Well, after about a week of using the lens and getting a handle on just what makes the image quality go downhill, I’ve decided to keep the lens.  Stopped down to f/4 or f/5.6 this lens rocks and is nice and sharp.  Is it Canon ‘L’ sharp? No, especially at the long end.  At 150mm f/2.8 the quality suffers a good deal and the focusing is usually off, but f/4 and above, it improves (as it should).

I also spoke with Sigma and after Japan (10 days!) I will send in the lens, a description of the problem and a CD of images (requested by Sigma) showing what the image quality is like under “poor” circumstances.  It was nice that Sigma requested the pictures - very promising.  Really, the weight, size, focal range, aperture, etc, make this a great lens for a crop body - really nice lens to use.

I can’t recall where we left off in our last installment of “Adorama Drama” but I have since received the replacement lens and it performs much better than the last copy.  The lens does mis-focus when you approach the minimum focusing distance but I’m thinking I’m going to keep the lens and send it off for calibration after Japan.

There is also the mild temptation to return the lens all together and get the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro.  The macro lens is 1:1 and has a better working distance and I’ve been wanting a better macro lens for awhile now.  The macro lens is cheaper than the Sigma, but it is limited in functionality.  The Sigma is a useful zoom lens, but I haven’t gotten to test it out thoroughly and I worry that I’ll ultimately regret keeping this lens - it hasn’t sold me 100% on its performance as of yet.

I plan on (hopefully) getting some better test shots with this lens later this week.  From what I see so far, I’m pretty satisfied but I want to try to nail down exactly what the limitations are before taking a lot of bad pictures in Japan.

So yesterday (or Sunday) Adorama opened back up after their holiday that was only announced on their 1-800 number. I gave them a call and on hold for the standard 10-15min until I spoke with a helpful woman about my order. She gave me that “uh boy” sound when pulling up my order - made me feel confident that I’d get the replacement lens by Friday.

Oddly enough, the UPS tracking page for the lens I sent back said it was delivered on 9/28 - It didn’t show that on 9/28. Must have been some odd lag at UPS. So, the order: She basically told me that my account was credited (okay…) and that the replacement lens was there, ready to go out. The twist was that the replacement lens was on hold as it was missing a payment (the credit they gave me!). She then replied with “Can you believe that?”. Actually ma’am, I can.

She told me she’d open the order back up and made it sound like everything was good to go and the lens would ship out today. I have zero confidence that the lens will be shipped out today. She informed me she’d send out an email when the order was opened back up (yet to receive one) and one when it was shipped. If I see neither emails today I plan on calling tomorrow and asking for a full, immediate refund.

At this point, from my experience, I can not recommend this online vendor. Perhaps the story is different when you go to the store, but I’d suggest a company not bother with an online presence if they don’t have their act together. If you are ordering something and you are nearly certain you will not have to return/exchange it - then they are a good vendor, like most. If you need to return something, that’s where the fun begins.

Well, I found out why my returned lens had a hold request - Adorama is closed for a Jewish holiday. That’s all well and good, but the site should probably tell people this. B & H Photo Video, Sigma4Less and others I’m sure have a nice banner on the site telling customers what’s going on in terms of their hours. Adorama? Nope. Know why I was on hold for almost an hour (combined calls) last Friday? Because Adorama closed on Wednesday 9/26 for a holiday and remain closed until this Sunday. I only found out they were closed this past Monday - nice.

So if everything works out (which at this rate, I doubt it will) my replacement Sigma will be at my door by Friday. This is under the assumption that Adorama will receive my old lens and promptly ship my lens to me. If by some chance I receive this new lens and it is another “soft” copy, I will return it for a full refund and most likely rent a lens from one of my favorite sites: LensRentals.com

Well, the new Sigma was received and after I quickly unboxed it, put it on my camera and snapped a few shots out on our patio I quickly realized I needed to send it back.  This lens, like some other Sigma lenses suffers from front focusing and a general lack of proper focus.  The image I took at 150mm at f/2.8 were pretty soft where I focused the camera.  This should have surprised me but I knew walking into this purchase that I may be shipped a lens with this problem.
I spoke with the vendor I bought it from and they are taking it back/exchanging it as a defective unit.  The lens is mildly usable, but the performance is pretty disappointing.  Hopefully a new copy will change my feelings