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Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

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    Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

    This past week I've been using the Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM lens. Apart from the slender focussing ring, for the price I'm pleased with the handling and image quality.

    It compares favourably with the latest 24-105mm EF lens from Canon, though it's almost 100g heavier. Anyone else using it?

    Update:

    For anybody thinking of getting this lens, I've been comparing it to my original general-purpose EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Ultrasonic from about 20 years ago. The older lens focusses just as quickly and at 100% wide open looks sharper in test shots. There's a lot of glass in the fatter Sigma and the weight difference is significant.

    Occasionally 24mm might be an advantage over 28mm and the Sigma's image-stabilisation makes it more versatile, but other than that I may be reaching for the old EF lens more often. Who would have thought.
    Last edited by Undercrank; 03-08-2017, 13:55.
    The Image Plane
    Snapshots of Anything

    #2
    Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

    Thanks for posting this. The older Canon was my standard walkabout lens in my film days. Progress eh [emoji6]

    Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

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      #3
      Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

      Thanks. Yes, same here with the EOS 50... Cheaper filter size too for NDs, polariser, etc. 20 years progress for IS.
      The Image Plane
      Snapshots of Anything

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        #4
        Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

        I was at a wedding this time last week and one of the pros there was using 6D and 5D bodies with Sigma lenses. Her view was that they are as good as the Canon equivalents but much cheaper. But, she said she had to put them on the dock after every shoot and recalibrate their focus.

        As she was the pro and I'm not, I didn't question what she meant by this but it did seem a bit odd. MFA would be done in camera, yes I know you can in with the Sigmas and the dock but that route leads madness IMHO, and surely wouldn't change during a shoot. All-in-all it seemed a bit odd to me, particularly as my 150-600 has been rock solid all the time I've had it.
        EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

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          #5
          Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

          Read proper test reviews and you'll find that the latest Sigma lenses are almost always as good as, or often better than, the Canon equivalents and generally at a much lower price. I say "almost" because the zooms (24 - 70, 24 - 105 and 100 - 400) are generally very slightly poorer than Canon on the edge of full frame, but not so much that you'd really notice the difference, and often sharper than Canon in the centre and on the edge of APS-C. When you come to the prime Art lenses, they wipe the floor with all the competition in every aspect of image quality and mainly at considerably lower cost. The 135 mm F1.8 Art is universally found to be the best lens tested on every site, considerably better than the Canon 135 F2 which itself is a very well respected lens, though in this case the Sigma is more expensive than the 20 year old Canon.

          I know there are people who will never believe than Canon L lenses aren't always the best but I'm a pragmatist, I don't care about the label. The only lens I'm looking to get in future is the Sigma 100 - 400 C, at £1,000 less than the Canon for virtually identical performance, it's a no brainer. Don't judge Sigma from 20 years ago, their products are entirely different today. If I had an unlimited budget I'd probably buy nothing but Sigma Art prime lenses.

          I don't believe that the lenses really need MFA after very shoot, makes no sense. The advantage of using the USB dock is that for a zoom lens you can adjust at four focal lengths and four shooting distances for each focal length, i.e. 16 in total, should you really want to.
          EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

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            #6
            Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

            I would have thought for wedding photography the increased DoF of a relatively wide angle lenses would cover any potential misfocus issues, but then again I'm not a pro wedding photographer

            Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

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              #7
              Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

              Originally posted by Richard W View Post
              I don't believe that the lenses really need MFA after very shoot, makes no sense. The advantage of using the USB dock is that for a zoom lens you can adjust at four focal lengths and four shooting distances for each focal length, i.e. 16 in total, should you really want to.
              I didn't think it that likely myself but it was her gear not mine.
              EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

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                #8
                Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                I wouldn't assume the pro knows best....they are more likely to be pragmatists and get the best value lens with adequate (I'm not saying sub standard) performance....their buy decisions are business decisions. Thus I strongly suspect enthusiasts are likely and often know more about their kit technically than the pro.
                Brian Vickers LRPS

                brianvickersphotography.com

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                  #9
                  Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                  Pro wedding photographers (i.e. those that make their whole income from wedding photography, not someone who does the occasional one for friends) need lenses that are sharp wide open. They are often shooting in low light environments such as in a church where flash would disturb the ceremony. Then, today people expect a lot more from their wedding photographs than in film days, e.g. close ups of rings, hands cutting the cake etc. Plus lots of candid portraits of at least the main characters, hence large aperture shots from shortish telephotos to keep the background out of focus in a head shot, for example. That's why they are obsessed with precise focus. Many take a "second shooter" as well, to make sure they have all angles covered, plus they may have three bodies themselves to avoid lens changing. Pros will always only buy kit that is going to pay for itself quickly, then make profit for them.

                  Being a scientific sort of person I must admit I like numbers, if I can find a couple or more reputable sites that can demonstrate objectively with data that one lens is either better than another, or is at least as good at lower price, that's the one I'd go for every time.
                  EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

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                    #10
                    Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                    theres a possibility the lady photographer wasn't re-calibrating focus with the dock after each shoot ,it could be simply re-setting her parameters for the next job in hand ,the new lenses are extremely programable and i often change mine to suit conditions and circumstances .i.e with the big 150-600 i have one C mode set for long distance and the other set for close ups or i can just switch both off and use the full range of the lens .its called versatility.

                    theres a possibility undercrank that if you haven't set your lens up with the dock/hub that will possibly be the cause of it not being as good as your old lens ,i also get the impression your using it on a 50D which also could be a slight problem as the new lenses are really made for the latest sensors
                    Last edited by the black fox; 09-08-2017, 13:30.

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                      #11
                      Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                      Thanks for the info, Black Fox, appreciate it. You're right, I haven't done that. All I did was take a series of shots (on the original 6D) where each lens was focussed at the same point. Each image shows the sharpest focussing where it should but wide open the older lens just has an edge. But I'm the first to admit this hardly scientific and there may be other issues needing resolved, though I hope not!

                      I did spend a lot of time online finding out as much as I could about this lens because at £600 it needed to deliver. And it does, but personally I couldn't get it to significantly out-perform the 28-105mm, which was a surprise. But I've confidence in both lenses and I've needed the Sigma's image-stabilisation.
                      The Image Plane
                      Snapshots of Anything

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                        #12
                        Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                        IIRC this lens was released a lttle while ago. Seem to recall that when tested against the 24-105 (original version) there was little or no difference in performance.
                        Canon 5D3, 7D2, 60D, Canon 70-200L f2.8 IS II, Canon 300 f4L IS, Canon 16-35 f4 L, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, Canon 1.4 MkIII extender, Sigma AF 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM, Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
                        https://www.flickr.com/photos/16830751@N03/

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                          #13
                          Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                          I,m with ant on this I can't really see the point of having two opposing brands of lens of the same focal length ,there really isn't going to be any significant difference between them .and I.s will only make a difference at really low shutterspeeds ..but you know what your using them for

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                            #14
                            Re: Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG (OS) HSM

                            I couldn't get it to significantly out-perform the 28-105mm
                            Based on test reviews the Sigma should be way better than the 28 - 105, which dates back to the film era, and was much inferior to the Canon 24 - 105. If you don't get excellent sharpness in the centre with the Sigma, it could be that a/f microadjustment is needed.
                            EOS 6D, 6D Mk II, 80D, 70D, 100D, 200D, M50, M100. Canon 10-18, 18 - 55, 55 - 250 IS STM lenses, Canon 16 - 35 mm F4L, 35 mm EF-S macro, 50 mm F1.8 STM, 60 mm EF-S macro, MPE-65 macro, 85 mm F1.8, 200 mm F2.8 L II, M 15 - 45 mm, M 22mm F2, M 32mm F1.4. Sigma 24 - 35 F2 Art, 135 mm F1.8 Art, 17 - 50 F2.8 DC, 105 mm OS macro, 100 - 400 C, 150 - 600 C.

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