This will be a review of the amazing Sigma 70-200 lens. Sigma made this lens for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Olympus DSLR camera.
As of this date, Sigma have made four macro lenses and I call them the “Fantastic Four” macro lenses.
Why?
Because for the cheap price, you’ll get optical perfection!
And this lens belong to the “Fantastic Four” group.
All four lenses are extremely sharp, have good distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting control and also very affordable.
All you need to decide is the focal length.
If you are just starting out with macro photography, I would recommend you get this lens.
It will give you the perfect focal length to experiment with different subject. Use this lens first to get a grip of the type of macro photography that you will be shooting and then make your upgrade decision accordingly.
Read on the full Sigma 70-200 below to see why this lens belong to the “Fantastic Four” category.
Specs • Performance • Sample Image • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Sigma 70-200 Specs
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Official Name:
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM II
Focal Length Markings:
70, 85, 100, 135, 200mm
Features:
EX – Excellent – Sigma’s designation for their high end lenses.
DG – Compatible with both full frame and cropped sensor DSLR camera.
APO – Apochromatic – Sigma’s technology to control chromatic aberration. Lenses with this term has a better chromatic aberration control.
Macro – Special lens for close up photography. This is NOT a 1:1 macro lens though.
HSM – HyperSonic Motor – Sigma’s smooth and fast autofocusing technology. Very similar to Canon’s USM. Lens with this designation can autofocus with Nikon’s entry level DSLR such as D40, D40x, D5000, D3000 and D3100.
II – The second version of this lens.
Full Technical Specs (from Sigma’s website):
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 18 / 15 |
| Angle of View | 34.3 – 12.3 |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 9 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 39.4in. |
| Filter Thread | 77mm |
| Weight | 48.3oz. (1370g) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | 3.4 x 7.3in. (86.5 x 184.4mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 1:3.5 |
| Available for | Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax |
Optical Performance
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Sigma 70-200 Sharpness
Center sharpness is very good on this lens at every focal length and aperture.
The border is a tad weak at 70mm at f/2.8. At the other focal length, border is very sharp with little to complain about.
The optimal aperture on this lens is at f/5.6.
See the full sharpness test table below.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Sigma AF 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM APO DG Macro Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 70mm | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 135mm | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 200mm | Great | Great | Excellent | Great |
Sigma AF 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM APO DG Macro Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 70mm | Good | Great | Excellent | Excellent |
| 135mm | Great | Great | Great | Great |
| 200mm | Great | Great | Great | Great |
Distortion
Distortion is not something that you should worry about on this lens. You can ignore distortion at every focal lengths.
See the distortion test result for this lens at every focal length below.
Vignetting
Vignetting is superbly controlled on this lens. You will not be able to see it at any focal length and aperture, even at the widest one (f/2.8)
See the vignetting test results below for each focal length and apertures.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic aberration is also superbly controlled like the vignetting. You will not notice chromatic aberration at any aperture and focal length here.
See the full chromatic aberration test for each focal length and apertures below.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Sigma AF 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM APO DG Macro Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 |
| 70mm | Negligible | Very Low | Very Low | Very Low |
| 135mm | Very Low | Very Low | Low | Low |
| 200mm | Very Low | Very Low | Very Low | Low |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Sigma has a long tradition in the large aperture tele zoom lens arena. The series started with the AF 70-210mm f/2.8 back in the late 80s and they’ve recently released the 4th generation – the Sigma AF 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM APO DG macro. This latest incarnation features an improved close focus range down to a max. object magnification of 1:3.5 (1m @ 200mm). In absolute terms this may not be impressive but it is unique within this class. The lens is part of Sigma’s professional grade EX (“Excellence”) series and Sigma is also bold enough to go a comparatively high pricing – at around 850€/US$ it is only marginally cheaper than the comparable genuine manufacturer offers by Canon and Nikon. It is a full format lens and when used on an APS-C DSLR its field-of-view is equivalent to a classic 105-300mm lens.
Materials
The build quality of this EX lens is simply stellar. It is made of combination of high quality metal and plastic part and it feels very professional.
Sigma applied the typical Sigma EX crinkle finish on this lens.
Zoom Ring
Zoom ring operates smoothly on this lens. The physical dimension of this lens does not change when you zoom.
Focusing
The focusing ring also operates very smoothly. The filter thread does not rotate on this lens and you can attach a polarizing filter easily.
This lens is compatible with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. The HSM motor allows for fast, accurate and silent autofocusing mechanism.
This is an HSM lens which means it will autofocus when used with entry level Nikon DSLR such as Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D5000, D5100, D3000 and D3100.
Image Stabilization
There is no Optical Stabilization built into the lens.
Compatibility
Being a DG lens, this lens is compatible with both full frame and cropped sensor DSLR camera.
Sample Image
Back to: Menu • Introduction
The following are some images taken with this lens. Click any of them to enlarge the image.
Get the best price online from Amazon: Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus.
Conclusion
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Here are the conclusions for this Sigma 70-200 review.
Drawbacks
- Slightly soft borders at 70mm f/2.8
Positives
- Very sharp on the center and borders (above 70mm f/2.8) at any focal length and apertures
- Negligible distortion at every focal length
- Excellent vignetting control – it is not visible even at f/2.8 at every focal length
- Superb chromatic aberration control
- Stellar build quality
- Quick, silent and accurate autofocusing mechanism
- Amazing value for money
Good For
- Professional sports photography
- Professional portraiture photography
Not So Good For
- Walk around or street photography lens due to its size and weight
What Others Are Saying…
by “Zachary Wagner”
At this point, almost every lens I own is a Sigma, the only exception being my Tamron 17-50 2.8 (which is a very, very solid lens). I’ve owned the Sigma 120-300 2.8 for a handful of days (the best lens I’ve used), and the Nikkor…
Click here to see the full review
by “Jon David”
I was worried when I bouught this lens because I had only tried the Tamron copy, but my only experience with non-Nikon is with Sigma. I LOVE this lens. I got it for shooting sporting events for my university newspaper, and have…
Click here to see the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Sigma 70-200 lens from Amazon (best price online):
If the mount you’re looking for is not available on B&H Photo, check out Amazon (Sigma, Nikon
To see the related Sigma macro lens review, check out the following post below.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this Sigma 70-200 review and I will catch you in the next one!
This will be a review of the amazing Sigma 70-200 lens. Sigma made this lens for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Olympus DSLR camera.
…
This will be a review of the amazing Sigma 70-200 lens. Sigma made this lens for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Olympus DSLR camera.
…
| Lens Score | |
|---|---|
| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
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