Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro

Deliverance XXV

Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro Lens

I was just wondering if anyone uses/used this lense before? I'm wondering about it's quality and how well it does on the macro front?
Please feel free to post images shot with this lens to give me (and future posters/lurkers) an idea of the quality of this lens.

This lens is standing out for it's price as well as being a 1:1 macro lens. It can be had for £287.99 on Warehouse Express (Excluding the €40 delivery).
Is there anywhere else it can be got for cheaper? I have a Sigma 28-300mm macro but to be honest it's macro capabilities are pretty poor.
I'd like to get into the whole macro category and in particular, insect photography.

Any help/advice is much appreciated.

al_

Excellent lens, you'll love it.
nice price too..

Crispin

thinking about this one too. Worth checking out the tamron 90mm f2.8. Also heard very good things about this and is around the same price too

AnimalRights

The Canon 100 2.8 is not much dearer and there have been a few on adverts.ie over the last few months.

pete4130

I had one, brilliant! I sold it when i got the Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR and I think I preffered the Sigma to be honest. The Nikon doesnt remain at 2.8 when you are at 1:1...the Sigma did.

I shot this whole series on the lens...its great for portraits too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete4130/sets/72157609294459603/

I think its a cracking lens for the price.

ThOnda

How would you compare it to the canon 100/2.8 Macro?

DaireQuinlan

pete4130 wrote: »

I had one, brilliant! I sold it when i got the Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR and I think I preffered the Sigma to be honest. The Nikon doesnt remain at 2.8 when you are at 1:1...the Sigma did.

Hmmm, I doubt this was actually the case, more likely the Nikon was reporting the changing effective aperture correctly to the camera, but the Sigma wasn't. I don't think there are any macro lenses that stay at their declared max F-stop when they're at 1:1. That f/2.8 is only correct when the lens is focused at infinity.

elven

ThOnda wrote: »

How would you compare it to the canon 100/2.8 Macro?

There isn't a whole lot between the two. One thing to consider is that the front element of the sigma moves when you focus and the canon doesn't. the canon focuses quieter, soem say faster but i don't think it's noticeable. the build quality of the canon is loooovely, but the sigma still feels nice and solid. In terms of sharpness i saw a pixel peeper technical review and there really wasn't a huge amount between those two and the tamron someone else mentioned in this thread.

I do have a friend who had the sigma, got rid of it and got the canon, but I really don't think you'd be disappointed with the sigma if you got it.

Gambler

Deliverance XXV wrote: »

It can be had for £287.99 on Warehouse Express (Excluding the €40 delivery).
Is there anywhere else it can be got for cheaper?

Was looking at this lens myself, best price I found was €326 delivered

Deliverance XXV

Gambler wrote: »

Was looking at this lens myself, best price I found was €326 delivered

Some great prices on that site. www.onestop-digital.com
Have you/anyone tried that site before? Reputable? Length of delivery?

Covey

elven wrote: »

the canon focuses quieter, soem say faster but i don't think it's noticeable.

There is a huge difference in focusing as a "normal" lens i.e non macro shots. The Sigma hunts forever.

Gambler

Deliverance XXV wrote: »

Some great prices on that site. www.onestop-digital.com
Have you/anyone tried that site before? Reputable? Length of delivery?

I ordered from them yesterday on the back of another boardie recommendation. Apparently they will refund any VAT you get caught for which was a real winner for me. I actually paid by bank transfer which gave me another 2% discount but you may want to go with paypal for payment protection on a first transaction.

When I googled them a lot of people on other forums said that if they ordered on a Monday it was with them by the end of the week and they had no problem claiming back the VAT, will let you know how I get on with them myself if you want!

Deliverance XXV

Gambler wrote: »

I ordered from them yesterday on the back of another boardie recommendation. Apparently they will refund any VAT you get caught for which was a real winner for me. I actually paid by bank transfer which gave me another 2% discount but you may want to go with paypal for payment protection on a first transaction.

When I googled them a lot of people on other forums said that if they ordered on a Monday it was with them by the end of the week and they had no problem claiming back the VAT, will let you know how I get on with them myself if you want!

Definitely let me know. It'll not only be useful to me but to anyone who browses this forum as prices can be extravagant and competition is good.

I see they also have a price match option. So if you see it for cheaper, maybe they'll match it?

Gambler

Deliverance XXV wrote: »

Definitely let me know. It'll not only be useful to me but to anyone who browses this forum as prices can be extravagant and competition is good.

