Sigma 150500mm f/56.3 AF APO DG OS HSM

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.

Good Quality; Great Price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I really like this lens. It is a bit heavy, and its not the fastest lens on the market, but for the price it is an outstanding value. I use it for sports photography and wild life photography. It is consistantly sharp throught the focal range, color rendition is quite good, and I’ve been more than satisfied with the overall quality of the results I have gotten. The optical stabilization works well, but I recommend using the lens with its handle, a monopod or tripod. Auto focus is quick and very quiet, and I’ve had no problems with zoom creep. It came with a fairly nice lens case, but it fits perfectly into my backpack so I leave the case at home. Although I haven’t yet exposed the lens to any really difficult environments, its quality of construction is such that I doubt there will be any issues. If someone is looking for a long lens but can’t afford the higher price of a Canon L Series, this is a good way to go.

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.

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.

Thank you Sigma, that you have produced such a great lens
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Sigma 150-500mm is really great lens. Since I bought this lens through Amazon, I have had many shoots that were very clear and sharp. I am interested in birds shooting and this lens is really ideal in such field. Although it is huge, but handheld manageable that can be carried easily. The optical stabilizer facility (OS) works grate and the autofocus is extremely fast that subject will be on the viewfinder within a second.So far,I am satisfied with this lens. I feel that I have got what I had paid for. I highly recommend having it.

you will have a lot of fun if you don’t take this lens too serious, seriously
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
got this lens 20% off with purchasing rebal xsi together from amason one month ago(see my pictures in the gallery).very nice bokeh, nice OS, well build(ok, at least i feel that way when i ues it), AF is good too,what’s not so good?, ok, a little heavy, a little soft of sharpness.but i think all these “not so good” things are acceptable, maybe a little beyond acceptable especially for the price.

Very sharp if you can get it to focus properly
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I tried this lens out on a Nikon D700 but sent it back due to back and front focus issues throughout the entire focal range of the lens. The D700′s AF Tune feature cannot compensate for both front and back focus at the same time so eliminating one only increased the other.

I will add that when the lens was properly focusing it was very sharp wide open and extremely sharp stopped down one stop.

I don’t know if I just got a bad sample of the lens, or if Amazon’s poor packaging played a part in the lens’ issues. The lens was shipped in a box with inadequate padding to protect all sides of the lens’ box. The Sigma lens is packed loose in its nylon carrying case, with no additional in-box padding, so there was nothing to keep the lens from bouncing around during transit.

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

EXELLENT, yes, thats the title for this beauty, EXELLENT.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Hello everybody right there on your chair reading this review, yes I know that after reading this review you wont buy this lens, I know that, I know that u will buy it after reading a lot of more reviews, but maybe yes u will buy it right now, I know that $1,000.00 is not easy to risk it, right? but, but buying this lens is worth the money.

After reading a lot of reviews, I desired to buy it, OK I got it, I took it to shoot some pictures of NEW YORK CITY at night, the pictures came ot beautiful, next day I took it to the park and shoot some wildlife, oh man, again what a great results, great lens at a great price.

The best of this lens is the OPTICAL STABILIZER (OS), it lets u shoot great pictures without a tripod even at 500mm, all my shoots were hand held, with OS on.

I included some pictures so that u can see the color quality that this lens offers. The most important point for me about this lens is that the pictures I took came out great even at 500mm. check the pics above.

Very happy with this lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am thrilled to have bought this lens to mount on my Nikon D80 after having read loads of reviews on the few options available like the Sigma 50-500 or the Nikon 135-400 and 80-400. I wanted the longest possible range below $1,500 in a recognizable Brand. I narrowed my choice to the 50-500 or this one. The Optical Stabilizer and the fact that Sigma had proven itself with the 50-500 were the determining factors in my decision. So far I shot some 200 pictures of various subjects at various distances handholding the camera with the OS turned on. Half way through my shots I reverted from full manual mode to Aperture control and noticed an improvement in the sharpness and colors which tells me that I need to hone my skills with this lens. So far, I am amazed at the quality of my shots with this huge glass. I take all my pictures with a -.7 exposure compensation as I like very vivid pictures and until I develop a better feel for what the lens can do I will continue to used it with Aperture control. The Autofocus is smooth, the overall feel is quality and the pictures are phenomenal for the distance. I look forward to plenty of fun with this lens, if you go for it you won’t regret it.

