is this lens good/reliable/awesome?

[iPhoto17]

ive been looking for a cheap new lens and this is what i found, i know sigma is 3rd party for nikon but are they reliable?

Amazon.com: Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens with built in motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

ive been wanting to shoot zoom and up close

 

[iPhoto17]

ive been looking for a cheap new lens and this is what i found, i know sigma is 3rd party for nikon but are they reliable?

Amazon.com: Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SLD DG Macro Lens with built in motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

ive been wanting to shoot zoom and up close

the only thing im worried about is the aperture being only 4-5.6, but i guess thats what fast shutter speeds are for which will be an advantage

 

[Bram]

What camera you shooting with? What are you shooting? A macro lens such as this is for themost part only good for 1:1 ratio shooting. Macro photography, you should google it.

 

[iPhoto17]

What camera you shooting with? What are you shooting? A macro lens such as this is for themost part only good for 1:1 ratio shooting. Macro photography, you should google it.

im shooting with a nikon d3000 and ive been wanting to do macro photography as well, is this lens good for landscapes as well as zoom?

 

[Bram]

Alright, from what I have heard, no. I am not a macro photographer so I don't know but I wanted to buy a 851.8 for portraits and for macro and that was appearantly the dumbest thing ever. Macro lenses are for macro images that's it.

 

[ajkramer87]

What camera you shooting with? What are you shooting? A macro lens such as this is for themost part only good for 1:1 ratio shooting. Macro photography, you should google it.

Maybe you should google it. This lens is not going to get 1:1 macro pictures.

 

[Bram]

I never said this lens was going to give him 1:1 macro photos. Read it carefully.

 

[tirediron]

I can't speak for this lens specifically, but like most Sigma glass in this range, I would expect that it will be a decent, inexpensive, consumer-grade lens. It is however, NOT a macro lens, regardless of what the page indicates. The maximum magnification here is 1:2, in otherwords it can only focus closely enough to produce an image 1/2 real size on the sensor, or, to put it another way, if you were to photograph a ruler, 1 inch on the ruler would equate to 1/2" on the sensor. This may or may not be a big deal to you.

 

[iPhoto17]

What camera you shooting with? What are you shooting? A macro lens such as this is for themost part only good for 1:1 ratio shooting. Macro photography, you should google it.

Maybe you should google it. This lens is not going to get 1:1 macro pictures.

i cant afford anything too fancy, and thats the cheapest macro lens i can find, id prefer a lens that i can get up close to the subject instead of being farther away and zooming in close

i just basically want to do macro i dont really care for zoom right now

 

[ajkramer87]

What camera you shooting with? What are you shooting? A macro lens such as this is for themost part only good for 1:1 ratio shooting. Macro photography, you should google it.

I read this as you saying this lens is only good for 1:1 shooting.

 

[gsgary]

Macro on this lens is a sales gimik

 

[Bram]

No what I meant was lenses like this one (macro lenses) for the most part are only good for 1:1 macro shots.

 

[ajkramer87]

No what I meant was lenses like this one (macro lenses) for the most part are only good for 1:1 macro shots.

Who told you that? Macro lenses work just like any other lens only it has the ability to focus closer. Any zoom lens that says macro on it is only going to get around 1:2 magnification. Its just a gimmick to trick people into buying it. I wouldn't waste my money on this. If you cant afford a real macro lens look into extension tubes.

 

[iPhoto17]

it cant be a real lens at all, i just called wolf camera for the same exact lens and it cost 600 dollars there, why would this one be only 145?

 

[iPhoto17]

can any of you show me a real macro lens so i know what to look for?