Will satisfy your most basic needs for macrotography
Overall , the image quality is very good -- the sharpness is undeniably good. I'm no sucker for the techy terms but my most qualified review of the photos is -- I am very satisfied with the quality.
Downside - the AF motor is very slow. And MF is a bit mystery to me. I could not control the focusing during MF. Normally, I just move the switch to MF to lock on the subject and that's after focusing with the AF. I could not move the zoom range using MF (i must be doing something wrong ... or the instruction in the manual is not clear to me). The focusing motor moves back and forth most of the time before locking on to the subject -- that's what's making it slow -- so I always end up loosing the opportunity shot and have to wait for ... Read More
A++++
Shipped on time.
Great Product.
Excellent price.
Will buy from them again and again.
Picture quality are good but make sure to have warranty
I bought this lens in December 2007 and just start to use it from this March. The picture quality is good but needs a lot of light and contrast for the AF to work.
In June, during an outing, one of the element (glass) fell out of it's holding socket and the lens would not retract to below 1:3.
Since I bought this lens in gray market, so that there's no warranty. I just open the lens and fix it myself, works fine.
However, the story did not end there. Just yesterday, during some test shots at home, the lens would not focus and the motor is trying but could not move. I switch to Manual but the focusing ring would not stay at M mode and I can turn the ring freely and it won't adjust the focus (in AF mode, the ring supposed ... Read More
Fun
This is a very fun lens with great color and clarity. This stays on my camera 90% of the time and with f/2.8 it's still useful indoors. Although I think the lens I received may have been faulty the only problem is the auto focus. I've had this lens for only about 6 months and the AF is pretty much shot. It constantly searches no matter what light condition I'm in and it never comes out clear (when using AF). The auto focus also sticks halfway so I've got to give it the extra push, but to save the hassle it's just better to use manual focus from now on. Like I said, I think I've received a faulty lens, but I have read on quite a few Sigma reviews that their auto focus is not very dependable. I love this lens I just wish I could have the luxury ... Read More
Good picture quality, but very slow focus
Pros:
Very good image quality
Very solid build
Very sharp when used with tripod
Good price
Cons:
Extremely slow autofocus, AI servo mode is useless
Extends front element during focusing
Slight CA detected in some images
Not very useful in handheld mode unless lighting is very good (full sunlight)