Sigma 258306 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Camera

What a performer! I've been leery of buying "off-brand" equipment ever since I got into the photography game. I've always leaned toward matching brand to brand, because they know their business and nothing else can compare, right? Finally, though, I branched out a bit and trusted the recommendation of friends whose photography I respect, and I bought this bad boy to pair up with my Nikon D7100.One word - WIN!I've shot with Nikon's 105mm macro before, and it's no slouch, to be sure, but this lens isn't either, and it comes in at a lower price point (especially if you catch it on a sale for $569 like I did). I bought it without testing first, based on the aforementioned friends' recommendations, and right out of the box, I knew I had a winner. Compared to the Nikon, it just feels more solid. It seems like it weighs about a pound more than the comparable Nikon, in fact, which may be off-putting to some, but tends to give me more confidence in the build....Where it differs from the higher priced Nikon is in the max aperture (f22 vs f32 on the Nikon), the focus speed when not limited to specific ranges (the Nikon locks a bit faster when hunting through the entire range), and the noise level from the stabilization (this one is much more noticeable. Not overbearing, but definitely louder). I can say this, though. I know when I'm going to be shooting macro vs. standard, so limiting the focal range with an easy to reach switch takes away the disadvantage in focus speed, and the noise from the OS practically disappears into nothingness once you're acclimated to it, so that's 2 of the 3 comparisons that, to me, don't make a difference in the world. As far as the aperture, will I miss the 1 stop difference between f22 and f32? To be honest, I'll never know, but I doubt the difference will be worth $230 to me at this point, so I'm going to risk saying "nope" to that.Picture quality is spot on, and comparing shots in my catalogue from both lenses doesn't show any difference to my eye, even when zooming in to full screen. Pixel peepers might be able to find something, but digging through all the detail that I can handle nets stunning results from both lenses, both in macro and standard ranges. The sharpness is spot on, distortion is minimal, and the bokeh is dreamy!Macro shots, product shots, portraits... for the price of this lens, even at $669, it's hard to justify another 100-200 bucks to brand match in this instance. I'm "all-in" for this lens!

Lens has been WONDERFUL!!!I thought it was going to be a compromise--I was looking for a tele that was reasonable in price and good fast aperture. Apparently, that is in the $1K range. There aren't many primes in the tele range, either. So, when I found out about this one, I figured I would give it a chance. Well priced, highly rated, and image samples found on the net are all very good. So definitely worth it!Positives:--Great image quality. Seriously, super sharp and great out of focus areas--Awesome portrait lens.--the macro is very accurate--thing is built like a tank--image stabilization is very good.Negatives:--since it is built like a tank, it is a little heavy. Makes the camera feel a little unbalanced--Wish it were more like 120mm or so (but that's a personal gripe lol)Other:--Use the full size lens hood. It comes with full size, and APS-C hood, but the full size is more than enough, plus you can screw on to the lens backwards and make lens profile much smaller than you can with the APS-C hood.GREAT lens, especially for the $$!

Beautiful photos... I almost feel like a pro. =)I like to consider myself an intermediate amateur. Figured I'd save up and get this lens to use for macro photography AND as a portrait lens. It works well for both, BUT you'll need to take into account a few things that I learned while using this lens.- This is not that fun to use with kids who run around. Not a great lens for casual use at the park, because you run into a lot of AF-hunt. Most photographers may already know this, but this is the first expensive lens I've ever purchased. You can help by setting the lens to focus between 0.45-infinity instead of having full range, but it doesn't help that much.- Macro lenses, in general, will actually NOT shoot at the aperture stated at every distance. So you will not be shooting at f/2.8 with this lens at macro distances. Have plenty of lighting available.- This lens works pretty darn well indoors shooting at f/2.8. (I'm talking about those dimly-lit gymnasiums that schools love to do concerts and ceremonies in.)- The DOF on this lens at f/2.8 is RAZOR SHARP. You can lose focus and have undesirable results if you don't do something as simple as having your focal point on an actual eyeball (as opposed to aiming for the face and hoping). With the magnification, it is pretty noticeable when you miss focus.I can add more details later as I run into them, but all in all, this is a great lens to have in your bag. I'll let a couple of photos speak for themselves. =)

Just got this lens for my Sony a77ii. Rather heavy and large but balances nicely on the camera.Love the OS and find it effective gaining about 2 stops. Did not notice any excessive noise.Auto focusing is near silent and accurate, maybe a little on the slow side. You can manually fine-tune focusing even in AF mode just by turning the focusing ring.The focus limiter is a useful addition since the in-camera focus limiter of the a77ii does not function with my Sigma lenses since the distance settings are not communicated between camera and lens.Optimum sharpness of this lens appears to be when stopped down to f5.6 and beyond.This is not much of a problem with a macro lens since you need to stop down anyways to get any kind of depth of field.The bokeh of this lens is about as good as it gets which seems to be a trademark of all the Sigma lenses I own.I highly recommend this lens to anyone that wants to dabble into life size macro photography.The focal length of 105mm gives you some needed working distance and adding a 1.4x teleconverter gives you even more versatility.