Sigma 70-300mm APO DG MACRO (how to improve)

[smalltake]

Dear all, just a newbie here............

Recently just bought a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG MACRO to start off playing around with Macro Photograhy, anyone can advise how I can expand with this lens to improve/manify lens? Buy :
- Marcro converter?
- Extension tubes?
- Any other suggestions?

Appreciate all the Macro experts' advice here........ thanks.

 

[ihub88]

investment in a true macro lens will help the most.

 

[smalltake]

investment in a true macro lens will help the most.

Just trying out leh...... very expensive leh. So anyway to improve on the macro lens I just bought? Or should I sell it off...............

 

[megaweb]

Just bought the lens and now decide to sell it off ?

You should show your shots taken by this lens ..

 

[smalltake]

Just bought the lens and now decide to sell it off ?

You should show your shots taken by this lens ..

Still doing abit of reading of extension tubes and macro converter...... got any to recommend? Thanks.

 

[Galdor]

I have this lens too. Though not a dedicated Macro lens but images are very good (at least to me). Do get to know more about and use more of the lens first. It's not that bad a lens. Most of my macro shots are taken with non-dedicated macro lenses. Keep shooting and show us your pictures to enable others to help you further.

 

[smalltake]

I have this lens too. Though not a dedicated Macro lens but images are very good (at least to me). Do get to know more about and use more of the lens first. It's not that bad a lens. Most of my macro shots are taken with non-dedicated macro lenses. Keep shooting and show us your pictures to enable others to help you further.

Bro, can post some of your pics taken with the lens? I am usually/always impressed with the close up of subjects and its very interesting to 'shot' that close....... you do not have any add-ons to this lenses? Please share, thanks.

 

[Artosoft]

Just bought the lens and now decide to sell it off ?

You should show your shots taken by this lens ..

Agree.

I have this lens and another one is Nikkor 60mm Micro.

I prefer Sigma to shoot butterfly, dragonfly as I can shoot them from about 70cm distance.

Regards,
Arto.

 

[smalltake]

Agree.

I have this lens and another one is Nikkor 60mm Micro.

I prefer Sigma to shoot butterfly, dragonfly as I can shoot them from about 70cm distance.

Regards,
Arto.

Do you have any add ons to your 70-300mm lens? I dun think its possible to really shoots those close up shots of their eyes, hairs etc... please advise........

 

[Artosoft]

Do you have any add ons to your 70-300mm lens? I dun think its possible to really shoots those close up shots of their eyes, hairs etc... please advise........

For that close up, you better with real macro lens. Close up filter while can help a bit, will make the picture not sharp (compared to real macro lens). Also will decrease the working distance.

I only use external flash as additional gear with sigma.

Check this:
http://artosoft.multiply.com/photos/photo/5/55

Regards,
Arto.

 

[midicity]

Can play with the 70-300 for a while before you decide if you want to take the plunge to buy a real macro lens.

Taking pictures with this lens is harder than a macro lens because you have macro mode only at the tele end. The aperture will be small, the focal length 200-300, which makes handholding quite difficult. You will likely need at least a monopod for more keeper shots.

 

[smalltake]

Can play with the 70-300 for a while before you decide if you want to take the plunge to buy a real macro lens.

Taking pictures with this lens is harder than a macro lens because you have macro mode only at the tele end. The aperture will be small, the focal length 200-300, which makes handholding quite difficult. You will likely need at least a monopod for more keeper shots.

Noted. How much is a new monopod going to cost? Less than a $100?

 

[midicity]

Noted. How much is a new monopod going to cost? Less than a $100?

Think a manfrotto monopod is <$100, but you'll likely need a head with it too, which will bring it to above $100.

I was in your position before, trying out the sigma 70-300 macro, getting closeup lenses etc. At the end of the day, I bought the Tamron 90mm Macro and realised that I should have bought the macro lens from the start and not waste money on the other items.

One main benefit of the macro lens is the sharpness from edge to edge. Normal lenses just can't match its sharpness

I still use the sigma 70-300 for travel though

 

[rc1q2w3e4r]

Bro, can post some of your pics taken with the lens? I am usually/always impressed with the close up of subjects and its very interesting to 'shot' that close....... you do not have any add-ons to this lenses? Please share, thanks.

Just a couple of "Macro" I tool this morning with this len.

Although not 1:1, but good enough for my use.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[stdfoto]

This lens sharpness is excellent.:thumbsup: Good choice.

 

[cantaresg]

But the fact that it is not a true macro does bugs me somehow. Unlikely that I will sell mine, but probably will get a true macro.

 

[totoro17]

just wondering is your lens able to take very sharp picture at 300mm? it is very sensitive to hand shake...

 

[Hoky]

just wondering is your lens able to take very sharp picture at 300mm? it is very sensitive to hand shake...

Yes, it would be quite sensitive...
As a rule of thumb, you gotto take your shots at the shutter speed of 1/focal length (min).
Which means 1/300 secs for 300mm.

I still have this lens. It's not fast but it's a keeper since I don't take tele shots often.
Here's my take on it's sharpness and bokeh:

 

[cantaresg]

If you factor in the crop, you need less than 1/500 sec to avoid handshake. Generally pictures taken at lower focal lengths are quite sharp.

This was a test image that I took some time ago at 300mm, 1.3 sec of exposure, sitting on a tripod. The sharpness is reasonable, and a fair resolution.

 

[ExplorerZ]

If you factor in the crop, you need less than 1/500 sec to avoid handshake. Generally pictures taken at lower focal lengths are quite sharp.

This was a test image that I took some time ago at 300mm, 1.3 sec of exposure, sitting on a tripod. The sharpness is reasonable, and a fair resolution.

100% crop? :dunno: