Cost effective.
High build quality.
Smooth focusing.
Quiet,accurate HSM AF motor.
Great adjustable tripod leg mounting shoe.
Zoom creep lock.

Soft wide open at maximum zoom/aperture.
Heavy.
Autofocus can hunt a bi,t but once locked on to the general target area is very fast.

Not a bad lens for the money this Sigma can be quite sharp and reasonably quick to focus if you know how to use it and your camera to their maximum potential.
This is not a point and shoot type of lens , it does require your input to get the best out of it.I found it quite heavy when lugging it all over the countryside in search of eagles etc and not always rewarding to use but the occasional outstanding shot keeps me taking it along.
When considering the massive cost savings over say a Nikkor 300mm F2.8 for example this lens is absolutely outstanding value and especially quality.The bokeh is not bad and it is capable of lightning fast autofocus given the right circumstances and by the way the AF is whisper quiet too.I actually managed to focus on and shoot a dragonfly in flight!! but at other times with less light around missed shots of large birds in flight.
Overall this is a great lens for the photographer who can't justify the extreme costs of the faster brand name lenses.In the right hands or with the right amount of experience using this lens it can certainly excel. I get much better results using this lens with a monopod.Also I found that it MUST be used at F8 to achieve sharpness at anything over 200mm and pulling back from 400mm slightly certainly helps sharpness a great deal.F8 seems to be this lenses 'sweet spot'.

Customer Service

not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 300mm f2.8