Did You Read That Review ? (53 page)

By
Splat
, October 7, 2011

Nice product, but since it was made out of parachute-looking material, I thought it had one. My bad, and another lesson learned to read ALL DIRECTIONS FIRST. We did a trial run with our cat from our high-rise apartment, and I expected the chute to be open by the 20th floor. It does wash out nicely, just hose the inside, shake out debris/parts, let it air dry—and good as new.

4.4 out of 5 stars

Name:
     
Sigma 200–500-mm, f/2.8, APO EX DG Ultratelephoto Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

ASIN:
     B0013D8VDQ

Price:
     
$25,999.00

This ultratelephoto zoom lens offers a fast aperture of f/2.8 at the 500-mm focal length and f/5.6 at the 1000-mm. It covers widely-used focal lengths from 200 mm to 500 mm and has a large aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range. This lens can be used to create amazing image expression with various types of photography such as astrophotography, portraiture, wildlife, and sport. SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass and three ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations. The supermultilayer coating reduces flare and ghosting and provides high image quality from the extremely large aperture. The lens hood, designed exclusively for this lens, blocks out extraneous light. A 72-mm filter can be inserted at the rear of the lens, and a circular polarizing filter can be used in situ thanks to the ingenious internal rotation mechanism. The dedicated Li-ion battery BP-21 is used to power the zooming and AF operations. This battery is built into the lens barrel. For the convenience of the photographer, focusing distances and focal lengths can be viewed on the lens’s built-in LCD panel.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

306 of 340 people found the following review helpful

Sigma 200–500-mm Telephoto Lens

By
Christopher A. Simmons “C. Alan Simmons Fine Home Building, Inc.”
, February 19, 2010

I must admit I did not buy this monster of a lens—it came to me the old-fashioned way (no it wasn’t stolen): my parents purchased it for me—they have more disposable income than I. Well after having had it for a little while, there are a few things I have learned: 1. Don’t unleash this beast around other photographers or anyone else for that matter unless you are a total camera snob and are trying to compensate for certain inadequacies. 2. Use a monster tripod—this beast weighs over 100 lb.…3. Let the lens come to ambient temperature before using. 4. Do not use it for photographing ANYTHING from the deck of your home in San Francisco—unless you want your neighbors phoning SFPD complaining that you are a voyeur—SFPD was impressed with my photos of the Palace of Fine Arts and Alcatraz. Now I wanted this lens for nature photography—this is what I do for fun. Unfortunately, I think the lens is much too large and heavy to be transported with any ease other than hiring a Sherpa.

196 of 268 people found the following review helpful

Well worth the sacrifice

By
M. Daniels
, February 17, 2010

Some may feel that this lens is a tad pricey, but many forget about the needless things in their life that they can sell in order to purchase this beast. I immediately sold my vehicle because I was finally able to convince myself that I only use my vehicle a couple hours out of the day. It was sad that I even had to contemplate selling my car for this camera attachment, but to somewhat justify my hesitation in selling it, I do drop off my children at school and use it as transportation to and from work every day. So, once I sold it, I realized that I had to come up with another $21,000. I tried selling my apartment, but my landlord indicated that I could not legally do that. Whatever, Jim. (Because I have learned not to burn bridges from past experiences, I stopped having open houses. Plus, the lawyer and court fees would put a damper on my upcoming Amazon purchase). Where was I going to come up with this $21,000? That’s when a Sigma light bulb went off in my head. I sold my two children to the Pesticide & Insecticide Testing Corporation. I feel it was a solid move on my part because they explained that my (now their) children would always have enough to eat, exercise every day, and have a doctor present 24/7. With the money I made with this no-brainer sell and the under-the-table cash my wife was getting from working on the prestigious corner of Main Street and Almond Street, I was finally able to make the purchase of a lifetime. I even had some extra cash left over, so I decided to buy my first digital camera. This green monster looks great on my brand new Canon Rebel XSi. Thanks, Sigma!

18 of 28 people found the following review helpful

Great piece of equipment, but a little heavy

By
6138 “6138”
, April 20, 2012

This is great. I live in Miami, and now I am able to take pictures of the Eiffel tower without travelling. That allows you to save some money. I’m planning to change direction and snap some photos of the glaciers in Alaska now. The only downside is that I had to buy a tank to carry the thing, I tried with a mule, but the poor animal died of exhaustion. The good thing about the tank is that I can also carry the 5 concrete blocks that I have to use as a tripod for this thing. For this price it’s a bargain; I would recommend to buy two just to have a backup of this amazing equipment.

338 of 420 people found the following review helpful

Bad color choice for lens barrel, excellent overall