First impression on Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 OS and Sigma 150-500 f/5-6.3 OS

I attended one of the photography events organized by Camera Canada in London. Many lens manufacturers including Canon, Nikon, Tamron and Sigma were there to let us use their lenses. Out of interest and the fact that the good lenses in the Canon stall was already on the field, I decided to try out some Sigma lenses (my friend Duane did the same for his Nikon camera body). I had time to try out two lenses during this event and thought to give you with the impression I had on those lenses. Its important to state right away that this was how they felt rather than how they performed in lab test :)

Sigma 70 - 200mm f/2.8 OS -

This was the first one I tried out. Right away, I noticed that the lens construction was really good and it balanced well with my Canon 70D body with the battery grip. The size seemed comparable with that of the Canon, although this lacked the polished while well known look of the Canon counterpart. However, the moment I started shooting with this lens, I felt in love with it. The bokeh was smooth and creamy. Auto focus was snappy and accurate... It was simply brilliant... And for half the price of the Canon model. However, I did notice that at f2.8, the pictures were a little soft (not noticeable).  But once I stepped down to f/3.2, everything was crisp. At this price, this lens is surely in my wishlist... I would personally recommend this lens to people who otherwise would spend more than 2 times for a similar lens. Here is a shot I took with this lens.

Sigma 150 - 500mm f/5-6.3 OS -

After testing the portrait lens... I moved on to something geared towards wildlife. Right away, I felt the extra weight on this lens compared to the 70-200 one. I was however able to walk around and shoot with it without a tripod or a monopod... but either would have helped because I got fatigued fast. The lens had similar build characteristics to the other model.. maybe a tad softer feel. The zoom range is amazing for a wildlife shooter and the price was really reasonable It was on sale for $999 at the time I am writing this article. If you are someone who loved shooting birds and other animals in the wild... this is something you should seriously look into. The bokeh and the focus accuracy was nice. But the smaller apertures could at times cost you a little. The day I took it out was a very gloomy day.. so f/6.3 was hindering my ability to take some shots. The OS (Optical Stabilization) in both these lenses were amazing though. Here are some results taken with this lens.

I am interested to hear what you think about these lenses.. or answer any questions you have (I am not representing Sigma btw :D )


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Thank you.
Akila.