Sigma 70-300mm APO MACRO DG: First thoughts

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 10:33 am

So it begins....

As I posted previously, I was looking for a consumer lens with the range of 70-300mm and couldn't decide on the Tamron, Canon, or Sigma. I ended up going for the Sigma but got the more recent APO DG model made for digital slr.

SPECS:

Lens Construction
14 Elements in 10 Groups
Angle of View 34.3 - 8.2 degrees
Number of Diaphragm Blades 9 Blades
Minimum ApertureF22
Minimum Focusing Distance 150cm / 95cm(Macro mode)
Maximum Magnification 1:4.1 / 1:2(Macro mode)
Filter Size Diameter 58mm
Dimensions Diameter 76.6mm X Length 122mm
Weight550g Corresponding
AF Mounts SIGMA,CANON,NIKON (D),MINOLTA,PENTAX

Being rather new to photography and SLR cameras I don't have the experience or previous equipment to compare it to, besides my kit lens, but I thought I would share some first impressions anyway for those of you deciding on a consumer lense in this range.

Out of the box-

As soon as I got out of the store i opened up the box and mounted the lense (i'm sure many of you have done this as well ). It comes with a lense case for easy storage and protection. IT also comes with a lense hood which is an added bonus.

Build-

Weighing 550g it definitely put some added weight on my XT, but hardly noticeable. Personally I like the build, it doesn't feel or look cheap, it's quite sturdy and stable. I believe it is a little heavier than the APO MACRO SUPER II model which was 530g. Fully extended it's just about 8 inches long or 3 inches form the front end of the lense. This may cause some weird looks but expected from a zoom lense i would imagine. Add the lense hood on that and it's even longer.

Performance and Quality-

At this point I can't say much as I haven't really had time to take some decent shots witout rushing myself, but i was able to shoot a few. I'll post some examples either tonight or tomorrow. However, my first thoughts were this.......

Like most consumer zoom lenses I found the quality to be decent up to 200mm. It's not razor sharp, but for a consumer lense the quality is acceptable. Under 200mm is where this lense shines, though i haven't found a sweet spot yet I was rather pleased with the results. Between 200-300mm it does get soft and a tripod is a must at these ranges. I did manage to get some decent shots at 300mm hand held by increasing the shutter speed and stopping down, but again soft results due to hand shake. It's relatively hard to keep still at 300mm, which is expected. It would really be nice to have "IS" on this lense. I'm sure results would be different when mounted on a tripod, which i will follow up with once i purchase one this week end.

The range is great! From my 17 floor apartment, I took a shot of a car's license plate parked in a house across the street, when cropped 100% the licence plate number was readable.

The shots I did take required minimal post production, levels, saturation etc. but not really necessary with the right lighting conditions and changing parameters on the camera, but that's more personal preference.

I haven't really tried the macro mode in depth so i will follow up with that as well.

Focusing does well in good lighting conditions, but for up close macro shots i found the AF to hunt a bit, but personally i like manual focusing.
In low light hunting increases, you are better off manually focusing at times especially at longer ranges.

Overall, I'm pleased with the lense but have yet to see it's true capabilities. I'll be getting my tripod this weekend be taking some shots tomorrow and i will definitely share my results.

STAY TUNED!!!

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 10:45 am

Oh, I forgot to mention the SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass which is a plus to correct chromatic aberration.

Premium Member Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 5758

This won't help the hand-holding process at all, but you'll find that the sharpness at 200-300mm will probably be better if you make the f/stop 8 or 9. You can always up the ISO on the camera a bit to compensate. ISO 800 and 1600 will probably require a decent amount of noise reduction on the computer, but 400 should be no problem.

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 11:18 am

thanx for the tip drpablo, i'll try that out.