Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:58 am Post subject: Sigma 200/3.5 Scalematic - same era as Sigma Mini-Wide 28 |
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luisalegria wrote:
I pulled this thing out to give it a better reason to justify itself, as I have had a poor opinion of it for thirty years.
Note - the rubber band is to hold down the DOF preview/metering button, as I want to use all these M42 lenses in manual only. This one doesn't have a switch, just that button.
A late afternoon stroll pretty much confirmed my old opinions, but perhaps with a little more charity.
On the positive side - its a very light and compact 200mm, and it can focus very close. Its well made in spite of the light weight, and has survived some hard use. When stopped down (to 5.6 or less) it is as sharp as anything else.
On the negative side - It is very poor wide open, it has a very short main helical and is hard to focus precisely, even for distant subjects, especially at f/3.5, and it flares a lot, especially when its wide open, even from any bright object in the field of view.
Conclusion -
Its a decent lens to use at f/5.6 or less, and a good choice for flowers and similar subjects. It has possibilities as a "pictorial" lens for special effects portraits.
Typical quality of any shot at f/3.5 and "infinity"
The rest are at f/5.6 or f/8 -
The bird -
100% crop -
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