Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro 35mm Zoom

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro 35mm Zoom 

DESCRIPTION

The high performance telephoto zoom lens is ideal for digital SLR cameras. This lens has two SLD glass elements in the front lens group and one in the rear lens group It is able to shoot with maximum magnification 1:2 at the focal length of 300 mm.

  • Aperture range: f/4-5.6
  • Min focus: 150cm / (95cm Macro mode) 59.1 in. / (37.4 in. Macro mode)
  • Available for: SIGMA, CANON, NIKON (D), MINOLTA, PENTAX

  • USER REVIEWS

    Showing 1-10 of 10  
    [Jul 15, 2021]
    stussy


    Strength:

    A roof protects you from rain, snow and other elements that could damage your home or place of business. www.knoxvilleroofingco.com The importance of a good quality roof cannot be understated when it comes to protecting the health and safety for yourself, family members, as well as any employees in an office setting. It is not just about keeping water out; roofs also keep homes warmer during winter by trapping heat inside while blocking cold drafts coming up through chimneys and vents on lower levels.

    Weakness:

    none so far

    Purchased:
    New  
    OVERALL
    RATING
    5
    [Jul 12, 2021]
    elizabeth


    Strength:

    Build quality. It starts off with an all metal mount, and continues through to the well textured finish on the outside, finishing with consistently strong and durable internals. | Concrete Cutting

    Weakness:

    None so far

    Purchased:
    New  
    OVERALL
    RATING
    5
    [Nov 11, 2010]
    bundleme
    Intermediate

    Strength:

    I don't know

    Weakness:

    WON'T WORK ON MY 20D

    Hi, i bought this sigma 70-300mm APO Macro on ebay and i put it on
    my canon 20d camera and it took five pictures and i got the dreaded
    err99. I took it off and clean the contacts with an erazer and put it
    back on and the err99 came up again. This time i removed the battery,
    waited about 5 minutes and put battery back in and i still came up with
    err99. It just won't work with my canon 20d, maybe it's the firmware.
    Are there any answers to this madness. I like the lens and it's in mint
    condition but it does not work on my 20d.

    Similar Products Used:

    Used my canon 75-300mm ultrasonic lens and it worked.

    OVERALL
    RATING
    1
    VALUE
    RATING
    1
    [Oct 18, 2007]
    Christopher Pan
    Intermediate

    Strength:

    Value for money, sharp and produce natural colour.

    Weakness:

    The zoom ring is heavy compare to my other zoom lenses. Focus hunting in low light (for me is acceptable), and a little bit soft at the end of the zoom 300mm (need to stop down to correct the result).

    The lense is good compare to the price you pay. Quite sharp and bright. You can find a little bit soften at the end of 300mm, you need to stop down a bit to get crispier result. The Bokeh also acceptable. Macro 1:2 is a bonus for this lense.
    Over all this lense is reliable, especially when you hunt outdoor. Value more than what you pay.

    Similar Products Used:

    No other Sigma Lense Used

    OVERALL
    RATING
    4
    VALUE
    RATING
    4
    [Jul 20, 2006]
    kfahn
    Intermediate

    Strength:

    #1 Price. Without a doubt this is the star shining upon this lens. At less than $200, this lens provides fantastic results.

    #2 Macro Mode. With a 1:2 macro mode, this is not true (1:1) macro, but in this price range, there is nothing near this lens. Though I did not intend to use this when the lens was purchased, I found myself using it often for floral and other photography. The results are very good, and in ideal instances are almost comparable to a true macro lens.

    #3 Image Quality. In this price range, there is no other lens that can deliver results like this. With proper technique, this lens can produce wonderful portraits, sports shots, and macro. It has fantastic versatility.

    #4 Build quality. It starts off with an all metal mount, and continues through to the well textured finish on the outside, finishing with consistently strong and durable internals.

    #5 Included case and lens hood. This is a constant irritation for me with Canon. They do not do this simple service of providing lens hoods for their customers. Thank you Sigma.

    Weakness:

    #1 Focusing:
    a) Speed. The focusing motor tends to be a little sluggish, especially when at the end of the focal range.

    b) Accuracy. I am fairly certain that this ties in with the speed of the focusing, but I find that probably 1 in 10 shots is slightly misfocused.

    c) Sound. This lens makes a noticeable noise when focusing, though not enough to scare off any but the most skittish subjects.

    #2 Physical length. The length of this lens is normal by most standards, (122mm at 70mm), but when in macro mode and zoomed all the way in to 300mm, this lens is over 200mm long. This makes it a little more difficult to handhold the lens.

    #3 Speed. The wide open f/4 at 70mm quickly raises a stop at 130mm and at 175 or so goes to f/5.6. This makes handholding the lens in less than optimal light difficult to say the least. This, however is a failing of every budget lens, so not as much a weakness as it is something to be aware of.

    #4 Due to this being a third party lens, future compatibility with other camera bodies may become an issue.

    Overall, this is one of the best budget telephoto zoom lens that is in production. I bought this to compliment my Canon 350D, and it has treated me well. The alternatives all leave much to be wanted. For instance, the Canon 75-300mm, is slower to focus, softer at all focal lengths, and has a lower build quality. The Tamron 70-300mm has similar properties to the Sigma, but I have found the build quality lacking as well.

