Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS HSM C Lens Review

Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS HSM C Handling and Features

Weighing 585g, this lens is a fairly typical size and weight when compared to other superzoom lenses. The lens balances well on the Nikon D300 body used for testing, and should also feel right at home on more compact entry-level camera bodies too.

High quality plastics with a smooth matt finish have been used for much of the lens' construction and the lens mount is made of metal. A wide rubberised zoom ring fills much of the lens barrel and the zoom action is very smooth, although it does tighten up a bit at around 80mm. There is enough resistance in the zoom mechanism to prevent it creeping through the range when pointed downwards. A locking switch is provided to hold the lens at 18mm during transport.

A silent HSM focusing motor powers the focusing mechanism, resulting in reasonably quick focusing. Focusing is performed internally, so the 72mm filter thread does not rotate, making this lens ideal for use with polarising and graduated filters.

Full time manual focus adjustments are not supported as the focus ring is solidly engaged with the focusing motor. Manual focus adjustments can be tricky to apply, as the focus ring is very loose, and has a very short travel from infinity to close focusing when manual focus mode is engaged. The close focusing distance of 39cm is quite close for a lens with a zoom range as large as this.

Thanks to the optical stabilisation, sharp hand-held images are possible around half the time at shutter speeds as low as 1/40sec at 300mm, which is roughly four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would dictate is possible.

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