UPDATE: In response to the person who rated this lens three stars I would like to quote David Bush’s book “Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide” where he states “most lenses produce their sharpest image approximately two stops less than wide open. For example, if you’re using a zoom lens with an f/4 maximum aperture, it probably has its best resolution and least distortion at roughly f/8″. I’ve practiced David’s suggestion with my Sigma 150-500 and it works beautifully, but like everything else, it takes some time to getting used to unless you’re a professional photographer then you’d know this before hand. I added a few recent pictures shown above as part of this review.

I purchased my lens from B&H and it came in Sigma’s black nylon zipped box which keeps the lens practically immobile. The box was very safely packaged when it arrived.

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

Softness shooting wide open, OS is noisy
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I was quite intrigued by the paper specifications and the other positive reviews. I used the lens on a Nikon D90 body and tried out some bird photography in late afternoon light. The lens build quality looks terrific and it has a very nice hood and case. Some of the problems I ran into were quality related and some just an artifact of a slow long lens. Auto-Focusing is reasonably fast. I got a lot of softness shooting the lens wide open (f6.3) at 500mm. You have to be very careful with focusing since the depth of field is extremely shallow (it’s easy to misfocus on something ahead or behind the subject). The sharpness improved as I moved the aperture down to f/8 and smaller.

I also tried it with the OS (Optical Stabilization) Off (on a tripod) and On. For me personally, hand-holding below 1/200 seemed iffy. The OS was also very noisy and sounded unusual in that it was uneven. Further the unit continued to be noisy even after focus had been achieved and the shutter was half squeezed which I wasn’t expecting. It takes a while to get used to the OS which seems to be different from Nikon. It takes a bit longer to kick in and you have to wait for this. This is probably something that takes a few days to pick up.

I’ve returned the lens since. I’m still intrigued enough to want to try out another one in case the problems I had were specific to the unit I had.

Bottom line, the lens build quality seems great and autofocusing is good. Expect some softness if you shoot wide open and long. You do have to make compromises getting a lens of this focal length at this price. The compromise is that most of your shooting will have to be on sunny days or with the ISO bumped up on cloudy days so you can shoot with smaller apertures and faster shutter speeds. Definitely worth a try.

Great lens for the money
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had this lens for about a week now and I love it. It is matched with a Nikon D300, which seems to be a good match. It is heavy, but I have no problems taking hand held photos at 500mm. The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is because of the weight and apeture limitations in low light conditions, but the alternative is to spend thousands. If you want it for the Nikon D300 – go get it. You will not be dissapointed.

Other reviewers were not kidding
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this lense and was a bit intimidated by the size of it at first. But I just put it on my Nikon D60 and took it for a hike in the preserve across from my house. Once you get used to carrying it on the camera the weight isn’t a big deal. The optical stabilizer makes up for any shake or tremor while you are shooting and I got some really good shots of a red-tail flying overhead as well as a downy woodpecker. I would recommend this to anyone.

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

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.

Great Lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just received this lens and made a test shot I’ve made with other lenses. I took a shot of a satellite dish over a half a block away. Handheld. Magnifying it with Photoshop not only can I see the ‘Dish Network’ clearly, but magnifying a little more I can read the ‘TM’ underneath the logo. Clear as a bell.

This lens is a vast improvement over the 170-500 model. I used that lens on a wildlife trip and had to jack up the ISO to 800-1600 to get decent shutter speeds and a clear picture. Unfortunately that introduced noise, really bad in some shots. The D300 is much better than the D200 in that regard, but the lens was pretty much unusable without a tripod. This lens will alleviate any of those problems.

