Sigma’s 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO-M DG Macro Lens is one of several tele-macro zoom lenses. It is a compact Apochromatic tele-macro zoom lens incorporating two Special Low Dispersion glass elements in the front lens group, plus one Special Low Dispersion glass element in the rear lens group, to minimize chromatic aberration.

This tele-macro zoom lens is capable of focusing down to 1:2 (half life-size) reproduction ratio at 300mm focal length with superb optical quality. It also has a switch for changeover to macro photography at focal lengths between 200mm and 300mm. The lens materials used in this product are lead and arsenic free ecological glass.

The improved DG lens design corrects for various aberrations. This lens is specially coated to get the best color balance while cutting down on ghosting caused by reflections from the digital image sensor.

Telephoto zoom lenses with tele-macro function, optimized for digital cameras.
The high performance telephoto zoom lens is ideal for digital SLR cameras. This lens has two SLD glass elements in the front lens group and one in the rear lens group It is able to shoot with maximum magnification 1:2 at the focal length of 300 mm. It’s the ideal lens for portraits, sports photography, nature photography, and other types of photography that frequently use the telephoto range.

New coating reduces Ghost and Flare.

The new multi layer lens coating and lens design reduce flare and ghost, which is a common problem with digital cameras and also creates an optimum color balance through the entire zoom range.

It is equipped with three pieces of SLD glass for high image quality

This lens has two SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements in the front lens group and one in the rear lens group, the lens has excellent correction of chromatic aberration through the entire zoom range.

Macro shooting with maximum magnification 1:2

High optical performance is demonstrated throughout the entire zoom range. It also has a switch that converts the lens to macro photography at focal lengths between 200mm and 300mm with a minimum focusing distance of 95cm (37.4 inches). In normal mode the minimum focusing distance is 150cm (59.1 inches) at all zoom settings. Maximum magnification between 200mm and 300mm is 1:2.9 to 1:2.

Reviews

Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG macro – Review by photozone.de

The Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG macro came close to a surprise but it still hasn´t won the cigar. It delivered pretty decent results in most aspects, specifically at 70mm and 200mm, but at 300mm the border resolution is nothing short of dismal – certainly not apochromatic as claimed by Sigma (nor would we really expect that from such a budget lens). Nonetheless you may argue that the center performance of the lens is on a very high level throughout the range and for many tele applications your main subject is often located close to the center so the border problems may not be all that obvious in the real life. As such it still remains an interesting budget solution. If you prefer a sharp border to border quality look elsewhere though … and prepare yourself to invest quite a bit more.

Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Interchangeable Lens Review by ephotozine.com

Positive points of the Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 APO DG Macro are:

• Excellent optical performance for price.
• Good close focus ability (1:2)
• Light enough to carry all day.

Negative points are:

• Long extension when close focussed and zoomed.
• Front element and extension rotates during focussing