NIL I gave it 1 star as they dont allow -10

The build and wont last long on a Sony .Avoide it run away now

After a few weeks of use Gears grinding it was sent back for repair wanted a replacement nothing doing. So they fixed it lasted another 6 Months with little use and grinding started all over again. Was been used on a Sony. Be warned this lenses is junk and the after sales service was the same AVOIDE

True APO performance. This lens has great color correction wide open. The macro function is great, diopters can aid in achieving 1:1 magnification. The color correction alone makes this lens worth every penny.

Suffers from spherical abberations up until f/7. You must shoot at 1/300 or faster to get sharp shots without a tripod. AF is very poorly calibrated and particularly noticeable at 200-300mm.

Many people dislike this lens because they think it is soft which is simply not true. This is a very sharp APO however the auto focus mechanism is very poorly calibrated and you will never have a shot which is perfectly in focus while using AF mode unless your dslr can micro calibrate AF lenses. I always shoot this lens in manual, AF assist works pretty good with this lens. I tend to stop down a half step in bright sunlight to reduces overexposure. It is great for guided astrophotography if you stop down to F7 removing coma, however you will need to use a rubber band to prevent the focuser from creeping during exposures. I use a tripod when using this lens for macro. With extension tubes it is possible to achieve 1:1 magnification. You could combine this with diopters to increase these results. The great thing about macro with this lens is that it only works at 200-300mm which means that the minimum focus distance from your subject is about 2 feet. This means the more timid insects can pose without being bothered and you can shoot natural light macro on a tripod without having to worry about using a flash.

very good for portrait coz of its nice 9 aperture blade, makes the bokeh nice.
Sharp lens from 70-200
Macro (or close focusing) is good too, i attached some macro converter to get a 1:1 ratio.
Very good for candid photography too.
the aperture stays @ 4.8 up to 200mm , so its more like and F4-4.8 telephoto lens for me.

soft to very soft from 200mm-300mm even if stop down
focus aint fast but not so slow
macro is a bit tricky to activate
construction is not so great but not so bad either (average)

i bought this lens to complement my 18-70 on the tele side, something not pocket busting but use-able photos ( i didn't expect a 70-200 VRII 2.8 quality though) so i have lesser expectations to it as i paid just around 230 SGD for this lens. Yet the more i used it, the more i enjoyed the photos i took as long as you know the limits of this lens. So, at the price i paid and in a good lighting condition, its a steal.

Light, Great price to start, Nice crisp shots and nice colors outdoors

Poor Sigma service, never did get a call back after 3 phone calls. After adding the 100 dollar repair bill I should have just bought a more expensive lense, :-)

When I originally purchased this lense I thought it was great for the price but since It stripped the gears inside it. I was using it on my Sony A300. I was told by the repair guy that it wasnt the first Sigma he had seen with this problem. After you add the 100.00 CA dollar repar bill I paid 339.00 CA dollars. Know what I know now about this issue , I would not purchase this lense again.

Customer Service

See above

Long lense, light

slow focus and noisey

Using the Signa APO DG 70-300 on a Sony A200. The longe range attracted me for taking wildlife shots. However, am now frustrated with the lense due to its noise when focusing. The noise might be bearable if the focus would lock on consistently but it does struggle to get a lock on a subject and by then the subject has moved. I will probably try to use the manual focus a bit more - but awkward to focus and zoom at the same time.

The lense is soft after 200mm and the macro switch fiddly.

I guess you get what you pay for and £150 is not a lot in lense term - it's just such a difference to the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G lens at aboput £600.

the focusing is solid and doesnt slip though a bit stiff. the balance on the 5D is good. filter size is 58mm and dosent rotate when zoom. the focusing noise is a whine and fast too. focusing is accurate. colours are rich and neutral. i recommend this lens to those who wants a 300mm lens. the build is good. the weight is light and size is small when it is at infinity and at 70mm which is good to be carried around in a small bag. the sharpness could match with my 70-200L lens at 200mm but the sigma has an advantage of reaching further especially in taking shots of small birds.

picture soft at 70mm f4 but sharpened when close 2f stops.

just bought it on 31.3.09. i had own a canon 5D II and 24-105L lens, 70-200f4L and 75-300f4.5 II lenses. this evening i tested the sigma and found i had to use a tripod to get sharp results from the sigma. the colours are natural and rich, depending on the right exposure. the lens at f4 is a bit soft but if stop down to f8 and f11 the results are pretty sharp comparable with other lenses i have but a tripod has to be use if taking phots in low light. camera shake is evident in hand held shots but sharpened when a good tripod is used. i bought also a TC 1.4x tele plus pro 300 to get 420mm from the sigma lens. the result is a bit soft but usable.

Similar Products Used:

sigma 80-200f2.8 apo nikon mount.

Great value; good IQ; nice macro; not too big and heavy;

Macro switch fiddly; not great in low light; Looks a bit naff fully extended - better with the lens hood (supplied)

Like others - I traded in an old sigma lens that couldn't be chipped to work with my 30D.

I think I've got a great copy of this lens as I've found nothing to complain about. I was prepared to be disappointed having read all the hype about L series lenses but so far (about 10 months) I've got nothing but praise.

It's pretty sharp until the very end of the zoom and the macro function works well when you can operate the switch. Zoom is a little stiff.

I've never been too sure what people mean when they say that the autofocus is noisy and slow on a lens - sure it's not silent but it's fast enough for me. I'd bet that unless you're shooting F1 (the sport not the aperture) then it'll focus fast enough for you too.

