| Brand: | Sigma | ||
| Average Rating |
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The APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens covers a telephoto range up to 500mm and allows photographers to bring the subject close and short perspective. Sigma’s original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower. It is ideal for sports, wildlife and landscape photography with handheld shooting. Three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for chromatic aberration. This lens is equipped with a rear focus system that minimizes fluctuation of aberration caused by focusing. The super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. This lens incorporates HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), which ensures a quiet and high-speed AF as well as full-time manual focusing capability. A removable tripod socket (TS-31) is included as a standard component. 16.4 to 5-degrees Angle of View 220cm/86.6 Minimum Focusing Distance Dimensions – 3.7 x 9.9 (94.7×252mm) Weight – 1910 grams (67.4 ounces) more info
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent lens, amazing reach, amazing price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been using this lens for two days now. So far I’ve shot Bald Eagles and some kind of small bird. Never would have been possible without this lens. It amazes me how easy it is to use handheld with OS set to 1, no tripod needed. I thought I’d need one but I’m finding I really don’t. As far as the OS being noisy, it makes some noise but it’s very similar to my Nikon 55-200.
I’m impressed with the quality of shots I get while using this lens. A prime 500mm Nikon this isn’t, however, it is still impressive. I think that’s what everyone else has said and I have to echo that here. Most of all this lens is just plain fun to use. The price is excellent and the OS is amazing.
To see a few of my shots using this lens, go to flickr.com and lookup the username jay2theb2001.
First Impression – Sigma 150-500
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
At last I got my long cherished Sigma lens as a birthday gift from my Son. I was so excited that I wanted to try out the performence at once. I rushed to the near by park with a pond where 10 to 12 species of birds are normally found. By the time I reached the light was fading off. I shot a couple of photos. To my utter surprise they were brilliant. Since it has an OS I went down to 100 th sec. The ISO was at 400. I have a Nikon D 50 which can not be called by any standards a high end modle nor with the latest technology. The AF is absolutely silent and fast. So is the OS. The only thing I could not figure out is the option 1 and option 2 of the OS. The literature supplied says that 1 is for normal conditions and 2 is when the subject is having a vertical movement. Trying out may be the best teacher. I personally feel that if ” value for money ” is a criteria you can not ask for anything better
Wing Commander Pratti Rajgopal INDIA
Sigma 150 – 500 mm f//5-6.3 AF Zoom Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am a serious amateur photographer and bought this lens for nature photography after spending six months researching options. I use a Nikon D300 camera body and all my other lens are Nikkor brand.
I have been very pleased with the quality of the images taken using the Sigma 150 – 500 mm lens. Even at the extremes the images are well exposed with no flare. The lens is heavy but can be hand held due to the image stabilization system.
What an improvement
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having used the 50-500mm lens until purchasing this lens, the improvements are fantastic. The OS feature has eliminated the shakes, you can mount a 2x extender and lock the lens to prevent drift and picture quality is top notch. And for a reasonable price.
Holy cow!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am glad I paid attention to the Amazon customer reviews. This is an amazing lens for the money. If there is a better lens at this focal length for the same price, I want to know about it! I am really into photographing birds, so I need something with some reach. My budget is limited at this point, and this product is found at the intersection of Budget Avenue and Need Street. Low light is an issue, but the OS tempers that problem a bit.
Sure, I’d love to have a 500mm Canon prime lens, or 600mm or 800mm, even a zoom. There is no way that is going to happen anytime soon, so here is my lens.
It’s just what most everyone said it was……
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received my 150-500mm sigma lens on Friday (it’s Sunday night). After two days of shooting about 800 pictures (with a variety of subjects) I have to say that I am extremely pleased with this lens!!!! It’s definitely a large lens (particularly when zoomed out to 500mm). I am certainly an amateur photographer but I have to say this truly allows you to reach out and get the shot you want. I really enjoy shooting wildlife and landscape and this lens really fills the bill. I certainly couldn’t afford to buy the Nikon expensive glass for the super telephoto. All lenses that I have so far have been Nikon lenses and I have been extremely pleased with them. Their quality is very very good!!! It’s just nice glass….no other word for it. So to say I was a little apprehensive buying another brand of lens (and putting $ 1,000 into it, well)……let’s just say I’ve read just about every website and blog site there is on long lenses. This lens kept coming up in terms of the quality for the dollars. Well, I’m now a believer (at least based on this weekend. How well it holds up in the long run is yet to be told). But from what I’ve read, (and I do take care of my equipment), this lens seems to hold up well. too.
