Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 apo For Nikon D60

[pravinxp]

Hi Guys,

How is the Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 apo for Nikon lens. Is it good when compared to the price. And i need to know which lens is cheap and good for 18 - 200 mm...

[Sunny]

Topic Approved

[Xavier]

Rio should be the best person here to give you information about this lens on the D60 since he has already used this combination.

[Nakul]

Hi Guys,

How is the Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 apo for Nikon lens. Is it good when compared to the price. And i need to know which lens is cheap and good for 18 - 200 mm...

I am using the sigma 70-300 wit my d60.. Love the lens.. Cant provide you the tech specs of that lense being a newbie to this.. Love the lens and the output.. its being good and forgiving for a newbie..
But i have heard remarks of its sharpness at the 300mm range.. i didnt find/recognize any problem thou.. As per the "ppl" the pic gets a bit blurred and the sharpness level drops dramatically..
>The weight of the lens being a bit heavy compared to a d60 body did create some shake on the pic, esp at the 270-300 range.. again i am not sure if its was my fault or the lens..
> i would say for the price its really good, esp the Macro option.. But when compared to Nikkor 70-300 which i have used for sometime its no match.. Being said that there is a price difference of almost 10-13k INR.. So there is bound to be some difference..

[rio008]

I must say that 70-300mm APO is a cheap and handy lens.
Although when i used to post pictures taken using this lens people use to comment that my images were bit smooth & soft, even i felt that there were some lak of sharpness. Dont know it applies to all 70-300mm APO :confused:
About the macro, you can only use 200-300mm zoom range.
While auto focusing the lens provides some nasty noises that the object you are try to shoot may fly off.
If you are decided to buy one then attach with your D60 body and test it from the store, try two or three lenses. And if you are satisfied then pay for it :)

[Aryan]

Isn't the autofocus slow? I have used this lens (Canon mount) a few times, and found it too be a really slow in focusing when the light gets even a little dim! During bright daylight/ sunshine, there are no issues, basically, but in the late evenings/ dusk, it becomes a pain when the lens keeps hunting for focus. :( But, the reach it provides (70mm all the way to 300mm) is something which will come in handy in many situations. ;)

[rio008]

you are right aryan, even i faced this sometimes, auto focusing takes too long in low light condition, specialy if you are trying some macro this focusing time leads the object to move and have to try focusing again .
my rating for this lens will be 5 / 10
5 because its cheaper :D
Currently i am using 50-150mm sigma f/2.8 and comparing to 70-300mm APO its fast like ferrari :)

Isn't the autofocus slow? I have used this lens (Canon mount) a few times, and found it too be a really slow in focusing when the light gets even a little dim! During bright daylight/ sunshine, there are no issues, basically, but in the late evenings/ dusk, it becomes a pain when the lens keeps hunting for focus. :( But, the reach it provides (70mm all the way to 300mm) is something which will come in handy in many situations. ;)

[Bibudesh]

The best tele lens for a Nikon is the Nikkor 70-300 f/4 VR if on budget(~500$). The sharpenss till 200mm if stopped to f/8 is nearly same as Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR (2000$). The lens tend to be softer beyond 220mm if stopped down to bigger than f/6 or something, still the quality is acceptable at f/8 beyond 220mm.

Other option for tele is Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 which gives you the flexibility of f/2.8 across all FLs. It cost 1000$ but is worth it.

Sigma 70-300mm APO is just a lens to stuff in your bag since the pictures are very soft. Sigma will obviously not make a 100$ lens for a pro quality photo, they have other lineups for similar FL with pro glasses.

I would strongly recommend either go for a Nikkor 70-300mm or use the kit lens till the time you save up for a Nikkor. But don't waste your 100 odd $$ in Sigma APO . (No offence to Sigma 70-300 owners) since it cannot keep u happy for a longer time. Seeing other member shots may frustrate you.

If you need macro then go for a Macro prime like Tamron 90mm or Sigma 105mm both f/2.8. Tamron on my D40 works excellent.

[shutterbug]

Pravin, I am using the lens myself. I am not entirely satisfied with it, the captures lack sharpness. I am unable to put the 200-300mm macro mode to any use as you have to stand away from the object and it is prone to shake at that fl without vr. It might be my lack of experience too. Also focussing in low light is slow. Af is usually noisy. But for the kind of money you pay for you cant expect much more.