Buying A Used Lens - Sigma 70-300 f4-f5.6 APO

holy crap that's expensive for that lens!
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The latest and greatest version of this multi historical version lens (thanks Sigma for the confusion) is the 70-300 DG APO Macro with the red band. The older ones have APO as well but also with a Super on it although I fail to see what so Super about it. Anyhow get the latest version as it is better. DG just means digitally coated for dSLRs which minimize on internal reflection. I think it's more marketing than science.

Ok, and update to my earlier post. I now have the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro in my hands and have just tested it on the 5D.

The following comments obviously only apply to the copy I have.

Build quality is good. Not to the EX or L standards but more than acceptable for a consumer grade lens.

Zoom ring travel is firm but smooth.

Optically it is superb. Start with the downside first:
70mm F4.0 (wide open) slightly soft with some very minor CA around high contrast out of focus areas. Will sharpen moderately in post processing. Still acceptable for prints even to 8x10 I would expect.
70mm F5.6 (stopped down one stop) still very slightly soft. Sharpens well in post processing.
Now the good bit
200mm at F5 (wide open) sharp and sharpens further in post processing.
300mm at F5.6 (wide open) sharp and sharpens further in post processing.

Generally optically the pictures are good to very good through the range. CA is not an issue. Sharpness is very good at the long end even wide open. Contrast is acceptable to good. Contrast may be improved slightly if I used the supplied hood but the hood is very large and I chose to use the hood off the Sigma 105mm I have. Colour rendition is good to very good. There were no immediately obvious problems with corner sharpness througout the range. There was no obvious vignetting wide open and at 70mm (were I would have expected it if there was a problem). The out of focus rendition (bokeh) is smooth and quite pleasing in look at the long end of the zoom range.

Focus speed is definitely not USM or HSM but is acceptable. Focus motor noise is acceptable but it can whine a bit when it misses and hunts.

It is a light lens and balances well on the 20D and 5D.

My intention when I purchased this lens was to get something which would do as a 'sling it on the 5D we are going for a walk and I don't want to take a pack of gear' daylight setup. With this in mind I think it is superb value for money and I am very pleased with it. If it was 50mm to 300mm and constant F4.0 it would be a great lens but would cost a lot more. As it is, so long as you understand its limitations, it is a very good lens that happens to be very good value for money. It is not an EX or L but its nowhere near L prices either.

Hope this helps any of you contemplating this lens.

Thanks for taking the time to post such an in-depth review, I really appreciate it. This definetely sounds like the best 'bang for your buck' lens around and I think I'm going to order one up from the US on Monday unless I can find one at a local shop over the weekend for a decent price.

I'm very excited to get a nice long lens to work with on my new Rebel XTi (that I need to swap out due to a dead pixel .)


Kurt

a minor correction:

last paragraph should have said:
'it is a very good consumer quality lens that happens to be very good value for money'

I had to test the lens anyhow so it was not a problem to do a quick write up.

Just a further note. I suspect the AF would struggle to keep up with sports etc. I'll take it with me next time I'm doing a daytime soccer match and see how it does. There is no way it will produce pro results as you cannot stop it down far enough to properly isolate a subject at the other end of the pitch from the background but it should produce acceptable results for capturing the moment. The focus speed will also be a killer but I'll try it anyway just for the hell of it. I expect less keepers but i'm sure i will get some keepers.

Anyhow, enjoy it when you get it and please update us on your thoughts once you have tried it.

How do you tell it's the Super version? I just sold my 70-300 and went upstairs to pack it up, dug out the old box and it says 70-300 4-5.6 APO MACRO SUPER II on it, however the lens itself doesn't say "super" on it and the case it came with is the newer black case that all my currect Sigma's have come with. I'm thinking I have the wrong box? Fear not, I've already disclosed it to the buyer...

jpwone wrote in post #2204908
Ok, and update to my earlier post. I now have the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro in my hands and have just tested it on the 5D.

The following comments obviously only apply to the copy I have.

Build quality is good. Not to the EX or L standards but more than acceptable for a consumer grade lens.

Zoom ring travel is firm but smooth.

Optically it is superb. Start with the downside first:
70mm F4.0 (wide open) slightly soft with some very minor CA around high contrast out of focus areas. Will sharpen moderately in post processing. Still acceptable for prints even to 8x10 I would expect.
70mm F5.6 (stopped down one stop) still very slightly soft. Sharpens well in post processing.
Now the good bit
200mm at F5 (wide open) sharp and sharpens further in post processing.
300mm at F5.6 (wide open) sharp and sharpens further in post processing.

Generally optically the pictures are good to very good through the range. CA is not an issue. Sharpness is very good at the long end even wide open. Contrast is acceptable to good. Contrast may be improved slightly if I used the supplied hood but the hood is very large and I chose to use the hood off the Sigma 105mm I have. Colour rendition is good to very good. There were no immediately obvious problems with corner sharpness througout the range. There was no obvious vignetting wide open and at 70mm (were I would have expected it if there was a problem). The out of focus rendition (bokeh) is smooth and quite pleasing in look at the long end of the zoom range.

