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

Product Information

I attempted to use the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens at a family event. Well, it was decent in that setting. Not my lens of choice though. especially with the other options I had available. The Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro did give me some decent shots but it felt in the way of people and kids running all around me due to the large size. Because I had the ability to move around it made the lens the wrong choice, a prime lens was the better lens for this. ePHOTOzine resident lens tester, Gary Wolstenholme casts his discerning eye over the Sigma 70-300mm. When it comes to zooming the only time it suffers is all the way zoomed out and all the way zoomed in but everything in-between its 10/10. When i say everything in-between, i mean 71mm-299mm, but on the longer end i have found it focus goes weird after 296mm

Strong light sources in the frame will cause a little flare, spreading from the light across the image centre. Typically this lens controls flare pretty well throughout the zoom range, with only feint green and amber ghosts appearing in extreme circumstances. Light sources just outside the frame cause few issues, with contrast being reduced a little in extreme circumstances. The supplied lens hood virtually eliminates this, so I would tend to leave it fitted at all times. Overall. the Sigma 70-300mm OS is a good value alternative to the camera manufacturer's own offerings, providing decent enough resolution at a lower price point than independent equivalents with low distortion and decent enough resistance to flare and ghosting. The Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG says it’s a Macro lens so why would you not use it? It’s fun during the summer time when flowers are abundant with provides perfect times to use the Macro feature. The Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro handles these types of shots very well. It’s not the best, though in an indoor light box or product shot setting. There is just too much fumbling being up close, for me anyway. I used manual focus and auto and i just did not enjoy the lens in this scenario.

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Below is our lens test data. To find out how to use these graphs look at this article: How we test lenses It is a little bulky compared to the Pentax 55-300 but not so much that I would consider an issue for me. Best sharpness is a stop or two down from wide open. The lens is quite lightweight and feels at home on full-frame as well as cropped sensor DSLRs. It is mostly constructed of plastic, which is typical for lenses of this price point. The plastics used are high in quality and the lens feel very well put together. The metal lens mount will stand up to many lens changes. A powder coated finish has been applied to the barrel of the lens and this looks very smart out of the box. From my own experience I know this coating is prone to showing marks under normal use, so it may not look so smart in time, depending on how you look after it. On day 2 it was a Dog Day of summer and I was on a Photo walk in New York with the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro

I have used this lens quite a bit on my K5 and I like it. I use it in situation where I need different focal for fast subjects. For example, it is very convenient in amusement parks and animal shows. The AF is very fast and pictures are ok. So, I am very satisfied with the results. At 70 mm, my Sigma 70-300 captures more detail than my Pentax FAJ 28-80 f3.5-5.6, Pentax F 35-70 f3.5-4.5, Pentax FA 28-90 f3.5-4.5, Pentax FA 28-70 f4, Pentax F 28-80 f3.5-4.5 and Pentax FA 28-105 f4-5.6 PZ. Though I wouldn't necessarily say I prefer the Sigma to the Pentax images.

Image Quality and colours. When it comes to image quality its Very good, its not prefect and depending on your aperture and zoom but it won't let you down. Used in Macro mode, this lens shines as this shot of a Southern Hawker Dragonfly in flight shows. Taken on a Canon 1D with the lens set to manual focus. 1/800sec at f/8 and ISO500 Due to the compact size and weight of the lens, it is one that you are likely to have with you when you come across something unusual. Wild hops are not common, even in Kent. 1/1600 at f/8, ISO400 and 300mm in Macro (close focus) mode. Canon 300D Distortion is very well controlled at 70mm producing 0.07% pincushion distortion, which is an almost negligible amount. At 200mm the amount of pincushion distortion rises to 2.62%, which may be noticeable in some circumstances, but more often than not, will not cause any issues. Sigma is a company that has some great products. This lens is a good example of their work. With its low cost and decent performance this lens is great for budget conscious amateurs to “prosumers”. It does not have the focus speed of the higher priced lenses but that it is forgivable. The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens will works with APC-C to full frame cameras and perform admirably. Please Support The Phoblographer

Is it the "perfect" lens - No, but definitely great value for the money and when you keep in its "sweet spot" it will produce very acceptable images that you can be proud of. I bought this lens about 6 months ago to use with my Canon 450D and have been consistantly disappointed with the results. I find that for subjects more than about 20m away, it usually does not focus accurately. The photos are not crisp and sharp as they should be. I have frequently been ashamed of my photos that are not nearly as good as photos I have taken previously. People tell me I have camera shake, which I do not believe as I have never had a problem with camera shake before and even at 1/1000 sec or using a tripod, the problem is the same. The Sigma lens does not autofocus accurately especially for further subjects.When it comes to colours it gives a very surreal but natural look, probably the best explanation of its colours are "ultra realism" its not flat but not deep either, its got the nice digital look that we look for in Plasma displays. Overall the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DG Macro coupled with the Nikon D90 helped produce some great images. This lens does have issues in low ambient light, it does work a better on a tripod in low light. In normal mode this lens works rather well , especially if there is enough light . On a nice sunny day the lens can perform like a champ , take nice sharp pictures , but as the light fails so does the lens ( seems normal for budget lenses ) , and performance suffers with diminishing light . Venture further into the zoom range and the clarity drops off noticeably. The lens is still capable of producing acceptable results for most wide open, but stopping down a couple of stops will improve the clarity of images. In use, I did notice a drop in contrast at 300mm, which will affect the apparent sharpness of images.