Sigma 135-400DG test shots

[scotttnz]

I was in a local retailer today and spoted this lens on display so asked to give it a go. I have often thought this is a lens I would like to try, as I often find my 55-200 is not long enough and can't justify spending big money on a 100-400L or similar.

Here is a 100% crop from the middle of the fram at 400mm f5.6 (max appiture)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/scotttnz/sigma-135-400.jpg
There is a bit of ghosting at this magnification, but at normal viewing sizes it is not noticable......I guess it comes down to how big I want to print my pictures?

It seems well built but not too heavey, zoom was a little stiff, but I have heard that they losen up after a little use. The only thing that would really put me off is the relatively slow and noisey AF, but at this price point there will always be a trade-off.

I'm not in a big hurry to buy a lens, but do want something longer than 200 in the not too distant future. My options are:

Canon 70-300IS - NZ$1100
Canon 100-400L - NZ$2700 (I can't justify this sort of money!)
Sigma 135-400DG - NZ$900
Canon 70-200 f4 + 1.4 TC???? - around NZ$1600?? There goes my budget....

Any other suggestions?
I am keeping an eye on the second hand market too, but trademe (the local ebay equivalent is a bit heated at the moment, things often go for close to or over the new price!

[condyk]

Sigma 100-300 f4 is hard to beat. Add a TCon and it's 420mm and stays fast on AF. tHE 100-400 is l IS A TAD BETTER AS AN ALL ROUND OPTION BUT YOU PAY FOR IT. Sorry about caps. The 135-400 does look too good, but I haver seen some decent shots from it in the past. It needs a decent tripod by looks of it.

[scotttnz]

It needs a decent tripod by looks of it.

Yeah, I forgot to mention, the shot was taken hand held at 400mm on an overcast day. I was standing in the shop shooting the sign outside through the open door. f5.6 1/1000th ISO 400.

[Mitcon]

What about the Sigma 80-400 OS or the 50-500DG as other options ? They cost a little more than the 135-400 and a cheaper option than the EF100-400L. I wouldn't be too keen on the 70-200 with a Tcon unless it's not often you want to shoot with the Tcon. As Condky said the Sigma 100-300 is nice and if primes are ok theres the 400L 5.6 which is fairly cheap.

[scotttnz]

Sigma 100-300 is NZ$2100 80-400 is up there too.
$1500 is the cheapest I've seen a 50-500 for....I do like the look of the Canon 400 f5.6 prime, but that is NZ$2000+ ......might have to save my pennies for a bit longer....

I have noticed that the parrallel imported/grey market sigmas are alot cheaper than the ones that come in through the official channels, but the parrallel importers only bring in a small range of lenses and the 100-300 is not one of them, where the 135-400 and 70-200 are. So the price difference between these lenses is amplified by this.

Strangely the price difference here between grey market Canon lenses and official Canon NZ stuff is very little....