Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX APO with D30

[drifter]

Does anybody have any experience with the Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX APO on the D30?
Should I worry about compatibility issues?
The Sigma is almost half the price of the equivalent Canon 70-200 2.8L. Is there a quality difference? If so, is it worth the extra dollars?

If there is already a posting for this question, please refer me to it.

Thanks in advance.

[Martin64]

I love it, I use it mostly for theatrical work, but I've just started using it for football too!

http://www.buryfc.co.uk/today/view/breaking_news_detail/0,1563,10422~141949,00.html

[soumya63]

Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX APO HSM is a first grade lens, optically almost same with Canon. It is not my opinion, but of all major photo magazine reviews. Some of them even says Sigma is a bit better optical performer. Just search net with phrases like "Sigma 70-200 review" and see for yourself.

I think it does not make any photographic sense to undermine a third party lens just because it is not coming from Canon stable. It is as fast as Canon and very very sharp. The only plus points of Canon are

1) Optical Image Stabilization. Extremely useful in D30 with its 1.6 focal length multiplier. But paying 1300$ more for it may not be justified for every one. In US you can get a new Sigma within 600-700$ range. I think it makes more sense to save that money for Canon 100-400L IS, which is a tremendous lens by itself!

2) USM is tad faster than HSM. But HSM is also very fast and whisper quite in operation. You may not feel HSM is tracking focus from it's sound!

3) Lastly but not least, the glamour of possessing a White L series Canon lens. It makes you standout in a crowd ;-)

If any three of the above is of great importance to you and if you do not mind chipping off 1300$ extra, then Canon 70-200 will be THE lens for you.

The bottom line is optical performance of both Canon and Sigma 70-200 f2.8 is almost same. You can not make out any difference from the pictures taken by them.

Hope this will help you. Merry Christmas.

[drifter]

Thanks for all the info...will think it over during the holidays and decide when my Christmas bills arrive.

[philgabe]

I don't know about the Sigma, but been using the Tokina 80-200mm 2.8 and the Canon 70-200 2.8L (non IS), with no noticeable quality differences. I warmly recommend that Tokina lens, it's great built, and optically extremely good. Phil

[herb uk]

IF you check Photodo, the Canon is rated 4.1, the Sigma 3.9 and the Tokina 3.4. The reasons for the small differences are apparent from the graphs. Before owners of Canon prime L lenses become too depressed, the graphs for these lenses make all the zooms look second rate!

[JCDoss]

For reviews on this and boatloads of other lenses, go to www.photographyreview.com
There, you'll find archived user-written reviews on cameras, flashes, lenses, tripods, bags, etc... and each reviewer rates the item on a scale of 1-5. The numbers are sort of useful, but make sure you actually read the reviews.

Hope this helps you out,
JCDoss