8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Nice polyvalent Lens
Date of Review: Jan 4, 2007
The Bottom Line: I recommend it if you are looking for a good versatile lens. For a 200$ you can't probably find a lens like this one.
I was looking for a nice lens that can handle any kind of situation than my Canon 18-55mm can't do. I have a Canon OES 350D and my local store had a promotion for this lens.So i decided to try one.Why i choose this one instead of the Canon 70-300mm? Because the sigma one have a Macro function.
So, start with the specs.
This lens has a 300mm maximum focal length and 70mm for the minimum.Like all other numeric lens, it's have a magnification ration of 1:2 at maximum focal.The diameter of the lens is 58mm. The composition is 14 elements in 10 groups. The lens can handle Macro photography with a minimum focusing distance of 37inch.The lens come with a free Hood that can help when you trying to take pictures in bright shinny sun.
So now, here is my impression:
For a lens like this at 200$ i was conscious than the quality should be a little bit cheap. Wow big surprise when and took it out of the box. The lens is very heavy but don't be afraid, it's a plus. It will provide a better handle and comfort with you camera. I really hate those kind of tinny camera that weight like a feather. I used 35mm camera for almost 10 years. And the feeling and handle was almost the same. I like it.
A bad point i noticed was the color code on the ring of the lens. They are not the same than the one on my Canon 350D. It can be a little bit confusing for beginners. But take attention when you mount the lens and everything will be fine.
Operation of the lens:
I took the lens for what it should be used and i did my test with macro and portrait. I use opus projector and reflector in my home studio.
The lens work like a charm. the operation and command on the lens are simple. You got a little switch to be on macro or standard mode.
The manual focus is nice, i mean really nice.
The zoom is not noisy at all and doesn't drain to much power from the battery.
Picture quality:
I was very pleased with the quality of the shot i took. Outdoor the picture are perfect.
Indoor it's ok with a good setup and light. But at 300mm you will need to have a tripod to be sure than the picture are not blurred.
The picture are a little bit soft but it's a personal choice. I prefer picture with more strong details. But for the average user it's fine. Anyway, it's the magic thing of the digital photography. I took Photoshop to correct my picture and everything was fine.
The Macro shot are really really nice and no complaint at all.
You can see a little bit of barrel distortion but not much than other lens in the same price range.
Conclusion:
An excellent lens for the price. For 200$ you can't find better. Much much better than the 18-55mm Canon lens in the OES 350D bundle. If you are looking for lens that can handle any kind of situations at a great price, this lens is for you.
Adorama