Focus speed is definitely not USM or HSM but is acceptable. Focus motor noise is acceptable but it can whine a bit when it misses and hunts.

It is a light lens and balances well on the 20D and 5D.

My intention when I purchased this lens was to get something which would do as a 'sling it on the 5D we are going for a walk and I don't want to take a pack of gear' daylight setup. With this in mind I think it is superb value for money and I am very pleased with it. If it was 50mm to 300mm and constant F4.0 it would be a great lens but would cost a lot more. As it is, so long as you understand its limitations, it is a very good lens that happens to be very good value for money. It is not an EX or L but its nowhere near L prices either.

Hope this helps any of you contemplating this lens.

Great review. How about some pictures including soccer?
Rgds
Pat

Hi Pat,

I'm shooting at match tomorrow (the 4th Nov) so I'll stick it in the bag and have a go and see what comes out. Just got in from shooting a band and realised what time it is here so its today I'm shooting soccer

John

jpwone wrote in post #2213004
Hi Pat,

I'm shooting at match tomorrow (the 4th Nov) so I'll stick it in the bag and have a go and see what comes out. Just got in from shooting a band and realised what time it is here so its today I'm shooting soccer

John

Some band shots would be nice too if you used the sigma as well.
Thanks
Pat

Sorry, no band shots with the 70-300. For lit posed shots ie. studio lights I would not see a problem but for night time at a venue I would say forget it.

Soccer shots are here
http://www.webdatafx.c​o.uk/imaging/wffc3/ind​ex.html
All the images up to and including number 54 were done with the Sigma 70-300 APO DG. Number 55 onwards were done with the Sigma 70-200 F2.8.

All shots were done in Aperture priority with ISO set to give good to fast shutter speed. Started at ISO 200, quickly went to 400 and ended up at 3200. Basically increased the ISO as the light faded with the setting sun to maintain shutter speed. Camera used was the 20D. Metering was set to evaluative. Focusing was largely center point only and in single shot mode. I did not use AI servo at all. Aperture was set to F5 which meant I was stopped down slightly from 70mm to 150mm (thereabouts) and full open from 150mm onwards with the camera going to F5.6 automatically at the long end. I underexposed by a third to two thirds of a stop using EC to help to maintain shutter speed.

When I switched to the 70-200 it was pretty obvious that I needed the wider aperture as shutter speeds were hitting 1/125 at F5 even at ISO 3200 and with the stadium lights on.

Conclusion I came to is that this is a fine lens for daylight shooting. The focus speed was adequate and accuracy was good and by paying attention to were I was focusing I was able to get a good number of shots in focus. This was of course helped by the deeper DOF by being at F5-F5.6 rather than my usual F2.8-F4. Out of 397 shots taken I discarded 77 for poor focus or composition which I think was pretty good. You obviously do not get the same separation of background and subject by shooting at F5 rather than F2.8 when focusing further away but you can still get some pretty good pictures so all in all I was pleased with the results. Oh, and its a lot lighter than the F2.8

Anyhow, see what you think when you look at the pictures. They have been cropped and resized for the web so no point in pixel peeping but I was not unhappy and like I say I usually shoot the F2.8 which is an excellent lens.

Just to get some sort of context to my observations I am not a pro sports shooter but have recently been given the opportunity to shoot a local team on a regular basis and so am still in the learning cycle with regard to technique etc. for shooting soccer. I do shoot other subjects professionally but my experience of the Sigma 70-300 APO DG is based on a sample size of one, one day of shooting soccer and a couple of hours of testing it. I have previously owned (still do but its on loan elsewhere) a Sigma 70-300 APO Super II so I am reasonably familiar with lens. Sharpness between the two is comparable but focus accuracy, pop and smoothness of operation (focus and zoom ring) goes to the APO DG version.

Twitch1977 wrote in post #2200221
Well the seller wants $240 Canadian (roughly $215 USD) shipped. The cheapest I have found the 70-300 APO DG version new in Canada is $298 CAN which would probably be around $350 after taxes and shipping.

On the sigma website, they only have two versions listed, one with APO and one without:

70-300mm F4-5.6 DG MACRO
70-300mm APO DG MACRO

Kurt

If your interested, I have a Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro I can sell you for cheaper then this guy, and I am in Canada. It's in decent condition, you can check out some photoso from it I took in my gallery (www.jagwire.smugmug.co​m.) Check the EXIF, if the focal length is between 200 and 300mm you can bet it was taken with that lens. The macro shot and most of the flower shots were taken with this lens.

I'm only selling it because I got the 70-200 F/4L. I'm not "really" selling it as I was planning to give it to my friend to use to try out a telephoto, but if your interested we can work something out.

BTW, this lens is pretty good for the $.