I usually buy Nikon lenses. This and the Sigma earlier models including the 170-500 (which I had to buy for a trip and now I’m selling) are the only lenses I could find that gave a substantial difference over the Nikon 70-300 VR. The Nikon 80-400 VR is $[...] and focuses slowly, and you can pretty much just crop to achieve the 100mm difference (I tried it to be sure.)

I’m looking forward to using this with a 1.4 teleconverter, you lose autofocus and 1 stop, can only go down to 100mm but get a 35mm equivalent of 1050mm! For only $[...]!

The quality of the lens is very good. There is zero zoom creep. Autofocusing is fast, though just a tad off (a few pixels off on the ‘TM’ – could be the camera, and that can be adjusted.) Manual focusing is tricky with the tripod collar on, it blocks the focusing ring so either move your hand to the top, slide your hand in between the lens and collar, or take the collar off. I got perfect focus using the viewfinder indicator as a reference point. The finish is of high quality, but a little strange. The whole lens including the hood is coated in some kind of flat black matte textured finish, makes me think of a stealth bomber.

I did a lot of research to find this lens, and was waiting for it since it’s introduction 2 or more months ago. There is just no Nikon equivalent without buying a f/4 400mm with a TC-17 for about $5000 or so. If Nikon had a lens at 500-600mm for not too bad of a price hit I would have bought it. After playing with this lens just a little bit I’m glad I bought it. I’m fiercely loyal to Nikon, and it’s arguably a better product, but I can afford to buy this lens 5 times over if it breaks, and it also saves the whole price of 2 photography workshops/tours.

There will probably be a lot of testing and comparing of this lens. None of that matters to me as it passed the satellite dish test with flying colors, I didn’t even know the TM was there before today.

Edit 3/16/09 – I recently bought the Sigma 1.4 teleconverter to go with this lens. The 1st time I really used the combo was during the adding of the spire to the Trump Tower in Chicago. I was on the 7th floor of a building 1-1/2 miles away measured by Google Maps. I could see the men waiting in the spire for the next section to arrive. I had to back way off on the lens to get the tower and the helicopter lowering the sections into the frame. I lost autofocus, but it was no big deal to focus manually visually or with the in-focus indicator. Unfortunately I had to shoot through a dirty window, and it was pretty hazy, so the shots aren’t that great but I don’t blame the lens, the shots are better than anybody else got.

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.

Happy Owner
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Essentially, the Sigma 150-500 OS is an indirect answer to the Canon 100-400mm F4 IS L lens. The problem with most comparisons is that the Canon F4 costs significantly more.

The direct point is that the Canon does perform marginally better in every aspect. The Sigma clearly wins in cost-performance ratio but that also varies based on your intended use and preferences. The main difference is the 70%+ price in the lenses.

The Sigma 150-500 is *NOT* a substitute for a low-light high speed use telephoto lens such as F2.8 lenses. However, the 2.8 lenses are an apples to oranges comparison – comparing a 400mm 2.8 that costs several times more ($6500) and suited to a different purpose. The Sigma lens is suited more towards daytime wildlife as opposed to sports events in varying conditions or poor lighting in any situation.

The 150-500 has shortcomings compared to the more expensive lenses – which is typically the case for any brand. I still highly recommend the lens & have enjoyed 600+ pictures within 7 days of owning it. The lens is excellent for wildlife, a great “out-of-box” experience with accessories, and will serve most a long time.

+ Optics are outstanding considering the market price.

+ Less than $1000 USD as of this writing

+ 500mm without use of a teleconverter

- Not as sharp compared to the 50-500 Sigma but the 50-500 lacks OS/IS

+ Light build quality considering lens class

- Durability trade-off for lower weight. Sealing not optimal, housing uses plastic.

+ Aesthetics. Rubberized/tactile feel with a sleek dark gray body.

- Aesthetics/durability. Coating on body prone to marks/scratches.

- Stiff zoom ring takes effort to operate.

