Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS Telephoto Zoom for Nikon AF Digital SLR Cameras

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.

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.