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10/19/2009 08:48:55 PM · #1 |
I'm considering selling my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8, but I can't decide if I really should or not. When I bought it a couple of years back, I was doing a lot of photojournalism work and the wide aperture came in handy. Now I shoot much less of that. I've gotten into some wildlife photography, but 200mm is too short, so I got a Canon 70-300mm IS to use for that. For my personal outdoor shooting, I'm more likely to stop down a bit. Also, its lack of IS makes it less useful to me.
The only time I can think of where I'd want it is at a wedding, where the f/2.8 would be needed. But I'm wondering if the 85mm f/1.8 I'm eyeing would cover that use well enough.
I haven't had it out in a few months now, and I guess my concern is that I'm holding on to it but not really using it. I could certainly use the cash I'd get from selling it to pick up a few other things I've been wanting. But I don't want to sell it and then realize I needed it still.
Any thoughts?
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10/19/2009 08:58:03 PM · #2 |
| Well, the 85mm 1.8 is great for weddings - the 70-300 would not be so good. Your lenses are not really geared towards weddings to be honest - so if you are shooting nature I think the what you have is fine, augmented with the 85 1.8 for the odd portrait etc would be fine.. You have the 7D so I am sure you can compensate for the few lost stops with a higher ISO. |
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10/19/2009 10:37:00 PM · #3 |
| I have the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 on my camera and I hardly take it off. If you wanted to sell it the only reason I can imagine me getting rid of this lens would the for the lack of IS/VR which the Canon and Nikon versions offer. If you wanted a longer lens you could get the 2x Teleconverter converting your 70-200 into a 140-400 f5.6 |
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10/20/2009 07:24:11 AM · #4 |
 Simms, I should clarify that I don't shoot weddings all that often, right now just two or three a year. My primary work is commercial/editorial, where I'm usually stopping down a bit and often bringing in strobes, negating the need for a 2.8 aperture. I definitely agree that the 70-300 would not be my first choice for a wedding - even an outdoor wedding.
Dirt_Diver, I agree, if the lens had IS I'd be less likely to think about parting with it. And I have tried the teleconverter - I just got rid of it, actually, due to the decrease in image quality and focus speed/precision.
I appreciate the thoughts! Anyone else?
I still don't know if I'm trying to talk myself into selling it, or talk myself out of that.
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10/20/2009 11:24:59 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Dirt_Diver, I agree, if the lens had IS I'd be less likely to think about parting with it. And I have tried the teleconverter - I just got rid of it, actually, due to the decrease in image quality and focus speed/precision.
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I don't mean to change the subject but would you mind telling me more about this. I'm seriously considering getting this so I can get a bit closer when shooting some sports. What did you like/dislike about this TC? If you want to keep the subject on key you can PM with an answer. Thanks mate |
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10/20/2009 11:57:06 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Dirt_Diver:
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Dirt_Diver, I agree, if the lens had IS I'd be less likely to think about parting with it. And I have tried the teleconverter - I just got rid of it, actually, due to the decrease in image quality and focus speed/precision.
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I don't mean to change the subject but would you mind telling me more about this. I'm seriously considering getting this so I can get a bit closer when shooting some sports. What did you like/dislike about this TC? If you want to keep the subject on key you can PM with an answer. Thanks mate |
No problem, glad to share my thoughts on it - and since it is impacting my interest in selling the lens, I think it's relevant :-)
By itself, the lens is very quick to focus and I've always found the image quality to be quite good. I got the TC from a user on here, the price was good so I figured I'd try it out, and like you're thinking, double the lens length. (For reference, it was the actual Sigma 2x TC.)
Unfortunately, the results were not what I'd hoped for. With the max. aperture dropped to f/5.6, the focus was slow. If the lens missed focus - which it often did with the TC - and had to hunt, it became even slower, and whatever shot I wanted was pretty much missed. I was trying to use it for bird photography this past summer and I found it to be very frustrating.
Even when it did manage to focus, the results left much to be desired. Sharpness dropped noticeably, even with the lens + TC combo entered into the 50D's AF-microadjustment option. Most shots could be brought back to acceptable quality with some PS work, but worse yet was the blue fringing, which was terrible on contrast edges. And ACR's fringe adjustment barely touched it.
Then there's the problem with hand-holding a 400mm lens; any motion at all is greatly exaggerated through the viewfinder. Shooting birds towards sunset, I was cranking the ISO up to 800 to try and get enough shutter speed, but I still tossed about 15 shots for every one that I kept. I even bought a cheap monopod to see if that would help - it did, a little, but without a ballhead on the monopod, it's hard to change the vertical axis when shooting.
As soon as I got and tested the 70-30mm IS, I sold the TC and haven't used the Sigma lens since. The 70-300mm is no speed-demon in focusing either, but it's much, much better than the Sigma+TC combo, and the IS incredible. Shooting with it, I'm no longer worrying about camera shake, I'm worrying about keeping the shutter speed high enough to freeze the subject (which is the way it ought to me, IMO).
For sports shooting, I'd have real reservations about recommending it.
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