Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM

it was a Great value buy new, and is even better secondhand

released (year): 2010 Price new: £900/$1300 buy at Mpb.com today: well used £584/$749 like new £611/$783

Launched back in 2010, this lens has recently been discontinued, and replaced with Sigma’s pricier ‘Sport’ line edition. It’s long been a favourite value option and actually won our Big Test of budget telephoto zooms in issue 83. Build quality is very good and handling is refined. Performance benefits from super-fast ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, which is well suited to tracking moving objects. The optical stabilizer also works well, with switchable static and panning modes. As with other 70-200mm f/2.8 ‘constantaperture’ zooms, the physical length as well as the widest available aperture remains fixed throughout the zoom range. Sharpness and contrast are very impressive, distortions are minimal and colour fringing is negligible. Overall, it’s a top buy for the price-point.

Key points Posh glass

The optical path includes two top-grade FLD (‘Fluorite’ Low Dispersion) and three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) elements to reduce colour fringing.

Hood and adaptor

The petal shaped hood and adaptor supplied make for effective shading when using the lens on DX format cameras, which have an APS-C sized sensor.

Tripod mounting ring

The supplied tripod mounting ring helps balance the weight when using a tripod or monopod, reducing the stress on the lens mount, while enabling easy switching between orientations.

specs

Full-frame compatible: Yes Effective focal length (DX): 105-300mm

Autofocus: Ultrasonic (ring-type) Maximum magnification: 0.13x Min focus distance:

1.4m

Diaphragm blades: 9 Dimensions (dia x length): 86x198mm

Weight: 1430g