This is a very versatile lens and delivers a lot for not much money. Excellent color and sharpness is what makes it a great bird shooter. Macro shots look fabulous and reach in color. You can get 1:2 magnification at about 4 feet as opposed to 7 inches with 50mm lens.

There are some lenses out there that do not have this stupid macro switch... Also how I wish it were just one f-stop faster...

The bottom line is that it is impossible to get an apochromatic lens of this quality for around $200. THis is by no means a pro lens, but for an amateur it is a great investment. It lets you instantly switch from shooting a sailboat a half mile from the shore to hunting ants and caterpillars five feet away.

Customer Service

Did not need so far. However, on some other occasions Sigma folks were pretty helpful and responsive.

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Sigma 75-200mm f/2.8-3.5
Tamron 200-400mm f/5.6
Quantaray 70-210mm f/4-5.6 Macro
Minolta AF 50mm f/2.8 Macro

Takes great photo's. Clear, crisp colors. Consistent results. Excellent for use when shooting through fences, or outdoors at distances.

No problems, but macro function is hard to use, hard to focus for indoor shots in low light, hard to focus with lots of movement in sports photos. Bottom line is that 95% of your shots turn out great.

Great lens for the money.

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None

Price and function. AF drive quiter than Nikon. Better focus barrel did not move as easy as on Nikon so focal changes did not occur accidentally.

None yet.

Comparison of Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super with Nikon AF70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED Zoom-Nikkor. Took pictures with both Sigma lens and both appeared similar in detail under 10x loupe. Pictures with Nikon lens of American flag showed white on flag to have red haze, Sigma did not. Sigma lens showed truer colors consistently. I bought the Sigma which also has macro and lens case. Lens would focus at half the distance the Nikon would.

Customer Service

Dealer assisted in comparison. He was curious too.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED Zoom-Nikkor

Price Point.

Flimsy Auto/Manual Focus switch, slow AF w/ Canon USM

Being skeptical of third party lens manufacturers, I did a lot of research before even considering purchasing this lens. I've had it for about a year now and have had NO problems with it at all. From a mechanical standpoint, it has worked flawlessly for me. It is a very sound piece of equipment. It feels solid, unlike some of the other more expensive lenses that I tried out. Pictures are sharp. The Macro feature is an added plus. Can't touch this lens for the price. Remember, for what you pay ($289 at B&H Photo, New York City) you get an awesome lens. The glass on this lens is well aligned. If this lens was going for $500, I'd give it a much lower rating, but for this price, it is an exceptional value.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 75-300 USM

Not that cheap but is very sharp, well made, Macro to 1:2 at 39" is great, keeps you far enough not to cast shadows and for hot shoe flashes to work.

To get sharp shots at 300mm you need a tripod, to front heavy to hand hold at 300, no tripod socket and this lens needs one. Zoom creep is a bit bad, Use the hood since this lens flares alot. macro switch is a pain to use,

Good value for the money, one of the better 70-300 zooms I have used, probably one of the best in the consumer class

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentax 80-320, canon 100-300

Sharp and colorful at most focal lengths. Macro feature works very well. A great price for a good lens.

This is a big, long lens at full extension. I wish Sigma had made a manual focus version, as I am using it on a Nikon FM2N. Manually focusing an auto focus lens is less than ideal, but at least there's no slippage.

I just got back from Paris, where I had the chance to put this lens through it's paces. Matched w/ the Sigma 24-70mm f3.5 I've got a full range of focal lengths that fits in a small bag I can take everywhere. Using a monopod to stabilize the lens, I was able to take sharp, colorful macro photos of the flowers in Monet's gardens, as well as beautifully compressed scenes of all the landmarks in Paris. The lens hood is a must, and makes the lens even longer and more awkward. Overall an excellent lens for the price.

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None

Fairly large zoom range. Good central sharpness up to about 200mm.

Color balance leaves something to be desired. Problems with light falloff at the longer focal lengths. Slightly soft images at 300mm.Corner sharpness at 200 is not up to par. Macro function gets it highest magnification at 300mm. Normally this would be OK, but the image quality at this focal length is not too good.

This lense is just fine if you going to shoot 4 X 6 prints. It does not deliver professional quality images at the high end. I loaned this lense to a friend some time ago and really have no plans to get it back from her. (The softness was present at 300mm regardless of whether I used manual or auto focus while being mounted on a heavy tripod. Sharpness pepped up a little bit at f/11, but who uses a 300 with shutter speed as slow as that f stop would require?)

Customer Service

not needed

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none in this zoom range

Very good color and sharpness especially at the centre of the field.
Moderate weight and low cost.

Macro and af-mf switches are too small and equal.
Image quality at 300 mm in not very good.

Good value for the money,good macro function.
For this class a good lens.

Customer Service

good.

Similar Products Used:

none in this zoom range.

Good range, good color,
light.

Hard to zoom when it's
cold (I guess it's better sealing than earlier models)

Very good for the $. It is more convenient than
carrying 2-3 prime lenses to cover its range.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 75-300 *3 versions

This is a light lens for it's focal length and range.Images were quite sharp.

Feels very flimsy compared to a metal body lens. When the lens hood was on and the lens extended there was far too much play in the lens body. Two weeks after purchasing the lens, the lens started to grate when focusing. I returned it to the distributor for repair. Just after the warrenty ran out the same problem occured.

I could not wait to sellthe lens. This experience has turned me away from Sigma. I might have been unlucky. Now I have a brand new Nikon 35-135 lens on the body of my FM2.

Customer Service

Had to send the lens back to Japan to have it fixed when it started to grate the second time. Sigma Japan was very good. I got the lens back in about three weeks. They admitted that their was a problem with the lens.

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Sigma 24-70 zoom