Since I have exchanged the TAMRON 18-270 / 3.5-6.3 DI II VC PZD for a Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Contemporary for my wife I wanted to know how good this lens is in the macro area.

I took 2 tripods and screwed the Nikon SB800 flash onto one of the tripods in conjunction with the Metz WT1 flash control. On the second tripod, my wife's Nikon D200, of course with the transmitter of the flash remote control from Metz. The direction of the flash was from left to right, you can see that in the shadow. I deliberately set the camera to automatic exposure as newcomers do. I just write the Exif data.
Then I took a 50cm x 50cm natural white polyethylene plate, placed it on a table and draped the sewing thread roll with the needle and thread on it. On purpose, I stabbed the needle slightly backwards so that the focus could be seen clearly.
I think that worked out quite well.

Exif Data:

Conclusion:
For an "always on the top" from the 400 euro class (375 euros in 3/2020), I think the result is very good. Since the lens has also done quite well in everyday situations, I find this lens in this price range a good "all-rounder" and certainly highly recommended for people who do not want to spend so much money or do not want to buy many lenses. In any case, a good starting lens.

Another night photo and one at the blue hour with the lens.

 Moyland Castle at the blue hour

Squirrel in the garden (The photo was taken through a window)

In the meantime, my wife has also devoted herself to photography. She prefers to use this lens because she almost always has the right focal length with her and doesn't want to carry a lot.

Here are a few more shots with this lens.

Lilie Forever Susan (the picture is not an enlargement)

lily forever susan

black lily blacklist (detail)

Here is an enlarged detail with org. Picture:

org. picture:

 The exif data for the image

 And here is the enlargement:

Conclusion:
For an “always on it travel zoom” from the 400 euro class (375 euros as of 3/2020), I think the result is very good. Since the lens has also performed quite well in everyday situations, I think this lens is a good "all-rounder" in this price range and certainly highly recommended for people who don't want to spend so much or don't want to buy so many lenses. In any case, a good starting lens. The Os also works very well, the squirrel picture was taken through a pane at the beginning of dusk around 4:30 p.m. on September 24th, 2021. If you look at the Exif data, you can see that the picture was taken with an open aperture with a 1/6th of a second at iso 200. The picture isn't 100% sharp, but I don't expect that with an absolute quick shot from the hand. But considering the circumstances of how it was done, I think it was a great effort from the Os.

In various forums there are always questions about used photo equipment for a small budget. For my part, I can only recommend this lens on a small budget.

When I write this I am often torn apart, then the "experts" come forward and recommend fixed focal lengths. Of course I know that fixed focal lengths are better, but with a small budget and if the demand is not absolutely at the upper level, this lens kills at least 3 lenses with a fixed focal length. In any case, three good lenses with a fixed focal length are significantly more expensive than this lens.