I have this lens for almost a months now. It is a phenomenal lens and incredible zoom! Not the quietest lens but it is quick and responsive. Best is the 300mm which I had expected to be very soft, but even blown up to 10x8, it was sharp and distinct. Great for travel thanks to the 300 zoom, perfect for capturing and framing buildings and animals. If you are considering, don't, just buy it and you'll know why!

Very good picture quality at up to 210. construction is very good. focus is fast. very cheap. can now be had for under 150 (usa)

250-300 the lens is noticably soft around the edges. the plastic lens hood is cheap. and of course with all consumer/ budget lenses really isnt made to be knocked around.

What everyone else says is basically true (i dont really notice the softness in the center at 300.. but the edges are definetly soft.. (ahh the joy of Photoshop) I found that you have an image you can really work with at up to about 210-250 range depending on composition f-stop and stationary placement) If you need a tighter shot scan at 350 dpi (anything greater is a waste of time) and crop and resize in photoshop using the best option in the resize tool. As far as construction. I find the build as good as any of the nikors in its class. lens hood (cheap plastic) go by a rubber or metal one. Color and hue are excellent. This lens isnt any heavier than any other 300 tele/zoom on the market.

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dunno

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nikon af 70-210 tamrom af 70-300 (deceased)

Sharp images to 200mm. Great price. Good macro. Decently fast for most shooting.

Softness beyond 200mm focal length. Iffy build quality.

Surprisingly very good 70-300 zoom for a very good price. A nice deal. Like others said, it gets soft beyond 200, but it isn't that big of a deal for most people. The lens is pretty fast throughout much of its range, which is a bit surprising for Sigma. They did a good job with this one. Good, sharp images from 70-150, makes great portraits and head-shots. My only complaint outside of the long focal softness, is the build quality is a little suspect, mostly due to the large travel of the barrel (no internal focusing). But I've had no issues develop, either. But it just looks a little iffy for some reason. Macro works well too. An excellent value for budget-minded consumers looking for a zoom lens that will perform.

Wide depth-of-field range, you can do a thin 1" slice of a scene (f/4 at 300mm) or do a deep-focus 5 feet to infinity at 70mm f/22.c

Zoom is a bit resistant, but functional nonetheless. Like it matters anyway with a STILL photograph..

A great lens with only minor shortcomings. For the money, it's excellent. I could tell just by looking at the sparkling glass that this would be a very sharp lens. It is. I have done some great macro photos of wildflowers and water lilies with this lens. What I also like (that some people have complained about) is the softness this lens gives to florals at 300mm. It makes the photos look artsy. Also, this lens has the ability to focus on an extremely thin slice of space, allowing you to completely isolate a subject and make it appear as though you took the photograph in the studio. All in all, a great lens. I like it.

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n/a?

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n/a{

sharp, cheap, good to handle great look (I love It, it looks proffesional) especially in macro mode at 300mm with the hood it's about 40cm long, the 1:2 macro is very impressing and stopped down to 8 and more it's sharp enough but not as good as in 70-200 very good allround lens for portraiture, nature, sports, architecture etc... the APO version is NOT WORTH!!! the extra money, APO stands only for color chromatical abberations but it's sometimes less sharp than non APO YOU CAN USE A TELECONVERTOR!!!! YES YOU CAN! 'CAUSE THE REAR LENS GROUP IS NOT COVERRED (like on Canon) AND MOVES INVARDS THE LENS. BUT DON'T ZOOM LOWER THAN 135mm 'CAUSE THEN THE LENSES WILL TOUCH!!! I DIDN'T TRY THE TELECONVERTOR BUT I KNOW IT WORKS BUT THEN IT'S A 140-600 (8.0-11.0) AND THE QUALITY AND LIGHT IS PROBABLY POOR..

I have an older model of 75-300 and after years of use the zoom barrel tends to pull out a bit like from 70 to 90mm while carying the camera on the shoulder the weaknes everyone is speaking about at (200) 250-300mm is there... a pity for the macro which is only at 300mm so you have to stop the lens more... if the lens would perform in all focal lenghts like in 70-135 it would be great! I don't know any other weaknesses, maybe the AF is too loud compared to Canon even non USM! lenses...

