Tim Chow Studio
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The Short: Fast, well-built telephoto lens with high quality materials and weather sealing, smooth and quiet focusing, producing great images with reasonable cost compared to other brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.) ------------ You can find super technical reviews online, especially on Youtube, so I will not get into it too much in my review. Instead, Ill talk about its usability. Here are the things you should consider if you are thinking about buying this lens: Size & Weight: Coming in at 3.97 lbs, this beast of a lens is going to be a workout for your arm if you are not used to handling bigger telephoto lenses in this focal range. Even if you are used to them, this lens still comes in at the top of its weight class, heavier than the updated Canon 70-200 IS III and Sonys FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS (both 3.3 lbs), as well as Nikons AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E (3.1 lbs). It may not sound like 4 lbs is a lot, but the weight starts to add up once you include the camera body and battery pack. The lens itself is also physically bigger than its competitors, which may not really be an issue depending on your shooting style (IE: if you shoot mounted vs. hand-held). If I am on a shoot with more than one camera, I definitely have this one strapped via a dual camera harness so I dont have to bear its weight the entire day. Focus: Fast and accurate focus, with no focus breathing even in its highest focal range. Again depending on what you are shooting and how you shoot, it might not be a problem, but focus breathing can change your composition. Minimum Focus Distance: 47.24 in. minimum focusing distance (just under 4ft). On par with Canons latest version, longer than Sony & Tamron. Not a problem if you are shooting portraits & events most of time with this lens. I also love it for product shots, just understand that you will need some space to move around when shooting in a studio setting. Tripod Ring: The included tripod ring is NOT removable, though it can be rotated 360 and locked at any position on the lens. There are pre-marked places where the ring will "click" into, which is nice. I typically rotate the ring 180 when I am shooting hand-held so the stand is on the top of the lens. That way, my grip is comfortable along the lens without the stand getting in the way. Zoom Ring Placement: Unless you are shooting manual, you are probably going to be zooming in and out more than you are going to be manually adjusting focus. The Zoom Ring is on the FRONT of this lens, and the Focus Ring is on the rear closes to camera body. Because of the weight distribution inherent with using a long and heavy lens like this, your hand is going to be on the rear ring most of the time if shooting hand-held. What this means is that you are going to have to rely on your right hand to support weight of the rig while you shift your left hands grip towards the front of the lens every time you need to adjust your focal length. This is probably my biggest complaint on this lens. Not a deal breaker at all, just annoying. Price: If you are looking to invest into a pro-quality telephoto lens, but cant justify the price tag for a first-party lens, I highly recommend this Sigma 70-200 Sport lens. It is tremendously well-built (feels like a tank) with stellar performance, enabling you to make some of the best images your camera is capable of producing. Why I chose this lens: I am a Canon shooter, and have historically only purchased Canon glass. Canons 70-200 IS II is priced at $1800 and is relatively in the same range as this Sigma 70-200 Sport, except it was first released in Jan 2010 and is almost 10-years old. The newer Canon 70-200 IS III was released in Aug 2018, just a month before Sigma released theirs, but its cost is significantly higher at $2099. Based on where my business is at, I couldnt justify the spend, so I ultimately went with the Sigma.