Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 DG Macro For Nikon Digital & Film Cameras

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This is the least expensive of the Sigma 70-300mm autofocus zoom lenses. It has a macro mode offering 0.5x magnification. Its range is useful for portraiture, amateur sports, and trips to the zoo. ePHOTOzine resident lens tester, Gary Wolstenholme casts his discerning eye over the Sigma 70-300mm. It is a little bulky compared to the Pentax 55-300 but not so much that I would consider an issue for me. Best sharpness is a stop or two down from wide open. When it comes to zooming the only time it suffers is all the way zoomed out and all the way zoomed in but everything in-between its 10/10. When i say everything in-between, i mean 71mm-299mm, but on the longer end i have found it focus goes weird after 296mm

Above and below: Shot at focal lengths of 190mm and 70mm from the same spot. Both at f/8 in aperture priority on a Canon 300D. Sigma’s 70-300mm has an impressive list of features but it also calls forth the warning that if something sounds too good to be true, then maybe that’s exactly what it is. Its 70-300mm focal-length range may be more than many users will really need in an everyday tele-zoom but there is nothing wrong with having a little bit of extra power – provided, that is, nothing more essential has to be sacrificed along the way. DxOMark provides objective, independent, RAW-based image quality performance data for lenses and digital cameras to help you select the best equipment to meet your photographic needs. Sigma's Optical Stabilisation system helps greatly with being able to take images in low light conditions and at slower shutter speeds. I was able to take sharp hand-held shots most of the time at shutter speeds of 1/15sec at 70mm and 1/30sec at 300mm, which is pretty good performance and will help greatly to tame camera shake.Venture further into the zoom range and the clarity drops off noticeably. The lens is still capable of producing acceptable results for most wide open, but stopping down a couple of stops will improve the clarity of images. In use, I did notice a drop in contrast at 300mm, which will affect the apparent sharpness of images.

i would recomend this lens to anyone looking at a good entry level lens but there a just a couple of tiny little niggles. Sharpness is better at the short end of the range 70-150mm. If there is enough light to keep the aperture in the f8 - f11 range, then images are relatively sharp (for the price of the lens). They do not compare to my Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 but that lens is in a whole different category. Physically identical to it’s cheaper, non APO sister lens with the first 12mm given over to accommodate the AF/MF switch situated on the left of the barrel, the next third is occupied by the zoom ring which is marked at 70, 100, 135, 200 and 300mm. Although not hard to move, you do know you are moving a fair amount of glass as the front element travels forward some 55mm through the range.

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The extended focus, providing the 1:2 macro facility, is especially useful and performed well giving good definition at close quarters. The new multi-coating, which gives the lens it’s DG (optimised for digital) classification, helps a design that is good to start with, that extra bit of help in controlling artefacts. CA is well controlled and distortion reasonably well managed, although there is a slight pincushion effect at the 300mm end. (Easily cured in software on digital images) This I find is a common problem with this lens, with the motor shredding all or some of the teeth on the AF Gear. Indeed there are several You Tube "fixes" available to those with patience and somewhere other than the kitchen table to work on. Used in Macro mode, this lens shines as this shot of a Southern Hawker Dragonfly in flight shows. Taken on a Canon 1D with the lens set to manual focus. 1/800sec at f/8 and ISO500 https://www.ephotozine.com/article/tamron-af-70-300mm-f-4-5-6-di-ld-macro-interchangeable-lens-review-13028 Strong light sources in the frame will cause a little flare, spreading from the light across the image centre. Typically this lens controls flare pretty well throughout the zoom range, with only feint green and amber ghosts appearing in extreme circumstances. Light sources just outside the frame cause few issues, with contrast being reduced a little in extreme circumstances. The supplied lens hood virtually eliminates this, so I would tend to leave it fitted at all times.

When at Northern nats you have to use manual focus for everything and its amazing, great fine tuning on the focus and the zoom is just insane, the ergonomics of this lens is amazing. people say "you just get used to it", No when it comes to doing pin point moving targets with constant zooming in and out having the focus at the front is so damn helpful, being able to brace the zoom ring with your palm of your hand while using your fingers to focus is unmatched, want 300mm zoom with crisp photos without any motion blur Hand held? this lens WILL do it, i can use this lens at 1/20th of a second and still have no motion blur (Shake reduction, and coffee). With a nice light lens body, it makes for a great companion on an all day hike, or a day at the rodeo when you have the camera to your eye for most of the time. These views of the local Lifeboat along with a relief boat show the versatility of this type of zoom lens. The next part of the barrel has a basic depth-of-field scale marked and, again on the left, carries the switch to enable ‘Macro’ photography. The final 25% of the barrel forms the focus ring, which, in manual focus, is nicely torqued. Once switched to Autofocus, it cannot be over-ridden and becomes stiff for that reason. In normal mode, focussing can extend the lens a further 17mm. There is a red ring around the lens to denote the APO version, which is needed if you have the two lenses side by side! This 70-300mm zoom telephoto was made in numerous versions and generations by sigma - 4 versions listed in the legacy zooms section, two in the current zooms section (see here for the current non-"apo" version).As a zoom lens, the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro is a great. When you let the sunshine in, you steady yourself, then pull the trigger, you can get amazing shots. Mission Complete, the review of the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens has ended. There is not much more to say, it’s a decent lens for a decent price. I do own this lens, so it will be used a lot. So let’s do a recap. Testing It has long been a popular choice amongst budget-conscious photographers looking to cover this popular range. This latest version does away with the macro functionality of previous versions in favour of an optical stabilisation system that promises to provide sharper shots at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than normal.

This lens is one of two virtually identical offerings from Sigma in the extremely popular 70-300 category in which almost all manufacturers have at least one contender. Although still in the budget sector, this one, the APO version, is the better of the two offerings. We take a look at what you get for your money.

The Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG says it’s a Macro lens so why would you not use it? It’s fun during the summer time when flowers are abundant with provides perfect times to use the Macro feature. The Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro handles these types of shots very well. It’s not the best, though in an indoor light box or product shot setting. There is just too much fumbling being up close, for me anyway. I used manual focus and auto and i just did not enjoy the lens in this scenario. Image Quality and colours. When it comes to image quality its Very good, its not prefect and depending on your aperture and zoom but it won't let you down.