Sigma 70-300mm f4-5 : Not bad for the money!

It is a very good lens for beginners, does not have image stabilization but is bright and high-speed shots are very good. The picture quality is excellent. I have a nikon d3200 and it works perfectly. It promised in the description. The focus motor is a bit noisy compared to other lenses. The delivery, perfect, in less than a week i had it in my hands (chile).

Works great gave this to my sister as a gift and no issues some ppl mention its loud but i havnt notice a difference when compaired to her nikor lenses.

An excellent little lens which is at a brilliant price for what it does. I have worn out 2 of the same lenses as i use this lens as my lens of choice in the bush as it is so versatile. The macro feature is excellent. I’ve had hours of fun and taken literally thousands of photos with this lens. Will not disappoint any amateur photographer.

I got this recently to go on holiday to dorset with, in partnership with my sony a58 camera and what a joy it’s been. Granted, it’s not the most attractive lens when extended to its maximum and it’s pretty hefty when you attach the lens hood, but it takes fantastic photos and represents excellent value. I plumped for this one over the non-apo version (which was significantly cheaper) and, whilst i can’t comment on how the cheaper lens performs, this one was worth every penny. Although i’ve used a dslr for 5 years now (the a58 replaced my aging a200, which this lens would also fit), i recently decided to learn how to use the thing properly. It’s used commercially for taking product shots for my online business (if you intend to do the same thing, i heartily recommend the sony 50mm prime lens which is very fast and sharp) but i was a bit nervous when i went to monkey world in dorset with the 300mm lens attached. To be honest, i felt like a bit of a dick – until i saw how many other people were doing the same. I had a thoroughly enjoyable day getting “up close and personal” to the animals and was absolutely delighted when i loaded the images up on my chromebook and took a look. Even without any processing, they are razor sharp (assuming i focussed effectively) and the 300mm range meant i could take my pick of the animals in each enclosure. I haven’t noticed any of the chromatic problems common in “cheaper” lenses such as this – in fact, the only problems i’ve noticed with any of my shots were due to my ineptitude. This lens is ideal for taking photos of animals and for certain purposes in landscape photography (sunsets for example).

A fantastic lens for the money. Worked well and good sharp focus response, plus it comes with a case for protection. The macro facility is in teh range of 200 – 300mm so you don’t need the crouch in close, best used witha tripod and a remote release to avoid camera shake though.

Wow, this lense is very good with quick focus, i use it on my nikon d7000 with a filter on it and the picture quality is excellent. Great lense good price a must have if you don’t want to spend more on the big named brands. The only issue is you have to stand back if you use the macro but who cares it not really an issue.

Such a versatile lens and the build quality is just flawlessused daily and still have yet to find an issue with it. 10/10 would recommend to enthusiast’s and professionals alike.

Great price for such a piece of kit. I use it quite often, good for bird watching.

• A jewel with a niggle

• I love and hate this lens

• Sigma AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 DG APO Macro Canon Fit Lens

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

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• A high quality tele-zoom lens suitable for both digital and film SLR cameras
• Versatile zoom range for sport, portraiture and nature photography
• Three SLD glass elements for effective control of colour abberations
• High quality APO construction
• Multi-layer coating opimises quality for digital photography
• Maximum magnification 1:2 in macro mode at 300mm

Was very happy with my lens. Had a couple of issues with the manual focus “sticking”, but that didn’t plex me as i rarely use mf. Af is crisp and clear, taking photos is a dream. Well until 6 weeks ago when the af motor went “wirr” and i couldn’t focus now and again. The lens has light usage, so it shouldn’t wear out; but it has. Sigma are quoting me £100 or so to repair a lens that cost me £160.

Versatile and value for money does what it says. Thanks still use this years on.

I’m not a professional photographer, i could even say that i’m an amateur photographer or a hobbyist, and this is my first non-kit lens. I love aircraft spotting and that’s why i chose this telephoto lens and believe me, it does its job right. The images do get a bit soft after 250mm but it’s fine with my expectations. I have a canon 1100d (rebel t3) camera and the lens fits perfectly. The lens feels a bit heavy but i found this good because it helps balancing the camera and keeping it steady. First impression is that it looks like a quality and stylish product. First try was on a cloudy day with not much sunlight but again the lens performed excellent. I set the autofocus mode to ai focus, in order to focus on moving subjects (such as aircraft), and the lens had no problem to quickly focus on them. I found focusing to be quite fast even on moving subjects, though it might seem a relatively long time for the barrel to move from one edge to the other. I had no issues with focus haunting at all.

Have been using this a while now and very pleased with quality of images. Sharp and clear, just what i required. Zoom has a good range, but macro zoom was the main reason for purchase and it has not disappointed.

