nikkor 70-300g or sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO Macro DG

[Nacoya]

Sorry it'll have been asked a million times before but i need a longer lens to complement my 18-70mm. Needs to be relatively cheap right now and my intention is for it to be a stepping stone to a higher quality lens later on.

In the uk the sigma is 1.5 to 2 times the price of the nikkor.

I've been deliberating for months and can't decide.

Please help,

cheers

ps.. is the sigma front element fixed (like the 18-70) or does it rotate.

[K1W1]

I took around 100 pictures today with my 70-300g (the one I got free with my D50). It's the first time I've really used the lens outside in good light. I got quite a few photos of the school athletics that are IMO great. Quite frankly I was surprised but...it was bright sunlight and I was able to shoot at f8 at 1/500 and above at 300mm, ISO 200.
What I'm saying is that under the right conditions this lens is okay. When I have used it previously in low light at higher ISO's it's been only ordinary which is why I rarely use it.
I have no direct experience with the Sigma but from everything I've heard and read and seen I would spend the extra money particularly if I lived somewhere like the UK where you don't get cloudless 30C days in Autumn very often.

P.S. I am not going to post images so don't ask. It was a school athletics day with 5 - 12 yo kids.

[Ant]

Of the two get the Sigma, no doubt whatsoever. I've owned and used both lenses and the Sigma is superior.

[Nacoya]

thanks guys,

looks like the sigma may well be the way to go.
and i have a 58mm uv filter already from my S2. Though whether i'd want to introduce more glass to a slow lens anyway i don't really know.

What about the AF speed and noise i've read about.

Also does the final element rotate like the 18-55 or is it fixed like my 18-70 (i'm thinking about polarizing filter use etc..)

cheers

[britkev]

I bought the 70-300G as a "stop-gap" to tide me over until I can afford the glass I really want. Coming from a Coolpix 8700 I would have really misssed the reach of it's 8x zoom and there is nothing else in the price range unless you want to buy used.

For the price I find perfectly acceptable, it can produce some quite sharp shots in good light. The autofocus is slow by SLR standards but certainly no slower than the Coolpix. It is rather prone to reflections of the sensor with strong backlight. It made more sense to me to spend $110 on the Nikon, live with its limitations for a while, and have a ~$100 start on my 80-400VR account. If I didn't have my eye on bigger and better things in the not too distant future I would have given serious consideration to the Sigma.

The Nikon does rotate the front when focussing.

[Nacoya]

slight update..

my local jessops have a 70-300g used but what they call a condition one lens ie..

Condition 1


1 - Top condition, usually boxed with instructions. Almost indistinguishable from new!

for 57 quid...

i don't think i can turn this one down..

comments ?

i'll phone them first thing.....

[britkev]

Can't really go too far wrong at that price - if you decide you can't live with it you can make your money back on ebay.

[Nacoya]

ta,

well fingers crossed they still have it...

i'll let you know

[George Riehm]

I would sell you my 70-300g for $100, but I'm not sure that I want that kind of guilt.;)

[Nacoya]

I would sell you my 70-300g for $100, but I'm not sure that I want that kind of guilt.;)

you love it that much then :rolleyes: :lol:

for 57 quid if all i get out it is half decent images @f/8 and 200mm max zoom and one half decent summer out of it then it'll be worth it.

[britkev]

here's a shot I was not unhappy with on my first real chance (warm and sunny enough) to try out the 70-300... the jpeg compression required to post here does take some of the edge off of it.

[Nacoya]

thanks for that, good shot.

what was the focal length, f stop etc..... can you remember ?

I've also found some good shots at the link below. Ok it must be helluva bright as the shutter speed is in the 1/1000s but having said that it is wide open.

http://www.pbase.com/smerk/sports&page=2

[George Riehm]

here's a shot I was not unhappy with on my first real chance (warm and sunny enough) to try out the 70-300... the jpeg compression required to post here does take some of the edge off of it.

Considering this was shot at f/16 it should work ok.

Nacoya...Answer: Shot at 300mm @ f/16.