+ Durable OEM lens hood included

+ Solid OEM hard lens case included (in fact it is shipped in the case)

+ OEM Tripod collar included

+ Excellent industry warranty (3 years USA)

+ HSM motor quick but not the fastest.

- Seeks a bit for focus in less-than-optimal light a bit earlier than the Canon equivalents.

- Autofocus a bit more finicky than lens-class equivalents.

- OS certainly does not reach the claimed 4 stop benefit

+ OS obtains a clear 2 stop advantage

- Noisy OS

- Image appears to shake a bit in viewfinder w/ OS operating

A final note: Most lenses (except prime non-zoom lenses) are a bit soft at the widest aperture (f/5) – this Sigma included. I certainly do not dock a non-prime lens for this as others have.

Updated 10-13-2009

I pushed several hundred more pictures through the lens and I am still satisfied. I will note a few observations including those not associated with the lens performance.

The Sigma feels a bit loose on my 450D/XSi when mounted. This is pronounced when adjusting the zoom ring which is rather stiff. Research indicates this is normal due to manufacturing tolerances, especially concerning the lens release/lock pin on the body mount. This issue varies depending on the camera body and lens – thus not a Sigma issue per say. An associate w/ the Canon 100-400 F/4 L IS lens reports similar behavior on his camera body (40D) but not on other camera bodies. I can’t fault Sigma for this issue and I doubt everyone experiences this.

I mentioned a stiff zoom ring but I wasn’t concerned with this initially. I thought the same about my Canon 24-70 F/2.8 L lens when I first received it. However, the stiff zoom ring coupled with the slight camera body shift seems to amplify the annoyance. Buyers should be very aware of the stiff zoom ring which I had not originally mentioned.

86mm filters are rather expensive. Tiffen offers a $30 UV filter solution but my experience is that Tiffen are poor quality products. Admittedly, I’m using one for the moment but have not noticed any reflections/aberrations. An 86mm Hoya UV filter runs almost $100 which I will purchase at a later date. I would not recommend a polarizer due to the loss of light.

I have gone through several camera bags – swapping and storing the lens in the field is a task. I am currently using the Lowepro Flipside 300 but that tends to be a snug fit w/ body attached. I will likely purchase a Lowepro Stealth Reporter D400 AW to carry my flash, 24-70 L lens, Sigma, and other necessities. The lens measures almost 9.5 inches in length.

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.

sigma 150-500 mm f/5-6.3 lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT LENS. TRIED OUT FOR FEW HOURS. WELL BALANCED, NO NEED FOR TRIPOD. EXCELLENT CONSTRUCTION. BIT NOISY BUT I DON’T MIND FOR THE PRICE. i WILL RECOMMEND IT WITHOUT RESERVATION.

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 Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I resently purchased this lens after reading a very postive review in Popular Photogaphy Magazine. I have been using it extensively for coverage of high school soccer, hockey,and football, and it has performed flawlessly. It has exceed all expectations and has become my favorite lens for shooting daytime sports. Each and every photo I’ve taken is tack sharp at all focal lengths. There is no perfect lens on the market today, but this one comes pretty darn close! I would highly recommend this lens to anyone involved in sports or nature photography.

Great long lens for the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As an amateur photographer, I love this lens. I sold my Canon 70-200 f/4L for this one and I really like the added length and OS. Images are sharp with good color saturation. The lens is heavy compared to my previous lens but I would expect nothing less since it’s made with heavier materials and has the OS motor. I like the fact that it also has the tripod ring included. The only down side I can find so far is the minimum aperture being a little too slow. I have to either have a lot of light or really crank up the ISO in order to get really fast shutter speeds.

Given the price of this lens compared to the Canon 100-400, this lens is a real bargain. If you’re looking for a long telephoto with OS, consider this one. I’ve heard nothing good about it’s sister lens the 120-400.

