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Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6 Review RSS Feed

Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6

Sharpness 
 8.0
Aberrations 
 8.0
Bokeh 
 8.1
Handling 
 7.7
Value 
 9.4
Autofocus 
 7.3
Reviews Views Date of last review
43 197,405 Sat January 13, 2024
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
98% of reviewers $185.03 8.12
Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6

Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
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Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
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Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
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Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
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Description:
The 70-300mm range zoom telephoto was made in numerous versions and generations by sigma - 6 versions in this review section (and two 75-300mm versions). The "apo" designation normally suggests a premium/higher end version.
See here for the current non-"apo" version.

Sigma’s 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG APO Macro is a compact autofocus telephoto zoom lens with a zoom ration of 4 to 1. Its range is useful for portraiture, capturing children playing in the backyard, amateur sports and capturing animals at the zoo. In macro mode the lens offers 0.5x magnification.


Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
Full-frame / 35mm film
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
Yes (A setting)
Diaphragm
Automatic, 9 blades
Optics
14 elements, 10 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F4-5.6
Min. Aperture
F32-45
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
95 cm
Max. Magnification
0.5x
Filter Size
58 mm
Internal Focus
No
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 23.1-5.4 ° / 19.4-4.5 °
Full frame: 34.3-8.2 ° / 28.7-6.8 °
Hood
Included
Case
Included
Lens Cap
Included
Coating
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Diam x Length
76.6x122 mm (3x4.8 in.)
Weight
550 g (19.2 oz.)
Production Years
N/A
Pricing
USD current price
Reviews
User reviews

Buy Lens: Buy the Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
Price: $199
Mount Type: Pentax KAF2/KAF (screwdrive AF)
Price History:



Add Review of Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6 Buy the Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6
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Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-15 of 43
New Member

Registered: November, 2013
Posts: 14
Review Date: August 18, 2022 Recommended | Price: $50.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: very sharp lens - very well corrected
Cons: nothing besides AF function in macro mode
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: pentax k-5 k-x k200 k-s1 Fuji x-t100 x-e1    Autofocus: 8    New Or Used: Used   

I've got the gold ring version , not the red ring version

+++ the correction of CAs between 70 and 135 mm is perfect - no purple fringing visible between f 8-13

++/+ between 200 and 300 mm some very few CAs in the corners

+++ excellent sharpness between 70 and 135 mm

++ very good sharpness between 200 and 300 mm

++ neutral color rendition and high contrast

*********************** EXCELLENT MACRO MODE **************************

++ even between 200 and 300 mm with f 11 - f 22 very sharp macro photos of butterflies possible

this lens is much more better corrected than the Sigma 3.5-4.5/70-210 APO MACRO with unfortunately some visible CAs

9.5 points totally because of perfect correction between 70 and 135 mm (3 or 4 points would be an underrating of this precious lens - excepted damaged examplaries)
   
Veteran Member

Registered: July, 2007
Location: North West UK
Posts: 390

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 1, 2018 Recommended | Price: $200.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Image quality exceeds the price you pay, Useful Macro, Bargain!
Cons: Macro is only at 200-300 and switch is fiddly to flick
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 8    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-1    Autofocus: 9    New Or Used: New   

This was a fairly recent replacement to the non-APO version I had for many years. Mainly to do with a theft, and the nearest like for like in stock (thank you WEX)

I was not expecting much from it, as I used the older one mainly with my Film Cameras, due to the A ring and FF capable. My 55-300 was the better replacement for the K-5/K-3 etc etc.

But, of course I bought the K-1, and the earlier version came back into being due to the sensor. But then got nicked!

Now this APO version on the K-1. Well...................................

You would think that a cheap third party lens would struggle to cope with the demands with 36MP? In this instance it is the opposite, the lens more than copes with a high resolution K-1.
Contrast is good, as is colour rendition,sharpness and resolution. Maybe a tad soft wide open, but it is more than useable.

Downsides? It is a little noisy AF, but it is very fast to focus on the K-1, very snappy indeed.
The Macro is useful, but can be fiddly to switch it to that mode.
The lens rotates on focusing, meaning PL filters can be a pain.

But, overall, this is a bargain of a lens, especially for the K-1! Surprised? I am!
   
New Member

Registered: December, 2013
Posts: 1

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: December 3, 2014 Recommended | Price: $185.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: sharpness, wide range, macro capability, sigma optical quality
Cons: front rotating, too long when 300mm macro, hunts in low light
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 8    Value: 9    Autofocus: 10    New Or Used: Used   

I've been using this lens over two years and never needed another zoom. As a zoom lens it is always giving me what I need especially outdoors and daylight conditions. Sigma apo dg is sharp enough between f/6.3 to f/13. Apo coating and low dispersion glass gives this lens a great bonus. It comes with lens hood and a bag which is good for keeping. Sigma quality never disappointed me and left me halfway. It is certainly not a pro lens but I am not a pro photographer, it gives me what I need from a zoom lens. You can always go for another zoom lens if you are ready to pay five to ten times more. Whatever, I like this lens and advice it for limited budgets, it gives over it's wealth. Bye
   
New Member

Registered: December, 2013
Posts: 23

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: November 30, 2014 Recommended | Price: $190.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: way better than expectation, sharpness, sold built
Cons: huge lens hood, noisy af
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Autofocus: 8    New Or Used: Used   

It's a very good low budget lens, it has apo coating and low dispersion glass. It gives more than you pay for it. Very usefull, gives 1/2 macro. A sharp lens also way sharper than 28-200 or 28-300 series lenses, i used both versions. 55-300 is very popular but this lens gives you macro as a bonus and goes head to head with 55-300 about sharpness. It has a great price advantage, i believe everyone should have one APO DG 70-300 in their bag, no doubt you will need it when walking around. I am not a proffesional photographer, I do not earn money from it, but i love shooting landscapes, butterflies and people so this lens is very handy for me with my favorite Sigma 17-70. I don't need another lens except these two. Thats all from me, hoping to be useful for everyone, cheers...
   
New Member

Registered: August, 2011
Posts: 1

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: August 29, 2011 Recommended | Price: $250.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: excellent in price class
Cons: switching off the macro slightly difficult for a new user
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Autofocus: 9   

I bought this lens yrs ago and I steel like it

It's excellent lens in price class. If you want to buy a better one, you must pay more,
   
New Member

Registered: March, 2009
Location: NWT
Posts: 3
Review Date: March 7, 2009 Recommended | Price: $200.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Great value, macro, excellent 300m, tough
Cons: switching off the macro

I bought this lens with my MZ7 (8 yrs ago.. I think). I have taken so many shots with it. I originally bought it to really use it! I treated it like I didn't own it, I am so careful with most of my equipment, that i often didn't get the shot because I didn't want it to get wet, or covered in sand, or dropped. I bought this with the intention of breaking it eventually.

It does have a soft focus in macro, but if you play with it you can get it sharper. Works well with my K10D, and K20D.. to be honest it is always in my kit. It has been in my pelican case for the last 8yrs, I never go home without it. It works well in very cold temperatures (-55 C I live in the NWT), traveled across Europe, NZ, CAN, Tonga, Cuba, lots of pacific islands, it has been splashed with salt water, under fresh water (I dried it out, after a rinse with distilled water, no spots, works fine)
The macro is amazing for the price, you won't by a better lens at this price.

I am a teacher and I have let students use it, it has been dropped at least 3 times on the class floor, still works great. It has a plastic feel to it, but it is very sturdy at the same time , hard to explain. Kids use it a lot to make stop motion films.

It can be slow in low light, but go to manual you shouldn't have a problem. It looks really big in the picture with the lens hood on, but is much smaller when you take it off or flip it around.

The only negative is when the macro switch is on, sometimes you have to flick the camera to manual to bring in the zoom to turn it off.

I just got the DA 70-300mm, and as a pentax guy, I hate to say the sigma is staying in my kit, and the DA is staying at home most of the time. It just works better, and the colour is the same.

I own the 170-500mm sigma, and that has lots of problems, due to its size it doesn't always come on hikes. But the 300mm does a good job on birds.

Now that I have said all the positives, it will probably break the next time I use it.
   
New Member

Registered: May, 2023
Posts: 22
Review Date: June 16, 2023 Recommended | Price: $90.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Light,very cheap and sharp lens
Cons: Lack of stabilization
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: Pentax K1    Autofocus: 7    New Or Used: Used   

For the price of 90$,you can't beat this lens...70-300 range,very compact and sharp with good colors !I use it on K1,the images that deliver and crisp and with very nice contrast,i love it !
   
Site Supporter

Registered: December, 2010
Location: Phoenix Arizona
Posts: 893

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: September 6, 2018 Recommended | Price: $55.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Good range, compact, reasonably sharp, fast focus.
Cons: Sticky zoom ring

This lens is really good considering it's cost. It is acceptably sharp well past 200mm, and still quite good all the way to 300.

It is great for bright days outdoors where you can keep it around f8-11. I would not recommend it for an indoor hockey game. That requires glass that costs and weighs much more.

Focus with the K-1 is scary fast. The zoom ring on mine is sticky but that might just be mine.

For what I paid, it can't be beat.
   
New Member

Registered: May, 2012
Posts: 2

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 5, 2016 Recommended | Price: $95.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: heavy, built
Cons: a bit stcky feeling zooming in and out
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 9    Camera Used: kr, k3    Autofocus: 8    New Or Used: Used   

my work horse....
   
Veteran Member

Registered: June, 2013
Posts: 1,458

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: November 10, 2014 Recommended | Price: $225.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: surprising sharpness
Cons: could be faster....somehat noisy, albeit accurate and fast auto focus
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Autofocus: 10    New Or Used: Used   

This lens has really surprised me...I have been using it for over a year now....and part of my surprise was based on the fact that the lens was not reviewed here very highly....I picked it up originally as an inexpensive long lens, and was fortunate to find one that had been taken care of with great care.....but as time went on with this lens I found it to be much sharper than the more highly rated sigma 17-70 and many supposedly superior lenses in my bag......it has really proven to be a very trusty lens, which I highly recommend.....
   
New Member

Registered: August, 2008
Location: bremerton, wash.
Posts: 6

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 24, 2011 Recommended | Price: $230.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Very sharp on a TRIPOD. VERY TOUGH BODY. LOVE THE COATINGS
Cons: I would of liked a 3.5 opening for indoors.

I have used it for about 2 years. I have had to take it in for cleaning when i worked some sage brush up around Steam Boat Rock in North washington State. Zooming in and out sucked in sage brush dust. Other wise i use it alot. When pointed down there is NO LENS CREEP. I do all out door photo work and it has been good for me. Up around salt water in storms I have no trouble with it. It is a tough lens. The Macro is really sharp. A mono pod is best with this lens to cut out some motion. It is very sensitive to shakey hands. Rather, if you climb up a hill and am out of breath and your 65 year old heart is hammering, rest a bit or use a pod of sorts. Boka is nice with a UV lens or better a neutral gray lens. I have the 120-400 Sigma and the 70-300 is 1/2 the weight and size. The 120-400 is super quiet and a bit sharper than the 70-300 but a beast to carry. The 70-300 is a bit noisey on focus but easier to carry around. I am so used to reaching for it i would buy it again in a heart beat. I swear i would prefer to support Pentax but none of their 70-300 have Macro. Oh, ok, if i see a good deal on a Pentax 55-300 F4 i would get it and my conscience would feel better. But then i would have to get my Pentax 100mm 2.8 back that i gave to my son as i would need a macro for travel. I don't get it. Why doesn't Pentax put more Macro on their lenses? I do think the DA 35 Macro 2.8 is a "have to have lens". But that is a "wana have" for me now................ KEEP LOOKIN FOR BEAUTY....................
   
Senior Member

Registered: August, 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 141

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: December 9, 2010 Recommended | Price: $189.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Really fine sharp lens for the price
Cons: Slow lens

For what it is, this lens is great. Does it do the job my $750 Tamron 70-200 2.8 does? No, but it does a good job and is sometimes closer than one might think. I am regularly amazed that a lens that I paid less than $200 for new, can produce truly exceptional pictures, but this one is capable of doing just that. With F-stops of only 4-5.6 wide open this isn't a fast lens. But you have to compare what the lens does for its' cost. When you do that, this lens is not just good it's truly exceptional.

Another really nice thing about this lens is that while the macro section isn't true macro, it focuses quite close and allows the shooter to create some very nice macro type shots.

Sigma did this same lens in a non APO version. I had that lens as well, but didn't keep it. It can create some decent shots, but the APO version is much better and doesn't cost all that much more.

This lens is capable of producing pictures that are truly exceptional. At present it has the longest reach I have. While it's not the best glass I have in my camera bag, it's one of the best bargains. As a light weight lens I don't see myself getting rid of it even as I continue to build my kit.
   
New Member

Registered: March, 2007
Location: San Jose
Posts: 17

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: April 30, 2008 Recommended | Price: $200.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Great colors, great sharpness, incredibly useful zoom range
Cons: Macro autofocus slow because of large travel distance

This lens has been a joy because it is sharp, the colors are spectacular, and it was cheap! The effective "zoom" of 12x normal focal length on the K10D is incredibly useful for picking up animals, far away objects while trapped in a crowd, and things you technically aren't supposed to photograph. I haven't used the macro much because it is incredibly shaky at 200-300mm and non 1:1 macro isn't that inspiring for me. But one is supposed to use a tripod for macro anyhow.

This lens is a great for portraits, too. The sharpness isn't harsh to faces and brings out very personable detail.

Others have said this lens isn't sharp. Maybe they did not buy the APO version. My experience has been entirely the opposite. As for sharpness at 300mm, I've never had a problem. Here's some examples. Even after being smushed by Google's JPG compression it is still sharp.

http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/TravelingWithMaggie/photo#5171561328193851426

http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/SpringShots/photo#5051285469721882610

300mm macro: (I'm not good at aiming this... I just hold down the shutter and hope. But that's my fault as a learning photographer.)
http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/TravelingWithMaggie/photo#5171560348941307762

This at 150:
http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/TravelingWithMaggie/photo#5171551329509983602

These at 190:
http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/MomAndCaitVisitChina/photo#5165642575497150146

http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/TravelingWithMaggie/photo#5171561401208295474

This at 210:
http://picasaweb.google.com/feralryan/MomAndCaitVisitChina/photo#5165677661084991330
   
Site Supporter

Registered: November, 2016
Location: Prague
Posts: 123
Review Date: January 13, 2024 Recommended | Price: $260.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Sharpness at 70-135mm, colours, macro ability, weight, build
Cons: General sharpness at 300mm, wierd macro switch, slow AF
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 8    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-x, K-70    Autofocus: 6    New Or Used: New   

I own this lens for 15 years, took a lot of pictures in different situations (animals - especially birds and insects, action, planes, nature etc.). I bought it as a new lens for 260 USD and was using it with the K-x and then with K-70.

I love the versatility of the lens, you can use 70mm on landscape photography and switch it in one second to wildlife lens and use 300mm. Another great advantage is the macro ability (1:2 ratio).

The sharpness is excellent from 70mm to 135mm, very good to 200mm and good in the center area at 300mm, all at f8 - f11 (corners are weak at 300mm). The colors and contrast are excellent. The main disadvantage of the lens is the autofocus. It is very slow and loud so you need to have a lot of patience when taking photos of fast subjects, however this is not a problem for the non-moving subjects.

After 15 years of usage the zoom ring is very stiff and non-accurate (the repair would be more expensive than the lens itself), but the focus ring is OK (mostly for macro). Therefore I decided to buy the Pentax 55-300mm PLM as a replacement, hope I will be happy with it the same way as I was with this lens.

Recommended for the beginners or people who do not need to take photos of the moving subjects as flying birds. This is a very good lens for the price!



   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: December, 2009
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Posts: 2,437

4 users found this helpful
Review Date: October 10, 2019 Recommended | Price: $60.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Good IQ, relatively compact and light, low CA, great value for money
Cons: Not so good build quality
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 5    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-1    Autofocus: 7    New Or Used: Used   

This is a very useful lens for the money. Relatively compact and light and so often carry it.

IQ is pretty good. Center sharpness is good and usable wide open. Borders and corners is Ok but really needs to be stopped down a stop before they get sharp.

The main downside is build - on my copy the zoom is sticky at times. But overall well worth having - and incredible value for what I paid.

Samples:
1. 170mm f8
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/48627300528
2. 300mm f6.7
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/48663530632
3. 108mm f4
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/48610357948
Add Review of Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6 Buy the Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6



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