[Jason25]

here's a shot I was not unhappy with on my first real chance (warm and sunny enough) to try out the 70-300... the jpeg compression required to post here does take some of the edge off of it.
It looks like the focus is on the far left of him, unless it's just me? I like the look of the water though :)

[Nacoya]

oops !! yea sorry opanda didn't pick the exif from the image i had to d'load and open it in photoshop..

f/16 @ 300mm

[britkev]

This one's at 300mm wide open (f5.6) - again the compression doesn't do it any favors

[George Riehm]

thanks for that, good shot.

what was the focal length, f stop etc..... can you remember ?

I've also found some good shots at the link below. Ok it must be helluva bright as the shutter speed is in the 1/1000s but having said that it is wide open.

http://www.pbase.com/smerk/sports&page=2

No offense but my impression of these shots is that they are pretty soft, and what I would expect (and have experienced) from the 70-300 G. the photographer had lots of light and should have kept the aperture at f/8. It's why this lens stays at home most of the time.

[britkev]

As stated this was my first real chance to try out the lens since I got it a couple of weeks ago and I intentionally took a lot of shots wide open to find out for myself just how "horrible" the lens is... sure it is a little on the soft side, but at the price I am definitely not complaining.

[George Riehm]

As stated this was my first real chance to try out the lens since I got it a couple of weeks ago and I intentionally took a lot of shots wide open to find out for myself just how "horrible" the lens is... sure it is a little on the soft side, but at the price I am definitely not complaining.

As long as your happy.:)... for now. Keep your print size to under 5 x 7 and it should work. I think the problem is that it isn't that much better stopped down. Again, I have this lens, and I'd sell it, but I would feel guilty.;)

[britkev]

As long as your happy.:)... for now. Keep your print size to under 5 x 7 and it should work. I think the problem is that it isn't that much better stopped down. Again, I have this lens, and I'd sell it, but I would feel guilty.;)


Oh... I know it's just "for now"... but I don't need my wife finding out how much good glass costs just yet ;)

[coldrain]

The Sigma Apo DG version is only 220$ or so. Do yourself a favour and go for the Sigma! You get much better optics and a 1:2 macro mode for free.

[Nacoya]

The Sigma Apo DG version is only 220$ or so. Do yourself a favour and go for the Sigma! You get much better optics and a 1:2 macro mode for free.

yea, except i don't deal in $ (i'm in the uk ;)) and here you're looking at the thick end of 200 GBP nearly 350 USD

whereas the nikon is 50 quid.

I know it's penny pinching but pennies need to be pinched this year.

[Nacoya]

SOLD :(

oh well may now look at the sigma instead . I' think a trip to Glasgow to try out a few is in order.

and it's raining :( ....

[Glenn Kennedy]

SOLD :(

oh well may now look at the sigma instead . I' think a trip to Glasgow to try out a few is in order.

and it's raining :( ....


That's life.... But it's clear you're an optimist. A Scot anticipating a "half decent summer" in post 10.

[Nacoya]

LOL

ok here's one for ya..

180 quid brand new 70-300 APO DG or 190 quid 28-300 f/3.5-6.3 DG

bearing in mind i have the nikkor 18-70mm already...


I'm thinking 70-300 a. cheaper, b. larger aperture at 300mm, :dunno: and i have a 58mm uv filter already.

against blinkin rotating element. which the 28-300 doesn't have

[Nacoya]

i'm just off to pick up the 70-300 APO DG i reserved this morning.

[Glenn Kennedy]

I borrowed one from a friend a while back. I think it did well. It seems a very popular lens amongst the contributors to this forum. If it's not raining - post some shots later on today !!

[Nacoya]

ok, i mamaged a couple of test shots at the extreme ends. I'm pleased with these results but half a dozen photos standing at my back door don't tell that much however. I use this little wind ornament a lot for test shots as it's always the same size and in the same colour in the same place no matter the light or the weather. I know it's just a static shot, moving targets will no doubt be a different kettle of fish altogether.. The focus is noisy (but then i'm used to the 18-70) and slower but that was already expected.

I did however not really notice 'till i got home that the nikon fit version is a D version with the aperture ring. I didn't kow this. The manual says that when i shoot aperture priority or manual then i must set the f/ uising the ring and at all other times have it locked at f/22. However when i move the aperture ring in aperture priority mode i get an error in the viewfinder .(fEE) So i'm not sure about that. Maybe someone here can explain.

