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Zoom - Sigma vs. Canon (pics)

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schildi

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I have both the Canon 75-300mm (non IS) and the Sigma 70-300mm macro APO II at home right now, and have taken some test shots.

Bottom line is - I will keep the Sigma and return the Canon.

The pics below have all been taken at 300mm, f/5.6, ISO200, 1/60sec, on a tripod. I have taken a series of 5 shots with each lens, and then picked the best one for each, even though all 5 were pretty much the same for each lens. I have had no focus problems with the Sigma - very consistent - so I guess I got lucky and received a good copy of the lens. The Sigma's focus actually seems a little more consistent to me than the Canon's.

Focus speed is very close for both lenses. Maybe the Sigma takes a little longer, but I am not sure, as if so, it is extremely close.

I have done many more tests with different objects, but the results are all very much the same, so the shots below show very good what I mean.

What do you all think?
OK, here are the pics:

1. Sigma - full pic:



2. Canon - full pic:



3. Sigma - crop:



4. Canon - crop:

 
Max Menon said:
Why does the images make it look like the Canon's focal length is
less than the Sigma's ?
Click to expand...
Hmmm, do you mean the full pic? Looks like the same focal length to me. Well, it is - 300mm. Both shots where taken from the exact same location. In the crops, I may not have gotten it exactly right, though.

I bought the Sigma for $209 + S/H from B&H.

Schildi.
 
Would you mind buying a Tamron 70-300 while you're at it so we can get side by sides of all three? just kidding..;)

I'm pretty sure the Sigma will do better in CA reduction than the Tamron as well, but maybe I'm biased, but Tamron at 300 is really sharp which is what I like as well.

I'll try to dig some up to post...
 
Yes, the CA looks pretty bad on the Canon shots. Also, in my tests, the Sigma was able to focus more consistently, as all shots I have taken with the Sigma today were reasonably good in focus - whereas 4 or 5 shots with the Canon were blurry.

I know that this is contrary to other reviews, but may be I just was lucky with my copy of the sigma.

BTW, the pics I have posted were all done with parameter 2, right out of the camera, no post processing. I believe that the Sigma does a great job for it's money.

Schildi.
MartinM2 said:
Would you mind buying a Tamron 70-300 while you're at it so we can
get side by sides of all three? just kidding..;)

I'm pretty sure the Sigma will do better in CA reduction than the
Tamron as well, but maybe I'm biased, but Tamron at 300 is really
sharp which is what I like as well.

I'll try to dig some up to post...
Click to expand...
 
I am waiting for Michae Louis to kick in. He was always defending the Conon lenses - how about my results.

I would be interested in what he has to say ....

Schildi.
 
I'm qute pleased with my sigma. A few times a little troublesome to get to focus indoors in low ligth at the long focal lengths.

Here's a pictures of my dauthers eye, straigth from the cam not even a crop or resize. I can't remember if it was in macro mode or just at 300mm and handheld.

Used a flash (bounching if I remember correct) and this is sharp enough for me


schildi said:
I have both the Canon 75-300mm (non IS) and the Sigma 70-300mm
macro APO II at home right now, and have taken some test shots.

Bottom line is - I will keep the Sigma and return the Canon.

The pics below have all been taken at 300mm, f/5.6, ISO200,
1/60sec, on a tripod. I have taken a series of 5 shots with each
lens, and then picked the best one for each, even though all 5 were
pretty much the same for each lens. I have had no focus problems
with the Sigma - very consistent - so I guess I got lucky and
received a good copy of the lens. The Sigma's focus actually seems
a little more consistent to me than the Canon's.

Focus speed is very close for both lenses. Maybe the Sigma takes a
little longer, but I am not sure, as if so, it is extremely close.

I have done many more tests with different objects, but the results
are all very much the same, so the shots below show very good what
I mean.

