The 180mm range. Good color, contrast, HSM, and sharp from wide open to closed down. Nicely constructed and feels like a tank. Works well with teleconverters.

Heavy (product of tank like build), slow auto focus (but who uses auto in macro work anyway), only practical for macro work (too slow for sports and too long for portraits)

Sigma created a gem of a lens here. It has everything you need in a macro lens, it''s very sharp, has good contrast, good color, and good performance at narrow apertures. When using the Sigma 1.4x teleconverter there is hardly any performance loss. The HSM is quiet, but a little slow - however it is a true macro lens and it''s designed for macro. So auto focusing isn''t of importance anyway when 99% of the time you will be using manual focus. Sigma has made a real winner with this lens.

Customer Service

never needed :)

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Sigma 28mm & 50-500mm. Canon 200, 70-200, 300, 400 "L" plus various other EF lenses.

Well built and designed. Very sturdy. Great price for what you get. Super sharp images and beautiful soft dreamy out of focus backgrounds. Not over heavy to hand hold.

None so far.

I had read about this lens in several reviews and it sounded really great. Saw one on E-bay and took the plunge. I can hardly believe the quality of the photos with this lens. I shot my first roll on the fly in my back yard of flowers in my garden. When I got my negs back and I began to scan them, I was genuinly amazed at the remarkable quality of these images. They were sharp they should be, soft when I wanted them to be and every thing in between. The color was exquisite and the background softness was impecable. I also have the Sigma 105 and love that lens too. If you have the extra money for this lens, and you are very into close up and and macro work, then this lens is a must have.

Customer Service

Had to use them once for an upgrade. Fast, courteous, helpful, didn''''t charge.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 105 Minolta 50

Hsm(Nikon), Quiet , build quality , price

If you will have good pictures buy a tripod !!!

This is a great lens , I have to buy it for a special price !! The lens before was a Tamron 90mm. It is also a great lens but the Sigma 180 is a better length

Customer Service

Not needed yet

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Tamron 90mm F2.8 Sigma 70-200 F2.8 EX

Astonishing optic quality. He/she doesn''t make noise when focusing. It is quick. Very good relationship quality-price that non price-quality. Macro 1:1 And it falls in love me their design.

That he/she doesn''t clean alone. And that it is not sustained alone in the air.

Forgive my English poor person. Minutes after receiving it, after unwrapping it with avidity, to fall in love with this objective was unavoidable. Their aesthetic line and of design they are impeccable. They come included the neck for tripod and the parasol, everything perfectly picked up in a good bag padded protector of neopreno. I have proven it in my Canon EOS 30 (Elan 7e) and the focus is soft, quick and progressive. He/she still modifies with easiness the active automatic focus being (FTM) and he/she surrenders great speed and really without noise some (HSM). Naturally one cannot hope it is instantaneous going from 1:1 to infinite, but activating the constrainer of focus distance from 61 cm to infinite is something more than acceptable. The objective feels well in my hands, he/she has a pleasant tact and a good finish. Optically it is extraordinary, so much in portraits, landscapes, details and of course in the picture macro. Even with the diaphragm open to the maximum (f/3.5). I Insist: optically they astonish me the clarity, contrast and quality of the details that it gets in the slides, seeming all realler one that the reality". it had not proven a focal one up to now fixed and the most similar thing in quality that I have is also the Sigma APO 70-200 f/2.8 FORMER IF HSM that I received the quality that presented the 180 some given very lively days ago. I have not still used seriously it, but yes I have mounted it some three times and with regard to the 180: the finish quality and the aesthetic line are frankly good, equal I would say; but do I wait?!!"! that, is this unit somehow faulty, because as for the autofocus, personally it has disappointed me enough. I explain to myself: it doesn''t seem very very quick, I don''t appreciate difference neither small neither big with regard to the 180 in this field; and what I like of none in the ways is the noise that makes, because he/she makes it, and enough compared with the 180 and the Canon EF 28-135 IS USM. I already say: I hope these two details are to some failure that presents this unit.

