Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Review

According provided by Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX lens for Nikon cameras, huge thanks to the store www.fotika.com.uawhere you can find a huge number of different used photographic equipment, including this model.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Review

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Review

The Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX is a good macro lens, has some drawbacks, but can produce extremely high quality images.

The company Sigma in its history has released a whole bunch of different long-focus macro lenses, of the 180-current can distinguish the following versions and sub-versions:

  1. Sigma APO Macro 180mm 1: 3.5 AF
  2. Sigma APO Macro 180mm 1: 2.8 AF (once held in hands, metal monster with very slow focus)
  3. Sigma APO Macro 180mm 1: 3.5 HSM IF EX
  4. Sigma APO Macro 180mm 1: 3.5D HSM IF EX
  5. Sigma AF APO Macro 180mm 1: 5.6
  6. Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX (presented in this review)
  7. Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM EX
  8. Sigma 180mm 1: 2.8 APO Macro DG HSM Optical Stabilizer EX

The versions in this list are based on the name of the lens written on its body, but I'm sure my list is far from complete, since information on early models is very difficult to find. Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX from this review, and a newer version - Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM EX (without the letter 'D'), most likely differ only in that the latter changes the F number when change the focusing distance.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

A long-focus macro lens is a dream of many photographers, I too was once heavily infected with this idea and almost bought a similar 180-ku. Now I'm more interested in the possibility of using such a lens for portrait photography - combining a large focal length with aperture F / 2.8 or F / 3.5 makes it easy to remove backgrounds in photos. If you are not afraid of a decent distance to the model, then shooting people with the Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX is a pleasure, while the good 'drawing' of the lens remains in place. The only inconvenience is that the lens has an unstretched focusing distance range from 1 meter to infinity. In this range, even a tiny movement of the focusing ring shifts focus very strongly, which is clearly visible when working through Live View. Considering the slow focusing, even using the limiter, I gave up the idea of ​​taking the Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX as a portrait lens, native Nikon 180mm 1: 2.8D ED AF Nikkor MKIV fits this role much better. In the latter, I don’t like the inconvenient focus mode switch, slow focusing and a noisy focus motor, and so the hell pulled me to look for some alternative.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX is very well made, almost the entire body is made of metal and covered with characteristic Sigma velvet. The focus ring is very wide and rubberized. In the hands of the lens it feels like something solid and monolithic. At the same time, I accidentally turned Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm 1: 2.8 L IS USM, the body of which cannot be compared with the body of this Sigma. Personally, I'm a little sorry that the Sigma 180 / 3.5 uses 72 mm filters, I would like to see a 'professional' 77 mm thread for a lens of this class. By weight, the lens falls short of only a few grams to a kilogram.

Tripod foot Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Tripod foot Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

The lens focuses using the HSM motor (HyperSonic Motor, an analog of Nikon SWM), and therefore will fit all Nikon cameras, even those that don’t inboard motor focusing. The closest focusing distance is 46 cm, at which you can shoot macro with 1: 1 magnification. Internal focusing - the front and rear lenses remain fixed.

The lens has a three-position focusing distance limiter: Full, 0.61-∞ and 0.46-0.61. In all three modes, auto focus is slow. Focusing time in 'Full' mode from infinity to MDF and back is just over five seconds!

In manual focus mode, the focus ring rotates about 270 degrees. During auto focus, the ring remains stationary. In manual focus mode, when the ring reaches its extreme positions, it does not rest, but continues to rotate, slipping.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX and Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm 1: 2.8 L IS USM

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX and Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm 1: 2.8 L IS USM

The lens has a focus distance scale in meters and feet, as well as a scale with a magnification factor for macro photography (from 1:10 to 1: 1). The depth of field lens was cheated. I was very pleased that the Sigma 180 / 3.5, although it focuses slowly, but, unlike many of my brothers who have visited my reviews recently, is devoid of any serious focusing errors :).

There is no focus mode switch on this lens. Of course, this does not matter for advanced Nikon cameras, in which the focus mode switch is duplicated near the camera mount. But amateur Nikon cameras do not have such a switch and, accordingly, it will not work to quickly switch to fully manual focus mode. To switch to manual focus mode on such cameras, select the 'MF' focus option in the menu. Poking around in the menu will take much more time than simply moving the slider on the lens easily. The lens version for other systems (not Nikon) has a 'AF / M' switch on the housing.

