Sigma 50-150 or 70-200?

Ive been in the market for a zoom lens for awhile and I'm trying to decide between the Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 II EX DC HSM and the 70-200 f/2.8 II EX DG Macro HSM AF. I've heard good things about both lenses and they are very similar except for the obvious. Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. I've read a few threads on here about people not using their 70-200 lenses that much. Wondering if the 50-150 is more practicle?

I know it depends on what you shoot, but I shoot everything. I live by my sigma 30mm 1.4 and it is my everyday lens. However, there are shots i miss because I don't have a decent zoom. Just not sure how much soom I need. I also want to get a wide angle as well, but concentrating on the tele for now.

They look very similar in overlapping focal lengths:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=4​&APIComp=0

I have a 30mm f/1.4 and a 50-150 f/2.8. That is a great combo and hopefully I'll be adding a 10-20 f/3.5 in a few months to give me an outstanding set of EX's for my crop camera.

I think it depends on your other lenses as much as your intended use. The 50-150 is much more usable in doors and when dealing with people. When I put a 70-xxx lens on my crop body indoors, it never gets used, 70 is almost always to long. The 50-150 is perfect in these situations. The other nice thing about the 50-150 is that you have shorter focal lengths so you can get away with a little less shutter speed also. I did a side by side comparison a while ago of my 50-150 at 50mm f/2.8 and my canon 50mm 1.8 II at 2.8, and the sharpness was equal, colours equal, contrast equal, but much nicer bokeh on the 50-150. The downside to the 50-150 is that outdoors at places like zoo's it can seem a little short, so I've added a 1.4x TC to my bag to make it a 70-210 f/4 when I need more reach.

I probably will be getting a 70-200 f/2.8 also as I have a film setup and want something faster than the 70-300 f/4-5.6 i'm currently using. The 50-150 is the crop equivalent of a 70-200 on full frame.

If you don't have a 18-50 length lens the gap from 30mm to 70mm is too big. If you use your 30mm a lot then the jump from 30-50 is much more acceptable. The 70-200 works on full frame, but its a very different beast on full frame. If you compare the 2 lenses directly I think the newer design 50-150 comes out top for corner to corner sharpness across the focal lengths also. Sigma did 4 versions of the 70-200 so you'll find many opinions about "the 70-200" that might not be relevant to the version you are looking at. Sigma did 2 version of the 50-150 and as far as anyone can tell they are the same.

Both are good choices, personally I have gone with a 50-150 to match up with the 30mm f/1.4, if i went with a 70-200, i'd also be packing a 50mm prime with the 30mm prime.

dgoakill wrote in post #7493531
I've read a few threads on here about people not using their 70-200 lenses that much.

How in the hell are we supposed to answer that for you. You say you shoot everything but it still gets down to purely what focal lengths are the best for you. If you don't know that, no one does!

"I've read a few threads on here about people not using their 70-200 lenses that much. "

I don't know where you read that. Mine is on one of my bodies a lot! While it isn't necessarily the lens I use the most, I use it a lot. It depends on the job. I know some guys that do claim it is their most used lens.

There is a reason lens manufacturer's came out with the 50-135. Back in the film days the 70-210 was about the most popular zoom there was. On a cropped sensor, obviously, 50-135 relates to 70-210. so that might be a good choice for you.

Again, it depends on your shooting style.

I am not making comparisons to the Sigma, because I know nothing about it. But you might also look at the little Tokina: http://www.popphoto.co​m …-135mm-f28-pro-dx-af.html

Great reviews and very compact. And my experience with Tokina is they are built like tanks.

Good luck.

thanks, I think I'll check out that tokina but it looks like it will be between that and the 50-150.

KarlosDaJackal, looks like we will have a similar set up, I'm also looking for a 10-20 to add in the future too. never thought about adding the 1.4x TC, but that's a good idea.

dgoakill wrote in post #7494207
KarlosDaJackal, looks like we will have a similar set up, I'm also looking for a 10-20 to add in the future too. never thought about adding the 1.4x TC, but that's a good idea.

Kind of OT, but you took us in that direction. If you and KarlosDaJackal are looking at a 10-20, you might also want to look at the little Tokina 12-24 F/4.

Absolutely stunning optics, razor sharp, constant aperture all the way through the zoom range and, as I already stated about Tokina's, built like a tank. They also have an 11-16 F/2.8 version!

Both are very, very cool.

matonanjin wrote in post #7495075
Kind of OT, but you took us in that direction. If you and KarlosDaJackal are looking at a 10-20, you might also want to look at the little Tokina 12-24 F/4.

Absolutely stunning optics, razor sharp, constant aperture all the way through the zoom range and, as I already stated about Tokina's, built like a tank. They also have an 11-16 F/2.8 version!

Both are very, very cool.

Considered, but! neither have HSM/USM or Full time manual. The current Siggy has a great range over the 11-16 and 10mm is significantly wider than 12mm, the new one will be constant f/3.5 so only 2/3rds of a stop behind f/2.8 and 1/3rd of a stop faster than f/4. Also the gap from 16 to 30 is a bit much, 20 to 30 is managable.

Still its a few months till we see this new sigma so my mind may be changed by then.

The Sigma EX 50-150mm F/2.8 APO is my most used lens on either my 350D and 20D.. What I love about it is its lack of size and weight especially if your using xxxD body..On a crop body it's very close to the classic 80-200mm zoom.. In over 30 years in photography it's one of the nicest lenses I've owned/used..

Karlos has been having a bit of trouble with his at 150mm @ F/2.8 near minimum focus distance.. Mine is great.. I think Karlos has a Version II, I have the Version I which in all intents is optically identical (correct me if I'm wrong Karlos)..

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I have a version one and it was fixed. It was soft in the centre at 150mm which looked like kind of like front focus. Sent it to Sigma, they confirmed that its focus is fine but something is wrong and it would have to go to Japan for investigation.

So they sent me a new one rather than have me wait, the new one was perfect and I was very impressed with there service, much better than my experience with Canon, but I'm in Ireland so your mileage may vary where you live. The replacement was also a version one, not that there is any difference that anyone can tell.

There are over 1000 samples in this flickr group for the lens. http://www.flickr.com/​groups/472661@N24/

My last few shots with it are in this set most of which are out of DPP without ever seeing another image editor.
http://www.flickr.com …y/sets/72157614​412365062/

P.s nice shot yog, digging the tiles also