excellent sharpness, cheap, sturdy and good manual focus feel

autofocus is a little bit dumb

This is a very very good lens. Especially if comparing optics and price. This lens have most value of money for every dollar spent. Even good for portrait. Not like other cheap sigma crappy lenses. Worth to buy.

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pentax screwmount lenses
Canon EOS systems

Great image quality. Seems well built.

Sometimes a.f. is really slow.

Since I bought this lense it has become my most used lense. I usually use it wide open and background blur is very natural looking not "stary" like some.

Customer Service

?

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Canon 100mm macro (not worth the price dif to me)

Excellent lens at all departments. delivers excellent at all apertures.

Focus hunts sometimes, but thanks to to the focus limiter this is not a problem.

It's a relatively "chip" lens comparing to it's rivals, and according to my experience it worth every penny. Both in macro and regular photography. I wish all my purchasing would have been that easy. Recomended!! for every portrait or macro photographer. Simply the best you get for your money.

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I used to shoot macro with Vivitar sr.1 70-210 f/2.8-4 but the Sigma is a different story, it's quality is superior to the zoom. I also experiensed the use of extention tubes with many different lenses, but this lens is the best solution.

Excellent sharpness at all apertures. Contrast and color saturation is spot on.
Graet value for money. Sturdy and durable finish

The autofus is poor, but for macro work this is rarely a problem.

Having used the 70 - 300 macro zoom, which is very poor, I was dubious about buying another Sigma lens. However after checking reviews, not to mention not having the funds for the Nikon 105, I took the plunge.
To say I am delighted is an understatement. The results of my macro work, in which I now specialise, are superb. Butterflies, insects, plants etc. all jump out of the trannie at you. I would normally only buy Nikon, but for macro, this lens is well worth the money.

Customer Service

Not used it.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70 - 300 APO zoom with macro.

nice looking, the new EX series is a much better manufacterd lens then their older models.

Crashes my camera electronics.
AF is useless...use manual

This lens crashed my electronics on the EOS Elan 7e. The film would not automatically advance and the DEP preview button doesn't work with this lens on. I have read other reviews stating that Sigma has had problems with compatablitly but I thought the new EX series was suppose to take care of that. (IT DID NOT). Maybe it's just my model of camera, but it's the last Sigma I will ever buy. Oh, how do I know it's the lens and not the camer? Every other lens I own, (Canon, Tamron, Tokina) work absolutely perfect, but put this Sigma on and the camera won't function properly. If any other person out there has had a similar problem I would like to hear from you. I can't say anything about the quality of pictures do to the above problem, but if the electronics would work I quess the lens would be a good value considering all the reviews I have read regarding their sharpness, etc.

Customer Service

Called Sigma and explained the problem and they said, "Don't like it...return it. It must be your camera."
SCREW'EM

Similar Products Used:

Canon
Tamron
Tokina

Sharp pictures with beautiful color. Affordable (relatively).

The aperture did not work with my Canon Elan 7E. All pictures on the Elan came out over or under exposed unless the aperture was set somewhere around f/5.6.

Had this lens less than a month. The aperture did not work with my Canon Elan 7E. All pictures on the Elan came out over or under exposed unless the aperture was set somewhere around f/5.6. When it worked, it took great pictures, especially portraits. I traded up to a Canon USM. If you own a Canon, and can afford the Canon lens, I highly recommend it. If you are on a budget, give this one a try. Just be sure to buy it locally and thoroughly test it (all apertures and depth of field preview) as soon as you get it, so it can be returned if needed.

Customer Service

They said 'Send it in, we will look at it when we can'.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

Sharp and contrasty lens. Modern design in Sigma's EX crinkle finish makes it look better than Nikon's 105mm micro. The Manual/AF barrel push/pull design is convenient.

AF is rather slow with my F-80 and hunts in low light.

Good sharp 3rd party lens which rivals Nikon's own 105mm in most departments. The price difference makes this a better buy than the Nikkor 105mm. Works perfectly with F-601(N6006), F-70(N-70) and F-80(N-80) without any problems. No experience of the infamous Sigma fogging with this lens.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 105mm Micro
Nikkor 70-180 Micro
Tokina 100mm Macro

Sharp, nice colour and contrast, excellent bokeh. 1:1 macro. Nice for portraits. It is very well made and very smooth MF. Nice look and feel.

Switching between M/AF requires two adjustments on a Canon EOS. Sometimes hunts when AFing but limiter helps here. AF can be a little noisy.

(Elan 7e issue is known and fixable - see Sigma's site.)

Good price. Canon's is a lot more expensive and only slightly better. Well made. Takes excellent pictures - use slide film for best results. Even using Fuji Superia 400 and 800 shots come out sharp. Is easy to use in MF mode which is as it should be used for macro and portraits. It's every bit as good as the other macro lenses and cheaper so buy it.

Customer Service

Courteous and helpful. Offered to check the lens for what I thought was a possible fault but which is normal for this lens - makes dull noise when it is rotated forwards and backwards.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70-210 APO macro (very good lens) and Sigma 28-80 macro (so so).

Excellent resolution. Good build and feel. Fast enough for the price/length. No flare in difficult lighting.

Nothing but the short focus depth, but that's common to all macro's.

Excellent tool for macro and technical work. The sharp resolution may require additional filtering for softer image on portrait.

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None in this category

Sharp!

Slow autofocus

I love this lens, and use it for portraits, sometimes over my Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8, owing to it's smaller size and lesser weight. The pictures I have taken with this lens have come out wonderfully sharp, with excellent color and contrast. My only complaint with the lens is it's autofocus speed, and constant hunting. Ofcourse my situation is compunded by using this lens with the 8008/8008s, which are slow aotofocus beasts to begin with, so I mostly use manual focus with this lens. Haven't tried any macro yet, so can't comment on that, but overall this lens is a real beauty.

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None.