very high.
I got a long macro lens because of the longer working distance and the more pleasing background blur you get. It's a bit harder to use, because DOF becomes narrower and any movements are magnified. With some practice, this became a non issue, and it's quickly become my favorite lens. The IQ is great( sharpness, contrast, bokeh, color). It feels well balanced on my 30D with battery grip and Canon twinlite flash. A bit on the heavy side, but well balanced.
The only downside is AF speed. For macro and tight portraits this isn't an issue, as I use MF only for these shots, but this is a lens I would never use for sports or action photography( specially compared to my 135L). As this review is about the lens and it's intended use( macro), I give it a 5 star rating.
First non-canon lens [Posted on 2008-07-12]
I wanted a longer reach macro lens and couldn't justify the cost of the Canon 180mm macro. After reading many positive reviews I decided to stray from the Canon lineup and purchase this lens.
I can't compare this to other macro lenses since this is my first macro lens, but the build quality (with the exception of weather sealing) and sharpness of this lens is on par with my four Canon 'L' lenses.
On the down side the autofocus does hunt when I've tried to use it, but, with the shallow depth of field in macro shooting I strictly use manual focus and autofocus is a non factor. Also, I don't own any other 72mm lenses which means having to buy more filters if I want to use them.
Great price, build and IQ. Would also recommend a set of Kenko extension tubes, and steady hands.
Great lens except for a very slow focus [Posted on 2008-11-28]
I borrowed this lens off a friend of mine during a recent visit to Pakistan and I have to say after my less than satisfying experience with the performance of my sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 I am very pleasantly surprised with the quality of this lens from the perspective of image quality. The saturation from this lens is absolutely fantastic and the focusing is very sharp. The bokeh is really beautiful and leaves little to be desired. It's very impressive indeed and seriously competes with high quality Canon glass. It has one serious drawback and that is the speed of its autofocus system. It's really slow, especially in low light (lots of hunting) which is what f/2.8 is supposed to be for. This wasn't too serious a problem for me because I was using it for portraits of people who were mostly seated but I think I'm a bit spoiled by the speed of my 70-200 f/4 L IS which has a very fast and sharp AF system. That said, this is a macro and really isn't meant for sports shooting and the like. For a solid macro lens with a nice focal distance that does a good job doubling as a portrait lens this is a great buy. If you don't need the extra mm's though you might want to look at the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro as it's a bit faster with great image quality as well, and on top of all that it's a few bucks cheaper. This is definitely a great lens though and if it fits your requirements don't hesitate to buy it. You'll be pleased with your results.
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