Name: Used Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) HSM AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon AF Cameras undefined
Brand: Sigma
SKU: US1938951
Price: 222.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.33 (52 reviews)

Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) HSM AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon AF Cameras

Sigma 120-400mm

Sigma

Adorama

Used

Photography

Lenses

SLR Lenses

Sigma SLR Lenses

Sigma 120-400mm 

$23 PRICE DROP: Used Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) HSM AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon AF Cameras undefined

This telephoto zoom lens incorporates Sigma's original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function. It offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower. Three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for chromatic aberration. This lens is equipped with the rear focus system that minimizes fluctuation of aberration caused by focusing. It provides optimum image quality throughout the entire zoom range.  The super multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. The minimum focusing distance of 150cm (59.1") throughout the entire zoomrange and has a maximum magnification of 1:4.2 make it useful for close-up photography.  This lens incorporates HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), which ensures a quiet and high-speed AF as well as full-time manual focusing capability. The addition of the optical 1.4x EXDG APO or 2x Ex DG APO Tele Converters produce a 168-560mm F6.3-8 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens or a 240-800mm F9-11 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens respectively.

Used Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) HSM AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon AF Cameras undefined

I use this lens to get in closer to birds, frogs and dragonflies. For an Adorama rating of E+ the
lens is like new.  You can always count on Adorama's honesty.

I use this lens to get in closer to birds

I've been seesawing between the new Nikon 80-400mm and this Sigma 120-400mm all summer. I finally decided to try the Sigma. When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised at the build quality. So I put it to work out my back deck  which faces our lake. I get lots of birds, butterflies and wildlife of all kinds and I was looking for an improvement over my Nikon kit lens 18-200mm.  It's been two weeks of shooting and it is meeting my needs handsomely. Auto focus works fine with my Nikon D300 and the image stabilization enables great hand held shots even at 400mm. Photo clarity is very good. It does, like all these 4.5 lens' need good light. I love the Bokeh. The new Nikon may indeed be better but at three times the price, this Sigma is a great value.

Well worth it!

This is my first Sigma Lens. I will try not to compare but give honest feedback. It was purchased for wildlife and has the necessary reach I needed to add to my bag. The lens is heavy, not a walk around but this was known. The weight is well balanced when mounted on a tripod.  Images are sharp in the 120-200 range and soften some at 400mm. After shooting in the shade and direct sun where I received the better images I state the obvious; more light or proper light is best. Low light situations are not a strong point. I will test more in low light but for now more light is best for this lens.  I'm use to f2.8 lenses.
I did get better sharpness on manual focus when zooming to 400mm. That's not a bad thing.  For photographers that understand equipment limitations and how to make adjustments you will be happy this lens is in your bag. Great price point!

If you need a 400mm surprise its here.

I've used this lens on many occasions in different conditions and the results have been excellent. Being a photo enthusiast and not a pro I can't compare to the upper end lenses but I can say that in my opinion this lens is worth every penny and I am very pleased with it. I have needed little or no tuning with DPP and though it is made for a full sized sensor this lens works great on my Canon 60D. Shot everything from wildlife to baseball games to the sailboats in the Luis Vuitton Challenge Cup series.

Excellent Zoom

I like to do landscapes along with some sports and animal pictures.  This one has the reach I wanted in a zoom lens.  Haven't had alot of time to try it out due to the bad weather lately but the test photos I've taken have been very good.
It's not a light weight lens but then again what is with this kind of reach?

Telezoom lens with a good reach

I read many reviews before I purchased this lens, many said the focus isn't good, I disagree! I think the focus is right on, and if you are running your speed and f stop correctly, you should have a great sharp photo ... great for the price

perfect

I like it, I read many reviews that the focus degenerates as you get to the 400mm length, I find that only if I don't have enough light and have to decrease my Fstop... I think it has great focus capacity, specially at 360mm...

love it

Like tying two bricks to your camera, but it is balanced well for tripod use. The OS does allow hand held, but it seems to take a second or two to stabilize. If you get in a hurry, you can get blurry shots. The autofocus is pretty fast. The manual focus ring seems to be set too far behind the balance point so if you're handholding, it is kind of awkward. Overall, I'm pleased with the lens however.

Heavy, but Sharp

I am a travel photographer of a state tourism office and really need a 400mm that's portable.  This lens fits the need very well. It's less than a grand too.

Great buy and very fast autofocus

Before purchasing this lens, I read many reviews comparing this lens to the Canon 100-400. I decided on this even though it's heavier, but I prefer the twist motion to adjust focal length. It's also $400 less. I only made a dozen test shots so far. The outdoor ones are very sharp at f5.6 and f16 ranging from 120 to 400mm. One indoor portrait isn't sharp, but the shutter is at 1/15 sec on a monopod! 
My experience with this lens is very limited.  This review needs to be updated when I made more images. So far I'm happy with it and would highly recommend to those sitting on a fence.

Better buy than the Canon 100-400

This has been a great lens so far. The auto focus is fast and the OS works great even at 400mm images seem a little soft at 400mm but I haven't tried it on a tripod yet. Handholding with this lens works well. I will update my review once I have more time to use it.

Great Lens for the money

I use this to shoot outdoor soccer and cross country.  I've also got bird feeders in the back and I'm getting used to having a 400mm reach into my own back yard.

Awesome lens!

A Great Lens At A Great Price

No complaints so far with my new lens. I was so happy to save money with this purchase. I would like to add a shout out to Manny for all the help he offered when I called with all my questions and he recommened this lens for me. Thanks and I am loving it.

Loving my new lens so far!!

I needed a longer zoom lens to really reach out , on a crop body , but couldn't afford a similar range in Canon . The Sigma really works well and the auto focus is right on and fast. The lens is fairly heavy but that's a good thing for stability .  I have no regrets on purchasing this lens for wildlife and landscapes. The Image Stabilization is a life saver!

