Similarly priced to Nikon's own 70-300mm lens, is this third-party option any better?

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  Easy operation

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  Noisy AF

ePHOTOzine resident lens tester, Gary Wolstenholme casts his discerning eye over the Sigma 70-300mm. It has long been a popular choice amongst budget-conscious photographers looking to cover this popular range.

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  Good resolution at shorter focal lengths, Optical Stabiliser, Low Distortion at 70mm

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  Rotating AF ring, Drop off in resolution and contrast at 300mm, Slow focusing speed

Priced at a very affordable £299, Sigma’s 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS is a light lens with a total length of just 126mm when fully retracted at 70mm. Within the construction of the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS there’s a Special Low Dispersion glass element to correct aberrations along with Super Multi...

At a glance, it's easy to think that this is a newer version of Sigma's 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens, but with an optical stabiliser fitted (OS). Sure enough, the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS is still a 'DG' lens designed for full-frame DSLRs and equally compatible with APS-C bodies that have...

The Sigma 70–300 mm OS will have perhaps the biggest rift between the pros and cons list and the summary I have written here. When we consider just dry facts the Sigma would be really difficult to fault.

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  good build quality,, good image resolution in the frame centre,, chromatic aberration well-corrected,, slight distortion,, not bothersome coma,, low vignetting even on full frame,, good work against bright light

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  too low image quality at the edge of full frame,, noisy autofocus motor.

This Sigma telephoto zoom covers the popular 70-300mm range, costs around £310, and induces optical stabilisation.

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  Good resolution at shorter focal lengths, Optical Stabiliser, Low Distortion at 70mm

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  Rotating AF ring, Drop off in resolution and contrast at 300mm, Slow focusing speed

Sigma's 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS telephoto zoom lens is targeted at amateur photographers who require an affordable long-zoom lens to complement, say, an 18-55mm or 18-85mm kit lens on their DSLR.

Got this for my Sigma SD15 camera system. This offers an equivalent focal length of 119 - 510mm, since the SD15's sensor has a crop factor of 1.7. This lens way exceeded my expectations. It is not too big, and only extends less than two inches when zoomed out.

Works well. Sharp photos. I am keeping it.

Not for me. Was way too loud and would not focus on some subject. Returned

First the things I didnt read in other reviews. The front element rotates like all the other 70-300's, so a hassle for polorisers. You cant use camera and lens OS together. Yes it works fine in full frame on the K-1 but if you leave the crop on auto it switches to crop mode... so use the FF setting.

The stabilizer mechanism makes a weird noise. The lens seems to be loose. In my opinion, the model without stabilizer is better.

Lens can take nice photos. My problems with it are Sigma build quality issues. When working, the image will very visibly jump in the viewfinder as the optical stabilizer disengages or re-engages. Just a weird thing with this OS system, or just mine?.

I really like this lens. It's light and easy to use, and I can carry it while hiking. The images I get are razor sharp-PROVIDED THAT I take great care in focusing. The major drawback is that lens is a little slow to focus, sometimes has to "hunt," and sometimes is off-focus, so I have to check it.

Very good lens and also be very sharp . This item was as describe by seller . Very good timing for delivery . Thanh you

I live Sigma and this is no exception. Great value for the $$

good lens for the money

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  low cost, macro mode, wide range, mechanically well built.

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  could be slightly more sharp between 200 and 300mm. slow auto focus.