Camera Labs

Got this lens about a week ago and haven't really had a chance to try it out. Got bored so went out to get some shots. The lens is everything that had been advertised and reviewd, both the good and the bad. It gives really good and sharp images from 70-200mm. At 300mm however the images start to get a bit soft which is a bummer since the main reason i got the lens was for its upper range. It has macro function which isnt bad but macro works only from the 200mm to 300mm range. The macro button allows you to focus closer to the subject arnd 1m instead of something like 1.5m. The auto focusing motor is pretty loud, about the same as the sony kit lenses. It comes with a really sturdy lens hood and a great lens bag which im loving right now.

Here are some example of pics. Most of these (not all) were shot at 300mm at the ISO of 400 with the D80. I'll post specific exif data if you guys request it.


These images were out of camera shots, no crops, etc.




These 2 were cropped for better visibility, size not altered just cropped.




Here are some macro examples

vignette effect from photoshop



This one is a little soft as the auto focus failed to properly judge the focus range. Too close to the limit of the af range.


Take a step backwards and the auto focus works much better allowing the subject to look much sharper.


Very happy with this lens. There is loads of room for improvement but it seems to peform really well for a $230 lens (including shipment).

_________________
If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of food?

I am/was looking at this lens but as you say it is a tad soft most of the time. I think I will hold out for the 55-200 F4 L lens from canon its not that much more exspensive from the US.

_________________
Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

this is my first post, and only a week ago I bought Pentax K10D and a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG macro..

my experience is limited, but i already managed to take several great shots with it, in all focal lenghts:
Since i'm not used to post here, i will post my samples in several replies.
first i will post several samples of 70mm.

well i'm in trouble, i do not know how to add an image to this thread..
when i'll figure it out, i'll update

here's the update

all images are straight of the camera
four samples of 70mm:

this image is: shot in P mode f/7.1; iso100; 1/400; no exposure compensation;





next image is: shot in aperture priority f/11; iso1250; 1/80





next image is: shot in aperture priority f/4; iso200; 1/80





next image is: shot in Shutter priority f/9; iso100; 1/1250





these are not the best shots, but there is no argument that this lens has any difficulties in 70mm focal lenght so, in the next reply i'll move on to greater focal lenghts were i usualy shoot with this lens.

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;

the following images will be in various focal lengths, but not 70mm and not 300mm.

this image was taken: in P mode; focal lenght 108mm; f/5; iso100; 1/200;





next image was taken: P mode; focal lenght 260mm; f/7.1; iso100; 1/400;





to my judging all pics are razor sharp, crystal clear, with nice colors and many details.. i do not see any problems in the matter of lens operation..

to be continued.. with telephoto 300mm and later fabulous macros that this lens lets me to do..

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;

here i'll post several pics of 300mm and one series of 70mm and 300mm from the same spot.

the following two images are taken in 300mm focal lenght P mode f/5.6; iso250; 1/160





the next image is taken in P mode f/5.6; iso500; 1/160





the next serries is, the first picture is taken at 70mm and the next at 300mm to see how the lens is zooming:





the distance to these buildings is approximately 8-10 kilometers.. about 5-6 miles

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;

Well, this lens lets me to do macro like pictures, while macro being 1:1 ratio, and this lens lets me to do 1:2 ratio.. so it's not quite macro, but as far as i experienced it it's quite enough to get dramatic results.. see for yourself.
more pictures on my flickr stream.

the following image was captured on P mode; focal lenght 300mm macro from about 90cm distance f/11; iso800; 1/200;





the next image was also captured in P mode; focal lenght 210mm macro; from a distance at about 1.5 meters; f/4.5; iso100; 1/200;





phew.. got tired hope this will be helpful..

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;

Are these all handheld ?

These are all great shots Mystic I really like the
Macros

_________________
||Nikon D60|| ||18-55 Lens||Sigma 70-300mm||
[PnS] Olympus Fe-100 4MP


*Formally D80Freak
Flickr!

sorry for not replying quicker, i thought no one is really interested in thses shots.
to Curan: yes, all shots were made handheld.
Thanks D80freak glad you watched and liked.

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;

Nice shots Mystic!! I'm thinking the one of the child and the trees could be a great black and white image.

EDIT: Just tried it (hope you don't mind, I deleted the image afterwards) and I think it looks much better in B+W. However, you need to play around with the different colours when converting, not just let the program do it for you. Then she stands out really well.

Mark

_________________
Canon EOS 40D / EF-S 17-85mm IS / EF 50mm f/1.8 / My Flickr

Thanks Markh for suggestion, yeah, i've tried also, to convert it to b&w, quite a nice picture becomes..
have a good day!

_________________
sincerely,
Mystic-grapher
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14258831@N00/
Pentax K20D;
AF-540GZ flash;
Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4 AL ED [if]
Pentax DA* 50-135mm ED [if] SDM 1/2.8
Pentax FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 AL [if]
Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro;