Sigma 300mm 1: 4 D APO Tele Macro Auto Focus for Nikon Lens for Review has provided Mad Nicholas.
There are several modifications of the Sigma 300mm 1: 4 D APO Tele Macro Auto Focus lens:
- The first version with a narrow focus ring
- Second version with wide focus ring
- The third version, looks like the second version, but has a built-in focus motor
Perhaps there are much more modifications. The Sigma 300mm 1: 4 D APO Tele Macro lens itself turned out to be quite good. The combination of a large focal length and good aperture make the lens a very good option for many photo tasks.
The lens assembly is of a very high standard. The lens weighs a little over 1.3 kg, the front lens is huge, with a diameter of 77 mm. Lens made in Japan - I did not notice any backlash in the lens. The Sigma 300/4 can easily be considered a top quality lens. The lens has a built-in retractable telescopic hood. The lens hood is large, plastic. The inside of the hood is covered with a cloth, so it fits very well on the lens. The hood is really very well made. The lens also has a handy tripod foot. The foot can be rotated 360 degrees and removed from the lens.
The rubberized focusing ring is huge! The lens has a 'MF - AF' focus mode switch and a 'Full - Limit' focusing limiter. In the 'Limit' mode, the focusing range is from infinity to 3 meters. In AF focus mode, the focus ring rotates freely. In MF mode, the focus ring rotates 70 degrees at Limit and 160 degrees at Full. The lens has a focusing distance scale. MDF is 1.2 meters, and the maximum magnification is 1: 3, which is very, very good.
Auto focus speed is average in 'Limit' mode, very slow in 'Full' mode. When focusing, neither the front nor the rear lens rotates.
It's important: auto focus with this lens is available only when using him on cameras with built-in motor focusing.
Exact list Nikon DSLR cameras with a built-in focus motor, on which this lens will focus automatically:
- D1, D1h, D1x, D2x, D2xs, D2h, D2hs
- D3, D3x, D3s, D4, D4s, D5, D6
- Df
- D50, D70, D70s, D80, D90
- D7000, D7100, D7200,D7500
- D100, D200, D300, D300s,D500
- D600, D610, D750, D780
- D700, D800,D800E, D810, D810a, D850
- Fujifilm FinePix S1 Pro, S2 Pro, S3 ProS3 Pro UVIR, S5 ProIS Pro
- Kodak DCS PRO 14n, DCS Pro SLR/n
Exact list Nikon DSLR cameras without a built-in focus motor, on which this lens will not focus automatically:
Only auto focus and sound confirmation of focus will not work with these cameras, all other important functions, such as automatic exposure metering and automatic iris control, will work well.
You will find a lot of useful information on the types of cameras and lenses Nikon here.
Also, the lens has an aperture control ring. For the lens to work properly on modern Nikon cameras, you need to set the F / 32 value using the aperture control ring and snap the aperture lock button on the lens itself.
Sample Photos
The lens showed good image quality. In general, all image parameters are at a high level. I especially want to highlight the pleasant bokeh of the lens, low level HA and weak distortion. The Sigma 300/4 is great for portrait photography. If it were my will and the opportunity to always move away, I would shoot everything at 300/4 or at 300/2.8. On Nikon DX crop EGF lens will be 450mm.
The parameters shown in the photo gallery:
Everything is filmed on Nikon D700 using protective filter Tiffen 77mm UV Protector USA. Some of the pictures were taken with an extended hood. On-camera JPEG L ('optimal quality' compression). Filmed in auto ISO, shutter speed no longer than 1/400 second. My copy on Nikon D700 suffers from light front focus. Functions: vignetting control, ADL, noise reduction at long exposures, noise reduction at high ISOs were turned off. All shot in Picture Control mode SD (standard mode): contrast correction - 0, brightness - 0, saturation - 0, hue - 0, sharpness - position 5 between 0 and 9. Used white balance: 'Auto', 'Shade' and 'Cloudy'. Photos have been resized to 2048px by 1363px Q = 85% (about 3MP).
Catalog of modern Sigma lenses can look at this link.
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Conclusions:
The Sigma 300mm 1: 4 D APO Tele Macro Auto Focus is a good professional-grade prime telephoto lens.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval.
interesting lens, thank you Arkady for the work done
Very interesting photos are obtained, live, touch the soul :). Thanks for the review.
Arkady, thank you for another interesting review!
Arkady, did you always shoot with an extended hood or not?
With such a focal point, does he still have a little distortion?
Arkady, your matrix is dirty
I cleaned it today :)
“Shot in Auto ISO mode, with shutter speed no faster than 1/400 of a second.”
Arkady, apparently, the shutter speed should have been no longer than 1/400 sec!
Fixed
How slow is focusing? Is it possible to compare with some other glasses?
For the first time I hear about versions with a narrow and wide ring. Where does this information come from?
The version with built-in motor (HSM) was available only for the "canons" and "sigma".
How is it compared to 70-300mm?
Which one is exactly 70-300?
Hello, how is it compared to the Tamron 70-300mm DI VC USD at the focal length of 300 mm?
Guys, sorry for the stupid question, can this lens be used in macro photography?
Only in proportions up to 1: 3, the “real” macro is counted from 1: 1.
Hello,
J'ai cet objectif, mais je ne l'ai pas utilisé depuis longtemps.
Du coup je ne sais plus le basculer en mode MACRO.
Vous auriez la solution?
Kind regards.
Il n'y a pas de mode “macro” séparé sur cet objectif. Avec sa distance minimale de mise au point de 1,2 mètre, il donne un grossissement de 1 à 3, ce qui permet de réaliser des clichés “macro” amateurs.