Sigma 180mm F3.5 EX IF HSM Macro Lens for Minolta-AF Camera

Rating:
Summary: Sigma 180mm/3.5HSM (Nikon)
Review: I shoot nature semi-professionally, and use a lot of pro Nikkor glass. This lens is among the highest in optical quality that I have worked with. The images remain sharp and contrasty at all apertures (remember that DOF is very shallow at 3.5 and 4), and the bokeh is very nice opened up. The color may have a slight warmness compared to Nikkor's 60mm/2.8. I have been banging this lens around in the field for a month or so; the build quality seems excellent, and the tripod mount is nicely balanced. Focusing is silent, fairly fast, and very accurate on F5, N90s, and N80. The manual focus (primary mode in macro photog.) is nicely dampened for an AF lens. I am shooting transparency film on a tripod with a cable and focusing stage.
All in all this is a fine optic and it is priced reasonably.