First impression, size, processing etc .:
Everything from Kuststoff but valuable seemingly plastic, feels very good. No cheap plastic. Rims and smooth at the same time, adhere well. The rings make in my copy is not independent, the zoom does not extend when you hold the lens down, in every position, everything remains in its place (no zoom creep).
This zoom lens is relatively large and heavy, but acceptable. Beautifully hard and stable, so to speak, the focus seems to be in the right place, the team of camera + lens feels good.
The image quality is surprisingly good overall, in any area, there are particular weaknesses. Distortion and vignetting are present, particularly in the area of 200 to 300 mm, but really only slightly and in the acceptable range for a zoom lens. In the area from 250mm diminishes the contrast performance, as usual in these focal lengths, but really no worse than in other, much more expensive lenses.
I have been shot more than 1,500 images with this lens and I am absolutely satisfied with the image quality: Nice, sharp, well-balanced images with good resolution. All much better than I expected at this price.
Sharpness, resolution, color, are very good. CA (chromatic aberration, color bleeding) are rare and minor. Very good CA properties as a whole. Edge blurring low and perfectly acceptable for a zoom.
The problem I find:
- No image stabilization. So you need a very steady hand and fast shutter speeds when you want to photograph freehand.
- The zoom ring turns a little hard, but the focus ring is very easy (in manual mode).
- Focus ring the automatic Focusieren rotates with (also filters and lens hood). U. a. Use of polarizing filters is therefore hardly possible.
Macro function:
This Sigma 70-300 lens also has a very nice Macro function. It replaces certainly not a true macro lens, but it makes very good pictures Macro to 1: 2.0 magnification rate that is up to 95 cm distance at 300 (450) mm. Not bad! And the picture quality of the ecological disaster is * excellent *.
The Macro function does not work over the entire focal length range but only 200 to 300 mm. The Macro function must be activated via a switch. If the macro function is not activated, you can only motives to max. 1.5 meter closer. With Macro turned to 0.95 meters. If Macro is turned on, you can not below 200 zoom, there is a barrier.
Incidentally, this Sigma lens has a real bayonet metal.
Conclusion: For its price excellent lens, which does not have to hide from others, three times more expensive lenses. The picture quality is "good" to "very good"! The price / performance ratio is phenomenally well.
PS if you have experienced this review helpful: I am very pleased with each click on the "Yes" button - it's nice when you realize that it is useful to create a review here.
