The Sigma 70-300 APO contains a 300mm macro setting. I was unhappy with the casual sharpness of earlier shots, so decided to test the lens on a bright sunny morning with roughy 8:00am light. All shots were made from a tripod using the wireless remote trigger on my D50, and were shot at ISO200 for maximum quality. The JPEGS are untouched by post processing and have been transferred using the 10 (maximum quality) setting in Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0. Some results were expected, and others are surprising. All in all, the results suggest that a) 300mm is really a bit long for flower work (two narrow a depth of field with acceptable bokeh, contrast, and sharpness) at more normal apertures, and b) that the Sigma 70-300 is at best a decemt "economy macro" machine when used properly. But see for yourself.

Clicking on the photos brings them up to original size, and also returns them to original size.