Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 APO DG

[bensambrook]

What's the general opinion on these? Had my DSLR about 3 weeks now and picked up my first telephoto lens today, got it for £99 with a 6 month warranty. Not really had much chance to use it yet but I've noticed it's very slow on focusing, it also has a macro switch. Have I wasted money or is it good enough for me to learn and progress with?

 

[JealouslyBlue]

I bought one of these as a stopgap a couple of months ago - e-bay £55.
I was a little wary at first as I didn't want to stick a 'poor lens' on my new D7000.

It took some getting used to - and my first shots (of wildlife at dawn, an owl, heron and some insects) were unusable (camera shake). Since then I've had some great results with it both on my D7k & my D40.

Between 100+200mm it's pin sharp. For wildlife, I guess it has to be a bright day for the best results, but I have taken some moths and butterflies with it which are as good as anything else I've ever shot. Also get some lovely bokeh while using the close-up-macro facility.

OK it's a bit noisy, a tad slow to focus, but as far as iq goes, I'm more than happy with it, and I reckon even at £99, if you give it a chance you'll love it too

 

[wookielover]

Ive been looking at one of these and ive come tot he conclusion that for the money you cant really beat it . You can pick them up for less then a ton , and im thinking about using some cheap extenstion tubes for some macro work. and just keeping it in the kit bag , you dont get much in this hobby for less the £200 so i reckon its worth a punt. the reviews on amazon kinda reiterate this.

 

[bensambrook]

I bought one of these as a stopgap a couple of months ago - e-bay £55.
I was a little wary at first as I didn't want to stick a 'poor lens' on my new D7000.

It took some getting used to - and my first shots (of wildlife at dawn, an owl, heron and some insects) were unusable (camera shake). Since then I've had some great results with it both on my D7k & my D40.

Between 100+200mm it's pin sharp. For wildlife, I guess it has to be a bright day for the best results, but I have taken some moths and butterflies with it which are as good as anything else I've ever shot. Also get some lovely bokeh while using the close-up-macro facility.

OK it's a bit noisy, a tad slow to focus, but as far as iq goes, I'm more than happy with it, and I reckon even at £99, if you give it a chance you'll love it too

How do you use the macro setting effectively? I've had a quick go if you get chance to look in the macro section. Glad you're happy with it though, I'm sure I'll love it once I've practised with it a little more.