Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Lens Review
Product information:
Website: http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/150-500mm-f5-63-apo-dg-os-hsm-sigma
APO - Stands for Apochromatic. This is Sigmas mark for their higher end lenses in which they use “special low-dispersion (SLD) glass” in order to produce the “highest quality images” and ”minimize color aberration”.
DG- Stands for digital, as this product is designed for use with Digital SLRs.
OS – Stands for optical stabilization…this is Sigma’s vibration reduction technology aimed at minimizing image blur caused by camera shake.
HSM- Stands for hyper sonic motor… The lens autofocus motor is driven by ultrasonic waves to provide a quiet, highspeed AF.
Compatible with Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Pentax digital SLR bodies.
Compact design weighing only 4 pounds & approximately 10 inches in length when not extended
Personal Experience:
First of all, let me tell you a little about myself as a photographer. I am predominately a nature photographer and would mainly call myself a bird photographer. I bought my first digital SLR (Nikon D300) back in 2007, so I am by no means an expert. Photography has been my main hobby since then, and it was apparent early on that the Nikon 18-200mm lens that I initially purchased with my camera just wasn’t cutting it for bird photography. As a result, I started looking for an inexpensive lens that would give me the reach that I needed. I did my homework and decided on a new lens that was about to come out by Sigma. So, I purchased the Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 lens the week it first came out, and was one of the first people to post my results with the lens. Of course, my inital impression was probably overly positive since it was such a dramatic improvement from the severely over cropped photos that I was accustom to with my Nikon 18-200mm lens. Anyone who might have read these initial reviews of the Sigma 150-500mm from a more naive version of me, would have thought it was the best lens ever produced. Over time using the lens however, my impression of the lens came back down to earth and evolved into a more realistic view that I would like to share in this blog.
Before you read further, I should tell you that I no longer own the Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 lens, but I did use it for over a year before it was sold. My experiences with this lens are definitely not all bad. So what are the postives and negatives of this lens you might ask? Well to start with a positive note, this lens is one of the most inexpensive ways to get this much reach in a lens. I purchased mine for $979 which is cheap in comparison to other lenses with this focal length.
The image stabilization system (OS) does works properly on the 150-500mm, but there is a slight delay from the time you depress the shutter release button half way, until the OS is fully engaged. I think it was this issue that lead to some bad reviews when the lens was first released. Some people claimed that the OS system did not work properly. My theory is that either they in fact had bad copies of the lens or that they were not not allowing enough time for the OS to “kick in” (about a second or two) before they would start firing away. As a result, you would end up with blurry photos that were not image stabilized. If you allow the OS a second or so to properly engage, then it works just fine. This is different from the Nikon lenses that I own in which the image stabilization is almost instant. The major drawback to this delay is the obvious potential to miss photos while you wait for the OS to engage. With that said, the lens is extremely handholdable when the OS is activated. I used it almost exclusely handheld during the time that I owned it. Because of its hard plastic body construction (not metal), it is actually a relatively light lens for the size. I think most people, including my mother-in-law who owns this lens, can handhold this lens all day and not get tired.
The autofocus speed is completely acceptable though not as fast as my nikon lenses. It is also not completely quiet compared to my Nikon lenses, but overall this was not a problem. The construction of the lens is decent, as I mentioned before it has a hard plastic body found on many Sigmas. One minor complaint would be that this lens has a slow lens creep when pointed towards the ground. The longer I owned the lens and more I used it, the faster this lens creep would get. Not a huge problem for me overall, but annoying. Fortunately there is a lens lock button, but it can only be engaged when the lens is fully retracted at 150mm.
As one would expect with an aperture range between f5 to f6.3, speed is not the strong point of the lens and thus nor are low light situations. I found myself using it often during times of day with less flattering light (mid day) simply to obtain the shutter speeds that I needed to eliminate camera shake and freeze the motion of my subjects. This was often a major issue since the early morning and evening are often the best times to photograph wildlife.
Most impotantly and the reason that I sold the lens is that I was not completely satisfied with the image quality that I was seeing on a regular basis. Personally, I am a perfectionist and want the ability to take tac sharp photos, assuming my technique is good. I am probably my own worst critic when it comes to my photographs, but the Sigma 150-500mm lens left a lot of room for improvement with respect to overall image quality, sharpness, and detail. No matter what I would try (handheld, tripod, wireless shutter release, etc) the image sharpness and quality just wasn’t anything to brag about. The exception to this weakness would be when subjects are relatively close and you are using the lens to get a tight zoom. I found the image quality to decrease as I exceeded 400mm…especially past 450mm. Because of this, I found myself frequently shooting at 400mm and rarely using it over 450mm in order to preserve some image quality. Also your distance to the subject greatly affects the image quality with this lens, more so that other lens I have used. The 150-500mm lens performed relatively well to very good when a subject was close (within 10 yards (9.1meters) or so), but the image quality would decrease as the distance from the subject increased. It did however provide consistently good results even to 500mm for very close subjects that I was trying to get a close-up/portrait type photos.
