Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM for Nikon Digital and Film SLR Cameras

Product Information

As with any lens with this range, you can only use MF with a TC, but that's a minor issue. Though no lightweight, it's not as heavy as you might expect, weighing 62.8 oz, much less than Sigma's 120-300 2.8 lens, which weighs 104 oz. Size (diameter x length): 109 x 265mm (4.3 x 10.4in.) plus 66mm for the lens hood (120mm diameter). The Tamron 150-500 is 93 x 209mm + 55mm lens hood, the Sony 200-600 is 112 x 318mm and the Sigma 150-600 HSM Sports is 121 x 290mm (both without lens hood), the Tamron 150-600 is 108 x 260mm + 97mm lens hood. All lenses except for the Sony 200-600 extend when zoomed to their longest focal length: The Sigma 150-600 DN extends 100mm to a total length of 431mm (incl. lens hood). [0] I use it for action sports shooting, almost all of it outdoors during daylight hours, including yacht racing, and occasionally for large artificially-lighted stadium events, such as baseball and Super-cross motorcycle racing. Shooting in such light is not a problem with the higher ISO capabilities of the D3, D700 and D7100.

APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM - SIGMA Corporation

I currently shoot with 7 Nikon 1 bodies. I recently retired my three V2s from still photography so I could extend their serviceable life for my client video business. All of my still photography is done with a pair of J5s, as well as a pair of V3s which I added to my kit this year. One new one, and one used copy with a low shutter count. I have a total of 14 Nikon 1 lenses and may add some duplicate lenses if the system is discontinued. Price: The Sigma 150-600 DN comes at a recommended retail price of 1399 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 1499 USD / 1199 GBP. The Tamron 150-500 is 1499 EUR / 1399 USD / 1379 GBP, the Sony 200-600 is 1670 EUR / 2000 USD / 1500 GBP. The older DSLR designs currently sell for 1650 EUR / 1850 USD / 1330 GBP (Sigma 150-600 HSM Sports) and 1000 EUR / 1200 USD / 850 GBP (Tamron 150-600). [0] I think it is important to remember that lenses can perform quite differently depending on the camera body used with them. Many folks don’t realize this and they sometimes spend money on a new lens only to discover that there is little, if any, noticeable difference in image quality when used on their existing camera body.The minimum shutter speed for shake free images = 1 / (focal length (in mm) x crop factor) still applies, so at 500 mm (if you use a APS-C camera) you should use 1/750 sec at the most, to be on the safe side.

Sigma 150-500mm OS Bird Photography with Sigma 150-500mm OS

For owners of Nikon 1 V2 camera bodies…my V2 did not recognize the Sigma 150-500mm OS at all. My V2 body has the latest firmware that supports 15 fps when using the FT-1 adapter. Another friend of mine has a V2 and it works fine with his Sigma 150-500mm OS. I suspect this has something to do with the differences between firmware versions. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to shoot my Nikon 1 V2 with the Sigma 150-500mm so I can’t comment on image quality or focus speed/accuracy. NIKON D800 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/2000, f/6.3 The exterior finish of the 150-500, being mostly plastic instead of painted metal, holds up very well. It still looks brand-new, after a year of salt-water spray, dust and dirt. While sharpness certainly isn't bad, I think you can see it's not quite as good as it was at 400mm and f8. I have the Sigma 150-600 Sports (which now is 30% more costlier than the C, at least here, and locally costs exactly the same as the Nikon 200-500), and I used to have the 150-500. My what a difference! As others have mentioned, f8 seems to be the sweet-spot for sharpness, though I haven't noticed any marked sharpness drop-off at any aperture.

Image stabilization

I got this lens as a smaller, easier to carry 'long' lens (as an alternate to my Nikon 200-400). Gave up waiting for an AF-S version of the 80-400. At 150mm the Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM shows high sharpness from center to edge at f5 and little is gained by stopping down. Chromatic aberration is very well controlled. Some may find it "plasticy", but the use of plastic keeps it both lighter and less expensive. MF only with a TC. Distance information is relayed to the camera, so the latest bodies can do all the advanced exposure-related stuff with this lens. But this is true for most alternatives too. [+] Filter-thread: 82mm = bigger and more expensive than the 77mm standard with pro lenses. But to achieve f6.3 at 500mm you cannot stay at 77mm filter thread. [0]

Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM for Nikon Digital and Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM for Nikon Digital and

At 400mm center sharpness remains high the edges are slightly less sharp with the lens wide open. There's a small improvement stopping down to f8, but not so much that I'd feel that I had to do so to get a sharp shot. Chromatic aberration is low, but visible at the edges of the frame.And now a 100% crop of the cormoramt's head. This shot was taken handheld at a shutter speed of 1/250s. I shoot this equally on a D300S and D7000, favouring the D7000 in low light conditions. I think the user should consider the following before buying, not only this lens, but anything in this focal length, especailly on a non-FX sized sensor. How good is your technique hand held ? If you currently struggle with a 200 or 300mm then think again unless you happy to lug about and set up a tripod for each shot, factor this by at what ISO your camera body will produce acceptable output. I have just won a local competition with an image grabbed at 500mm on my D7000 handheld. I traded this lens with another photographer in exchange for my excellent Sigma 150mm Macro - is a shame to give this lens a negative review as it is a "try hard" attempt but there is no getting away from the issues. my main problem is that is it almost impossible to focus on a moving object at 500mm....the point at which most people will want to use it. Weight: At 2090g (4.6 lb.) (incl. tripod collar) plus 150g for the lens hood the new Sigma is much, much lighter than its predecessor: the Sigma 150-600 HSM Sports was 2860g (without lens hood). It is still not a light lens. The Tamron 150-500 is only 1725g + 95g lens hood + 155g tripod collar, the Sony 200-600 is 2115g (without lens hood or tripod foot), the Tamron 150-600 is 1784g + 108g lens hood + 200g tripod collar. [0] Above: Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (left, needs mount converter), Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS (right)

Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Sony and - DXOMARK Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Sony and - DXOMARK

The Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM isn't a macro lens. Maximum magnification is 0.19x (about 1/5 life size) but nevertheless it's fine for closups of flowers and detail shots of larger objects. On a full frame camera at maximum magnification the area in the image will measure about 5" x 7.5". On an APS-C crop sensor camera like the EOS 7D, the frame will cover about 3.1" x 4.7".

Samples

initial trials shooting Gannets in New Zealand were very disapointing and a Nikkor 80-200 on a d300 (even with a TC) just blow it away, although I will concede that the lens does seem to perform reasonably well from 150-300. Also against the Nikon 80 - 400VR was its age. It is generally considered to be overdue for an update, and I didn't want to buy one then find it superseded by an improved version in the near future!