70-200 choice-Sports/Wildlife

Hey there,

I'm looking for a 70-200 lens, and with my budget, I thought I didn't have another choice than the 70-200f/4L without IS. I am not too fond of third party lenses, but I never actually tried one. I like the L feel on a lens, which I am not sure to find on a sigma EX.

However, 200$ savings on a sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG Macro HSM (The first version, not the II)brings it to only 150$ over the f/4L.

I could very well be shooting hockey or some sports in the evening, or do a bit of inside portraiture, so the f/2.8 might come in handy.

The question is, does the sigma come close to the L in terms of sharpness (Apparent in real use)/built? Knowing I won't buy a L f/2,8 (Too expensive).

EDIT:Wildlife being the only word I found for animal portraiture, like in zoos or stuff like that, not actual birding/photographing wild animals.

Thanks a lot for your input!

For zoo based work a 70-200mm works well though you might find a 1.4 teleconverter works well to your advantage for such work for a little extra reach. On any of the 70-200mm canon and on the 70-200mm f2.8sigma a 1.tTC should work well and give you a still very usable image quality.

As for the quality of the 70-200mm sigma compared to the others I'm afraid I can't give you any idea on how well it stands up to them as I've never used nor really researched about them.

Thanks. Also, I found the II version for 50$ more than the first. Would it be better?

Overread wrote in post #10476122
For zoo based work a 70-200mm works well though you might find a 1.4 teleconverter works well to your advantage for such work for a little extra reach. On any of the 70-200mm canon and on the 70-200mm f2.8sigma a 1.tTC should work well and give you a still very usable image quality.

As for the quality of the 70-200mm sigma compared to the others I'm afraid I can't give you any idea on how well it stands up to them as I've never used nor really researched about them.

The OP would do well to investigate any number of TC's (comparisons stickied in the lens section) before investing. Some swear that the Kenko Pro 300's are superior to the Sigmas and anything besides the Canon-branded tc's. Personally, I have only worked with the pro 300's, so I cannot comment on any other TC from experience.

Here's a comparison between Canon 70-200 and Sigma 70-200, the difference is on the 200mm end.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=4​&APIComp=0