At the same time, the Sigma 180 / 3.5 does not have a full-fledged continuous manual focus control mode. Nikon M / A (exactly the same as Sigma 50-150mm 1: 2.8 APO DC HSM EX and many other Sigma lenses).

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

The lens has a manual aperture ring. To be able to control the value aperture from camera or for automatic installation aperture on modern central control valves, you need to turn the control ring to F / 32 and fix it with a special lever, which is located to the right of the marks aperture. You can read more about this issue in the section on Non-G Lenses. For Nikon cameras, the lens is FX (full-length), AF-S (with built-in motor), D (transmits focusing distance), Non-G (with aperture ring), IF (with internal focusing).

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Lens Marks

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Lens Marks

Included with the lens is a huge and very durable hood (made of thick plastic). The lens hood can be installed in the reverse position (transport mode), only when the hood is worn back and forth, access to the focus ring is completely lost. On the camera, the lens with the lens hood installed looks very impressive :).

Focus Limiter Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Focus Limiter Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

The lens is so large that it uses the TS-21 tripod foot, which can be easily removed, and there are 3 marks on the lens body to quickly rotate the camera mounted on the tripod to portrait or landscape position (vertically or horizontally). The aperture consists of 9 blades and closes to F / 32.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Focus Scale

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX Focus Scale

Previous versions of this lens are said to have a pronounced 'yellowness'. The Sigma 180 / 3.5 from this review is also slightly affected by this problem. The lens takes the picture into a warm, I would say, golden hue, which is very strange, because more or less modern lenses usually have a neutral color rendition. This color rendering is not suitable for photographing people. When taking panoramic portraits, we found ourselves in very bad weather, where the combination of Sigma yellowness, very gray and low-cloud weather and the forced use of the flash created a lot of problems.

Enlightenment of the front lens Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

Enlightenment of the front lens Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX

During focusing towards MDF, the actual aperture the lens drops noticeably, by about 2 stops, when focusing on the MDF, the real aperture will not be higher than F / 6.3 - this is a common property for macro lenses. When it comes to working with 'macro', the Sigma 180 / 3.5 does very well. First of all, it should be noted that the 180 mm focal length allows you to keep a decent distance between the subject and the subject. For photographing the insect world, this is an invaluable advantage of the lens. Many craftsmen add to the lens teleconverter and they can shoot macro from a very long distance without scaring insects and animals.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX with LH780-02 Hood

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX with LH780-02 Hood

Personally, if I wanted to seriously engage in macro photography, especially for outdoor shooting, I would not regret the money for my native Nikon ED AF Micro Nikkor 200mm 1: 4D or Canon Macro Lens EF 180mm 1: 3.5L USM. As for the weak aperture of the Sigma 180 / 3.5, as for a fixed lens, this is not at all a problem for a macro lens.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX with a hood

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX with hood in transport mode

If you skip color rendering, then I did not notice any serious flaws in the image quality.

Here link to the archive with the originals - 702 MB, 52 photos in .NEF format (RAW) from cameras Nikon D700 (FX), part of the photo was shot using a Nikon flash SB-900.

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX and Nikon ED AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1: 2.8D (MKII)

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX and Nikon ED AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1: 2.8D (MKII)

Catalog of modern Sigma lenses can look at this link.

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.


Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX on the ZK

Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX on the ZK

Results

The Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG The HSM D EX is a very attractive macro lens, especially when it is 'macro' in nature.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

Add a comment: Yarkiya

 

 

Comments: 57, on the topic: Sigma 180mm 1: 3.5 APO Macro DG HSM D EX review

  • Dmitry K

    some kind of orange skin came out. And so cute))

    • Vadim

      Hepatite skinton :)

  • Ivan

    Shooting with an orange filter is likely ... that's right, good, but then in post-production I tone down the orange a bit.

  • Oleg

    Yellow. Arkady is an off-topic question, don’t tell me a lot why buying a low-cost telephoto is not a problem, but the budget wide-angle prices are starting to creep up Is this related to the design of lenses or is it marketing?