I love this lens was a bit dubious about buying it after some comments that said you couldn’t hand hold it, i went ahead and bought it anyway and have to say i love everything about it have some amazing photos handheld and on a tripod. I’ve only had it about a month but everything so far is good and as long as you read the leaflet that came with it you shouldn’t have any problems with the macro function. Great padded lens case as well.

I bought it for the telephoto capabilities but was also keen on the macro ability. You need to be a little further away from the macro subject than i expected, but the results are good. The lens also came with a bag, this info i couldn’t find on the seller’s site and was pleasantly surprised. I’ve used the lens on a game drive (safari) and got results better than i expected. I can’t fault the lens after 1 month of use.

This lens is a bargain price for the sort of shots that you can get out of it. The zoom length is excellent for wildlife or zoo photography. Downsides are that there’s no full-time manual focus, and the end rotates and extends during shooting, but you have to spend a lot more pounds to get a lens that overcomes those relatively minor issues.

I had outgrown the lens that came with my nikon d3100 and was looking for something to take action shots at distance, being a casual photographer i didn’t want to break the bank so on paper this lens fitted the bill nicely. It has enabled me to get some great photos although the points mentioned elsewhere are true, the motor is noisier than its (more expensive) rivals and the auto zoom is far from rapid, however as a stepping stone to better albeit more expensive lenses, this is a worthy choice.

Well, i’d previously read reviews about this lens and heard it wasn’t fantastic quality at anything above 200mm. This is true, but for the money, i think that’s fair enough. You can’t expect it to be 100% perfect if you’re not paying 100% of the price. My only other lens currently is an 18-55mm, i just wanted a not-too-expensive lens that’d help me broaden my range and try new thingssomething that disappointed me slightly is the noise the auto-focus makes. I wanted this lens mostly to shoot wildlife and birds, and that noise would scare them off instantly if they hadn’t already spotted me, however, 95% of the time i manually focus anyhow so it isn’t a big deal, but i wish i’d read it in the reviewswhere amazon is concerned though, fast delivery -a day earlier than the expected date, perfect condition, well wrapped, even came with a handy lens pouch that i wasn’t expectingrecommended for people who don’t have a huge budget, especially as a start-up zoom lens.

This lens is amazing far better than the price bracket when used correctly and on a tripod this lens yields amazing macro i’ve been getting fantastic results photographing fungus and bugs and the apo coating defiantly improves colour rendition and sharpness defiantly pay extra for that rather than the non apo highly recommend for macro work.

Nice picture for those who know what they are doing. I often take wild life pictures. Despite absence of stabilisation i am satisfied.

I can’t comment on branded lenses, because i don’t have any, but by any standards, this sigma is a good deal. You aren’t going to get really crisp results unless you use a prime, the 70-300 from sigma is a good alternativefocus is a little soft at max magnification, a little vignetting at wide angle, but we all crop our images now anyway don’t we, buy it, you won’t be disappointed, especially if you have a tripod, and aren’t frightened to use it.

Seems ok just what it said on the web site.

Have been using for over a year and very impressed with the lens. Got some amazing moon shots with this lens.

I bought this lens as used and it took long time to dispatch so i cancelled the item and ordered from the web. This lens compared with canon ef70-300 non stabilized as well lens is ahead of competition. It is much heavier in construction though. I would not advise this lens for macro shots as it is bulky. Has virtually no aberrations at all, very crisp. You need to raise your iso if you shoot handleld. I would advise minimum speed @300mm over 1/2000 to get descent shots. Otherwise you get blurry / out of focus results from shake/ vibrations. I find it more contrasty than canon’s equivalent, definitely sharper as well. I hate the fact the focusing distance ring needs to be rotated anti-clockwise as 70mm is at the far end on ring (on canon it is 300)to use the macro feature, you need to slide the switch down after you set the ring to 200mm (or works ok from 200 to 300mm)to disengage you must be in this range.

I’m now on my third due to heavy outdoor use and clumsy accidents. Incredibly sharp for an entry-level telephoto. If you need to see results visit my flickr page here:-[.

Its my first zoom lens i’ve bought, and i was impressed with the build quality, and also the clarity of the photos at full zoom. The auto focus is a little noisy, but being new to the photography hobby i was very impressed with the lens. I would recommend this lens to any novice like myself.

For a beginners telephoto lens i would recommend it the build quality is quite good for the price. The image quality is quite good for the price not overly soft and i use mine with a 1. 4 teleconverter, the auto-focus while a little noisy is relatively quick you just need to watch trying to focus in open sky( it mostly just seeks but more expensive lens do to). Because the lens is quite light i have found you can take fairly decent photos at lower shutter speeds up to a point. However the best shutter speeds in good light are 1/250 and above and it is not the best lens to use in bad light but with a little practice you get used to what you can get away with. The macro setting is quite useful esp with a extension tube, but yes to disengage it you do have to switch to manual focus and draw it all the way back to get it off – you soon get used to it. The only niggle i have is with the manual focus it just feels a little sloppy, so you have to be extra precise and use a little more pressure holding it still or it quickly come out of focus, and you do have to be very precise with it to get the shots. Overall a ok lens and a really good price.

