SIGMA: SOMEONE'S WATCHING YOOUUUuuuuu.

FIRST THE SPECS, FACTS AND FIGURES:


Using what they call original three group zoom technology, Sigma has created the most compact zoom lens in its class. This lens is less than 4 inches long and under 2.8 inches diameter. It has a filter diameter of 55mm, And covers the most frequently used telephoto focal lengths, Which they claim are 100mm-300mm.

It has 13 elements in 10 groups, a 24.4º to 8º angle of view, has 8 blades in its diaphragm, minimum aperture is f22-f32, minimum focusing distance is 78.8", magnification is 1:5.9, size is 2.8"-3.9", and finally has a weight of 14.5 oz.

With SLD glass to keep color aberration* to a minimum, this lens is excellent both in optical performance and ease of use. I have been using this lens for a few months now and am enthralled with the results I have been getting. It is a well made product and very easy to like. It is especially useful for sports and nature photography, or when you want to get that once in a lifetime shot from afar so as not to encourage your subject to "pose", just go blend in with the woodwork somewhere, and when everything says "GO" squeeze that shutter button.

* Aberration:
1. A deviation from the proper or expected course.
2. A departure from the normal or typical.
3. A defect of focus, such as blurring in an image.
4. An imperfect image caused by a physical defect in an optical element, as in a lens. Obviously Sigma is trying to tell us things will turn out good, and from experience, they do !


THE ROAD TEST:

One thing I especially like about this lens is the fact that it has rubber grips on the focusing and zooming areas of the barrel instead of just metal or knurled metal surfaces, which make it very comfortable to handle and very secure against slippage.

The auto focus is medium fast at most settings, but when you get to the far end, say 230mm till it is maxed out to 300mm things slow down considerably. There are times in less that ideal lighting situations where it struggles to find it's focus and this is when you will want to switch off your auto focus if it is an option on your camera and manual focus it for accuracy. Also I have found during attempts to follow a moving object (like flying birds etc.) the auto focus is slow to make up its mind, so maybe try this in manual focus once you get your zoom length set.

One thing I don't like is when you do decide to run it in manual focus mode, the focus ring is so easy turning that any slight bumps on the lens or even the camera body, or an accidental brush against a branch or your sleeve will easily turn the focus ring and things will be blurry fast.

You may be able to modify your lens yourself with a rubber band or other "high tech" means to lock the focus where you desire, that's all your call.

THE BIG CONCLUSION:

For the price, this is one lens you cannot beat. I doubt you will ever see Tim Fitzharris carrying this lens in his bag, but then neither you nor I have Six Thousand Dollars to spend on a single lens either. This is a lens strictly for the amateur to novice photographer and until such a time comes where you will desire or need upgrading to a faster and better lens it will not disappoint you with its performance.

I have seen these lenses on eBay from dealers starting as low as 149.00 brand new in the box. Made for Sigma, Canon, Minolta, Nikon(D) and Pentax auto focus cameras. And also comes in manual focus.

Check out some of my photos at...

www.geocities.com/roadiem/photos.html

...to see some fine examples of what this lens can do. All of the Duck photos as well as most other small creature photos were captured with this lens. Of course the scanned photos are not nearly as beautiful as the prints, but you already knew that !