Hand holder
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m a freelance Outdoor Writer/Photographer that is hopelessly addicted to photographing wildlife. No, I do not use a tri-pod. I’m a camera hand holder. My goal is to stalk through underbrush, sneak up on deer and take their portrait. This lens is a bit heavy to carry, work out before you make long treks. But you can get quality pics by shooting mid-day when shutter speed is above 125. I’m amazed how the lens still works when the sun sets, say 1/25th speed. Stay away from dirt and dust with this lens, it sucks the dust into the lens when you push the bellows out. I use the sports funtion on my camera and can catch ducks flying, deer running, turkeys drummin’…no problem. Not all images are super sharp, editing is a must. What’s new!

great lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great lens. I admit its hard to use sometimes because of it’s size but that’s because I am always handheld with it. I have gotten some great shots holding it though. I would reccomend it to anyone. I use it on my nikon D80 and it’s really cool. The Nikon equivalents are soooo expensive and I bet you cant’ tell any difference. Buy it!

Fantastic 500mm lens!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I enjoy wildlife photography, especially birds. I had a Tamron 200-500mm and was satisfied with it, but it didn’t have any form of optical stabilation. I carry my gear into the wild and didn’t like toting around a tripod, so I started researching other 500mm zoom lenses. I read quite a few positive reviews of the Sigma 150-500mm OS HSM lens and a few nuetral or negative reviews stating the lens was a little soft at the longer end and especially at f/6.3. I am offering this review to debunk some of those negative reviews.

I hand-hold a lot of my 500mm shots and I DO NOT have a steady hand. I am amazed at how sharp this lens is even hand-held at that focal length. Granted, the lens is not a fast lens, so even in good light I am forced to use f/6.3 aperture most of the time and still cannot use a very fast shutter speed. But, at 500mm f/6.3, I can hand-hold this lens and get sharp shots at 1/200th of a second shutter speed. This would NOT be possible without the OS (Optical Stabilization), it definitely works as advertised.

When possible, I will use a tripod for distant shots of shy wildlife and this lens performs like a champ with OS turned off and mounted to a tripod. I have a Kenko Pro 300 1.4x and a 2x teleconvter, which work with this lens and I still have autofocus AND OS (if it is turned on). I was surprised AND amazed at the quality of shot I got with either one of these teleconverters. If you have adequate light, this lens, even with a 2x teleconverter attached will allow you to get those long range shots only the pros can get with their expensive lenses.

I would love to be able to brag that I have all Nikon equipment, but to be able to meet the quality of shots you can get with this lens at 500mm with a Nikon lens, you will have to pay between $[...]. That makes this $[...] lens pretty appealing and within the price range of most hobby photographers.

[...].

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.

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/

Great value for great pictures
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I wanted this lens for good closeup pictures of birds. I find the pictures to be very sharp. Although a bit heavy for handheld work that is how I have used it so far and with excellent results. I would recommend this lens for anyone needing a good long lens at a fairly reasonable price.

Good Lens, great optics
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Pros : Sharp Focus, Durable, Strong Construction, Consistent Output, Rugged

Cons : Heavy, Slow Focus

Good lens, great optics. very sharp images in almost all zoom.

The only thing i did not like is that it is noisy and focus motor continues even after it focuses

Great bird lens especially for Nikon!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I like to do birding by walking around. For this my lens criteria are: longest focal length I can carry; image stabilization; high speed focus to catch birds in flight; no chromatic aberrations and excellent image quality. The closet Nikon gets is the 70-300mm VR AF-S lens which I used exclusively (until now).

I was on the fence about this Sigma lens until I saw bird images from the UK and Australia taken with a Canon 40D. So I bought the Nikon mount version and haven’t looked back. My Nikon D300 has no problem autofocusing with this lens even though it’s 6.3 aperture is smaller than the 5.6 Nikon recommends. It even works in all 3 focus modes which is probably more an attribute of the D300 than the lens.

