This is a great inexpensive lense that gives wealth of zoom range, just wish the manufacturer would have put more into making it more durable. We have had two of these lenses and similar experiences with each. The first one went five years before a minor bump left it in three parts. Rather than sending it back, we purchased a new one. The new one didn't last three months before falling apart. Sent both back to Sigma for repairs and $200.00 later I have both back. One on the shelf to buy time when the other breaks. We will not purchase another Sigma lense because of this experience, but the lense other than being able to take much took great pictures.

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fast focusing
good for immediate wide and tele
lightweight
small

crazy/indecisive focusing
colours and sharpness

The Siga 28-300mm was my 2nd lens, being my kit lens 17-85mm the 1st.

I was looking for a lens to replace my previous camera, Fujiflim Finepix S9000z(S9500). it had a 28-300mm fixed lens to it so it was very useful for immetiate tele and wide shots without the hassle of changing the lens.

Im using the 28-300mm on my Canon EOS 40D. its performace is on average, fast focusing, though it may be alittle noisy, but its not that bad.

The lens size, though its small, it extends pretty long at 300mm. No problems or complains. However, with your camera hanging around your neck and the lens at 28mm, it will self extend outwards because of the build. but no worries though, sigma was smart enough to come up with the lock switch to lock the lens at 28mm.

the Colour produced and the sharpness too aint very impressive, compared to my Canon EF-100mm macro USM and Canon EF-S 17-85 IS USM. it can be improved. very much in my opinion. but it still gets the job done well.

and yes the focusing may go alittle crazy, jerking back and forth in a short distance as though it was a little indecisive.

overall, its a good lens. :D

oh and if you asked me why i didnt go for Canon's EF 28-300mm, check its price and weight of it. you will know why. xD

Similar Products Used:

EF-S 17-85mm
EF- 100mm macro

Light weight
Has focal length from 28-300mm
Has an excellent macro

f/3.5-6.3

IF you are limited to just lens this is the lens to have... It's an excellent lens for a beginner to start out with.

The focal length is 28-300mm it has a f/3.5-6.3. It's very light weight It works best outside in bright to moderate sunlight. The zoom and the macro are both excellent.

In the last 4 1/2 years I've probably 10-15K pictures with it using Canon Digital Rebel.XT. The lens works much better on my Canon XTi than it did on my Canon XT.


Currently I'm in the process of upgrading my lens and it is going to cost me a thousand or more to replace this lens.

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Similar Products Used:

Sigma APO 70-200mm f/2.8 EX
Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR DI
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

I had this lense for one year and after a couple of months it's focus would go soft at full zoom. The lense broke after one year of use! IT WILL NOT FOCUS AFTER ONE YEARS USE!!!!!!

cheap
range
sharpness for the huge range

color distortion

Basicly, the lens isn't that bad. the images have an acceptable sharpness and the focus is fast. the thing the bugs me is that the color are weak. the images look pale if the lighting isn't perfect.

Value Sharpness at 300mm Range Macro

Noisy Focus When tilted down lens cannot be retracted Occasional focusing problems on newer Canon EOS's

I was a little optimistic about getting this lens at first but in terms of value for money its great. The images are sharp (some could be sharper though)even at the higher end. It's macro ability is great, but one problem I found was its inability to zoom back when pointing it on a downward angle. Also, as said before it has pretty fast focusing but on my 300D (Digital Rebel) it can hunt occasionally and its very noisy.

Cheap. Compact. Sharp, even at 300mm.

Weird donut-shaped bokeh. Autofocus won't always work right with Canon rebel.

I was expecting the worst from such a cheap lens with such a long zoom range and macro ability to boot. But it's surprisingly sharp, and is now my only lens. I'd previously tried the Tamron 28-300, which was pretty fuzzy at 300mm wide open, and needed to be stopped down to f10 for sharpness. But the Sigma lens is sharp at 300mm even wide open! Of course stopping down to f8 or so helps (especially in the corners), but isn't absolutely necessasry. Overall I'm very pleasantly surprised. The icing on the cake is that this lens is $100 cheaper than the Tamron even though it's much better optically. The only optical deficiency I've noticed is weird, donut-shaped bokeh at larger apertures. But when I stop down to f14 the out-of-focus points become much better-looking. However, there is one issue that really spoils my fun, and is related to the fact that my camera is a Canon digital rebel. Once in a while the autofocus will hunt like CRAZY. There is no rhyme or reason - it can happen in bright sunlight with high-contrast objects so it's not just a matter of insufficient light or contrast. When it happens it's very frustrating - the focus motor cycles back and forth through its full range over and over, and refuses to lock in. It may also stutter back and forth, wobbling within a short distance of the correct focus point without ever locking in. At this point, I usually switch to manual focus. This happens most often at the wide angle end (28mm) but it can happen anywhere. I've never had a problem with Canon lenses, and I believe this incompatibility between Canon and Sigma. If you look in various forums, you'll find a lot about problems with Sigma lenses and Canon EOS, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. In this respect, the Tamron 28-300 was better - it never had the crazy focus hunt problem the Sigma has.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-300, Canon 28-135IS, Sigma 18-125

Price, range and the comodoty of 28 to 300mm. The aperture on the lense says 6.3 at 300, but on the camera (Canon rebel GII) says 5.6 , and pictures has come out really good so far.

not so sharp on the surroundings of the object focused

I've compared this lense with a sigma 70 to 300mm and the difference is written down on Weaknesses. Please share any other info about similar lenses with different brands

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Similar Products Used:

none yet

A technological marvel of size and power. Sharp photos. Good AF Good build quality.

None

I have a new Sigma 28-300 F3.5-6.3 Macro with a plastic barrel and 62mm filter size, It appears to be an upgraded to what I expected with a metal mount and a red insert on the focus ring. I have only had it a few hours and shot off about 50 photos on a digital Canon 300D, but I am very impressed. It seems at least on a par with the kit lens that came with the camera. In fact it feels of a better build quality with a rubberized focus ring and firm action. It takes sharp photos from 28mm through to 300mm which could be printed as good 8 x 10s, particularly at the 300mm end, whereas I have read people say these lenses are a joke, only suitable for happy snap 6x4s. This is not at all true of my sample. It seems to crave light to give of its best and is better suited to outdoor photos and even then, with a constant regard to cranking up the ISO so that shutter speed can be kept high. It does not seem to exhibit any focus problems indoors or out. I am very pleased with the purchase and feel it compliments the kit and 50mm 1.8 lenses I already own so I can give up on buying more lenses.

Customer Service

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Similar Products Used:

Canon 18-55, 50mm prime and a host of film SLRs and Canon digital point and shoot cameras.

Excellent range Sharp for the price (employing good technique) Very light

Trouble focusing under low light

This lens is definitely not worth the price I paid at the walk-in store; in hindsight, I should have done more research. With that said, I have found the lens to be surprisingly flexible and sharp enough if you use the appropriate technique. I've had trouble focusing under low light. It is soft, but that is probably true of any zoom lens in the sub-$500 price range. If you find this lens for $250 or less, I'd say buy it. It will be worth the price.