The SIGMA 70-300 is a great lens for the money!. Objectively said: it's great from 70-200. You can use the minimum apperture of 4.0 at 70mm and abou 4,5 nearly the 200mm and get sharp photos. If you decide between Canon 75-300 and SIGMA 70-300 go for the SIGMA. The sigma has sometimes better sharpnes and performance as the Canon. The autofocus is faster! than on "normal" 75-300 canon. Only the USM is the better thing with 75-300. The IS is another price category... The contrast and colors are well. I had a 80-200 from canon and made an enlargement 40/50cm from about 1/3 of the film square and the sharpness was very good. It was a KodakT400CN BW negative for C-41. The Sigma performs better than hte 80-200 so you will be satisfied with its sharpness. I have a standard 28-80 canon and now I use it only if something really doesn't fit in the 70mm of the sigma. The quality is not comperable. The 70-300 sigma is at least a category better and for the money.... The range 200-300 is a bit worse and the AF sometimes tends to hunt in dim light on my EOS 300 cause of the 5,6 min. apperture on the 300mm For a BETTER SHARPNESS a tip: zoom to 300 focus using the AF or manualy and lock the focus (by holding the shutter on EOS 300) and zoom back to the focal lenght you want and make the picture. Or easier way: zoom to 300mm focus with the AF, turn off the AF, zoom back (can relase the shutter) and shot. The focusing distance will be set more precise than with AF at 70 or 150mm

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Not needed

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Canon 80-200 II - no fun no macro :o) not good loking - too tiny but good optical performance.

Excellent macro ability Price Smooth zoom Metal attachment ring – good overall construction

Macro only a 300mm Slow AF – hunts a lot No APO glass – not super sharp A little to contrasty

I have worked this lens over for 5 yrs. It owes me nothing! Overall I would say it’s a good lens. It has its weaknesses, but for the price it’s a great lens for the beginner to intermediate. It is smaller than many others 7?-300s. The macro ability is great fun. It goes down to 1:2 with no accessories. The working distance is almost to much at times. It only goes into macro at 300mm. The newer version allows macro from 200 up. I do night close-ups and the working distance is almost to far for the flashes at small apertures (i.e. f22). I have sold many a picture using this lens so despite all its weaknesses it can be a performer. After 5 years the lens is starting to develop a “slow” spot in the AF range. It probably needs cleaning. A great lens, if you can I would go for the APO version, the sharpness would be better.

Customer Service

Never needed

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Nikkor 75-300 f4.5-5.6 Nikkor 70-210 f4 Sigma 180 APO Macro f5.6

Very, Very sharp 70mm-180mm, go ahead blow pictures up.

Build quality is questionable. No problems so far though. At 300mm it is Soft.

First the good. The Macro 1:2, only available at 300mm, is EXCELLENT! Shot some roses in Marcro, WOW, and eveyone who saw photos asked how much I paid for this capability! From 70-180mm this lens is excellent, especially when stopped down to f8-f16. I attempted to stop down to f22 but don''t do it because beyond f16 it looses at the edges. About 180mm-200mm it delivers very good using f8-f16. After 200mm the lens becomes slightly soft at center & edges even at f8-f16 range, but is really still acceptable. I don''t think that at 300mm this lens enables me to enlarge a photo beyond 5x7 using a tripod & mirror-lockup w/ ISO 100 film. Remember, we only paid around $200 for this lens so not too bad.

Customer Service

None so far. I baby my lens though.

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Sigma 15mm fisheye 2.8 Tokina 28-80 ATX Pro 2.8 Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro Pentax 50mm 1.7

Clarity, the price [double it if I wanted the APO version], lens hood. Great for wildlife shots.

It is plasticy, but respect your lens and that shouldnt be a problem.

Fantastic lens. The quaility of the picture is beautiful. Reading others reviews I do not understand how they can say it is ''soft'' between 200-300mm. My experience it is very sharp. I always use to the lens in manual focus, gives me a better feel for the clarity of the shot. Plus the lens can search a bit in low light.

Better built and easier to grasp than Nikon 70-300/4-5.6 ED AF. Cheap at $199.99 vs $340.00 for Nikon The slight optical improvement and poor mechanics of the Nikon are not worth another 140 plus 6% sales tax ($148.40 additional)

Sharper at close range and Macro than at distance regardless of focal length selected.

I have shot Nikon since 1966 and added AF Sigma glass to my gear since 1990. Icurrentlt own and use Sigma 19-35/3.5-4.5ASPH. AF/70-200/2.8 HSM/1.4x APO TC/400/5.6 APO AF in addition to their 70-300. The only AF Nikkors I now own are the 20/2.8 pre-D,50/1.8 Japanese not Chinese,105/2.8 pre D MAcor AF, and the 28-105/3.5-4.5 AF D. I shoot Corporate and Fraternal Events/Wedding PhotoJournalism and Surveillance Photos plus personal travel with these lenses and 3 N90s bodies. ENOUGH SAID!

Customer Service

Responsive when ordering replacement lens hood as original fell in ocean.

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Sigma's older 75-300/ 4.5-5.6APO in Canon and Nikon AF. Nikons old 75-300/4.5-5.6 AF and Nikons current 70-300/4-5.6 ED AF

Strong metal inner barrel.1:2 macro (at 300 only).Sharp result at 70-200,a little soft at 300.Good style with lens hood.

Slow focusing.Low re-sell value.

Is good lens for outdoor use.I sometimes use for a macro lens (need tripod).Gaurantee overall result better than canon 75-300 a lot.

Customer Service

Not try.

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Canon 75-300.