New Lens Time (Again!)

Today was the day when I picked up a new lens to add to my collection.  This time it as a 2nd hand Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.  And I am thrilled with it.  It will make a fantastic addition to my kit bag and will help me take even better wedding and event photographs.

I did a lot of research and ummed and ahhed about whether to buy the Sigma or Tamron 70-200 f/2.8.   The Tamron is supposed to be better optically but has a slow autofocus and isn’t too great in low light.  The Sigma was said to have a much better autofocus and also much better in low light.  So I plumped for the Sigma.

I bought the lens from a friend on flickr, Lee (33L), and he was kind enough to allow me to take the lens out to a local park to take some test shots so I could try before I bought the lens.  I had read that some Sigma lenses could be soft at 200mm and f/2.8 so I took plenty of shots here to test it out.  And it performed really well so I was happy to hand over the readies.

Here are a couple of the test shots:

First up, here is a goose.  I focused on the eye and the lens gave a nice sharp eye which was impressive at f/2.8 and 200mm.

And here is a photo of Lee.  Again very sharp and I am really happy with it, especially the background bokeh (and I couldn’t resist doing a bit of processing to it too).

So I am very pleased with my purchase today and look forward to taking some stunning wedding photographs using it.