    Customer Service

    Sigma has a hit or miss customer service department. Over the years, I have had a number of experiences with them, and for some instances, they have quickly fixed my problem, but for others, it requires multiple calls and attempts to rectify a problem.

    Similar Products Used:

    Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III -
    +
    Cheap.
    -
    Soft throughout focal range.
    Strong CA and most f/stops.
    Low build quality.

    Canon 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM -
    +
    High quality build.
    Good quality photos.
    Very fast, silent, and accurate ring-USM focusing.
    Can be found for ~$200 used.
    -
    Not produced any more.
    Shorter range.
    Zoom creep.

    OVERALL
    RATING
    5
    VALUE
    RATING
    5
    [Jul 10, 2006]
    tecomella
    Expert

    Strength:

    1. Minimal chromatic aberrations at wide open. Even high contract shots are passable.
    2. Relatively sharp at wide open at 300mm (Than competition)
    3. Good Macro mode
    4. Good build quality and finish
    5. relatively silent (Of course nothing compared to silent wave) but better than competition.
    6. Good focusing accuracy, say 85% in normal conditions

    Weakness:

    1. Focus sometims hunts at 300mm in low contrast situations and confusing backgrounds. otherwise spot on
    2. Front of lens rotates when focussing

    Considering the price I paid for this lens, I am not complaining at all of focusing speed, slow aperture,VR etc. If this lens would have had everything, Sigma would price it at 1200$.
    So lets move ahead.
    This lens is an extention of my birding hobby and is a great companion on my birding trips. The versatile macro lets you grab the mini world of insects, flowers, lizards, etc. A big plus for naturalists.
    Combining it with my D50 delivers good punchy colours, thanks to the APO lens elements.
    A very big plus in my opinion is the minimal Chromatic aberrations at wide open shots. On my 6MP D50, CA is hardly visible even in high contrast situations.
    A must buy for all those looking for a long end zoom and don't want to sell their car.

    OVERALL
    RATING
    4
    VALUE
    RATING
    5
    [Jul 07, 2006]
    THOMAS LUK
    Casual

    Strength:

    Liight weight and feel quite sturdy

    Weakness:

    focus quite slow with low contrast subject and quite noisy when focusing

    For a cheap lense (compared to Nikon or Canon), we have to accept some scrifice. Relative speaking, it is a good outdoor lense since we always stop down to F 8 at least. Having used it mainly for my Canon EOS 10D in the last 2 years, I am quite happy with it. When I compared this lense with my friend's Canon 70-300 IS, at F11, the difference is quite small in case of sharpness.

    Customer Service

    no experience as the lense has been working well so far

    Similar Products Used:

    Canon 20, 28, 50, 60, 85, 100, 135, 200, 300 and 10-22, 17-85, 28-135

    OVERALL
    RATING
    2
    VALUE
    RATING
    4
    [Dec 29, 2005]
    Dutchman
    Intermediate

    Strength:

    Very sharp, even at 300mm when stopped down a few clicks. Neutral color rendering. Good and fully useable range. No flare, distortion or vignetting.

    Weakness:

    Noisy and slow autofocus compared to expensive telezooms but it doesn't bother me for my purposes. Contrast is a little bit behind.

    This is a surprisingly good lens. Built quality feels ok. It's a fairly compact lens with a nice matte black finish and a red ring (!). This lens is exceptionally sharp for a so called "consumer lens" and rivals my Canon 70-200 f/4L. All focal lengths are very useable but you need to stop down a little for optimum quality, which is not uncommon for telezooms in this category. There is no distortion or chromatic abberations whatsoever. Contrast is not as good as high-end glass but this can easily be adjusted in PS, but what do you expect for a lens that will cost you only one quarter of the price of a L-zoom or less? Autofocus is a little slow but spot-on even in low light. So don't write a bad review about the AF before you've tested the lens on a tripod at least. A great value for money!

    Customer Service

    Not needed yet.

    Similar Products Used:

    canon 90-300 f/4-6.3, Canon 70-200 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4L, Sigma 18-50 f/2,8 DG-EX

    OVERALL
    RATING
    4
    VALUE
    RATING
    5
    [Dec 28, 2005]
    Samontuesday
    Beginner

    Strength:

    Great Value for money. Macro function is excellant. Pin sharp images. Feels tough and durable. Comes with free hood.

    Weakness:

    Hunts in low light, (don't they all) Noisy. Slow to auto focus.

    This is my first telephoto lens so i have nothing to compare it with, but I am very impressed, the picture quality is pin sharp. The zoom is a little stiff, which is sometimes annoying, and it has a tendency to hunt in low light but for value for money wise it is a bargin. It feels well made and tough, and looks good to. The macro function is really good, and usefull for people who are just starting out in that area. I've heard complaints about it being hard to switch off, this is not true!! you have to make sure that the lens is zoomed out to 200 and that the focus ring is twisted anticlockwise fully. The auto focus is a little slow when zoomed in close and a bit on the noisey side, but hey, its only 160 quid!!! Personaly I would reccomend this lens for anyone who can't afford forking out large sums of money for better quality, usually you get what you pay for, with this lens, you get a bit more.

    Customer Service

    Not used

    Similar Products Used:

    None used

    OVERALL
    RATING
    5
    VALUE
    RATING
    5
    Showing 1-10 of 10  

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