Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro

sineadw

Anyone any experience with this one? I know it won't be great as its so cheap, but is it *really* bad? I want something with reach and this is well in my budget.

City-Exile

It's definitely not bad, just not as fast or as smooth as a Canon, when using AF.
I don't think you can go wrong, for that money.
Why don't you do what I always do and take your camera body into a shop in town, try out the lens (using your own film/memory card) then see what you think.

tadhgrrr

a friend of mine got one of these recently and i had a little play and really liked it! another option (the one i went for as its slightly cheaper) is the Tamron 70-300mm Di lens. Apparenlty the macro on these lenses isnt the best but if what youre after is a cheap 70-300mm for general use either of these lenses measures up really well.

heres a link to a forum discussing the difference between the lenses
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/532633

theres also a full review of the tamron on that site. where are you thinking of purchasing/what price?

ladgie353

Had a non-DG one on my film bodies for years, loved it to bits.
Stopped using it on the 10D because it only works at full aperture.
Replaced it by a 100-300 Canon USM which focussed quicker but wasn't as good on image quality.

Pros
Image quality
Macro facility

Cons
Build quality
Slow focus

Calina

That lens was my lens of choice for most of last summer. It's an excellent lens, really sharp and I've taken some terrific photographs with it. I would have no hesitation in recommending it.

All these were taken with it.

pete4130

Sinead,

There are 2 types of this lens so be careful to get the newer one. The older one has a GOLD ring around the end of the lens and I'm not sure if this is APO or not. The newer one has a red ring around the end of the lens. A friend of mine got one before the new year and I went with him (he's a noobie to photogrpahy) and shop that had the lens in stock (most shops were out before Xmas) actually tried to sell him the older lens with the gold ring on the end. From the reviews I've read and the pictures I've seen taken with it you can't go wrong.

Good Luck.

Pete.

ladgie353

Gold ring = APO but non DG
Red ring = APO DG

If you use a Canon, non DG lenses don't work fully with some dslrs (x0d and x00d). They only work at full aperture or cause an Err99 on the camera.

sineadw

Its the newer one, with the red ring. I was looking at Kea as it seems to be half the price of anywhere else. £80 stg. I see that Tamron is 2.8 for the same price though.. Hmmm!! Scuttling off to read that comparison post now. Thanks for the tip tadhgrrr

Great photos Calina. It looks really sharp. Decisions decisions..

Edit: Wrong Tamron lens. Bugger

Stephen

I have the APO DG one on my Nikon, and I like it a lot. There is a bit of vignetting at full zoom, and the AF is a bit slow and noisy but you get great reach and image quality for the money. I have to disagree with the post above about build quality too, it seems very well put together. Focus ring was a bit sticky for the first couple of days but its been fine ever since.
If you're planning to use it for macro (only available between 200 and 300mm) be aware that the depth of field is very, very shallow.

tadhgrrr

cool, the tamron is about the same price on Kea and from what ive read over the past few weeks theres not a whole lot between them. i ordered the tamron from URGalaxy last week for about the same price as Kea.

Valentia

This is a really good lens for the money. I have passed it on to my son but would use it again.

These were taken with it:






Sorry about the size but it gives an indication of the sharpness.

Deacon Blues

How would the Sigma or Tamron compare to the Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6 III USM. I've got the Canon, and am finding it soft, especially when using it at 300mm. I thought it was a problem with focus, but now I'm sure that it's just a general "softness". Actually starting to get quite disappointed with shots I would have been happy with a few months ago.

PaulieC

Deacon Blues wrote:

Actually starting to get quite disappointed with shots I would have been happy with a few months ago.

I find that too and am wondering if I have softness problems (oooh missus!). When I look back at photos I took with P&S and bridge camera a few years ago I am horrified with the softness. I remember them being fine at the time though.

Sorry Sinead, didn't mean to hijack your thread. About the Sigma lens, I had one for a while and didn't like it, but that was down to my inability to keep my hand steady. Everyone else swears by it and from the sounds of it, it's one of the best lenses you can get at the price.

hmboards

Valentia wrote:

This is a really good lens for the money. I have passed it on to my son but would use it again.

These were taken with it:

Sorry about the size but it gives an indication of the sharpness.

These are great. I saw one of them on your site this morning and assumed it was taken with some expensive glass!

Sorry to hijack the thread - but where were these taken ?

Oh, and I had the earlier Sigma 70-300 (non-DG, chipped to overcome error99 problem). I got some good shots from it too. It was soft when wide open at 300mm, but not bad when stopped down.

Valentia

They were taken at an agricultural show in Trim.

Sebzy

Well just saw some guy has second hand
Canon EF lens 70-300mm/4.5-5.6 DO IS for sale over on the IPW Forum
http://www.irishphotographers.ie/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40

Might be worth a look in maybe???

JMcL

It's a grand lens for the price, usually comes out on top in any head to head with the competition. I've had one for a couple of years now and it's served me well.

The downsides are quite slow and noisy AF, you need fairly good light, otherwise it'll hunt, and it's a bit soft above about 220mm, but still quite usable. However, stopped down a bit, and below 220mm, it's a bargain.

BTW, this is one of the few items out there which is usually better value in Irish shops than on the net. If you're in Dublin, have a look in Camera Exchange, or Conns, both had it a while back for €199. Gunns unfortunately don't sell Sigma.

ladgie353 wrote:

Gold ring = APO but non DG
Red ring = APO DG

If you use a Canon, non DG lenses don't work fully with some dslrs (x0d and x00d). They only work at full aperture or cause an Err99 on the camera.

Not actually true. The red ring was there before the DG coating was introduced, but other than that you definitely want one with the red ring, which should be the only one available new (though I did see a gold ring lens for sale in a camera shop in Cork last year, though it may have been second hand - not sure)

countryjimbo

hi Sinead,

£80 sounds like a great price. The best I heard in Ireland was a guy an another thread from Pixels saying he'd give a tenner off €200 for board members.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055047818

I'm also thinking of buying this lens and after seeing Valentia's pictures I'm fairly convinced. However I think the photographer contributed a bit too !!

James

gandalf

This was taken last weekend with mine. Still learning how to use this lens as I have had mixed results with it but for the price you can't go wrong.

Biker.ie

Great starter lens, these (William Dunlop's highside at Monaghan road races last year) were all shot with the Sigma 70-300mm macro and it were quick enough (for non internal motor) to shift focus from the main riders at front to the accident unfolding just slightly behind, which was all over in about 2 secs! works best on a bright sunny day stopped down to around f/8 - terrific value for money.

Biker.ie

ps. super shots Valentia :eek: !

Valentia

Biker.ie wrote:

ps. super shots Valentia :eek: !

Jayzus, yours are amazing. Brilliant work!!

Stephen

Wow. Those bike shots are awesome.

gandalf

All I can say is OUCH !!! Great shots