Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Contemporary DC Macro OS HSM Lens for Sony

I got this lens only a few hours ago, and immediately put it to the test. My first impressions were very good. The lens seemed sharp throughout its range. I compared shots with it and with two highly-regarded zooms I already own: the Canon EFS 15-85 and the Canon EF 70-300L. Of course the two Canon zooms were sharper, but not by much. I found the Sigma results quite acceptable. Curiously, unlike many other superzooms, the lens gets sharper at its longer focal lengths.I wasn't expecting much anyway, but the extreme close-ups I tried were not very sharp. But I might try again.An added bonus for Canon users, the zoom ring rotates in the same direction as does Canon zooms.I will probably retire the two Canon lenses, saving my 72-year-old back quite a bit of stress.I have only two complaints, neither of which is worth deducting a star.1) The zoom ring is a bit stiff, but will probably loosen with use.2) The lens does not allow full-time manual focus.Much of my decision making was based on test results that I found on "the-digital-picture/reviews" website.Edited a week later - I have taken several hundred photos and am very satisfied with the results.Edited a month later - I took it on a cruise and took many photos on and off the ship. The lens performed well, and its wide range mostly eliminated the need to switch lenses. For most shots center sharpness was good with perhaps a loss of sharpness in the corners.Edited another month later - I took it to Hawaii, where it produced good results again. Its extended range allowed me to carry only the camera and lens for many outings, rather than a camera bag with two lenses.

Being it's still so difficult to find reviews of this lens, and it's now the holiday season, here's a limited pic first impression mounted on a Nikon D5100. When compared to the latest Sigma 18-250mm Macro lens this lens feels of better build quality, noticeably heavier up front, stiffer zooming (not a bad thing), noticeably sharper images...seemingly across the full zoom, feels about the same focusing speed across all lighting/zoom...possibly a tad faster, stabilization seems about the same...possibly a tad better, BUT...WOW THIS LENS BREATHS LIKE A DRANGON. You can actually feel the air being forced through the camera. Some have commented about the Nikon 55-300mm lens being a dust sucker, I don't find that lens too terrible, but I'm pretty sure this lens will have that one beat hands down...unfortunately. My particular lens does have a noticeable "click" when ending its focus hunt, possibly a parking mechanism for gears?, and its focus is dead on right out of the box. Barrel distortion isn't too bad, chromatic aberration doesn't appear to be either, but with the built-in flash I've gotten a few shots with a half moon on the bottom from the lens blocking the flash. At this point I'd have to call this lens a buy, bearing in mind it might not be the best choice for a dusty environment. If you're after a versatile family lens this lens can catch my 18 month old grandson indoors, in low lighting, clearly...and he never stops moving, not even in his sleep. Deer out in the field, snowscapes, birds at the feeder, Jack-frost paintings, snowflakes,...hopefully its longevity matches its versatility.

The lence is working good the focus ring goes a bit hard hope it is ok. It' looks like new . I put it on r7 withvadaptor .it arrived with sun protectorMakes funy nise will focosing

All likes, no dislikes! I was looking for basically an all-in-one camera lens, and, for me, this one delivers. I normally carry a 55-200 and 18-24 lens with me, especially when traveling, but this lens gives me all that range plus another 300mm. This is the lens I wish I had taken with me to Europe earlier this year, but I'm definitely looking forward to my next international trip.

I initially bought this lens in 2017 for an African safari. It takes great telephoto pictures without carrying around a bulky telephoto lens. I am not a photographer, and this was perfect for me. On a trip to Alaska in 2023, the autofocus stopped functioning. I’m not even sure what happened, but I believe it either got wet or dirty. While I would have preferred for it to have lasted longer than 6 years, it had a good run, and I bought the same lens again for future travels.

Purchased this item from Web offers April 2019 and registered with Sigma. By summer, the auto focus was giving me trouble. I thought maybe it was me expecting it to focus too fast. By October it stopped worked completely. Contacted Web Orders and they told me I had to work directly with Sigma as the return period was past. This makes sense and I do appreciate the fastness of this response. Contacted Sigma and they told me Web Offers was not on the authorized dealers list and sold on the grey market. They asked for my serial number and verified that my camera was a Sigma USA model. Because I purchased it from Web offers, Sigma considers it used and would not honor the four year warranty.I do appreciate the communication from both companies...but I am disappointed. I will not purchase from Web offers again as they advertise a warranty that is not honored.I am disappointed in Sigma that they accepted a registration from me at time of purchase and did not note it was used at the time. I will not purchase a sigma product based on this alone.Highly disappointed in product and warranty. Next time I throw $400 out the window I will go to Nikon directly. I consider this my fault and have actually been warned of this when purchasing camera products. I share this so that people can do better research than I did. Looking at reviews were not enough in this scenario.