Sigma 180 mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro APO review - Build quality

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Sigma 180 mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro APO

26 April 2010

Arkadiusz Olech

3. Build quality

The Sigma 180 mm belongs to the highest EX Sigma series so its build quality would be difficult to fault. We get a very solid, black barrel made of alloys, a metal mount and a sturdy tripod ring, included in the accessory kit. Our attention is drawn to a huge and exceptionally precise manual focus ring under which you can find a clear distance scale.

Sigma 180 mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro APO - Build quality

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On the left side of the lens there are two switches – an autofocus AF/MF mode switch is positioned nearer the mount and a focusing limiter, being at the height of the distance scale, can be set in three positions: FULL, from 0.61 meter to infinity and from 0.46 to 0.61 meter.

Of course the fact that the Sigma 180 mm is an closed system and all shifts of elements are performed inside the barrel is worth noticing too. We can be sure the instrument won’t suck any dust inside and it can cooperate with e.g. polarizing or split-field filters seamlessly.

When it comes to the inner construction we deal here with a set consisting of 13 elements in 10 groups with 2 SLD elements. The aperture mechanism has 9 aperture blades and the filter thread is 72 mm in diameter. Apart from the tripod ring we mentioned before the Sigma provides a stylish, comfortable case and a lens hood in box.