I see they also have a price match option. So if you see it for cheaper, maybe they'll match it?

They do seem to be willing to match it alright, not sure how they compare when shipping isn't included in the compared price but for the lens I just ordered they were cheaper irrelevant of delivery

Gambler

OK, Quick update on onestop digital. The Lens was dispatched last Thursday and Arrived at my house on Monday. No problems with VAT so couldn't check the VAT refund but have no reason to think they wouldn't honour it.

I also decided to check out their price match, the Canon 40D on their site was 6 Euros more expensive than on Pixmania after you added pixmania's €13 delivery option. I mailed them using the price match form and within 20 minutes got an email back to say they had dropped the price on their site from €758.82 to €724.49 which is actually cheaper than pixmania's sale price excluding delivery!

If you add the VAT guarantee and the bonus point system they run I think you can't beat these guys. If you do find a better price they'll undercut it, just use the form and wait for them to drop their price before you order.

Dragan

Hey guys, i have pimped this site before but think it's worth pimping again.

www.pixel-peeper.com

Just go there, choose your body and the lens type you want to see examples off and it goes off and finds you plenty of sample pics. A major time saver.

DaireQuinlan

Dragan wrote: »

Just go there, choose your body and the lens type you want to see examples off and it goes off and finds you plenty of sample pics. A major time saver.

or time WASTER as the case may be

enzyme

I used to have this lens and for the price is very good. I don't know what camera you have but the mark lenses would be a bit better but for me not enough to warrent eh price increse involved. If you are VAT registered and the lens is for your business thanyou can but it from any online store worldwide. You pay the VAT to the courrier or post man and than you just claim it back when doing your accounts. I have bought a lot of my stuff(stuff stuff too) from well rated resellers on ebay, and you will get a big price drop even when compared to cheap on line stores.

DotOrg

Deliverance XXV wrote: »

Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro Lens

I was just wondering if anyone uses/used this lense before? I'm wondering about it's quality and how well it does on the macro front?
Please feel free to post images shot with this lens to give me (and future posters/lurkers) an idea of the quality of this lens.


Any help/advice is much appreciated.

i got one of these from here: http://www.mxv.co.uk/ in the uk, no VAT added on, mint second hand and cost me 210 euro including delivery

really nice company to deal with as well. second hand lenses, from the rights hop with 6 month warantee, are well worth a look

enzyme

One thing. If you are buying something that's for your business and you buy from an EU store make sure that they can sell it VAT free when buying. If they say you can claim it back in Ireland than don't use them. My accountant (a little green fella with point ears) says it is a real pain in the behind to do it that way. Don't ask me why it's difficult as I never tried it the other way. On saying that if you buy it outside the EU and you have to pay the courier the VAT, it is easy to claim it back, you just write it off in your VAT returns.

CabanSail

Gambler wrote: »

They do seem to be willing to match it alright, not sure how they compare when shipping isn't included in the compared price but for the lens I just ordered they were cheaper irrelevant of delivery

Well I would be wary of dealing with them. Their Price Match promise is a bit hollow. I saw an item on the site & thought I would try it out. Searched & found it lot cheaper on Amazon.uk, so used their form.

This is the email I got.

"Hi,

Thank you very much for your price match request. However, due to the continuous decline of currency rates, we are currentlyunable to match the price you have quoted. Please accept our apologies.

Thank you.

Regards,

Onestop Digital"

enzyme

I don't think Amazon uk ship electronic goods to Ireland. I got this message.
We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to your selected destination. You may either change the shipping address or delete the item from your order by changing its quantity to 0 and clicking the update button below.

I remember this from before when I tried to order stuff from the I always had this problem

CabanSail

It actually wasn't an Electronic Item I priced, it was a Tripod head.

I have also looked at the Onestop site & they actually say that they will attempt to match the price or beat it if possible. I guess that is fair enough.

Gambler

I was a bit wary but had seen the site recommended in another thread here on boards so I took a gamble and even paid by bank transfer for the 2% discount but it worked great and the lens got here no problem.

I've seen a few things that are cheaper on other sites alright, that's why I tested it with the Canon 40D. In fairness it's cheaper still on other sites and I don't know how far they'd be willing to drop the price but they've been very professional so far when I dealt with them

enzyme

I wonder if you went to 2 different stores and kept getting a price match, would you eventually knock them down and get the lens for free. :P