Reading mode: Light Dark

New 70-300's

Go to last post
D

dr jim

Veteran Member
Messages
6,948
Reaction score
1,132
Location
Elk Grove, CA, US
Has anybody had any experience with , or read any reviews or comparisons of the new Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 APO DG Macro, or the Tamron 70-300 F4-5.6 Di LD macro? They would seem to be perfect compliments to the 18-70 kit for us beginners. That is if they are decent lenses. ( I know, how do you define decent?) Thanks.
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
Thanks Ken. The pictures and links really help. Like a lot of people, I suspect, I've been struggling with the decision whether to carry one lens, 18-200, for travel, or go for the combination of the 18-70 and 70-300 for the extra reach and mabey better optics, as you have done. The close up capability is nice too. Question, were the pictures of the tower on the mountain hand held or with a tripod? I noticed that in the blow up the tower was not real sharp, and wonder if that's a function of camera shake, or are these less expensive long zooms just soft at the tele end? Thanks.
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
Did you read the comment that the tower was about 4-5 miles away ?? Images at this distance are not going to be as sharp as images of much closer objects due to small camera shake coupled with haze & heat atmospheric distortion. Bearing in mind that these were crops from a much larger frame they were actually quite good.

Keith-C
 
This was taken with the Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 APO DG Macro

It has been cropped to enlargen the coyote a bit and place him out of the center. Hand held. He was approx 125 yards away



--
Ken from CO. http://www.pbase.com/kenron
KM Five-Dee, fifty1.7,twentyeight-300 Tamron XRDILDIF 3.5,Tamron 28-75 f2.8
 
I bought the 5D last weekend and in the shop was this secondhand Sigma 70-300 APO (with the golden band) for $80.00, I bought without knowing anything about the lens. (Yes I'm impulsive)
Is this a bargain or should I have gone for the DG version?
 
All my shots so far are hand held sometimes I use a railing to steady my shacky hands. Tower shot is all me :) That tower is a long way off the supports are maybe 1-2 pixels in width. That is also a RAW shot. Raw is going to be softer than JPG on most things and it is really easy to add sharpening after the fact which I did not do to keep the example objective.

Here are some recent shots at a Zoo where I wasn't testing the lens so did some post processing to get the best images.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1035&message=17155109

--
Ken H. FIVE DEE Kit 18-70 SG 70-300 APO
 
Keith-C, I missed that part. I guess at 5 miles, one can make allowances. Good point.
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
The parrot shots are great. That's about as close as I've ever wanted to get. Not really into the serious macro stuff, you know, hair in a bugs nostril and such. lol. How far away were you when you took those, and did you use some sort of supplamental close up lense on the close up of the eye? Thanks
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
Do either of you, Keith or Ken, have any comments on the bokeh of this lens?
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
That is just the Sigma no adapters.

I was about a meter away. That is the macro distance at 300mm for that lens. Some of the birds at the zoo are on perches just about a meter from the pathway with no bars so it it is fantastic for picture taking.

Took lots of "almost" shots as you can see I was using a shallow DOF and the bird of course likes to move. That is the beauty of digital. That shot would have been near impossible with film. Shoot a roll and hope.

Here is one of the wing and breast feathers that I like alot.



--
Ken H. FIVE DEE Kit 18-70 SG 70-300 APO
 
I've been considering replacing my 2 month old Sigma 70-300 APO due to very soft/blurry pictures but finally concluded a majority of the bad pictures were a result of camera shake. I went and took some pictures today using the 70-300 and was far more impressed with the shots. Here are some resized pictures; the bird was 7-20' away in these:







I've tested this lens with a golf course trash can that is about 200 yards away from my house. Using a tripod, and surprisingly enough, wide open aperture, the pictures were nice and sharp with no loss of detail. Overall, I think it is a very good lens considering it only costs $200-220 new.
 
did I spell it wrong?
--
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
I tried looking it up and got no hits so I don't know what you are asking? And I drew a blank on simluar words because lord knows I have created some intersting spellings in my day :) I am asking what you mean, because I am the last one to comment on spelling!!!
--
Ken H. FIVE DEE Kit 18-70 SG 70-300 APO
 
Sorry. I thought you were kiddin me about my spelling. Check this kink

-- http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm Sorry. I don't know how to insert links properly. but this will explain what I was refering to.
KM 5D
KM 18-70(kit)
 
I have not had a chance to really try mine out yet, but I did just get the Sigma 70-300 APO Macro DG from B&H a couple weeks back.

Here is a pic I took playing with the camera in my TV room. I am about 12-14 feet from this DVD case, lens fully extended, f 5.6

First is a crop of the center of the full frame; second is the full frame, reduced to 1024 width.

..
 
I have not had a chance to really try mine out yet, but I did just get the Sigma 70-300 APO Macro DG from B&H a couple weeks back.

Here is a pic I took playing with the camera in my TV room. I am about 12-14 feet from this DVD case, lens fully extended, f 5.6

First is a crop of the center of the full frame; second is the full frame, reduced to 1024 width.



..

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top