Anyway if you're interested. Both hand held (yes hand held - i surprised even myself) both iso 800. Both are exact same size 100% crops. No PP except resizing.

1. f/11, 1/30s, 70mm

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/sigma_70.jpg

2. f/8, 1/80, 300mm

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/sigma_300.jpg


and just for good measure 2 shots at 300mm about 4-5 feet from subject.

this one std (ie. not macro mode), so no focus.

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/sigma_300_nomacro.jpg

this one with the macro switch thrown

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/sigma_300_macro.jpg

more when i get some decent subjects and weather.

what d'ya think ?

[britkev]

Pretty good job of handholding 300mm at 1/80th - I drink way too much coffee to manage that ;)

As for the "D" lens aperture ring: the only D lens I have is the Nikon 50mm - per the instructions I leave that locked at f/22 and change the aperture using the camera wheel in 'A' mode... I think you use the wheel alone to change shutter speed and hold the Exposure comp +/- button down while moving the wheel to change aperture in 'M' mode. may be the other way round - I haven't used 'M' mode much yet so can't remember and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get the manual/camera right now.

[Nacoya]

this is the bit from the lens instruction sheet that is confusing me ..

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/sigma_manual.jpg

[britkev]

I suspect the Sigma documentation may be old and may not have been re-written to take into account more recent developments in camera bodies?

[Nacoya]

yea, and it's not very well translated.

The fact the the camera goes into error if i'm in aperture priority and try to move the aperture diaphragm on the lens suggests it's perfectly happy with it locked at f/22.

I'll try some DOF tests tomorrow and make sure it works the range ok, which i suspect it will.

[colemanr]

I took a number of photos with this lens today and never had to manually adjust the aperture. I almost exclusively used aperture priority, and it worked fine.

The documentation is wrong in one other area: it makes it sound like flipping the "macro" switch locks the zoom at the maximum (300mm) and that you can't adjust the zoom in macro mode. That's clearly not the case with this lens; the macro mode works from 200-300mm and you can adjust the zoom within that range.

I think the documentation is for a different, and probably older, lens.

Rob

[Nacoya]

just a couple more fyi ....

a couple of birds .......

>here (http://dlamarra.co.uk/galleries/main.php/v/dilsuite/lanandnat/nature/birds/robin_chat_mar_1.jpg.html)<
>here (http://dlamarra.co.uk/galleries/main.php/v/dilsuite/lanandnat/nature/birds/robin_chat_glossy180_260dpi.jpg.html)<

my mrs and dog

>here (http://dlamarra.co.uk/galleries/main.php/v/dilsuite/pap/sharon_glenn_chat_mar.jpg.html)<

and a macro test pair.

>here (http://dlamarra.co.uk/galleries/main.php/v/dilsuite/reference/)<

click the http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/popup.gif to enlarge.

[coldrain]

Very nice shots, the lens seems to work very well for you.

[Nacoya]

early days but if this is what i get in cloudy weather at those settings then I'm hopeful that it's going to do the job.

I like it so far.

Can I ask how you found the gallery. It's something i've just created as well as the site and forum. I'm looking for feedback.

[coldrain]

I like the gallery a lot, actually. Easy navigation, nice use of colours, nice layout.

[Nacoya]

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.:)

now i just need to build up my forum.

cheers ,

[Nacoya]

Just thought i'd add a link to some more pics.

Got out early (ish) this morning and boy was it dull but i wanted to try the sigma on some swans at the loch next to the house.

If anyone would care to see how this lens is performing for me at the moment the link is below..

I'm really liking this lens, fast action it's never going to do but know it's limitations (and more importantly mine) and we're doing ok...

>here (http://83.67.71.111/galleries/main.php/v/dilsuite/shoots/loch/)<

when in the image page click on the

http://davlam.f2s.com/picman/images/dave/popup.gif

to enlarge. And please feel free to look around the rest of my galleries.

cheers,

dave


ps. crits and comments welcome. (and you can leave comments in the galleries also)