I get birds over water and lakes I couldn’t pull in at 300mm. In flight photos are sharp at 1/1250 sec. No visible chromatic aberation. OS works down to 1/250 sec at 500mm. It could be better but I haven’t tried to push it more. I find best sharpness at f/8 – f/12. You can see bird images at Flickr (see member ‘sbfledgling’ sets and look for the lens in the title of 2 sets). You can click the ‘slideshow’ at upper right to see larger images. All photos were hand-held. Shooting data accompanies each image.

Mounted on the D300 the whole rig weighs about 6 pounds. It’s a load to be sure but so far I manage.

I would recommend this lens to any user looking for a long range, hand-holdable, portable lens option.

$3k Lens for Less Than $1k?
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Is the Sigma 150mm to 500mm zoom lens as good as a $3k Nikor lens? No. On the other hand, is the Nikor lens three times as good as the Sigma? Again, no. If money were no object, the Nikor lens would win out. However, if you’re like me, money IS an object. Sure it would be nice if it were f2.8 rather than f4.5. It would also be nice to have more expendable money to spend on a lens. That said, this lens is a bargin in my book. My tests show it to be very sharp. As sharp as the Nikor… ??? It would probably take better eyes than mine to see much difference. The Sigma is big and heavy, but not as much as you might imagine for a 150mm to 500mm zoom lens. It feels very solid, focuses fast and accurately (auto focus), and has all the features of the more expensive Nikor lens… including image stabilization. Ahh… there’s my one complaint. The mechanism (servo motor?) that operates the image stabilization function is noisy. You can actually hear it doing its job. Whereas, the VR Nikor lenses I have are totally silent.

I bought this lens to take on safari in Botswana, and my testing to date convinces me it was a good and cost-effective investment. I also took advantage of the Amazon special priced Nikon D300-Sigma lens combo, which made it an irresistable deal. (upgraded from D200)

Be aware that Sigma 150-500 does not have 3 year extended warranty and it is impossible to register for the product
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this item and tried to register it as written on the warranty card. There is no place to register on http://www.sigma-photo.com and on the global Sigma site and there is no extended warranty. The Sigma’s rep confirmed this. It is a big disappointment since I thought that it includes 3 year extended warranty as is advertised on Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras:

“Important Warranty Information: This new product includes a 1-year warranty plus 3-year extended warranty with registration. Once registered, the protection is valid for a period of 4 years from the original date of purchase. See included warranty card for details.”

I was thinking of buying Sigma 10-20 mm but now am not sure since Sigma reduced warranty for its lenses. This means only one thing: they are not sure in the quality of their products.

10/22/08: After further conversation with the rep I found out that only EX lenses (Sigma 10-20 is one of them) have 3 year extended warranty. Other lenses such as 150-500, 120-400 have only one year. And it is true: you cannot register on Sigma site, so keep your warranty card!

Incredible Lens!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just purchased this lens from Amazon. It is important to note that they are now shipping above the required serial number for the fix. Any lens you order now will be the updated version. This is what I recieved!

I am blown away by the quality and value of this lens. I took it out today and shot many photos and the results where amazing. It comes with a nice case, front and rear caps, and a bayonette hood. I walked through the woods about 2 miles with it on the Canon EOS 40D on a neckstrap and the weight was not an issue. I did hold one hand on the tripod grip to stabilize it and it was comfortable. On the Canon 40D the lens is perfectly balanced with the camera body. It will sit perfectly upright on the tripod grip when sat on a flat surface so the center of gravity is dead on and makes for easy handheld shootability. I shot all my pictures handheld with the OS (IS) set to 2 and even at the highest zoom (500mm) pics where razor sharp and super detailed! If you have been thinking about this lens, buy it, you will not be disappointed, especially now that you are sure to get the upgraded lens.

sigma 150-500mm – so far so good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After using this lens for 1 week on a Nikon D70s my impressions are:

1) See sample photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhubensc/ under “sigma 150-500mm”. All are at 500mm, and there is no post-processing. Slight tendency to back focus at close range – see close-up photos of begonias at this site.

2) Consistent good results down to 1/125s handheld. In poor light: 1/60s to 1/30s at high ISO image image quality degrades when handheld.

3) Testing on tripod at 500mm with OS off shows f8 is a little sharper than wide open (f 6.3), but since this is only half a stop below, this is no big deal.

4) I bought this lens for longer reach than my Nikon 70-300 VR and primarily for wildlife photography. This lens is substantailly bigger than the 70-300, but can be carried for extended periods. Holding it on target can get tiring, however, after a minute or two.

5) Lens does make a whirring noise before and for a second or so after shutter release. AF and OS are responsive – comparable to the Nikon 70-300VR.

6) Shooting at 500mm takes practice and patience, but with decent light you should get many “keepers”.

7) Good bang for the buck.

+++++++

31 jan 2009 update:

check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhubensc/, under the folder “brazos bend 31 jan 2009″ for more photos from the first working session in the field.

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!

FUN TO USE
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This lens is well designed, easy to use, and provides excellent images. I am a retired Industrial Designer, on a budget, with lots of spare time to devote to photography. This lens is heavy but combined with a Vanguard monopod and ball head articulation of weight becomes less of a problem. The availability of a resting platform takes the work out of long waiting periods for that next work of art. The lens optical stabilization in many cases enables hand held use.

A Wonderful Lens for the Money!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was so excited when I got this lens in the mail. I began taking pictures with it that very day. I waited a few months to write this review, because I wanted to see how I was going to like it before I wrote about it. I continue to be enjoy this lens, for I’m very big into nature photography, and it makes things so much easier to get great wildlife photography without spooking the animals, or putting myself into harms way.

I gave this lens a 5 star rating, because it is a wonderful lens for the money. I’m sure the better glass in the higher end lenses would be much bettet quality with lower f/stops, but being as I do not own any of those 5-10 thousand dollar lenses then I can not truly compare this lens to them. I’ve been using this lens on a Nikon D-40 body, but will be soon upgrading to the D90 or the D300S, so I’ll get to see how it is on a higher end camera.

Pleased
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Having read some negative forum comments on this lens, I was very pleased with my initial testing. I have a Nikon 18 – 200 mm zoom for my D300. At 200 mm, the Sigma is a touch sharper than the Nikon. At 500 mm the Sigma is clearly superior to an enlarged image taken by the Nikon at 200 mm. Even better, the performance at 500mm with the Sigma handheld using AutoFocus and full OC was essentially the same as it was tripod mounted, and manually focused using the expanded LiveView on the D300. Now, I just need to get to a road race course and check how the Sigma does with race cars!

Sigma 150 – 500 mm Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR’s
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I was looking for a Zoom lens to add to my collection for our trip to the Antarctic. I wanted a high power lens to be sure I could get good shots of the animals and birds while there.

Although I had never used a Sigma lens, I asked several friends about them and they said the were good lenses for the money.

I was very pleased with the lens. The pictures were very clear and the stabilization system is great. The boat was rolling pretty well at several places in the journey and the photos taken at the max zoom were great.

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.

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.

The New B-2 Bomber Completes my Lens Arsenal
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have only had this lens for a few days and I feel that this is the lens that was missing in my arsenal. I will try to update my review in future, but here are my ten cents:

- Heavy and huge but certainly handheld manageable

- Fast autofocus, OS is great and excellent image quality

- As expected requires a lot of light (tripod recommended for low lighting)

- Solid built and its color makes reminds me of the B-2 Bomber

- Nice hood

- Comes with a durable case and 2 straps

- Only 1 year warranty (why not 5 years)

This is my 1st non-Nikon lens and I am very pleased by it. Its zoom ring rotates in anti-clockwise direction for zooming in which I found a bit odd, but may be this is a Sigma thing.

So far, I am very impressed by it. I am considering getting 2x EX DG APO Tele Converter.

Great value!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Bought mine in Hong Kong for 913 USD, expensive 50-USD filter (because of the ‘non-std’ lens diameter) included.

First off, the main selling point is still the price. You cannot get any 500mm prime or zoom from Canon at less than 1K USD. And for wildlife and shot-of-people-from-a-far (sneaky, a la paparazzo), lense does its job. I did some test shots at a beach near dusk, still delivers respectable images.

