Ive tried Sigma 'pro' lenses in the past and found them flaky, unreliable and frankly humourous to use in many ways. I personally held them below Tokina and Tamron as a maker of 3rd party lenses. I also loved the way their old lenses would often have unique quirks when used on a new body.

And now they make the best Autofocus 35 f1.4 lens? And their new 120-300 f2.8 appears well worth the $3500 asking price? Im still unsure about the USB-lens cap - come firmware updater, but it gets around the firmware quirks.

So, anyone know what happened? Major change in management or ownership? Im close to dropping coin on that 'art' 35 f1.4.

They have really stepped up, but some models are still in the 3rd tier you spoke of.  Over the past year or so its really been their prime lens that were strong; better off with Tamron for 3rd party zooms.

The latest look to be changing things, but time will tell.

Hmm, thought I posted this in Photography. Oh well.

Now? They always have if you stick with the EX line. I have mainly all Sigma lenses including that art 1 lens. It is hot! The reviews say it's better than the Canon version. I am not an expert but I compared it to my 100mm Canon USM lens and there is no difference really other than focal length.  So, in comparison to that, it rocks!

I had a Tamron lens, had to send it back three times. Never returned a Sigma lens. Never returned a Canon lens either.

Disclaimer...I am not an expert....

I have heard of so many heartbreak stories of old 3rd party lenses not working on the next generation of DSLR bodies, that I still would give these off brands a miss...

DSLR manufacturers would never divulge their inner workings to lens makers who reverse engineer their lenses. Why would they?

There is one four letter word when you buy these lenses:

Risk.

.

The 105mm macro f/2.8 Sigma EX lens I've had for 6 years is STILL my favorite lens in a bag full of Nikkor glass.  Razor sharp and no CA.

Now, on the other hand, I wasn't so impressed with an older 70-200mm EX from them.  Soft under f/5.6 and slow to focus.

I'm an old Minolta/Sony shooter.  I have an old Sigma lens on my bookshelf to remind me to never, ever buy another Sigma lens.

I have a 70-200, 150-500, 18-200, 35mm, no issues. Sharp. Maybe I'm blind...haha My brother has a Canon 70-200 and a 5d like myself. I can't see a difference. Nor could he. I think some things are more hype than actual fact but I am biased that way...I say use what works for you. I don't have Canon L money so that's what I do...

I've been very pleased with my Sigma lenses and I have several.

Price is the biggest motivator for me and I thoroughly read reviews. I have not had any issues whatsoever with them.

When I compare them with Canon lenses it's hard to justify the sometimes twice the cost of the Sigma version.

I had my run with knock-offs.  Never again.  My Sigma was a joke.  Its in the closet and will probably stay there.  I only do real Nikkor now.  I am sure they work great for some, but I was not happy with the obvious lack of quality.

My last Sigma was their new 24-70 f2.8 HSM, which was a huge step-up from
Their old 24-70, and reviews said it was better than the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L. I got the Nikon Version, and tried it for a few days. Sucker couldnt find focus on my D700. It would continue to hunt for focus, even with a strong contrast target, for as long as you held the AF-on button. 2nd copy did the same thing. All my Nikon glass, even cheap lenses, found focus in an instant in thr same situations. The Sigma went back to the store, and I grabbed a Nikon 24-70.

I swore off Sigma lenses at that point, which is why Im having trouble warming up to their new Art lenses, which are putting down impressive numbers.

The 85mm 1.4, 35mm 1.4 and 180mm macro are great, it is good to see them challenge canikon's ever increasing lens prices.

I have used a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 for almost 2 years.  It's a great lens.

I had the 24-70 2.8, the 10-20, and two of the 70-200 2.8s.  I got the second 70-200 2.8 when the first one died three weeks after I bought it new.  I had to wait almost two months to get the first one back from Ritz because they would not replace it after three weeks.  Needless to say, that was the last time I dealt with Ritz, and the last time I purchased Sigma.

I found the lenses to be less sharp than I had hoped and the 70-200s would not auto-focus with a tele-converter at any F-Stop.

I now run Nikons and a Tokina 100mm 2.8 macro.  No issues.

I have had so many difficulties with sigma (and a purchaser of over 11 of their higher grade lenses), I have given up and there will be no redemption.

Lenses that died for me or gave grief.

30 1.4 - Siezed focusing (went kind of crazy and zoomed out until it maxed and still kept trying to go) - Replacement just stopped working after 3 months

50 2.8 macro - Replaced 2 times. First one would not focus on anything (Kept seeking), second one had a severe backfocus issue.

80-400 - Something came loose inside jamming the focus. Got a refund, no replacement issued.

50-500 - Plastic gears.. One was defective (from manufacturing) and kept grinding. Replaced once - Second lens sold on ebay

150-500 - Partly my fault, but the lens had no lock. Tilt the camera down and it just flies out. It flew out one too many times and just came apart.

