Wohoo! bought my first lens.... - DPChallenge Forums

05/14/2004 01:25:14 PM · #1

Well after much thought I finally decided to get the Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.5 II APO Macro Super. I am on a budget and this lens seems to be the best bang for the buck in it´s price category.

I ordered it from Bhphotovideo on thursday last week and I should have gotten it delivered to my home last tuesday but I was not home to accept it :( Thus ensued postal bureaucracy and I finally got it today. I ordered the 5-7 day shipping so this was very fast!

Kudos to BH for the packing, the box the lens came in is huge and it had abundance of plastic to protect the lens itself, no worries there.

I have taken a few test shots and I found out that the sweet spot seems to be around f/8, it is a little soft wide open but nothing that USM won´t fix :)

It is a bit tricky to shoot handheld at 300mm but I guess practice is a must and I maybey see a monopod in my near future :)

The lens pouch is excellent and I like that a lens hood is included.

This is the first lens that I´ve bought, but the only other zoom lens that I´ve tried is the Canon 70-200L f/2.8 IS USM. Comparing that L lens and the Sigma is not pherhaps a fair comparison, the motor is a bit noisier then the Canon but for this price I don´t mind at all :)

Here are some pics of the lens and the box (taken with the kit lens)

Look at this huge box it came in....

With all that plastic in the lens was in good hands...

Here it is.....

Well, I´m going to enjoy my lens now :)

justine

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

05/14/2004 02:12:10 PM · #2

Hello Ivar. I have that lens like it and use it the majority of the time. Enjoy!!

TooCool

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

05/14/2004 02:31:48 PM · #3

How much was it and where did you order from? Did you get good fast delivery?

05/14/2004 02:36:52 PM · #4

Originally posted by TooCool:

How much was it and where did you order from? Did you get good fast delivery?

209$ sans the shipping.

I ordered it from //www.bhphotovideo.com Excellent place!

I ordered it on the 6th of may and it arrived to my house on may 11th. I selected the 5-7 days shipping method.
Mind you I live in Iceland so I consider this an excellent speed.

MrAkamai

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

05/14/2004 03:14:38 PM · #5

Hi Ivar-

Ordered the lens all the way from Iceland! That's some long distance shopping! :)

I've been very happy with the service I receive from BH over the past few years and I'm glad you found them, too. Service and prices are excellent.

I look forward to seeing some pictures taken with your new lens.

-Greg

05/14/2004 03:55:36 PM · #6

I also am very interested in seeing some shots taken with this lens. How is the macro setting on this lens? Does is compare to the quality of the Sigma 105mm Macro lens at all? How close can you get? I'm assuming that the max aperture in the macro mode is 5.6?

Would also like to see a photo of this lens mounted on the DR. Will be hard to accomplish though if this is your only digital camera. :-\

Thanks!

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/14/2004 04:21:45 PM · #7

Originally posted by MrAkamai:

Thanks! I look forward to shooting with it :)
I´ve ordered once before from BHphotovideo and it also went very well, I can´t recommend them enough.

Originally posted by wackybill:

Hi!
Unfortunately I won´t be able to take any decent pics until sunday at the very first.. :(
The macro mode on the lens works from the 200-300mm range, I can´t compare it to the Sigma 105 Macro lens, but I would suspect that a dedicated macro lens should outperform a zoom lens with macro capabilites, by how much I don´t know.

I have to borrow my brothers digicam in order to take a pic of my 300d with the Sigma lens.. :)

mariomel

Canon EOS-5D

05/14/2004 04:52:56 PM · #8

Originally posted by wackybill:

It's a great lens, but I don't find it very usefull for the macro. The main problem is the min focus distance is about 1 mile...just kidding, it jjust seems like it in macro frame of mind. The min distance is about 5 feet. That's pretty far. The macro work in the 200-300mm range so yes, 5.6.

As for the photo, you just need to use a timer. 10 seconds should do it. ;~0

Dim7

Canon EOS R

Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II

05/14/2004 05:04:00 PM · #9

Its not very good for macros but it is the lens that I use the most also! I paid $110 US for mine and I am very happy with it!

These were taken with it. Its sure not L glass but good for the money!!
;-)

Message edited by author 2004-05-14 17:09:42.