Outstanding performance and price!

Great lens for the price. Auto Focus is hit or miss when used with my T2i, but not an issue because I was not intending to use the auto focus often. Great images!

Great Value

I traded up from the Sigma 135-400.  This is heavier, but has the OS good for at least 2 stops.  Also better close focus than previous lens.  You can shoot handheld, but it gets very heavy very fast.

Great lens, but very heavy

I purchased this lens after originally wanting the Nikon 80-400 lens.  I purchased the Nikon lens used from another store and they never told me that particular lens wouldn't work with my D5100 camera.  So, I decided to try the Sigma 120-400 lens (for about 1/2 the price) and I've been extremely happy so far.  I've only used it around my farm so I can't comment on traveling with it.  We will be spending 2 weeks in Maui and Kauai in March and can't wait to use the lens on that trip.  I am by no means even close to an expert, but I'm extremely happy with this lens so far!

Adorama was great to deal with.  Their customer service reps have answered all of my questions and made some recommendations for some other products.  I purchased a monopod and head and will review that once I have a chance to put it to use.  I just ordered a tripod/ball head, a tripod bag and a camera backpack yesterday.  Can't wait for the tripod to come as the one I'm using is cheap and old!

Extremely Happy with this Lens

Used mostly for bird/raptor photography.  No trouble focusing on subject. Able to use hand held except in low light.  Two position OS switch can be cumbersome.

Sigma 120-400mm OS

I got this lens after trying it out on an overseas trip. I was looking for an alternative to the Nikon 80~400 lens and the Sigma lens fits the bill.  While not as fast as my Nikon 300 mm 2.8, it is easy to handle without a mono or tripod.  My only complaints are that Sigma did not provide a means to attach a strap of carrying the lens and the hood is awkward when attached to the lens.  
I would recommend this lens to anyone looking for an alternative to the Nikon 80~400.

A great second lens

good long lens, well worth the money,happy with quality,mostly used for landscape shots, can hand hold easly with stabalizer.

good for a big lens

Used mostly for birding and other long tele uses. Have Sigma 1.4 extender but lose autofocus with that due to reduced aperture. 
Best used on tripod but I do handhold a lot

Excellent lens

Super lens- sharp, fast autofocus- really a tripod lens; I do use it handheld a lot. Also have the 1.4x extender from Sigma which is matched to this lens. Highly recommended

Great lens

I returned this lens ,wasn't sure about sharpness but now looking at photos I may have been hasty ,wish I keep it longer. this is a big heavy lens but seems well made, I may buy it again !

returned for refund , no hassle

Mostly used for wildlife. Does a good job on my Canon 40D. Sharp, clear photos. It's heavy, monopod or tripod recommended

Happy with purchase

This lens competes well... quite well with the Canon 100-400mm IS lens.  The optics are great and the focus fast and accurate, sometimes too accurate.  What I mean by that is that one has to be careful that exactly what one wants in the main focus is in the cross hair as it will focus in front or behind the subject if care is not taken.  I generally take advantage of the AF override.  I let the AF focus then I tweak it with the manual focus ring which is positioned in a great place at the rear of the lens, unlike most lenses.  The focal length adjustment is in the front of the lens, I love it.  

The lens may be heavy, but not much more than the Canon 100-400mm, and it is balanced extremely well as to not feel as heavy.  

Picture quality is excellent. Glad I chose this this over the Canon 100-400mm, especially for the cost savings.

Quality for the price is superb.

This is a good overall lens for those who travel and want to be able to condense their equipment. This is a nice addition to casual and professional photographers who want to expand their capacity without breaking their bank account.

I have used this lens to cover political events where the need for multiple lenses provided me with the opporuntiy to use this lens and I was pleased with the results.  While it is not as fast as I would like (prefering a 2.8 aperature as opposed to the 4.5~5.6 existing aperature) I can do without the weight. This is a nice medium priced telephoto zoom lens.

A good lens for those on a budget

While it lasted, this was a nice lens. The auto-focus was a bit fickle at times, but otherwise, great photos. It seems to be well-constructed and solid. After it got knocked off a low shelf onto a wood floor, I was astounded at how much damage resulted - certainly not a "Nikon" for ability to survive a hit.  Great for the back yard but not a lens to take into the field.

Nice lens but not durable

Used as an action lens for Kiteboarding, Surfing, and Wildlife

Great Lense for the Money

Very pleased with lens capability for my intended usage for wildlife and bird photos.  I like the extended zoom range of this lens. With the vibration reduction, I can hand hold in low light with good results.  I did not find it overly heavy, given this is a 400 zoom.  Well balanced and nicely made lens. Adorama package with filter kit was a great deal.

Great value for wildlife photographers

After reading reviews online about this lens, I was pretty sure that this lens would be a good one to add to my collection.  The reviewers compared this to the out-of-date Canon 100-400mm lens and most of them had to force themselves to make a decision about which one was better (which is pretty good when comparing the price of the canon to that of the sigma).  However, the pictures that I took with this lens were not nearly as clear as the ones that I took with my Canon 28-135mm.  This was disappointing so I got a 100-400mm into my hands, took a few pictures and compared the two lenses.  That is when I came to my conclusion - the lens is unpredictable.  There are a few pictures that I have with my sigma that are far sharper than the Canon and others that are far softer than the Canon.  This is probably a problem with the auto-focus system of the Sigma (Sigma is well known for their auto-focus problem).  Also, I could have just gotten a lemon of a lens (those can make a huge difference and they very much exist, the favorite lens of a famous wildlife photographer is used as a paperweight for somebody else).  Overall, good image quality, bad auto-focus system.