Sigma 120-300mm f2.8

BeerBelly

Senior Member
I've just acquired one in december...the new Sports version. I haven't really done extensive testing with it yet, but from what I've seen so far, I'm more than impressed. The sharpness is there, the ability to customize AF speed is astonishing and I feel it was a great purchase. Below a sample at 300/2.8

31567010114_2ff579ebc2_h.jpg
 

slowpoke

Senior Member
It's a nice feeling to know I'm not alone.Ha ha That's a nice shot. This lens also likes the Sigma 2x Teleconverter,if I need to reach out to 600mm.It's great to have that little option.lol
 

NealB

Senior Member
I glad to hear the positive comments. I am considering purchasing one this year. I have several other Sigma lenses and have had nothing but positive results with them so now I always look at the Sigma equivalent of what I am looking for first.
 

slowpoke

Senior Member
I glad to hear the positive comments. I am considering purchasing one this year. I have several other Sigma lenses and have had nothing but positive results with them so now I always look at the Sigma equivalent of what I am looking for first.
Hi,NealB If you are looking for an inexpensive Sigma lens. The 70-200mm F2.8 is a Great lens.But the 120-300mm F2.8 is a super lens.I have them bothe and wouldn't part with either one.I hope you are able to find one that fits you.
 

BeerBelly

Senior Member
Can you share some samples how the 2x TC affects the image quality of the lens? Do you feel it's a solid option to get to 600mm? I'm thinking of purchasing both TCs for it, but not sure....the other option is to get the 150-600 Sigma or something of equivalent focal length.

Also a note to all future users...if you have a body that's been released after the D7100 you will need to update the lens' FW or otherwise the lens won't behave as it should (OS will not turn on all the time, AF will be slugish,...)
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Also a note to all future users...if you have a body that's been released after the D7100 you will need to update the lens' FW or otherwise the lens won't behave as it should (OS will not turn on all the time, AF will be slugish,...)
Beerbelly, what do yo mean by "update the FW" ? Wouldn't new lenses already be suitable for the newer bodies ?
 

BeerBelly

Senior Member
@Ironwood: what I mean is that the current FW version for the lens is 1.03 and I bought a used one that was never updated so it remained at 1.00. The lens was slow to focus, OS was very intermittent (sometimes working, most of the time not working). After I updated the lens to the new FW using the dock it was a new lens...focus was fast, OS reliable. My body is a D750 if that matters. I guess the new ones in stores have updated FW, unless they're old stock.
 

NealB

Senior Member
Hi,NealB If you are looking for an inexpensive Sigma lens. The 70-200mm F2.8 is a Great lens.But the 120-300mm F2.8 is a super lens.I have them bothe and wouldn't part with either one.I hope you are able to find one that fits you.
I have been holding back on buying a 24-70 & 70-200 hoping that Sigma will release new versions, I really like being able to use the dock to customize & tune the lens.
 

slowpoke

Senior Member
@Ironwood: what I mean is that the current FW version for the lens is 1.03 and I bought a used one that was never updated so it remained at 1.00. The lens was slow to focus, OS was very intermittent (sometimes working, most of the time not working). After I updated the lens to the new FW using the dock it was a new lens...focus was fast, OS reliable. My body is a D750 if that matters. I guess the new ones in stores have updated FW, unless they're old stock.
Hi,BB I'm shoting the D810 and have had no problems with any of my lenses.I have to wait for a slow day at work to get a few shots.Very busy at work and the weather sucks ha ha.
 

BeerBelly

Senior Member
Just a couple of shots using Sigma 120-300 f2.8 Sport and the previous version 2xTC (not the new TC-2001 version). I have to say the AF was quick enough on most of the shots I took that day.





by

luftwalk, on Flickr
 

BeerBelly

Senior Member
I have to say the combination of the Sigma with the 2x TC continues to amaze me. I had a sparrow land about 4m away from me, but sadly was behind some branches, so no clear shot. I took it anyway (only had time for one, since it was gone in a few seconds) and was extremely impressed with what I saw.

I'm posting below the whole image and a 100% crop of it. The focus was on the body of the bird, not the eye (lack of time). It was processed in Lightroom with the same treatment as most of my other shots.

tc2f8crop.png


and the whole image can be found here: http://www.bobr.si/files/tc2f8whole.jpg
 
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