28-70 Pro EX
Great lens, sharp and all but after a years use because very loose in the body.

Ironically the 2 cheap 18-50 and 70-300 lenses I bought from them worked for a long time with no issues. Sold those on ebay when I moved to Nikon

Regardless, I have no confidence nor interest in Sigma because of this.

Sad, because if they do have great lenses now, it would be a treat, but I'm not taking any chances.

Loved my old 70-200 2.8, http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/show … =37&page=3

It was not the pretty to look at with its painting peeling off everywhere but produced great images.  More saturated than my Canon 70-200 2.8 IS.

bought the new 35/1.4 art lens and it is a very nice lens
great OOF rendering, quick focus

ultimately sold it as I prefer my old non-D 35/2 for primary street lens
a little to big and heavy, and I don't shoot street @1.4

for people shots, I prefer longer focal lengths

edit
Sigma 50/1.4 and 150/2.8 macro are both stellar lenses as well

LOVE mine... (SONY version on cropped sensor a55/a77)

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/sig … 2p8_os_c16

Per DPReview

They always made good lenses...and a couple of great ones.

The issue was auto focus. If they can do that reliably so you don't have to buy and return 3 copies to get ones that work...well that would be great.

New 35 is a step in the right direction though.

In the early 90's I bought a Sigma 500 mm F4 in Nikon mount for my 8008.
Early in my testing there was something that didnt look right.
After studying 3 sets of slides , I realized it was sharper at the edges than at the center.
Took it back to the local camera store (remember those) the owner called Sigma I talked to him told him the problem. He said that lens was a "baseball lens". WTF Is that?
I told them that was unacceptable after much back and forth Sigma took the lens back and I spent the extra $2000 to by a Nikkor 500 mm f4P lens.
Which I still own and love.
No more "baseball lenses" for me EVER!

My Sigma 85 1.4 blows my older Nikon 85 1.4D out of the water.  Maybe the newer Nikon 85G is better, but the Sigma is pretty amazing, imo.

I own a wide angle Sigma for my crop sensor Sony A700. That bitch is sharp. Very quiet too. Makes my Minolta lens sounds wise look pretty bad.

Will be testing a 35 1.4 in a few weeks on my d800. if it's nice I'll buy it

I have the latest versions of Sigma's 24-70mm 2.8 and 70-200mm 2.8 for Canon. I have had no problems with either lens.

Sigma? No thank you. learned my lesson long time ago.

Still have a 17-35 EX for Nikon hasn't fallen apart, yet. Anyone interested?

they always did you just had to actually know what to buy and what to avoid, 150-500mm a joke lense,  but the 170-500mm a joy to own, there 70-300mm apo in its latest version, a joke lens, but the push pull red banded apo an absolute delight to use, its like anything good and bad but research the lense you wish to buy try it in store on YOUR camera then decide.

Art lenses?  I guess they found a way to sell lenses that are never in focus!

I would want to see a lot of user reports over time to confirm 1) it doesn't break down and 2) it focuses well. No point in having a sharp lens if its out of focus or not working.

My other issue is repair times. I can get my canon kit fixed very quickly with gold cps. However I believe sigma takes a lot longer.

Still, I applaud them for improving quality and I'm sure it's a great alternative, especially for people who don't have gear that they move around a lot or rely on for professional work

Sigma made pretty good lenses for a while, just stick to their EX models... the red band ones are yucky most of the time.

Ive been told that Sigma hacks the camera firmware - reverse engineering instead of licensing it. Thats why their older lenses sometimes do weird things on newer bodies.

I had a variable aperture 10-20 crop sigma. Worked fine on my D200. On my D300, pressing the AF-ON button would often cause the camera to lock up hard. - like remove the battery and memory card hard. Sold it pretty quick after that.

I only own 1 Sigma lens, the 15mm fisheye and I only own it because it was cheaper than the Nikon and I use it on a remote camera that regularly has hockey pucks flying at it....

I do admit, the 120-300 2.8 piques my interest as a sports lens, I'd like to get my hands on the new one and give it a work out shooting some hockey and auto racing...

I have the older non is 150mm f2.8 macro, the only Sigma lens I own, has to be said that it is super sharp, almost frighteningly so, I would go as far to say it is sharper than my Canon 70/200 f2.8.

I have had several of their lenses. I thought they were great until i needed service. It sucked so bad, i sold every single Sigma product and will NEvER own anything Sigma.

In the past I've never owned a Sigma lens because they just felt cheap. This past month we had a Sigma rep come speak to our local photo group and he brought  one of everything in the current Sigma lineup. Some of them felt pretty good, and I loved the 85 1.4 in particular. They certainly seemed to have taken steps to improve the quality of their offerings for the most part.