What do you all think?
OK, here are the pics:

1. Sigma - full pic:



2. Canon - full pic:



3. Sigma - crop:



4. Canon - crop:

Click to expand...
--
I speak english - I learn it from a book
 
How much did you pay for both lenses? That is interesting to see another difference from the image quality, which is quite obvious...
--
epixs
 
Here is a 100% crop from my Tamron 70-300. The lens is really sharp, if you focus with good DOF I'm generally impressed. It does exibit some CA now and then, but usually only because I'm looking for it and at 100%, but I've figured how to fix that so I can't complain for a hundred bucks. It's also silver to match;)



The only adjustments were in camera as shown here except for cropping and saving

File Name
IMG_5011.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
1/30/2004 1:28:48 PM
Shooting Mode
Manual
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/80
Av( Aperture Value )
9.0
Metering Mode
Center-weighted averaging
ISO Speed
200
Lens
70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length
176.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
On
Flash Type
Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation
+2/3
Red-eye Reduction
On
Shutter curtain sync
1st-curtain sync
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
Parameters
Contrast +1
Sharpness +2
Color saturation Normal
Color tone Normal
Color Space
sRGB
File Size
2439KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name
 
MartinM2 said:
Here is a 100% crop from my Tamron 70-300. The lens is really
sharp, if you focus with good DOF I'm generally impressed. It does
exibit some CA now and then, but usually only because I'm looking
for it and at 100%, but I've figured how to fix that so I can't
complain for a hundred bucks. It's also silver to match;)



The only adjustments were in camera as shown here except for
cropping and saving

File Name
IMG_5011.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
1/30/2004 1:28:48 PM
Shooting Mode
Manual
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/80
Av( Aperture Value )
9.0
Metering Mode
Center-weighted averaging
ISO Speed
200
Lens
70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length
176.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
On
Flash Type
Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation
+2/3
Red-eye Reduction
On
Shutter curtain sync
1st-curtain sync
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
Parameters
Contrast +1
Sharpness +2
Color saturation Normal
Color tone Normal
Color Space
sRGB
File Size
2439KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name
Click to expand...
--
Brian
Dallas, TX
Still love the Spurs (the Mavs suck)
10D owner and love sharp images.
http://www.pbase.com/drip
 
I got my Sigma 70-300 for $177 at Delta International a few months ago. I believe the lens wasn't listed on their web site. I called them and they had it in stock for $177. An even better deal!

I think the only real reason to get the Canon 75-300 is getting the IS model. IS can allow some pretty amazing shots, even if you have to stop the lens down to get results as sharp as the Sigma.

---
http://www.pbase.com/ckrueger
 
This is really what I did not like about the Canon..look at all that CA! yike.

Even with the Tamron 1.4x with the Sigma I cannot see much chromatic aberation..even in white contrasty subjects.

As for the focusing speed....I hope that micheal louis read this...He said that lens was the slowest...

Judging from your comment and from my experience with it..I also did not saw much difference between the Sigma and the Canon USM, if there was a difference it was probably fractions of a second.

My Sigma is pretty consistant for focusing too. With the Tamron 1.4x TC it is a bit slower but nothing dramatic.

Looks like you got a pretty good lens :) I am also very pleased with mine.
schildi said:
I have both the Canon 75-300mm (non IS) and the Sigma 70-300mm
macro APO II at home right now, and have taken some test shots.

Bottom line is - I will keep the Sigma and return the Canon.

The pics below have all been taken at 300mm, f/5.6, ISO200,
1/60sec, on a tripod. I have taken a series of 5 shots with each
lens, and then picked the best one for each, even though all 5 were
pretty much the same for each lens. I have had no focus problems
with the Sigma - very consistent - so I guess I got lucky and
received a good copy of the lens. The Sigma's focus actually seems
a little more consistent to me than the Canon's.

Focus speed is very close for both lenses. Maybe the Sigma takes a
little longer, but I am not sure, as if so, it is extremely close.

I have done many more tests with different objects, but the results
are all very much the same, so the shots below show very good what
I mean.

