New Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 with macro to be released

[rawpaw18]

Sigma says that the new 70-200mm 2.8 is going to be released and available around the end of May. I have been waiting to see this one since their announcement in February. More importantly, I have pre approval from the little misses.:D

Do you find it prudent to buy a NEW lens when they are first put out, or should you wait months to see what kind of performance feedback it has?

[ReF]

i had no idea this lens was announced :eek: . is there supposed to be some significant improvement over the old version besides the shorter focus distance? btw that 1:3.5 ins't really macro and won't magnify smallish objects much at all - the canon 70-200 f4 has about the same min. focus distance. though it won't do much for macro, i must say that the short min. focus distance is really quite nice when using such a lens indoors. i'm not sure why, since already have the canon 70-200 f2.8, but i'm somewhat excited about how this one will turn out. is there an MSRP?

i usually wait til there are some reviews about a new product before i buy. i know most people just plan on returning it if there's problems but there's a nagging worry in my mind that there might be some problem i won't notice or hear about til after the return period. remember the 70-300 vertical problems or the weird flare issues on the 24-105 f4? if i had known about the AF issues of 3rd party stuff on canon bodies ahead of time i woudn't have bought the tamron 28-75 only to waste $100 in resale value.

[D70FAN]

I'm looking forward to this one as well. The current 70-200 f/2.8 has been favorably compared to both the Nikkor and the Canon equivalent (without image stabilization) for optical and build quality.

[kristofor]

Well someone needs to purchase and I mean if the current version has good reviews then you could assume the next version will have improvements. I would buy when new products come out because technology increases so quickly that even if something goes wrong the lens has a huge change of still being better then the previous models

[aparmley]

Well someone needs to purchase and I mean if the current version has good reviews then you could assume the next version will have improvements. I would buy when new products come out because technology increases so quickly that even if something goes wrong the lens has a huge change of still being better then the previous models

I see your point Kris but Ref's point, in my mind, trumps it. I mean the new 70-300 IS was that "new version" yet it just so happens to have a flaw, design or manufacturing flaw is still unknown - in either case, new doesn't always mean better. . .

[rawpaw18]

i had no idea this lens was announced :eek: . is there supposed to be some significant improvement over the old version besides the shorter focus distance? .

One of the improvements is that instead of 4 pieces of SLD glass, there will be 2 ELD (extraordinary low dispersion) and 2 SLD (special low dispersion). Sounds like an upgrade to me.

[Esoterra]

what is the msrp???

[D70FAN]

My guess is that it will be the same price as the current version. No MSRP stated on the Sigma site.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3316&navigator=3

[rawpaw18]

It seems B&H has a listing for the Canon version and in stock! Just under $900 but no Nikon. :mad:

[rawpaw18]

Just following up, Sigmaphoto.com says July release for the Nikon mount and Canon's is available now.