Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 DG OS
11. Summary
- good build quality,
- good image resolution in the frame centre,
- chromatic aberration well-corrected,
- slight distortion,
- not bothersome coma,
- low vignetting even on full frame,
- good work against bright light
Cons:
- too low image quality at the edge of full frame,
- noisy autofocus motor.
The Sigma 70–300 mm OS will have perhaps the biggest rift between the pros and cons list and the summary I have written here. When we consider just dry facts the Sigma would be really difficult to fault. The recent discount makes it an instrument quite affordable for any ambitious amateur photographer. What’s more, this device’s “pros” list is rather long and there are no serious slip-ups. Its problem are the rivals, though. The Canon and Nikon lenses have been assessed equally positive and they have the same parameters, are optically similar, feature image stabilization and an ultrasonic autofocus motor. A Tamron new lens, announced not long ago, boasts that last feature as well. The Sigma, unfortunately, lacks it. I must admit that move surprised me a lot. Practically all the Sigma lenses launched recently, have been equipped with an HSM motor – including a “fisheye” 4.5 mm lens, which could have managed easily even without an autofocus, not to mention an HSM motor. The constructors skimped on this luxury exactly in the case of the Sigma 70-300 mm OS, although its competitors can boast about it.
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If only they kept others of the Sigma’s 70-300 mm APO advantages, namely a well done substitute of macro mode and a rich accessory kit, we would still have something that might encourage the purchase of the Sigma 70-300 mm OS. In the present situation, though, because of the lack of an HSM motor it seems that the Sigma compares badly with its rivals. As there’s little price difference, the potential 70-300 mm lens buyers will look rather in the direction of other brand-name products; after all, such trivial savings as you can get on the purchase of the Sigma are nothing special.
Sample shots
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 180 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.6 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 70 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.95 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 112 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.25 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 200 mm, f/5.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.38 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 150 mm, f/5.0, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.72 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 135 mm, f/4.8, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.4 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 300 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.87 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 86 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 100 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.97 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 135 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.92 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 112 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.71 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 95 mm, f/6.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.7 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 135 mm, f/4.8, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.05 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/1000 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 70 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.98 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 135 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.82 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 200 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 7.36 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 300 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/250 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.33 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 300 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/125 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 9.36 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 70 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/320 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.89 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 200 mm, f/5.3, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.21 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 300 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/160 s, ISO 400 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 8.11 MB |
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Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 100 mm, f/4.5, exp. 1/400 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.02 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 200 mm, f/7.1, exp. 1/200 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.22 MB |
Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 100 mm, f/4.5, exp. 1/400 s, ISO 200 File: JPEG, 6048×4032 pix, 6.17 MB |