On sharpness, I think it’s also passable enough. I added a picture of sunset, bottle on the beach, and birds on a tree, all taken handheld, 500mm, as wide as it can, with OS on. I dont have any other super telephoto to compare these images with, so evaluate on your own. To me, image quality is very satisfactory.

I find color saturation also passable compared with 70-200 f/4L, outdoors, daytime. I dont think I will use this anyway indoors.

Other comments/observations:

When the OS is on, there’s a sound that chirps frequently and the image in the viewfinder shakes. There’s also a note to switch-off OS when really not needed…to save battery?

I use 40D. Ensure the serial number is higher than 1007001 if you also use 40D. There’s already a notice from Sigma that burst rate is decreased greatly for copies with serial number lower than 1007001.

Saw some comments regarding backfocusing, I see no evidence in my copy.

You can still rotate focusing ring comfortably while palm is rested in the handle. It’s heavier of course than usual walkaround lenses, but you can still manage to shoot without tripod. Balance with camera is still ok.

Body finish is superb enough but I dont like Sigma’s cheap-looking plastic switches for AF-MF, lock-unlock, and OS-modes.

Case included is also the same used for EX, but I think you really have to buy a good lowepro or crumpler backpack that can carry this for travels.

Hood looks cheap, but does its job.

I dont see lens creep when lens is locked at 150.

Good buy, overall. I was anxious at first if I made the right decision, but now I wont desire the Canon 100-400mm alternative anymore.

Looking forward to try on sports. Will try to visit the hippodrome this weekend.

Excellent Lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens because I like to shoot photos at airshows. Shooting small fast moving planes at great distances is a challenge. This lens makes it much easier. The Optical stabilization is perfect. Sigma goes farther than Nikon in their stabilization. I have used Nikon VR lenses and did not get the greatest results when panning. Sigma solved that problem. The lens is sharp at both ends of the zoom, which is impressive. The focus is incredibly fast. Mated with my Nikon D300, this lens is producing amazing images.

A Bit Heavy, Tough To Focus, but Takes Sharp Pictures from Distance
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m in Costa Rica on a shoot and got a first-hand chance to try this thing before it’s launched (…supposedly. I could be wrong here). But anyway, first off, this is a heavy, heavy lens. It’s not for moving around. It’s not for changing lenses every 5 minutes to get that wide angle shot you can’t get. It’s simply a beast. The zoom has to move a whole lot of glass, and it’s not so easy. And it’s not supposed to be small and compact, so I can’t count size as a downfall (…but the zoom could turn a little more smoothly).

And all that said, it takes great Optically Stabilized photographs, from a distance (and it really didn’t seem too slow…actually pretty quick now that I think about it).

I uploaded a few test photos in the gallery for this lens. Mine are the ones comparing the shots of the “Museo” sign, one using the Sigma 150-500mm OS at 500mm, the other my current 70-300mm Quantaray at 300mm. And compared to my 70-300mm (non-IS), which I love, the 500mm Sigma made me think one thing and one thing only. I want one.

Extremely good-considering it’s not Nikkor glass
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
very, very good lens. really sharp all the way out to about 450mm, and not bad at all to 500mm. I have to do a little Photoshop unsharpening at 500mm, but crops are very useable.

this is really the only choice for Nikon users to get really long. the only comparable Nikkor glass, 80-400mm, is very long in the tooth-slow focus and not a whole lot faster.

Mounted on my D3, the Sigma focues very quickly and virtually silently thanks to the HSM motor. with lot’s of light and a quick shutter speed, hand-holding out to 500mm is possible with the OS.

and thanks to the sub-$900 price I paid at Amazon, coupled with the Sigma multi-year warranty, this is a must-have lens for sports and animal photography.

did not get 5 stars only because it’s not Nikkor glass. Only Nikkor gets 5 stars from me-most expensive glass in the world, and worth every penny