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

A very nice lens to take with you on holiday. It’s light and very compact. I made some wonderful pictures with it, especially on shorter distances and even near macro. In dull light it lacks contrast so avoid that. I bought it second hand for 100 Euros and I couldn’t have spend them better (on a lens). The build quality is absolutely decent and it balances great with my camera (D7100). Take it with you to the zoo and you’ll be amazed by the great animal portraits it delivers but also portraits of humans. Because it has no VR it comes down to your skills so practice is necessary but it will reward you.

Small review:

I’ve used, as an amateur (I’m not a professional), the Sony Alpha mount version of this lens on a KM Dynax 5D and on a Sony A700 (where I still use it).

The lens is lightweight and affordable yet the build quality is quite reasonable (for the price). The mount is metallic and the lens does not wobble much even when fully extended. A round hood is included with the lens. As usual in this price range the lens extends when zooming and focusing and the front element rotates which is very annoying when using polarizers and dust/moisture covers over the barrel (covers must be kept very loose, partially defeating their purpose, to avoid damaging the lens focus mechanism). A zoom lock would be welcome; the zoom tends to creep when the lens is pointed down.

Sharpness is OK from 70 to 200 mm but decreases very fast past 200 mm and is very weak at 300 mm. I think one can get better pictures using the lens at 200 mm and cropping in post than using the lens at 300 mm. The APO glass does its job well and chromatic aberration is almost non-existent across the whole focal length range.

Autofocus is driven by the camera but is quite fast if using the central focus point of an A700. I’ve read some reviews where users complain of broken cams on the lens after some use but mine is still working fine (lucky me?). Manual focus is surely possible, the lens having a large focus ring with no slack, but it turns only 90 degrees and rotates a bit too freely to my taste.

Macro mode is engaged with a side switch and can be used between 200 and 300 mm. One can reach a 1:2 reproduction ratio. Quite fun for a lens at this price! Even in normal mode the minimum focus distance of 1.5 m (approx. 5 ft.) is very good for an inexpensive 70-300! There is some focus breathing but I think it’s within normal values, especially at this price.

Maximum aperture changes around the following focal lengths:
1:4.5 from 135 mm
1:5.0 from 200 mm
1:5.6 from 230 mm

Conclusion: obviously some concessions have been made in this lens design to keep the price low and I really cannot go as far as to recommend it. But for everyone with a tight budget looking for a tele zoom I think it definitely deserves to be considered as an option. This is one of the lenses I carry almost always/everywhere and I enjoy using it. When I don’t forget about the lens, camera and, specially, my own limitations I’m rewarded with some very nice pictures.

There is a newer Sigma very similar to this one but with optical stabilization, it’s probably a better choice for Canon and Nikon users but, if I remember correctly, quite a bit more expensive, losing a very important advantage of this lens.

One last word of caution for Sony Alpha users: older versions of this lens (at least the ones manufactured before September 2010) need to be updated by Sigma in order to work properly in (some?) SLTs (aperture control compatibility problem).