Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon AF D Cameras.

2009-05-05T21:00:00

I bought this on sale, but I would have paid full price for it. I use it on my Nikon D90. It is easy to use and takes great shots. It had good range at a pro baseball game, but also takes beautiful close-up shots of flowers and people. I didn't want to fork out a lot of money since I'm fairly new to DSLR photography. I'm sure I'll get the itch for more expensive lenses later, but for now, this is a very multi-purpose lens for me.

PA S.

2008-09-13T21:00:00

Works as advertised. Good optics. Good value. The macro works between 200 mm and 300 mm (you flip a switch to lock it down). In case anyone missed it, there's no autofocus with the D60. I prefer manual focus anyway. Metering works just fine. (That's the 'D' part of the lens description.)

GeekGirl

2008-07-09T21:00:00

This is a great lens. I don't have much to compare it against, but it has worked great for me, especially photographing fireworks.

kevacoustic

2008-01-26T19:00:00

Overall, I'd award this lens 4.5 stars because of its amazing price. True, the lens is not without its faults... Here are the ones I've found after using the lens for six months: Autofocus is neither the quietest or the fastest and it does hunt at times. Most annoying problem is that it occasionally will hunt to one end of the focus range and instead of reversing it will just stop, requiring you to release the shutter and half-press a second time to get it hunting again. Doesn't happen often, but it happens, usually when I'm tracking birds in flight. Second, the zoom ring's tension is not consistent thruout its range... when new it was a bit stiff between 200 and 300mm. This has gotten somewhat better with use but it is still there. The marcro switch is very tiny... it has not been too troublesome to me, but I imagine it could be quite awkward for those with larger hands. That said, I still consider the lens a winner, especially at this price. Color and contrast are good, flare is well controlled, sharpness is excellent at the lower end and quite good at the high end. The poorest performance is wide open at 300mm, where the edges are noticeably soft. Even so, 11x14 enlargements of images shot at that focal lenth and aperture still look pretty good. And frankly, if you are shooting wide open at a "typical" long tele subject (i.e., wildlife, athlete, auto race, air show, etc), odds are your subject will be isolated in the center and nobody is going to notice a bit of softness at the edges. In addition to its respectable optical performance, compact size and light weight, the lens has one other significant advantage over competing 70-300's... a very handy macro mode that tops out at 1:2. I believe the only other 70-300 with this feature is from Tamron (but it's not as sharp as this lens). Being able to fill the frame with a spider at a distance of three feet is quite an experience, you soon realize how many macro shots you'd been missing with shorter lenses because you got in the way of your light or scared your subject away. Adding a Nikon 6T (with adapter ring) or Canon 500D should get you well past 1:1 magnification and may cover most of your closeup needs. My original intention was to make do with this lens until I could save up for Nikon's 80-400. That is still the plan. However, after using this lens for a while, I'm not in as much of a hurry... I may just wait until Nikon updates the 80-400 with a SWM (think this'll ever happen?). All things considered I have to give Sigma a great deal of credit for what they have accomplished in this price range... if you only have a few hundred dollars to spend on a telezoom, I don't think there's another lens that can touch it. If you are on a very tight budget and are considering Sigma's non-APO version of this lens or a cheaper 70-300 from another manufacturer (including Nikon), please try to swing the extra few bucks for this lens, you won't be sorry.

bhovey

2007-08-24T21:00:00

Lens is sharper than Nikon and Tamron equivalents based on published tests, and in my experience center sharpness extends almost to 300mm. Don't confuse this with the non-APO model...this one is sharper, has less flare and relatively little CA (I've tested them side-by-side. Macro is usable but truly sharp only at f/13.0 on my lens and the long reach is really longer than optimum. Comes with a nice case...I use on belt with an 18-200 Sigma in a holster as my "walk-around" outfit. Photos below show some of the lens' capabilities.

HIffle

2007-02-11T19:00:00

This lens well exceded my expectations. At the price this lens is, I had doubts, but once I saw the images I was sold. The lens feels great and looks good. The macro works great, and the image are clear and crisp. I feel the lens is light weight for a lens of this type. The auto focus is quick, a little noisy but not enough to be a problem. Bottom line, this lens is an EXTRAORDINARY value when compared to its competition. You will be pleased!

Bryan

2006-08-03T21:00:00

I've read some negative reviews of this lens that I feel are undeserved. It's sharp and contrasty throughout its zoom range and it focuses really close. It's not very fast, but what do you expect for [...] bucks? My only complaint is that the zoom control is a bit rough - that is, it sort of hangs a little as you move the zoom ring. Other than that, it's pretty darn good.

Old P.