Customer Service

-

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Sharpness, build quality, working distance, price. Much better fit and finish than I would have imagined for Sigma. Might be a nice portrait lens from the few shots I''ve taken. Excellent out of focus highlights. MF focus is smooth. Holds position well. Compatibility with F100 is 100%.

AF hunts a bit, but I use MF for macro work.

A great buy. I''ve just used it a little while for macro work at a nearby botanical garden and the pictures are superb. Nice working distance, sharp, good contrast and color, well built. Handles well on F100. All photos taken at F8-F11 are outstanding. I haven''t tried other aperatures yet.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 17-35 AFS, Nikkor 80-200 AFS. On Nikon F100.

Sharp- but I only use manual focus and I tripod!

No real complaints.

I use my 100 macro Canon more, but this is a good lens. I compared the Sigma to the Canon at B&H photo here in NYC and I truly believe that Sigma makes this lens for Canon. It happens more than anyone wants to admit. For the difference in price, I chose the Sigma (and I love Canon lenses) This is one of three Sigma lenses I own anbd have no complaints with any of them. But they are not my primary tools of the trade. I''ve used this lens in the everglades on a 2 week photo shoot and did not have any of the problems the gentleman from Germany had.

Customer Service

not used yet.

Similar Products Used:

100 Canon macro

Construction, manual override, image clarity.

Hunts a lot in AF. The first one I received hunted so much I thought it was defective; returned it and the second one does the same thing. Very shallow depth of field.

I like the lens. The image quality is superb. Great contrast and great detail. The lens is solidly constructed. My photos are displayed at http://www.jhberkandassociates.com/Joe_Berk_Photography.htm.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70-300 w/macro, Sigma 2.8 50 EX macro

sharpness well-balanced build quality price tripod collar hood included attractive design APO HSM VERY quiet Narrow background coverage and increased working distance that this focal length offers.

Even Sigma''s "pro" lenses still suffer from poor quality reputation. Time will tell if these new offerings are durable. Tripod collar - not nearly as smooth or fluid as Nikon. Aperture ring is somewhat difficult to reach when mounted to my N90s. HSM,although quiet,is rather slow. Hunts occasionally. However,macro subjects are invariably focused manually, so lightning-fast AF shouldn''t be a priority here.

A big macro,specifically the Nikon 200 f/4,has been a glass that I''ve longed to own. However,I couldn''t justify the $1400 price tag that goes along with this esoteric lens. When I discovered this Sigma,I researched extensively and found the vast majority of comments favorable, so I took the plunge. The result? I''m very pleased - slides are sharp from edge to edge,even at 3.5. Shooting low-grain slide film results in crisp,snappy,defined images with outstanding color and no vignetting. A lens that truly performs for MY discerning eye. I''m not overly familiar with the Nikon 200 Micro (or Canon 180L),but are these manufacturers'' Micros/Macros $700 better? I doubt it...

Customer Service

Not needed (as of yet).

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Although not familiar with Nikon Micros, I''ve used other Nikon offerings ranging from 24mm f/2.8 AF to 300mm f/2.8 AF.

A very sharp, bright lens; very fast auto focus; sits very tightly on a camera; one of the best pieces of macro equipment I have ever owned; works great also as a short telephoto lens.

Manual focusing fails in very humid conditions (e.g. after a few days in a rain forest), automatic focusing still works; drying the lens (e.g. by placing in a plastic bag with silica gel) restores the manual focusing.

If you are serious about macro photography, this a wonderful piece of equipment; add a dedicated 1.4x or 2x teleconverter and you have all you need for even very demanding macrophotography.

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Nikkor 60 mm Micro
Nikkor 105 mm Micro

VERY sharp lens
Well made
Good manual focus feel
Internal focusing
Almost silent HSM AF motor

Focus range selector is not of the same high quality as the rest of the lens (Seems like an after-thought)

I got this Sigma 180mm macro lens after having dropped my Canon 180mm L macro lens in a local river.
So far i have found it to be every bit as sharp as my Canon lens was, And the feel/build qaulity is also on par with the Canon lens,
But the large amount of money saved by buying this lens instead of the Canon one will/is buying an awefull lot of film !!!

Customer Service

Not needed yet (Hope never will :) )

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 USM L