Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OS
Camera shops are just so much fun.
We went for a walk this morning and ended up in Wellington Photographic Supplies where I played with some Sigma lenses I’d had my eye on for a little while. I ended up grabbing the Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OS.
I already have the 17-85 Canon IS USM lens as my generic walkaround but I thought I’d give the Sigma a try for the really exceptional range - and also because my partner has stolen my 17-85 for his 20D and I’m not sure if he’s going to give it back =)
I had a great day wandering around the waterfront with the new lens and took a few photographs - nothing amazing, but it’s always fun to test the capabilities of a new bit of kit. So far it seems quite capable - the image stabilisation really helps at 200mm and the range is really nice to have. It doesn’t deliver the zomg-it’s-just-so-crisp sharpness of the Canon IS USM lenses, but I’m certainly not displeased with it. I think if I knew before leaving the house that I was likely to want a bit more than 85mm without switching lenses around and that I was going to have a lot of light to work with, I’d seriously consider taking this lens over the more expensive Canon ones. It makes a few compromises but it’s an extremely flexible range and it’s reasonably close focusing means it can even be used for a bit of macro work in a pinch.
All in all, quite happy.
Until I pulled out my well-loved IXUS 55.
At some point during the day today I managed to crack the LCD screen. This camera has been with me to Australia and Ireland and all of the travelling in between. It’s resided in my bag or pocket almost everywhere I’ve been in the last 12 months and I’m very fond of it. I’m not certain how I’ve broken it, especially when it got dropped onto the concrete floor of the hostel I was staying in while in Dublin not once but twice and survived unscathed.
It seems it’s going to cost $350 to get it repaired, and the IXUS 70 is that much to buy new now. It’s not quite as attractively styled, but it is a higher resolution sensor and takes the same batteries as my 55. I guess I’ll replace it with one of those.
But.. it’s not my pretty baby camera :(