Sigma APO 70-300 for rebel xt

[mediyoga]

Hello all and thanks for the sigma lens advice as a carry around . has anyone posted samples about this lens with pics or links to reviews would be welcome. I have heard that there is a focus hunt problem with this in low light . Any other lens that can be recommended that is not as expensive as L canon series but has a reach of at least 200 mm? I believe that even the 18-200 hunts focus?
thanks
Krishna Raman

[TheObiJuan]

most consumer lenses will hunt at low light. This is because they typically have dated or poorly designed focusing systems and are also usually optically slow.
The sigma isn't bad, especially for the price.
Here is a link to my pbase account. There are many macro shots of what the lens can do.
http://www.pbase.com/theobijuan/carribean_2005

This reminds me, I need to get out more and shoot some macros!

[LoveOfSelene]

Ya have some really good pics at ur site Obi.

The pics taken w/ the 70-300 Sigma, Were there any post processing like sharpening or bluring done? And i read that this lens focuses slowly. How slow would that be?

Thanks in advance

[TheObiJuan]

Thanks!
There was no blurring done, but I sharpened some of the pics, but only slightly. i use a plugin that sharpens the images as they are reduced to web size. If you don't, you'll loose some of the intial sharpness.
The blur is more prominent for macro, since there is limited depth of field, despite being at f/13 or smaller.
The lens focuses as slow as any other consumer zoom lens. The optically slow design and consumer AF motor make it difficult in low light, but manual focus isn't hard. :D
This lens has made me pretty good at it, actually.