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Sigma 300mm f2.8 APO EX DG HSM For Canon Digital & Flim SLR Cameras

£9.9£99Clearance
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The 300/2.8 was overwhelmingly the mainstay supertelephoto lens in major brand lineups from the mid-1970s through the 1990s. I doubt there was more than a handful of professional sports photographer in the 1980s who didn't have one; mid-sized U.S. newspapers often had several, and a big newspaper might have half a dozen. Those same newspapers might have one or two 400/2.8 and 600/4 lenses. Nikon forgot to label this switch as the AF BUTTON FUNCTION. This sets what the four little rubber buttons around the front of the lens do. It’s been three-and-a-half years since that interview and in that time, Sony has continued to add new and improved technologies to its lenses. So it’s likely safe to assume the 300mm F2.8 will offer most everything Sony has on the technological front. The Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM S ships with a good quality soft case and a massive metal circular lens hood (LH1220-01). It accepts 105mm filters. Focal Range The Sigma 120-300 ships in a nicely padded case - it would be nice if the camera fit in the same case (though no other factory Canon-mount lens cases accommodate camera bodies).

There are markings to easily align the camera to portrait mode when needed. It helped things go much faster. Build Quality The most frustrating thing I experienced was an incredible bird in the middle of a field. Out of about 10 shots, only two maybe three had critical focus. I couldn't understand what was going on. Happened a few times; mostly with birds. Here's the best of the series:The Canon lenses mentioned include IS - not important for sports photography but very helpful for other handheld scenarios.

Note that I am not saying that the 120-300mm focal length range will work well for all wildlife photographers - I am simply saying that I had strong reasons to believe it would work well for ME. If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.

Appendix 2: Methods: Optical Stabilization and "Hand-holdability"

No detailed information has been shared about the forthcoming lens. All we know, based on the name alone, is it will feature a 300mm focal length, a maximum F2.8 aperture and Sony’s OSS optical image stabilization. It will also be one of Sony’s top-shelf G Master lenses. What does that mean? We’ll leave it to Yasuyuki Nagata, head of Sony’s global interchangeable lens business, who shared the following quote with us in a 2019 interview regarding the company’s G Master telephoto lenses:

This is wide open. But these type of high contrast situations are pretty much the only time you'll see it. And lets not forget to mention it is the OOF area showing it; few are the lenses of this focal length that don't exhibit color aberrations in the OOF area. So to me, it's acceptable. These were all taken stopped down a good deal, unlike most all the shots taken during my Tanzania outing which were mostly taken at or near wide open.

Optical Performance (shot native)

The astonishing invention of the 300/2.8 by Topcon in 1958 is arguably the birth of the supertelephoto lens concept (i.e. long focal length with very wide aperture). It's a landmark in photographic lens history.

The lens comes with a tripod collar which has a strong knob; but it’s easy to adjust. I only used it to switch the camera from landscape to portrait when mounted on a tripod. Some CA/color fringing at and near wide open but only at very high contrast edges. No focus limiter is trying at times. Sometimes just wouldn't autofocus with the subject right in-front of you ( yes, subject further then minimum focus)

On A Cropped Sensor

And of course, the non-IS Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is a very close alternative that costs far less than the IS version.

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