sharp,color saturated, and solid much cheaper than nikon's 105macro. with hood

AFis slow

An excellent lens, even with wide aperture, it can get sharp image. the contrast is not as strong as Nikon's 105macro, and can keep more details in darken.and the color is very saturated solid body made by metal and have a good handle. the AF is a little slow but for macro lens,this is a normal thing. the flare control is fairly good. the MF and AF switch is convenient.

Super Sharp Good build quality

Slow and noisy AF 2 stage mechanism for AF/MF switch.

This is a superbly sharp lens capable of capturing an amazing level of detail in macro's. I'm not keen on the 2 stage switchover from manual to autofocus and the AF is slow and noisy but this doesn't bother me at all as I only ever use Manual Focus when shooting macros (set the lens at 1:1 focus and move the camera until subject is in focus). Being an EX lens build quality is good also. Overall a great lens for the money.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70-300mm Macro Super II Canon 70-200mm L

Tack sharp. Easy Manual focusing. Exceptional quality photographs.

Poor AF. Thats it.

The first lens that I got with my Elan 7e. Let me tell you, I was iffy about not having a zoom and all, but I've certainly grown since then. People may complain, and rightly so, that the autofocus isnt very good, or quiet.. well I never noticed the need for it. Manual focusing, be is head shots, subjects in the distance, or macro, is a breeze with this lens. The optics, best seen in macro shots, or good portriat work, are outstanding and I would easily rate this lens over some of the top primes that rival it from any other manufacturer. You'll be very happy with it.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon lenses, many many Nikkor lenses back when i had my N2020.

Build quality, sharpness. Reliable focusing.

Slow focusing.

Best Sigma lens. Others are either chip toys or HSM monsters which hunt all the time. This lens is excellent for macro work, portraits and landscapes. Probably 180 macro has even better optic but HSM just doesn't work in my case.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 180 HSM

Pro's: Super images, low F, high quality, some intuituve features with focusing

Con's: less than ideal Auto focusing seek, slow auto focus motor

I have no problem reccommending the 105mm, that's the exact one I have. It is a supreme MACRO MACRO lense, just be sure you expect it to be good for 0-7 feet working distance... and portraits. That's about it. The reason it's not good for normal use is it's designed to focus in tiny increments from 0-7 feet, not to focus on landscapes. Another thing I feel I need to add about focusing, is that it's kinda tough. It's VERY slow when you are close, if it can't lock on a focus it might cycle all the way through the focus range...which takes about 6-8 seconds, and that sucks. So, given that I usually use manual focusing on it, because too many times it skips the focus I want and cycles all the way out, and then back in, taking up alot of time. I don't mind manual focusing at all, so if you don't either, don't worry about it. This isn't the lenses or Sigmas fault, it's just that the amout of travel needed to focus at such a macro level is so big, that no matter what it's gonna be slow since the front of the lense travels almost 3 inches JUST for focusing. Also, it works a little different from your Sigma. This has 3 things on it... a focus ring that moves up and down for manual/auto (like yours), but also a manual and focus switch that HAS to be switched... so switching focus is a 2 stage deal. You set the focus switch to Manual or AF, then you can switch the ring from manual or AF. What this does is allow you to manual focus, then disengage the focus ring so that the lens is LOCKED into focus, the focus ring just spins around with no effect. And, when the camera is in AF mode, the focus ring also just spins with no effect. Also also, there is another switch called "Full/Limit", which basically is a barrier at the 1.3 foot mark. You can either restrict the AF to stay above 1.3 feet, or below 1.3 feet. btw,,, below 1.3 feet takes up half the focus travel. That is nice if you KNOW you're gonna be doing really close shots, you can set it to the Limit mode and it will only seek Auto Focus within that limit, above or below. Btw btw... the 1.3 foot mark is the 1:2 ratio, which means at this focus length, a 35mm coin would take up half the frame, at the 1:1 focus it would take up the whole frame. Also, the hood is metal and screw in only. I have a Hoya UV filter, and the hood screws into the filter. Which means you have to pack the hood somewhere as it does not bayonette or collapse. Nor can you attach a filter TO THE hood, but you can attach the hood to a filter (which is a big deal since the hood is a screw-in, not a clip on). That being said, I love the lens and its results. I would still buy it knowing it's quirks. Maybe you should take my camera for like 15 minutes on friday and use the lens and see what you think. If you want a macro in the 100mm range, I vote the sigma. the F/stop is really really nice, I'd get it again just for that.

Sharpness, build quality, versatility

Focusing hunts, also noisy. Horrible "textured" paint finish on EX lenses that wears off ( what was wrong with plain black finish ??)

It was a toss up between the Nikkor 60mm or the Sigma 105EX, boy am I glad I bought the Sigma. I suppose the new price is similar or more than the Nikon, but with the Sigma I get the greater focal length, approx 160mm on my D100. This lens is SHARP, one of the best I have seen, regardless of manufactuer.

