Sigma APO 300mm F2.8 EX DG/HSM

So, I purchased a second hand Sigma APO 300mm F2.8 EX DG/HSM this week. I used to own a manual focus Tamron 300mm f/2.8 SP lens for my Pentax system. It was an adaptall lens so I could have kept it and used it on my Nikon, but for some foolish reason I sold it (much to the new owner's delight :-) ).

If you are pretty serious about photography and have the money, you need to purchase yourself a 300mm f/2.8 lens. I don't think it's important whether it's manual or auto focus, the lens is just a joy to use that how it focuses is almost second. For the record, I used my manual focus Tamron for things like trips to the zoo and for airshows and it worked great.

This Sigma is actually much smaller and lighter than my old metal Tamron lens. I'd get tired of carrying the Tamron after a couple of hours - not so with the Sigma. I packed the Sigma around for about 3 hours last night and an hour and a half this morning and no problems either with my arms or my back.

I purchased both of Sigma's teleconverters to use with this lens, the 1.4x and the 2.0x. I've now tried them both out.

Last night I attended a concert. The singer was Sara Westbrook, a brilliant voice with songs of strength and happiness. I was positioned about 100 feet away and used the 1.4x teleconverter on the lens most of the time. I cannot really see a difference in sharpness between photos taken with and without the teleconverter. There is some CA in the photos with the teleconverter, I'm not sure if they would have been there without it. Note, the CA is in the specular highlight in Sara's eyes and in her diamond ring (both clearly defined in the photos, even from 100' away).

You can see more photos from the concert on my Facebook page:
Facebook photos

I also got out to High Park to take photos of some birds. Unfortunately, the birds were no into doing anything interesting this morning, probably because of the dull, overcast weather. Note, these shots are fairly soft. They were taken with the 2x teleconverter, are at ISO 3200 and both are taken handheld with the shutter speed less than the recommended 1/focual length. I will need to try the lens and teleconverter in sunshine and see if the results are better.


This lens seems brilliant, really sharp, even at f4 and pixel peeping. If you look at photos on a 20" monitor, even f2.8 is really sharp. At f5.6 the lens is brilliantly sharp. The HSM focusing is fast and accurate. The lens is shorter than others in this class and very light, comparatively speaking. I would highly recommend this.