    • Dmitry K

      They say shirikov has a very complicated structure, it’s very difficult to calculate everything there. As a result, they stand like an airplane, but vignette, distort and chromate worse than a whale for 3 rubles. A good shirik is generally a hi at the prices. As a result, it turns out that the wide angle from Mizuma looks better and is sane. But if you need to be straight generally broad, then you have to put up with the fact that it is expensive, but looks like a C grade

      • Gene jb

        Televisions have a complex design. You just have no idea how complex the paths inside the lens groups are moving. Of the ones I analyzed, I noted the most difficult - Tamron 18-200 A14. Well, shiriks don't have such problems. They have a problem with aperture ratio and wild barrel distortion, which is inevitable in principle. So it's not clear ...

        • AlekK

          You are wrong! Look at the classic telephoto circuits, 4 - 6 elements, wide-angle lenses have a minimum of 7, and usually 9 - 13. Your example, elevenx zoom, is inappropriate to say the least.

        • Denis

          Like, super-width 10-20 mm is easier than a telephoto? Do not be ridiculous ... It is even visually noticeable what wild shapes the lenses have. And the low aperture only confirms that it is difficult and expensive to make such a lens.

          • Oleg

            Thank you enlightened

  • anonym

    softly draws, in my opinion contrast is necessary for macro

    • fotika

      for macro you need hands. there are people who shoot macro at 18-55, they only wear a lens backwards. and everything is ok there with contrast.

      • Yarkiya

        I do not agree, not everyone there is okay with contrast, especially with micro-contrast.

      • Krysvladimir

        Put on.

  • Photographer

    Nikon 200mm f / 4D ED-IF AF Micro-Nikkor is only 4 thousand rubles more expensive ... and in sigma reviews it is constantly: poorly focused ... and so on. etc…. Sigma is needed then so that people would understand - take the original! this is not an advertisement, but the truth of life!

    • fotika

      the concept of the original and not the original is relative, for a long time Nikon had no 50mm 1.4 with a motor, but Sigmovsky rescued everyone, and he is much more interesting than nickor. Well, in general, this sigma is not a few years old. Well, at the expense of reviews (about poor focus), the hands / camera are often to blame. all that is written in the reviews, a slightly inaccurate concept and often personal opinion. I can say the opposite with a carcass like d4-d800-d610, I have never encountered problems with auto focus on most lenses. try to read the instructions from the cameras very informative books, there is a lot of competent written about auto focus.

      • Arkady Shapoval

        The Sigma 50mm 1: 1.4 DG HSM EX was introduced in March 2008, the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1: 1.4G was introduced in September 2008, how long is it? Moreover, I suppose nikkor got to our area faster :).

        • Eugene

          Yes, hammer you at him, he again praises his g ... oh! Let him take off on D4 and sigma if you feel sorry for money for nikkor

          • fotika

            omg .. who praises? strange however. let the date be wrong, approx. but still earlier)

    • fotika

      oh yes, I forgot ... they don't shoot macro with AF)))))

      • Spider beetles

        On Nikkor 105mm af-s is possible with autofocus. : XNUMX

      • Yarkiya

        How to shoot! And with vr also removed. Something you fotika is not in shock today.

        • fotika

          I meant the commerce, rings, stones .. but not beetles in the backyard, although the same Chinese who extinguishes 18-55 feet upside down also does not take off in af. essentially contradict themselves, sigma turns yellow and this catastrophically affects the frame, especially af. but you need to shoot macro with af) top insoles for macro (the same Zeiss) and a bunch of anything, they don't even have af, not like a stub. most medical lenses from Nikon are also manual (from microscopes) because you need more accuracy. and 105 BP to compare with 200 f4 macro is not reasonable.

          I noticed one oddity .. it seems like a show-off .. so everything is about photographers ... but how to do it so sigma yellows, kenon lathers, nikon is cold, Zeiss is expensive, and in macro af is bad)))

          • Yarkiya

            Well, in general, I didn’t write anything about this Sigma, neither good nor bad. I liked the review, but glass is glass, one is worse than the other, one is yellow and the other is green. To do this, we go here to learn about the properties of various lenses. And since I am constantly experimenting with macro photography, I protested by not seeing the right information.
            And about 105 vr in vain you, quite a professional equipment.

          • anonym

            I will support fotika. How does Sigma stay afloat for 55 years, if everything is so bad? " It's a pity for money for nikkor "- write the arbiters of destinies. And if there is nikkor, then it's a pity for some space Zeiss, then Lake? A vicious circle framed by show-offs.

          • Lynx

            Drag it completely off on autofocus. And even often not on macro lenses, by the way

            • fotika

              tell this to the guys who take off their jewelry, where only the rental light with the installer is $ 50.

              • Arkady Shapoval

                Of course, we all understand that serious shooting for serious catalogs is for you on Nikkor 40 / 2.8, just like serious shooting for many glossy magazines is not a narrow format with all sorts of D4s and 1DX. But for amateur photographers and, moreover, a simple macro, autofocus is really in demand and sometimes seriously helps out. That is why it is not entirely correct to write in general “oh yes, I forgot… macro is not removed with AF))))), because“ macro ”is a loose concept. Actually, that is why the readers rebelled.

              • Yarkiya

                What is the matter with you today, Fotika? What are $ 50000 for rental? But where do you get such numbers? Damn well, actually already! But why the hell did the photo surrender to me, if only I could give 50 tons of greenery for the rental of various tzatzeks. Or will you say that a couple of zeros accidentally slammed?

              • Lynx

                Have you ever eaten with them in one cafe? or straight hands shook?
                What is the whole point of your pompous statements besides a slurred desire to stand out?

              • fotika

                I'm sorry that I affected the all-knowing) with 0 I was not mistaken of often 3 happens. it’s just that there are people who take completely different money for shooting, and is better at reaching that level than trying to get personal with lenses.

                there are decorations that cost a lot, and they need to be sold a lot. the better the photos, the more they are sold))) and if you are not familiar with the spotlight, its cost and complexity of work, then collect the briefcase and go to school.

                I can explain in detail how much it costs to remove a poster (calendar) for gas stations in Europe, with 12 cars and models. and believe me there are not 3 zeros))) you do not need to react to everything with foam from your mouth, if someone has seen or even heard more than you) the main thing is to crap, then praise yourself, because you crap. and then take 2000-4000 for shooting and talk about the fact that sigma is bad and nikkor is good. or even write if I had 50, then I would ... that's your level. 000 is a penny, just nada strives to earn money.

                at the expense will stand out ... again, a strange remark. out here only a select few can write about the quality of the lens, and very biased? In some ways, 300ovich was right, but he still did not fully understand me about the "trough". No one and nothing prevents you from learning English and visiting at least the sites of not our redneck photographers, and reading and learning. and see how much a normal shooting costs. and at the expense of hands, ate and drank. yes it was))) I'm not ashamed that you can learn and listen. and if one of these people gives the opportunity to teach and tell, then I do not mind.

                ps and stop already thinking that since we have a bunch of optics and we give it, then we need to crap everything we write, good and bad, from head to toe. in my opinion, “you” want to put a tick: - ha! I crap that illiterate kent from the store)))

              • Yarkiya

                Fotika buddy, for God's sake, do not take everything personally, there was absolutely no desire to humiliate or insult you. If you thought otherwise, then please forgive. I just really like that Arkady works with you. Please do not stop your cooperation.
                But do not forget, however, that readers of this resource are most likely amateurs and enthusiasts, in the good sense of the word, even if they earn money by shooting (most likely they are not the majority).
                You just abruptly jumped from a banal aftofocus to auto-advertising shooting. I wouldn’t want to jerk, but what if you are Hollywood, don’t give an example where millions pay to rent a studio.

    • AlekK

      If you were to call Nikkor 180 mm f / 2.8 ED Ai-S speaking about Nikon, then you could believe that he is one of the best Hundreds of Herculeanites in the world, and so ...

      • Arkady Shapoval

        Actually, the fact that 180 AI is one of the best for me and indicated in the MK3 review, and the fact that I need an autofocus lens was probably somehow passed by ears :).

        • THE

          Duc, you specify. This lens is autofocus, just not adapted for modern digital mirrors.

          • Arkady Shapoval

            We are talking about the Ai-S lens, what autofocus? Christwhat is going on in the comments!

            • Lynx

              hell and israel.
              nefig was contacting this store, the universe was offended))

              • fotika

                there is not so much time like you have to monitor every post and take offense)))

              • Lynx

                what a horror!

