List Price: $1,659.00
Sale Price: $1,509.00
Today's Bonus: 9% Off
Just received the lens. Using with a Cannon EOS XTi.
Pros
Sturdy feel to the lens
Impressive focal length range.
Good picture quality throughout the range (speaking as a non-pro)
OS pretty good. Taking acceptable quality hand-held shots at full extension in bright sun.
Cons
Autofocus not working out-of-the-box. Of note that this lens was NOT in the serial number range specified by SIGMA's customer alert.
Very poor response time on queries to SIGMA's tech service.
Some (minor) vignetting noticable at longer focal lengths.
Does not work with my TAMRON teleconverter even though this TC does function with my Cannon lens.
Heavy
Returning the lense for replacement through AMAZON due to the autofocus issue. Will see how well the next one does.
UPDATE:
Received replacement lense from AMAZON with working autofocus. Took it out today for extensive testing and am well pleased so far. Focal range is impressive and am getting good shots throughout the range. OS function gives reasonable good shots even when hand held at 500MM. Normally use with a monopod however.
Tempted to upgrade my rating from 2 to 4 stars however will leave it at 3 for time being. Issues:
Continued poor SIGMA customer service. My email requesting Tech assistance after first lens' failure is now 5 days old with no response from SIGMA. In same period I returned original lens to AMAZON, got a replacement and tested it (kudos to AMAZON Customer Service). Had similar poor response experience with SIGMA when I was originally researching the lens.
Some residual caution about reliability of the autofocus function. Seems to be a fairly common issue with this lense. I'll withhold judgement until I have a bit more field experience with the lens.
NEW UPDATE:
Took lens overseas for several weeks of heavy-duty use. Still pleased. A few (minor) comments:
Autofocus still working however does tend to have difficulty in finding the perfect focus point for "busy" backgrounds. Tend to use manual focusing a bit more than I would like.
Range for this lens is impressive as previously indicated. Great for wildlife photography. The 50MM low end is however not quite good enough for the wide/scenic shots. Find myself carrying a good point-and-shoot camera to get those scenic vistas as too much trouble to keep changing lenses.
Never did get a response from SIGMA tech service. Academic now however can't help wondering if they really exist. Not looking forward to dealing with SIGMA if the lens ever needs maintenance.
YET ANOTHER UPDATE
Currently 1.5 years after purchase. Autofocus not functioning. 12 days turnaround time for repairs through SIGMA New York -with $44 to FEDEX for shipping/boxing. Better impressed with SIGMA customer service than I have been in the past.
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