Customer Service

No problems yet

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 55 f3.5 which has finaly died after 20 years of abuse RIP!

very sharp color contrast and saturation 1:1 macro well built (EX) f/2.8 105mm prime lens hood matches perfectly with the lens relatively cheap

long focusing travel (due to 1:1 optics) AF/MF clutch (not much of a hassle)

Sterling performance! This 105mm Sigma macro lens with a fast f/2.8 aperture satisfies you in every department. First of all it gives you a 1:1 true life size macro and these macro images comes out truly amazing... extremely sharp, good color saturation and contrast(on Pentax ZX-7). The 105mm focal length is also suitable for taking portraits. Portrait results have also come out extremely well. The EX finish is aesthetically pleasing, scratch proof and has a metal alloy body for sturdiness. The hood which is provided along with the lens matches well with it. One can also use a 77mm dia lens cap which fits perfectly on the hood, so that the hood can remain permanently on the lens (hood is threaded so that it can screw on the lens like filters.) A bit of a bother is the clutch mechanism which on has to engage/disengage while changing between MF/AF. But on the positive side, the focus ring doesn't move (in AF mode) and one is more at ease while holding the camera. The other thing is the long rotational travel of the focusing ring while focusing a subject and in AF mode this could sometimes take a while. This could be somewhat solved by using the focusing limiter switch. Definitely, a well made lens optically and structurally and should satisfy one and all.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-200 DL Sigma 70-219 UC APO Tokina SZX 28-70

Excellent image quality and price. Quality of construction seems quite substantial to me...finish is very nice.

Not the fastest autofocus. Noiser than my Canon USM lenses, but not so noisy that it is anything to worry about.

I read the reviews and bought the lens. From the criticisms I read, I expected the autofocus to be worse than it is and for the ergonomics to be worse than they are. Well, autofocus is fine. Not as fast as my Canon 70-200 f/4 L USM, but fine. Yes, it does hunt a bit more. But all in all the autofocus is just fine. And, of course, you are probably going to be manual focusing for macro photography anyway. This lens is razor sharp. I use it on a Canon EOS 300D and could not be happier with the contrast, color and clarity of the images. For the money, I think this lens is a steal.

Sharp Sharp Sharp Nicely built Looks cool on your camera 1:1 macro Fast 2.8

Manual focus ring is kinda set up wierd, but once you get used to it, it's no problem Searchs alot in low light

I was searching around for a good portrait lens in the 85 - 135mm range. I did alot of research on the net and was debating over the Canon 85mm and the Sigma 105mm Macro. I read the reviews on this site and decided to go with the Sigma because of the added macro capability. Boy am I glad I did! I have never delved into doing any macro photography, but since I have gotten this lens, that's what I have mainly been shooting. I can't get over how sharp this lens is. I agree with some of the other reviewers saying it may be too sharp for portrait photography. (nothing a softening filter can't take care of). I have two camera bodies, this stays on my Elan 7e, and my Canon 50mm 1.8 stays on my 10s. I find I rarely remove this lens, except for some longer telephoto shooting. The focusing can be a bit slow somethimes, especially if you don't limit the focus range. But with macro and portrait work, I manually focus anyway. No big deal. All in all, for the price you can't beat it. Buy it and you will not be disappointed. And for all you newer Canon users, I have an Elan 7e and this worked fine straight from the store. No updating needed from Sigma. I guess they corrected this little problem with their newer lens.

Customer Service

Not needed, lens worked fine on my 7e

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canon 28-90mm USM (sucks), canon 70-210mm F4

1. Fast f2.8 2. Extremely sharp results 3. Handles beautifully 4. Great lens bag and metal hood included 5. Finish is pretty slick 6. Overall results: OUTSTANDING! 7. PRICE!!!

1. AF can be a bit finicky 2.AF is a wee bit on the noisy side.

I am starting to sound like a broken record - but WOW! This is a great-and I mean-great lens. Sigma has achieved a really nice combination of speed and quality optics in this well-designed lens. I have come to realize that Sigma, and other so-called off-brand makers of 35mm AF lenses have suffered greatly for questionable quality control in the past. However, with this lens, and four other Sigmas in my bag, I am convinced that they have attained a level of quality virtually equal to that of the Nikons and Cannons of the world. Only difference...THE PRICE!!! With that said, I purchased this lens for two reasons - portraiture and macro work (nature related). I had looked, tried, played with and prodded almost every lens in this category, but I kept coming back to the Sigma. Why? It's a really superb piece of glass.

Customer Service

Not needed to date.

Similar Products Used:

1. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM 2. Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM 3. Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Soft Focus 4. Tokina AF 100mm f/2.8 AT-X Macro 5. Tamron  SP AF 90mm F/2.8 1:1 Macro