Sigma V Canon Lenses

Fimo

Hi All

Does anybody know if there is actually any real difference in quality between Sigma and Canon lenses - there seems to be different views out there?!

Thanks

Fimo

DK32

Fimo,

Do you have a lens in mind to act as a comparison?
Best bet is to read reviews from the more reputable and followed lens review sites.

http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

To give you a personal example;

I had a Sigma 24-70 EX DG f2.8 which I used on my Canon 350D & Canon 400D
It was a very sharp lens, not bad auto focus etc..
I upgraded to a Canon 24-70L f2.8
The difference was noticeable straight away. The Canon lens was stronger in every aspect. pictures were tack sharp, auto focus very fast and best of all silent. Lens remains protected by the hood at all focal lengths etc...

Your best bet is read up a lot of lenses before buying them, if you get an opportunity to visit some of the larger stores in Dublin, they often let you try before you buy.

Another option is to search the main photography forum here for a particular lens, there are a lot of people on here with a lot of different glass and opinions, so worth reading up.

Forgot to add that I personally noticed more of a difference in quality between the Sigma & Canon 24-70's when I moved from crop sensor to full frame.

Calina

Fimo, I think you might get more of a response from the main forum so I've moved it out there if that's okay by you.

I happen to shoot Canon and have half Sigma lenses and half Canon.

I think that it's safe to say that a lot depends on what lenses you're comparing and how much they cost.

I like my Sigma zooms but although I've played with a coupe of 70-200Ls, I've never felt that they were worth more to me than the Sigma zooms I have and that's even allowing for the top 10% of a Sigma zoom generally being somewhat soft. The Canon lenses in that range are nice but they are, for the most part, not worth the price differential to me because it can be very substantial.

I have two Canon prime lenses and I love one of them in particular. I don't know if Sigma actually do a macro lens but in terms of some of the photographs I've gotten out of my Canon 100mm macro, I actually don't think any of my other lenses have equalled it.

I have been told that the Canon 24-70 is far superior to the Sigma variant but again I think you'll find there's a significant price differential.

So I guess the answer is if you have the money, go for the top end Canon lenses. If you do not, for the most part, the Sigmas are very good.

I would also say that for most photographers, the differences are not sufficiently substantial to make it matter too much. A good photographer will take good photographs with Sigma lenses, a bad photographer is less likely to take god photographs with high end Canon lenses.

Borderfox

The differences wouldnt be too much between both, sigma tends to shoot a bit warmer than the canon example. From my point of view the Canon lenses are much harder wearing and some are weather sealed. I have the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 EX and its a fantastic lens.

Fimo

Thanks a million everybody - really appreciate your input!

Sleepy

Some older Sigma lenses don't work on the newer bodies as they've never gotten full specs from Canon about the contacts used to communicate with the camera and have had to reverse engineer the technology.

This is the main thing that puts me off third-party glass - the fear of shelling out a few hundred quid for it to be obsolete in a few short years.

FoxT

I use all these on a 40D...

SIgma 10-20 f/4-5.6.
Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Canon 85mm f/1.8
Canon 70-300 f/4 -5.6IS

I researched these lenses before I bought & all have met my expectations. The Canon 50mm build quality feels poor but the images are fine. The Canon 70-300 feels sloppy mechanically but again the images are fine. The Canon 85mm & the sigma 10-20 have the best build quality. Best image quality comes from the 85mm f/1.8 (but only when aperture is smaller than f/4), but all the above lenses can produce great image quality. Sigmas can be repaired in Bandon , which is great ( I live in PROC) .

I wouldn't say that the canon lenses are necessarily better than theSigmas or vice versa, I think you get what you pay for...

Gr1f

Sigma make a great 50mm f1.4 lens. It has excellent reviews, however, sometimes they can suffer from back/forward focusing. Sigma dealer in cork can fix for free, but can be a pain. I got it to replace the flimsy canon 50mm 1.8 and it's streets ahead.

Andrew33

FoxT wrote: »

I use all these on a 40D...

SIgma 10-20 f/4-5.6.
Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Canon 85mm f/1.8
Canon 70-300 f/4 -5.6IS

I researched these lenses before I bought & all have met my expectations. The Canon 50mm build quality feels poor but the images are fine. The Canon 70-300 feels sloppy mechanically but again the images are fine. The Canon 85mm & the sigma 10-20 have the best build quality. Best image quality comes from the 85mm f/1.8 (but only when aperture is smaller than f/4), but all the above lenses can produce great image quality. Sigmas can be repaired in Bandon , which is great ( I live in PROC) .

I wouldn't say that the canon lenses are necessarily better than theSigmas or vice versa, I think you get what you pay for...

I'm on the verge of investing in a 70-300mm IS USM for my 450D, your comments re same have shaken me to the core:eek::eek: Should I not do it?