HRoxas

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/14/2004 05:51:21 PM · #10

This was shot in macro mode. Mario's right, you have to keep a good distance between the lens and the subject.

jimmythefish

Canon EOS-10D

05/14/2004 06:05:13 PM · #11

Hmm...shows you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for that coveted red ring around the lens. Heh.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/14/2004 06:36:47 PM · #12

Dim7 & bruchen,

Very nice photos. I'm quite impressed for such an inexpensive lens. Seems like and excellent deal to me.

Granted, not L glass but quality of photos looks much better than that of my Canon EF 75-300mm f\4-5.6. Anyone know how this compares to the Canon EF 75-300mm f\4-5.6?

Thanks in advance for any information that you can provide!

Message edited by author 2004-05-14 18:43:09.

mirdonamy

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

05/14/2004 06:38:10 PM · #13

Coveted red ring?

Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f1.8 ZA

05/14/2004 07:21:46 PM · #14

Originally posted by mirdonamy:

Coveted red ring?

He might be referring to that there are two versions of the Sigma 70-300mm...

First there is this one:
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Zoom Macro Super II

Then there is this one:
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Super II (also known as the DL version)

The APO version is a bit more expensive but is has alot better image quality in all aspects. The APO version has a red ring at the front of the lens but the DL version does not.

EDIT: Durrll... he´s referring to that Canon L lenses such as the Canon 70-200L f/2.8 IS USM has a red ring at the front of the lens :)
It seems that most if not all Canon L lenses have a red ring

Message edited by author 2004-05-14 19:26:17.

ramevi

Sony Alpha a7 II

05/14/2004 07:26:42 PM · #15

Originally posted by bruchen:

This was shot in macro mode. Mario's right, you have to keep a good distance between the lens and the subject.

Hey!, this is an excellent shot for a "not very good for macros" lens.

Dim7

Canon EOS R

Canon EF 24-70 2.8L II

05/14/2004 07:35:36 PM · #16

Of corse for $110 mine is the cheap one,great shot Henry!

cbeller

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

05/14/2004 07:58:28 PM · #17

I just got one of these for my D70 for about $180 off Ebay. Got it new from Best Pro Photo. No problems and they shipped fast.

05/14/2004 08:19:23 PM · #18

Here´s just a little test picture I took shortly after I got the lens today...

Some basic info:
Exposure time: 1/6s
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Focal length: 300mm

Here´s the pic, it has only been resized, no post processing at all:

Here´s a 100% crop from the pic, again no post processing at all:

Looks reasonably sharp to me.. :)

MrAkamai

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

05/14/2004 08:20:38 PM · #19

WOO! I just received my box from BH today, too! In the box: two 512MB 40x Lexar CF cards, FW card reader, Canon 24-70 2.8 L USM lens and a 77mm Canon UV Haze filter. I also received my 4GB Microdrive from my recent eBay purchase. Now I just need the camera which will be in my hands Sunday morning.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/14/2004 08:26:22 PM · #20

Was the shot done in Macro mode or not? If not, can we see something done in regular mode and then in macro mode as a comparison?

Thanks!

mariomel

Canon EOS-5D

05/14/2004 08:58:58 PM · #21

Originally posted by ramevi:

Hey!, this is an excellent shot for a "not very good for macros" lens.

I didn't say it wasn't good. Just feels wierd standing half a mile from a teeny tiny object I'm shooting for a macro. Just weird, not bad.

05/14/2004 09:29:27 PM · #22

Originally posted by wackybill:

Was the shot done in Macro mode or not? If not, can we see something done in regular mode and then in macro mode as a comparison?

Thanks!

Here´s a test shot I made for this, maybey not the best subject but it´s 1:30am and I´m tired :)

Both shots were in f/8 and at full 300mm and again no post processing was done except resizing and I saved at quality 9 (of 12) in Photoshop.

Here´s the medal at 300mm not in macro mode, this is as close I could get to the medal and get focus:

Here´s the medal at 300mm IN macro mode, this is as close as I could get to the medal and get focus:

Here´s a 100% crop from the macro shot...

As you can see, I can get ALOT closer to the subject in macro mode..

The minimum focusing distance on 300mm is 1.5m but in Macro mode at 300mm the minimum focusing distance is 0.95m. I´m too lazy to convert this into feet right now... But you basically can get about 1.7 feet closer with macro mode vs. normal mode.

Message edited by author 2004-05-14 21:52:47.

05/14/2004 10:04:14 PM · #23

WOW! I would say that is pretty awesome detail. I think I'm going to get me one of these lenses. Looks much better than my Canon 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6. Thanks so much for taking the time to put up the sample shots. I take it you are very pleased with your purchase?

Thanks again!!!