All I can say is at least from an amateur’s viewpoint, this lens is extremely clean and the images are truly crystal clear. I have used this lens with a tripod and monopod (I tried holding and shooting but when it’s cranked out to 500mm, I just can’t seem to get a consistent sharp image) but then keep in mind, I shake pretty bad so holding most any lens for me is difficult. Even given that, the OS on this lens truly does a good job of steadying the lens (I think as good a job as VR does on Nikon lenses…..but that’s just my opinion).
I also bought the Sigma Teleconverter 1.4 to go with this lens. While it does extend the shot some, losing the autofocus, at least for me, was more of a big deal that I would have thought. Perhaps over time I’ll get better at holding and focusing (even on a tripod). I’ll just keep trying it now and then. But I have to say it’s really nice to be able to keep my mind on the shot and let the lens do the stabilizing and the focus. I can concentrate on the camera settings and the layout of the shot. As everyone knows, with wildlife photography, you don’t have a lot of time to figure out what to do. It’s take the shot or lose it. This lens by itself let’s you do that.
Anyway, if you’ve been wondering whether to try this size lens, all I can say is, go ahead and make the jump!!! You won’t be disappointed in this lens.
AWESOME!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am a semi professional photographer and this lens ROCKS! For the price you can’t beat it! When using this lens in auto focus, you can still adjust the focus manually with the shutter half way down (Canon). It helps because when things are far away it is sometimes soft on focus. That is the quick fix! Aside from that, the OS, optical stabilization works great and you would not be disappointed with the results! It is cheaper than an “L” lens and guess what..?…It can shoot fast and sharp!
Very good lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens completes my set for my Nikon D60. I’m a wildlife photographer and tested it immediately after receiving it at the Merritt Island Wildlife Sanctuary. I was particularly interested in its performance as a hand-held lens shooting birds in flight. On a bright day, I took a set of photos of Snowy Egrets at maximum focal length. The birds (four abreast) filled the frame and the wing tip feathers were tack-sharp. The pictures were great although the lens and camera challenged my left arm strength. After about a hour carrying and shooting with it, I noticed some shake but the image stabilization worked like a champ. Autofocus worked well, with the lens keeping up with the camera. When shooting cross-sun, there was no evidence of flare and glare even though I had left off the lens shade.
Very excellent lens for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is mine second Sigma Lens and it is very sharp on the optical zoom. I bought the item from Amazom when it was on todays special. The picture are crisp and sharp when using the Sigma teleconverter. I am a Canon person since I one earlier why not go for the big Mama. I would recommend this lens.
Sharp pictures
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Excellent lens, especially for the price! I have been using this lens mostly for sports (football) photography so far. Pictures have been very sharp with excellent color. Have taken from up to 100 yards away and been able to zoom in on the action. This is definitely more of a daylight lens because of the aperture range.
best for quality&price, (addition info Compare with 70-300VR)
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this zoom for bird photography, because Nikon 70-300mm VR is not enough for me. For the 1st day testing, on cloudy day with f/8 as other think the sharpest, most of my pictures look soft(handheld) and I feel very upset and want to return it.
For the 2nd day, on sunny day most of my pictures are very sharp with good contrast, then I don’t want to return it anymore.
For the 3rd day, I test it in details and found that the sharpest is f/10 not f/8. And with f/10 my pictures look more and more sharper than f/8. Try it and you will agree with me.
It’s heavy but you can handheld it. Auto-focus very accurate and very fast (both in bright and DIM! condition) same and faster than my nikon 70-300mm VR.
I posted my testing pictures(birdhouse) of Sigma150-500mm compare with Nikon 70-300VR on cloudy day (worse case).
For anyone thinking about this zoom for nature/bird, go and get it now.
More information:
-It came with black protection bag.
-manual said “you have to turn OS off when changing the lense” and turn OS off when it’s on tripod.
-some pictures from 70-300mm VR look sharper than sigma 150-500mm because of the weight of lense when you handheld, but difficult to tell the difference on tripod.
-ISO should set at least 640, I always use ISO 800-1000 and always f/10 and f/8 when low light.
-I use it with D80 and Kekno 1.4x APO, sometime AF didn’t work and caused battery dead, but they always work OK with manual focus.