            • Arkady Shapoval

              If you knew how many comments are filtered and how many users are added to the blacklist :)

  • Dim

    Some strange even inexplicable hatred for Sigma can be traced in some comments, as if people are not actually engaged in photography, but are in religious sects :) I have two Sigma lenses, there are problems with focusing on one of the three carcasses. I believe that these are not Sigma’s problems, but an example of the usual dishonest squeezing of a competitor from the market.

    • Dmitry K

      Well, about dishonesty, it’s you who bent - in the end, this sigma takes away bread from Nikon and not vice versa. Let them do their FF better)))

    • anonym

      How does it (bread) take it away, if it is “shitty”, as others write here. I did not understand what has FF.

      • Dmitry K

        Sigma has its own camera and glass under it, but ff is not. Here I say that it would be better if they doped their system than they did to someone else's lenses.

        • anonym

          Well then, some more advice from Dmitry K - what to do to Zeiss, Tamron, Tokin, who also takes bread from Nikon?

          • Dim

            In my deeply subjective opinion, Arkady's remarks on third-party technology such as: nuts, not latches on flashlights, the mysterious lack of switches on lenses for a specific brand (Nikon in this case), etc. are explained by the presence of corresponding patents for brand holders (enough (recall Nikon's claim against Sigma for copyright infringement of the Image Stabilizer). Apparently big companies are fighting with competitors in such a simple way, and personally for me, as a buyer and lover of the Nikon brand, this is unpleasant, since the competition is not due to quality improvement or price reduction, but due to the injection of money: into lawyers, muddying in the mass media. information, stupid restraint of progress ... This path will ultimately lead to what happened to Sony and the like.

            • Oleg

              What happened to Sony, if not secret?

            • Dmitry K

              Well, again, why do you think that someone should adhere to gentlemanly rules in the competition? If you do not like the machinations of competitors, make your camera and glass to it. If you climb into a strange field, be prepared for the fact that you are not welcome there

              • Oleg

                Well this is understandable, but with Sony what happened ???
                They have a complete openwork on mirrorless cameras, they make matrices for half the world, video equipment is at the level ... God grant everyone that this happens to him

              • Dmitry K

                and hell knows what happened to Sonya, it is necessary to ask Dim. Interestingly, the nickname is leaning? )))))

    • Anonymous 1

      Among all the utter nonsense that many forum participants carry and which place in personal correspondence on mailboxes, business comments occasionally come across ... Optically SIGMS are often not bad at all, but here's how to explain that both I and my four colleagues have different SIGMAs (24-70 / 2,8; 20 / 2,8; 28-105; 50-150; 17-24 (?)) All, as one, went out of order (mechanical disorder, electronics failure). They were purchased, as you know, at different times by different people in different stores and used in different systems. None of these lenses have crossed the 5-6 year threshold of life. What is it??? We tried to repair them several times in the authorized centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg, so some of the copies did not attempt to fix them at all. For many years the name "Sigma" has caused me a sharp rejection, although, yes! - when they were in good working order, they gave a decent image.

      • Do_Oraemon

        EX-series? I doubt it. How many sensible photojournalists and artists use sigma - you can not even imagine. True, these are mainly wide-angle and super-wide-angle. But “Tamronov” they will not find in the afternoon with fire. They say - "trash."

  • Spider beetles

    A hypothetical story about fabulously expensive jewelry shooting is great, but it in no way negates the fact that it is possible to shoot macro with AF. At least green from show-off. And what lens it is possible to do, I indicated. I used it myself and still use it, i.e. I checked everything in practice, without pathetic fables about some snob-gods from the photo.

    • Lynx

      yes, yes.

  • Cheatak

    damn and not tired of the blog author to test everything,
    the source will run out soon, when he looks around ...
    in any case, it’s good for us readers
    strength and health to you, ARKADY….

    • Jury

      Good toast :) I join :)

      • Cheatak

        Thank you Yuri for your support,

        hold on to ARKADY, maybe something similar will go,
        what would be easier for you ...

  • sergey

    Good lens for portraiture. I like it. Thanks Ark. for the test. I'm waiting for tests on y-tube. PS The autofocus in this glass is slow, but not overshot (on the canon). :-)

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