Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I bought this lens as a cheap alternative to an Olympus 90-250mm 2.8 I shoot mainly sports and require a fast lens that can preform at wide open as well as low light situations.

The only good thing about this lens is the price, other than that it has no positive qualities.

Here comes the list of bad things, lens preforms horrible at 200mm it is totally useless wide open or stopped down. I had it mounted to an E-3 that shoots 5 fps with this lens it slowed the body down to maybe 3 fps. I was only able to get a half way decent image at 70mm the more you zoom the worse it becomes. At 200mm focusing becomes near impossible I would have to back the lens out to 70mm focus, move to mid focal length of about 125mm focus again and then finally 200mm. Images at all focal lengths were riddled with chromatic aberration.

You are better off getting the 50-200mm Olympus lens for a bit more money. It's just a shame it's not a 2.8 throughout.

If you don't want to take my word for it buy the lens and give it a shot you might get a better version than the one I received. B&H is great and has a wonderful return policy so there's nothing to loose

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I bought this lens from B&H, for low-light concert conditions and it did the job very well. The shipping to Canada was pretty fast, less than 48 hours after I passed the order.

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I'm using sigma 70-200mm 1:2.8 II MACRO HSM with Pansonic DMC-L1 camera. I was wonder that it is possible to shooting at 135-200mm without any stabilizations! This lens also have constant focusing distance during zoom range. APO is working. Sharpness good from f4 to f16 at 70-135mm. It can be used at f2.8 also - there is no dramatic sharpness loss.

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I shoot mainly youth soccer. Great zoom for small sided soccer fields. I like the f2.8 through the zoom, but slow to focus in Auto mode. Good bang for the buck to get into the action without paying top dollar.

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I settled on an Olympus E-30 for safari wildlife photography because Sigma made this lens for it. I need a fast lens because light is precious and rare early in the morning when the animals are active, and, because I sometimes use a 2x Olympus teleconverter which costs me 2 stops (but leaves me with a very acceptable 140-400mm f/5.6 which my Dad's 35mm would see as 280-800mm because of the E-30's 2.0 crop factor, which is WAY better than his kit). The Hypersonic (vibrating) autofocus motor is silent and fast and power-thrifty, the internal focus is REALLY nice because the polarizing filter and the scalloped hood stay aligned properly, and Sigma used enough low-dispersion glass and aspheric lens surfaces to produce a really, really sharp image right across the full aperture at any zoom. Why didn't Olympus make a lens with these features? Other reviewers have cautioned about Sigma quality control problems: My lens performed to specifications out of the box without problems (maybe Sigma read those reviews too and hired a new Inspector 30?).

Comments about Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF Lens for Four Thirds System:

I pre-ordered this lens as soon as BH made it available. I've owned it for one week and a half, but it was definitely worth the wait. I haven't put it through its paces nor have I tested its ruggedness, but it seems to be a solid lens. It's sharp, focuses faster than the three lenses I own and it's very quiet. I like the constant (fast aperture) and the bokeh is good. It will be somewhat heavy if you're moving up from kit lenses, but it isn't unbearable. I've used it handheld with my E-300, but for best results I use my tripod or monopod. The addition of a tripod collar and carrying case are nice touches. One note is that I can't use the HLD-3 battery grip when the lens is used the collar on a mono or tripod, but this is no show stopper. Overall it’s a great value and alternative to the 50-200.