Very recently I had to make use of Sigma UK customer service and have to say that I was very impressed. This post concerns the 150-600mm Sports lens which I have written about before. Looking back I find I have written about it several times. I’m not the only wildlife cameraman that uses this lens. Lots of keen amateurs and professionals use it.
Sigma 150-600mm lens
I’ve used the Sigma 150-600mm lens for video work for a couple of years or so believe it to be optically very good. You can’t compare it to a dedicated broadcast video lens, but for the price it is a good lens. On a tripod I find that the balance changes ridiculously when you zoom in or out. As a result that makes camera movements for television work difficult to accomplish smoothly. Neither is it a sequence building lens because the difference between the wide and telephoto ends of the lens is not great enough. Other than that I find it to be well designed apart from one small detail.
Lens Hood
While out in the field recently I had a reason to contact Sigma UK customer service. The lens hood of this Sigma is a substantial lump, and although it serves its purpose I don’t like it much. When you put it on in the reverse direction for storage I often get it jammed and that really gets on my nerves. There’s a tiny screw that holds on a lug that tightens into a groove on the lens barrel. Unfortunately with repeated use the screw can fall out, and it often does. I was setting up in a hide on a river the other day when the screw fell out and the lug fell off. Have you ever tried finding a screw the size of an ant in long grass? I found the lug but I didn’t find the screw.
Rapid Service from Sigma UK customer service
I knew I wasn’t going to fix the problem there and then. As luck would have it I had a faint data signal and did a bit of internet surfing. Quite quickly I found out that lots of people lose the screw out of their Sigma lens hood. Lots of blog posts suggested an Ebay site where I could buy a replacement. Other people had got by with using tape. One post mentioned that Sigma UK customer service had been very helpful. I found the email address for customer service and dropped them a line there and then from the hide. I was very impressed when a chap wrote back almost immediately. He said that he’d send a replacement as soon as he could, free of charge. Now that’s what I call service.