Home > Consumer Reviews > Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens with built in motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I hesitated purchasing this lens for my Nikon D40X--probably looked at this listing six or seven times before making the purchase. Truthfully I was worried about how inexpensive it is. Now, I'm probably a pretty average amateur photographer in that the majority of my pictures are family stuff: kids' sporting events, vacations, birthdays, and the like. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to compromise on quality just to save some money, and I know that the Nikon 55-200 is a quality lens.

But, I purchased based on Michael Del Priore's review (his was the only review at the time)--I figured, at this price (especially when compared to the Nikon 55-200), why not give it a shot, and I'm glad I did.

This is an excellent lens. The auto focus motor is fast and doesn't chew up the battery (I was concerned about that, but I shot almost 170 pictures at my son's games two Saturdays ago and didn't use any more battery than the Nikon 35-70 lens that came with the camera). Like "cinderoo" I haven't had any stabilization issues to speak of either, even snapping away while following 12 year old boys run the length of a field. That may be more of an issue with macro photography, but I'd imagine most of the (admittedly limited) macro photography I'd do would probably be with a tripod anyway.

Now, no one would mistake me for a professional photographer, but I can tell you that when I pull up photos shot with my D40X and this Sigma lens on my 24" iMac and view them full screen they are *everything* I was looking for when I decided to move to an SLR camera.

I purchased the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG macro lens for my Nikon D40..the lens has a Built in Motor Drive and does Auto Focus very nicely with the Nikon D40..D40X and D60..
I shoot mostly landscapes, animals, birds, and flowers and have taken some very nice photos with this 70-300mm Telephoto and Macro Lens. This lens does not have Image Stabilization however using the lens without a tripod does not seem to be much of a problem because I have not had many blurred photos..The lens is very reasonably priced for the amateur photographer..

I have shared some of my recent photos that I took using this lens which are posted on this Amazon listing with my review.

The lens shipped immediately by 47th Street Photo and was received in two days.

I highly recommend the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG Macro Lens.

I wanted a cheap telephoto lens for those times I need the reach. Since I don't use it that often, I felt no need for a large or expensive lens. I debated between this lens, the Tamron 70-300 Di, and the Sigma APO of the same type. This was the cheapest so I went with it. Frankly, I can't believe how good this lens is for its price. At 70mm, it's tack sharp corner to corner. Even 200-300 it's quite good. And the Macro mode is just icing on the cake--1:2 magnification means you can get quite close.

It's true, you need a fair amount of light for this lens to shine--no argument there. But for the individual who only does this sort of stuff for fun, this lens is hard to beat. I can't imagine the APO variant is worth $70 more--I cannot detect any difference from sample pictures posted online. So if you only need a lens of this focal length occasionally, this is the one to get.

Feeling limited by my 18-135 lens I began looking into zoom lenses. A friend of mine has the Nikon 70-300 VR which is an amazing lens but substantially out of my price range as well. I debated saving up for the Nikon lens but after much consideration I decided to give this one a shot since it was within my budget and would get me that extra distance. I am using this lens with my D40x and the pictures I have taken have been crystal clear. I am extremely satisfied with this lens and it has performed well above my expectations.

Pros: Very well built; Comes with a hood; Has a metal lens mount; Is as big as a baseball bat when fully extended making most non-DSLR users drool(DSLR users shrug it off as just another 70-300), Takes a GREAT Macro at the 200-300mm range with a VERY shallow DOF if you like; Very decently sharp images throughout the range. Great price.

Pro/Con: That GREAT Macro in the 200-300 is from no closer than 4 feet away. I asked a friend why anyone would want to be so far away to take a macro and she said "to take photos of bees and stuff" OH! I had been using a little point and shoot, clicking the photo, then running away screaming like a little girl. So make the previous Con a Pro.

Con: It lacks that fake 'Canon L' little red band that the next model up has. Some people might think it's a little too heavy. (Wimps).

I'd buy it again. (Ok, maybe I'd buy the slightly more expensive one, but only for the red band, I'm VERY happy with the performance of this one)