What do you all think?
OK, here are the pics:

1. Sigma - full pic:



2. Canon - full pic:



3. Sigma - crop:



4. Canon - crop:

Click to expand...
--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918
 
try it at 300mm wide open and for a distant subject.
MartinM2 said:
Here is a 100% crop from my Tamron 70-300. The lens is really
sharp, if you focus with good DOF I'm generally impressed. It does
exibit some CA now and then, but usually only because I'm looking
for it and at 100%, but I've figured how to fix that so I can't
complain for a hundred bucks. It's also silver to match;)



The only adjustments were in camera as shown here except for
cropping and saving

File Name
IMG_5011.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
1/30/2004 1:28:48 PM
Shooting Mode
Manual
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/80
Av( Aperture Value )
9.0
Metering Mode
Center-weighted averaging
ISO Speed
200
Lens
70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length
176.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
On
Flash Type
Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation
+2/3
Red-eye Reduction
On
Shutter curtain sync
1st-curtain sync
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
Parameters
Contrast +1
Sharpness +2
Color saturation Normal
Color tone Normal
Color Space
sRGB
File Size
2439KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name
Click to expand...
--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918
 
Hello.

You said that all the shots were taken at 300mm, yet the canon 100% crop is much larger (shrinking it to 76% makes it about the same as the Sigma). Are you sure they were both at 300mm?

I have the Canon IS version so I really don't have experience with these lenses directly, sorry.

-James
 
Hi James - he said the crops weren't exact but you can see the originals were. he just grabbed a different crop on each and some sampling differences occured. It may have made the Canon crop look even blurrier but the difference is clear at full size. I would have considered the IS but didn't have the cash at the time, and when I did I was happy with the APO and thought the 28-135 was a better investment for my shooting. ~ m²
james-montana said:
You said that all the shots were taken at 300mm, yet the canon 100%
crop is much larger (shrinking it to 76% makes it about the same as
the Sigma). Are you sure they were both at 300mm?
Click to expand...
--

'Brothers and sisters, we've learned that there's some bad bokeh going around out there. So like, just be careful man, alright?' (If Wavy Gravy emceed PMA) http://rhodeymark.instantlogic.com

 
Howdy.. I guess I'm still confused. Assuming they were both taken at 300mm from the same location shouldn't the transformer in both of the crops be the same size? I realize they won't match pixel for pixel, but the magnification difference in the crops is what makes me wonder if both were really at 300mm. (or if they were taken at different locations)

Very telling shots though. I agree about the 28-135IS though. Really love that lens. It started my IS obsession.

-James
Mark Marshall said:
james-montana said:
You said that all the shots were taken at 300mm, yet the canon 100%
crop is much larger (shrinking it to 76% makes it about the same as
the Sigma). Are you sure they were both at 300mm?
Click to expand...
--
'Brothers and sisters, we've learned that there's some bad bokeh
going around out there. So like, just be careful man, alright?'
(If Wavy Gravy emceed PMA) http://rhodeymark.instantlogic.com

Click to expand...
 
Daniella said:
try it at 300mm wide open and for a distant subject.
Click to expand...
Obviously softer wide open, but not bad. I generally shoot at F9 because it's the sweet spot and still a shallow enough DOF for my tastes.

Here is a wide open 300mm example:
Crop first



And a touch of brightness and crontrast and resized/sharpened:



File Name
IMG_5313.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
2/1/2004 9:42:03 AM
Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/1000
Av( Aperture Value )
5.6
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
200
Lens
70.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length
300.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
Parameters
Contrast +1
Sharpness +2
Color saturation Normal
Color tone Normal
Color Space
sRGB
File Size
2154KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
 
Out of curiosity being that it was 300mm @ 1/160th and on a tripod, was a self timer or remote trigger used?

-James
james-montana said:
Very telling shots though. I agree about the 28-135IS though.
Really love that lens. It started my IS obsession.

-James
Mark Marshall said:
james-montana said:
You said that all the shots were taken at 300mm, yet the canon 100%
crop is much larger (shrinking it to 76% makes it about the same as
the Sigma). Are you sure they were both at 300mm?
Click to expand...
--
'Brothers and sisters, we've learned that there's some bad bokeh
going around out there. So like, just be careful man, alright?'
(If Wavy Gravy emceed PMA) http://rhodeymark.instantlogic.com

Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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