Sigma 70-200 mm f/2.8 II EX APO DG Macro HSM review - Summary

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Sigma 70-200 mm f/2.8 II EX APO DG Macro HSM

15 September 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:

workmanship of very high quality and a solid body,
very good image quality at the center of the frame,
very good image quality at the edge of the frame at 70 mm,
decently controlled coma,
virtually unnoticeable distortion,
slight vignetting,
fast, silent and efficient autofocus,
abounding standard equipment (tripod mount ring, lens hood, casing),
three-year warranty with optional prolonging by another two.

Cons:

too small resolution at the edge of the frame for the range 135-200 mm,
poor cooperation with the original Sigma converter,
chromatic aberration after stopping down reaches large dimensions,
distinct astigmatism.

I must admit I’m a little disappointed in what Sigma’s presented. The changes resulted in practically nothing. Here and there something improved, here and there worsened, everywhere slightly, thus making almost no difference in pictures taken with the version I and II. The only thing that’s satisfying is lowering the price, as while the test the version I cost about 3500 PLN, the version II can be purchased for the amount 1000 PLN smaller. This, however, is due to the decreasing dollar rate and increasing competition in this market segment.

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Sample shots:


Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.4 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 135 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.7 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 200 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.0 MB

Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 100 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.7 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 135 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.8 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 70 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.3 MB

Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 200 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/1250 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.3 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 135 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/2000 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 70 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/2500 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.5 MB

Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 135 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 250 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.1 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 200 mm, f/3.5, exp. 1/800 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 6.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 95 mm, f/5.0, exp. 1/500 sec., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 6.8 MB

Camera: Nikon D200 + TC 1.4x Sigma Parameters: 280 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1250 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 + TC 1.4x Sigma Parameters: 280 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 6.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 + TC 1.4x Sigma Parameters: 280 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/500 sec., ISO 200 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.7 MB