When i say a bit noisy, i mean noisy. Anyone has the 18-55 vr kit lens?. Well sure noisier than the kit lens. Isn’t the fastest to focus, and in house it’s a hit and miss if the room is not bright. But for what you pay it’s exceptional, again i say for the price range ( 139£ ) i dont think you can get better. It zooms a lot, very good for nature, landscape, conferences if you are at the far distance but keep in mind that you’ll need a mono-pod. I think the lens it’s sharp enough.

At half the price (actually less), of the canon is equivalent, it’s a brilliant budget lens. Recommend that you use a tripod unless you have really steady hands though.

I am using this lens for astrophography. I have had particularly good results at 300mm. There is a tiny bit of colour-fringing, but much less than a short refractor telescope which costs about the same. Images of very bright stars do show little diffraction spikes from the aperture blades but these are unobtrusive. My only criticism is that the focus adjustment in mf is incredibly light, when used at a steep angle the weight of the lens is enough to make the focus slip, so a blob of blue-tac is needed to hold it in place.

After comparisons with other lenses of the same type and price range, i settled on this and am extremely happy with my choice, the lens comes with a case and lens hood, the picture quality is very good. Although some reviews imply that the macro facility is a chore to set up i found it quite easy, if the instructions are followed. Works well in auto and manual settings, all round great lens in its class and price range, and added bonus is that sigma are currently offering an extended warranty.

Very good lens for the price. Check it used for astrophotography on [. : photos of stars are perfect to evaluate lens aberrations. Pretty good especially if used with a monopod / tripod (otherwise the lack of vr means that you must push the isos quite high for short exposures). ]

Good lens and a good price very useful and works extremely well. I have used this for portraits and for wildlife and has performed well. Maybe not the best macro but certainly works well enough for my use.

The sigma af70-300mm produces seriously impressive photos. This is my second sigma af 70-300 – but i’m afraid it’s also the second time i’ve had issues with the autofocus – you just can’t trust it, i lost a whole field shoot due to lens failure. I pulled my previous sigma apart and found that half of the plastic cogs had worn off inside the lens, which explained why it was unable to autofocus – this problem has been highlighted on many forums and there are a couple of youtube videos for diy fixes. I bought a canon 55-250 instead, but i do miss the photo quality of the sigma (when it managed to focus). The macro is incomparable with the canon. If you’re not going to be intensively using the lens and accept that it has a short shelf life then i would recommend it.

Great tele lens for amateurs. The lack of image stabilisation makes you think about your shots. Probably no good for a pro shoot, but a good buy for someone starting out.

A good lens for general use. Its both telephoto and macro in one. The macro setting is from 200-300mm zoom only, but this enables you to get a fair distance between you and the subject and thus maybe not scare wildlife away. The second shot i took with it was of a flower, and its amazing what you don’t notice until shooting in macro. A good value lens for the money and the extra few pounds for the apo version seems to be worth it.

I bought this lens to go with my nikon d40x for a trip to kenya where i was going on a safari. It was used mainly at the 300mm end of its range and gave absolutely great pictures. Clear, sharp pictures and is a great addition to the standard lens kit and shows them up a little. Thinking now of buying the sigma 17-70mm based on this lens and the reviews of the 17-70mm. Even thinking about upgrading the body to the nikon 7000.

Does the job well enough but as people before me have mentioned it can get stuck but switching to manual and back again sorts this quickly enough. For the price it suite me fine and i am confident i will get my monies worth – taking it to iceland next month to see what it can do.

First, i totally agree with all the praise of the five star reviews here and on other sites. There’s no mistake about it, this is a fantastic lens, especially for the price. Being an enthusiast, not a professional, i don’t think i’ll be replacing it, unless it dies. But i won’t be wasting anybody’s time by repeating same things that other reviewers already said. Instead, i’d rather point out a couple of little things to bear in mind. Coupled with a k-r makes for a fairly weighty duo. It doesn’t have to be a problem, but it may be for some. It is a little bit on a shouty side. It is a lovely, oldskool cyborg-like sound, but it may feel intrusive for some. Don’t know about others, but the zoom ring on mine is slightly laborious. Every time i change back to my stock pentax lens it feels like i’ve just reached the solid ground after wading through a bog.

Ideal for extreme close ups when objects are far away or if you want pure detail on the smallest things. Would recommend for anyone who is into macro photography.

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Not bad for the money!

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