Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 APO HSM and Nikon D300 - My First Shots

My new lens arrived!

I was looking for a moderately priced zoom lens with long reach for sports, and I chose the Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras.

Below are a few example shots, and here is the full gallery on Picasa.


My outfit with the new lens.

It's a bit heavier and slightly longer than the Nikon 80-400mm.

The shots below were taken from my deck, with the lens fresh out of the packaging, and are the first things I shot. I was far toe excited to mess with the controls, so I was set for ISO 500, continuous focus, left over from the last ballgame I shot. They're freehand, and I can already see that the OS works well.


120mm, 1/160s, f/4.5, ISO 500


2mm, 1/160s, f/4.5, ISO 500

400mm, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO500

Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 APO HSM - Reviews and Research

In researching the lens, I looked at the following:

• D200 / D300 + Sigma 120-400mm (I especially like the bird shots here), taken with D300.
• PopPhoto review/test - This one is the most comprehensive review, grading the subjective photo quality A+ at all stops and zooms for 5x7 prints, A to A+ all stops and zooms for 8x10 enlargements, dipping into the Bs only at 400mm at 11x14! This seems very manageable to me.
  
• Review on SLRGear.com
• Review on PhotoReview.au, 8.8 out of 10
• B&H, 4.5 out of 5 by a variety of amateurs, semi-pros, and even a pro or two
  
• Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5, with some earlier reviews complaining of calibration and back focus problems
• People in the forums are complaining that FredMiranda.com hasn't gotten around to reviewing it
  

Plusses

• Very good to excellent image quality depending on zoom and stops
  
• Faster autofocus than Nikon 80-400
  
• Extremely good value

Minuses

• Pretty big and heavy at about 14 ounces heavier than Nikon 80-400
  
• Shoots more clearly when stopped down a bit, according to some