New lens

[Paul Dumm]

I was looking at getting a new lens soon, a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. well it now seems the nikon came out with a new model for this at an $400-$500 price jump. I seen that some of you out there use Simga lenses. How do you like them and what kind do you have??  any info/help would be great.
Thanks.

[Joe Copalman]

Talk to Matt Ottosen.  He has a Sigma 150-500 for Nikon bodies.

I have the 150-500 for Canons and I love it.  Price was just shy of $900 when I got mine - it was either this or another $400 or so for the Canon 100-400L, and I opted for the extra 100mms and the more effective image stablization.  I think shot-for-shot, the Canon would have been a little sharper, but comparing my shots with a lot of shots taken through the 100-400, I'm really not seeing that much of a difference.  And I've gotten some good shots in the 400-450mm range that I would have had to crop more with the Canon.

Biggest downside is that you're 150mm at your widest, so if you're a poor one-body mongrel like me, you have to really plan out your closer-up shots and stay on top of your panning to keep stuff in frame.  You'll notice at Coolidge that I tend to back up a bit more than most folks, it's mostly because of that.

Hope this helps.

[Matt Ottosen]

Talk to Matt Ottosen.  He has a Sigma 150-500 for Nikon bodies.

I have the 150-500 for Canons and I love it.  Price was just shy of $900 when I got mine - it was either this or another $400 or so for the Canon 100-400L, and I opted for the extra 100mms and the more effective image stablization.  I think shot-for-shot, the Canon would have been a little sharper, but comparing my shots with a lot of shots taken through the 100-400, I'm really not seeing that much of a difference.  And I've gotten some good shots in the 400-450mm range that I would have had to crop more with the Canon.

Biggest downside is that you're 150mm at your widest, so if you're a poor one-body mongrel like me, you have to really plan out your closer-up shots and stay on top of your panning to keep stuff in frame.  You'll notice at Coolidge that I tend to back up a bit more than most folks, it's mostly because of that.

Hope this helps.

I agree, best bang for the buck!!

I have had a few issues with mine, but I think it was due to dust getting into the contacts while shooting on the side of the road during  a Red Flag.  Once I broke the lens/body contact everything was working fine again.  I have also heard of other Nikon D90 owners having the same problem that I had while using their Nikkor lenses, that might point to a Nikon D90 problem (instead of a Nikon/Sigma problem).