Thursday, December 23, 2004, 1:49:33 AM, Don wrote:
DS> Thanks Mark, I've got an ATX 300/2.8 MF which I seldom
DS> use. What I really need is a faster AF 80-200 or similar.
DS> I have a line on 2 75-200/3.8 Sigmas but not sure of the
DS> quality. I've had good and very bad Sigmas over the years.
Hi Don,
it's 3 in the morning and I just finished packing my backpack for
christmas (I am leaving the city for a while <g>), so just quickly
before I go to sleep...
I have had a Sigma from what I believe is similar period - 75-200
2.8-3.5 (manual focus). It wasn't a bad lens, but:
1) flare - in my experience the fast Sigmas from that period (also the
28-70 2.8 first type before the EX types) exhibit lot of flare, both
reflections and veiling glare. So look out for that.
2) build quality - my wasn't exactly good :-( The zoom was quite
loose, the whole lens wouldn't stay at
IMO, Sigmas from that period aren't so good. They are sharp but their
other characteristics I didn't like
OTOH, the 3.8 might be different in both regards. I never tried that
one.
If you can live with manual focus, I can well recommend the Tamron SP
70-210 3.5 I had it before getting an 2.8 zoom and it was quite good,
both mechanically and optically. Actually, the build of that lens was
amazing <g>.
Sorry for not providing a good answer :-(
Good light!
fra