-It’s mounted with D80 and can fit inside KATA-103 camera bag (and still have a space about 0.5 inch, and more space left on the width. Just release the tripod collar and turn it to the top of the lense.
Hope this information and pictures help you somehow.
Gets the long shot
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens to reach out and “touch” wildlife and other hard to reach shots and found this can do it. I was able to get incredible shots of the full moon by playing with all of my D90 adjustments. The pictures are crisp and clear and I am impressed with this lens. The only two problems I found w/ it are that the auto focus is loud and does not work very well, compared to my nikon and sigma lenses. It works fine with manual adjustment. The anti vibration does not work as well as I would hope, especially for this long range lens. The weight of it is very heavy but you should expect that when purchasing and in fact the weight helps with stabilizing the shots that the OS correction doesn’t do so well. I would definitely recommend it and in fact will likely be buying one for a relative soon.
Get it, what are you waiting for?
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Wowww, I love it! I read all the reviews, asked folks that have one on the photo site flickr.com and anyone else I could. Those that had one had nothing but praise for it. Currently it’s the only lens I’m using and don’t plan on taking it off any time soon. I have used it to get wonderful pictures of eagles, osprey, fox, you name it and it really helps by getting that extra reach that my Sigma 70-300 just couldn’t give me. I use the canon monopod that Amazon sells most of the time when possible but isn’t 100% neccessary especially when trying to capture flying birds ect. The price is great for the bang this lens gives you. I got it from 47st photo in 2 days and with free shipping through Amazon. I’m using it with a Nikon d40 and have been so glad I did. A great blessing! My next upgrade I hope is for the d90, hopefully sooner then latter. The OS works very well but you can’t expect miracles at 500mm if your all over the place. I’ve been trying to zoom out when I begin to track a flying bird at any distance and then zoom in on it as I try to capture it, other wise you’ll never find it. There are 2 settings for the OS and #2 seems to work best for my conditions. If you’ve got decent light and a lot of my shots are early in the morning and in the woods, this lens will astound you. There are at times some hunting, especially if there are vines or obstructions in the way you may have to move the camera a bit to get by them but it’s just seeing what you give it. The lens also does a wonderful job at macro shots by zooming in your close subject. I think 7 ft is the closes it will allow you focus on an object. I did purchase a 7yr extended warrenty by Mack for almost nothing just for that extra peace of mind. Did I say I really, really like this lens! You can check out some of the shots I’ve got by clicking my flickr link here. My e-mail address is there as well if you have any further questions. Hope this helps. BTW, my wife has really enjoyed the results this lens has helped me get. Hey that’s always a good thing;) http://www.flickr.com/photos/21183284@N05/
bring it on
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After putting on this 150-500 mm lens the world has shrunk and I am able to reach out to things which were lost because of the distances. I am a 100% disabled Korean War Vet with limited ability to my mobility. Many pictures are taken from my vehicle. This lens help bring the world closer than ever before. And, at a price which was reasonable for this type of lens compared with Nikon lens.
Bob Johnston
Maine
Sigma 150-500mm for Nikon DSLR
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am an amateur bird photographer in the San Diego area. I puchased a Nikon D60 with the Nikkor 55-200mm VR. After a short while it was obvious that the 200mm wasn’t going to cut it for bird photography.
I recently purchased the Sigma 150-500 and I am thrilled at it’s performance so far.
Tripod mounted, the lens is fantastic of course. Panning with a ball head, following birds in flight over the lake, produce some great images. The OS has two modes, the first of which is great for tripod panning, reducing horizontal blur.
With the incorporation of OS (Optical Stabilization) this lens is more than capable hand-held. Switched to the second mode, the OS will reduce vertical image blur. I have been able to track flying hawks at 500mm, with amazing clarity. I am very impressed with the hand-held images I am able to get.
The auto-focus is not the fastest on this lens, but has been acceptable for in-flight bird shots that require quick changes in focus.
When it comes to nature photography, the zoom is a must. While following birds, I often go from 200mm all the way out to 500mm and back again, chasing them around the sky. A dedicated telephoto, without zoom, will of course provide better image quality, but at the price of limited focal length versatility. This lens provides a great balance for photographing wildlife.
Overall I have been impressed by the quality of this affordable super-telephoto lens. Compared to the more expensive options, this lens is also very light, making it perfect for a nature photographer on the move.
Enjoy