IQ overall is great - haven't come across any colour casts or vignetting. Will take a really good lens (probably an L when I can afford it) to move me on from this lens

Customer Service

Great - spoke on the phone to a real bloke (ie not a computer)

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70-210
Canon 50mm f1.4

Great for daylight macro work - a lot cheaper than the Nikon Macro's Very reasonably priced Great images

Does not work well in low light or for action

I just picked this lens up from Hentry's previously enjoyed department. I originally had the Non APO version and traded it for the Nikon 70-300 (what a mistake that was) So I was passing Henry's one day and saw the 70-300APO macro, so I puchased it... It is much sharper with better contrast than the non-APO version. I have taken some amazing shots with it and find using the macro feature the most useful - sharp - contrasty and nice colour Focusing can be a problem in macro mode (but then you should manually focus anyway) and don't even try to use this lens in low light - hunting can drive you nuts. But then I bought it purely for daytime macro use and it is working out great For the price this lens is a great deal - even if you only use it for macro If you want to taken action or sports you'll need to pay a lot more for a better lens and should probably think about prime and not zoom

Customer Service

No Experience

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 70-300 Sigma 70-300 (non-APO)

With a good sample, optical quality is excellent for the money. Build quality and feel is good.

- Based on my experience, Sigma still have quality-control issues. - AF motor is a bit noisy (but OK)

I had an old non-APO, non-DG version of this lens with my Canon EOS 50. When I upgraded to a 350D, I discovered that it was no longer compatible with the camera, generating the dreaded 'Err 99'. I learned that a re-chip might be possible and an e-mail to Sigma was answered within an hour. Alas, my lens was so old that re-chip was not possible (there are several versions of this lens going back over the years), but Sigma did offer me an excellent upgrade price to a new APO, DG version. Unfortunately, the new lens turned out to be a very poor performer at anything more than 200mm. Shots looked extremely soft, as though a soft-focus filter was used. I thought this was perhaps all I could expect, but comparisons with shots from the old lens showed that it shouldn't be like this. Another e-mail to Sigma was answered within 24 hours and they agreed to replace the lens with another specimen. The second lens is very good - well up to my expectations. Don't expect 'L'-series quality, but do expect to get very usable shots that will be adequate for most purposes. In fact, with a sharpening filter in Photo-shop, even crops from small areas and large enlargements are entirely satisfactory. I had the opportunity to try a Canon 75-300 and the Sigma is marginally better at all focal lengths. The lens is easy to live with - relatively compact and not too heavy. The macro facility is very useful.

Customer Service

Superb - fast and knowledgable response to all e-mails. I can't fault it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 75-300

Bang for the buck, good range, great for out doors, sharp under 200mm in good lighting, light, Macro function, comes with case and hood.

Hunts in low light, noisy motor, colors a tad dull, jerky barrels.

*Note* This review is for the Sigma 70-300mm APO Macro DG:red ring(couldn't find this on the site) http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3303&navigator=3 Being rather new to photography and SLR cameras I don't have the experience or previous equipment to compare it to, besides my Canon 18-55mm kit lens, but I thought I would share some first impressions anyway for those of you deciding on a consumer lense in this range. Out of the box- As soon as I got out of the store i opened up the box and mounted the lense (i'm sure many of you have done this as well ). It comes with a lense case for easy storage and protection. IT also comes with a lense hood which is an added bonus. Build- Weighing 550g it definitely put some added weight on my XT, but hardly noticeable. Personally I like the build, it doesn't feel or look cheap, it's quite sturdy and stable. I believe it is a little heavier than the APO MACRO SUPER II model which was 530g. Fully extended it's just about 8 inches long or 3 inches form the front end of the lense. This may cause some weird looks but expected from a zoom lense i would imagine. Add the lense hood on that and it's even longer. The focusing barrels are not the smoothest, rotating is quite jerky but the focusing ring is fairly smooth. I spent the whole day at the Zoo a few weeks ago and had no trouble keepin this on the camera and around my kneck. It's not too heavy to lug around at all. Performance and Quality- Like most consumer zoom lenses I found the quality to be decent up to 200mm. I've gotten some pretty sharp pics at this range and combined with a tripod, the quality and sharpness is acceptable. It's not razor sharp, but for a consumer lense the quality is acceptable. Under 200mm is where this lense shines, though i haven't found a sweet spot yet I was rather pleased with the results. Between 200-300mm it does get soft and a tripod is a must at these ranges. I did manage to get some decent shots at 300mm hand held by increasing the shutter speed and stopping down, but again soft results due to hand shake. It's relatively hard to keep still at 300mm, which is expected. It would really be nice to have "IS" on this lense. I'm sure results would be different when mounted on a tripod. The range is great! From my 17 floor apartment, I took a shot of a car's license plate parked in a house across the street, when cropped 100% the licence plate number was readable. I find the colours to be slightly lacking. The shots I did take required minimal post production, levels, saturation etc. but not really necessary with the right lighting conditions and changing parameters on the camera, but that's more personal preference. Macro mode is a nice touch to this lens but to use the macro setting you have to be between 200-300mm. I was still able to get some decent shots hand held but a tripod would greatly increase the success rate of getting good pictures. Focusing does well in good lighting conditions, it's slightly noisy but not unbearable, and it's not the fastest either. In shade, indoor this lens tends to hunt, I found myself focusing manually in these consitions. This is not a good indoor lens, using a flash helps. Overall, I'm pleased with the lens, and for it's price it's probably one of the better consumer lenses out there. However, being a serious amateur it wasn't long before i yearned for better quality, so i'm now looking into the Canon 70-200mm f.4 L. I do freelace design part time and have had some offers to do portraits and other small things so I would definitely need better quality. If you want good quality and sharpness I would suggest to save a little more for the canon 70-200mm f.4 L...but that's another review:)

Similar Products Used:

Canon 70-200mm f.4 L