After over a year of owning the Sigma 150-500mm lens, I purchased the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8VRII lens and the Nikon 1.7x teleconverter (TC-17EII). This combination would give me up to a 340mm f4.8 lens and this was close to the Sigma for me since I typically tried to use it around 400mm for best results. For a while, I would shoot both lenses on the Nikon D300 and D90 camera bodies so I would still have the option to shoot 500mm if needed. During this time, I had the opportunity to take numerous similar photos with both the Sigma 150-500mm, and Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 with the 1.7x teleconverter (some comparison photos below). It was soon clear to me that I was getting better results from cropped photos with the Nikon 70-200m f2.8 plus 1.7x teleconverter than those with the Sigma (again I only used the Sigma up to about 450mm). The results with the Nikon combination were overall sharper at the edges, more overall detailed, and had better color and contrast. After a while, I just didn’t find myself using the Sigm 150-500mm lens anymore, so I decided to sell it. On a side note…a few months after selling the Sigma, I decided that the 340mm I was getting with the Nikon 70-200mm plus teleconverter was no where near enough reach for the type of photography I enjoy. As a result, I made another massive investment and bought the Nikon 300mm f2.8 VRII lens and new Nikon TC-20EIII (2.0x) teleconverter. This combination gives me up to a 600mm f5.6 with excellent image quailty. In essence I have gone from one extreme to the other.
Pros & Cons Summary:
Pros:
-Inexpensive lens (~$1000 or less)
-Occasional Excellent image quality
-Very good for relatively close subjects
-Overall effective Optical Stabilization system (but has slight delay)
-Compatible with multiple manufacteur’s camera bodies (Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax)
Cons:
-Slow lens f5-6.3 (f5 at 150mm and f6.3 at 500mm)
-Lens creep
-Normal image quality usually Good at best
-Image quality decreases significantly past 450mm
-Distant objects are not a strong point
-Slight delay in Optical Stabilization system
-Hard plastic construction (feels a bit cheaper than metal)
Final Recommendation:
So the million dollar question.. do I recommend this lens and would I purchase it again if I knew then what I know now??
As far as recommending the lens, that depends on the photograpaher who would be buying it. I would probably strongly recommend the Sigma 150-500mm lens to people who don’t see themselves getting too serious about their photography. I say this because I think only people who do not look at photography as a serious hobby will be completely satisfied by the quality of images consistently produced by this lens. This sounds harsh to some I am sure, but it is my honest opinion. For those “soccer moms or little league dads” out there who want to get a little closer to the action (with adequate lighting of course), or for the nature enthusiast who owns a camera and wants to take some photos to share with family and friends, this is a great lens for you and is a bargain at $1000! This also could be a good long lens for those photographers who are uncertain whether or not they really want to get serious enough to justify spending thousands of dollards on a lens. Finally, it is a perfect lens for a potentially serious photographer who is on a budget and at the time can not afford a more expensive “brand name” lens. I would definitely fit into this latter category when I purchased this lens a few years ago. I would be hesitant to recommend this lens to a serious wildlife photographer without a lengthy disclaimer.
Would I purchase it again if I could go back in time? Yes, I think I would. I learned a lot about photography when I owned the Sigma 150-500mm lens. I quickly learned the lenses weaknesses and had to improvise my shooting style and camera settings to make the most of what I had. Don’t get me wrong, I was able to take some very usable photos with this lens when I owned and hopefully some photos below demonstrate this. For me, it was all part of the learning process. Plus, I take great care of my gear and was able to sell the lens for close to what I bought it for. So in the long run it is basically like I “rented” the lens for a year at a really great price! Anyway, that’s my opinion of the Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 lens. Below are some sample photos to highlight the strengths and weaknesses that I mentioned above. Hope this review was helpful and informative. Feel free to leave you experiences or other feedback.
Sample Photos with Sigma 150-500mm lens (below) : These photos are meant to show the variable results (good and not so good) that I captured with this lens on a day to day basis. These are not meant as a “best of” for this lens. I recommend looking at the photos at regular and highest magnification. Highest magnification is where you will see for yourself if these are the type of results you would be satisfied with. At normal magnification many images are acceptable, while at higher magnification you will see that the lens produces softer edges than you will see with a Nikon or Canon lens ( in my opinion). Sometimes the results are similar or with only subtle differences. But see for yourself and make up your own mind…
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500 at 150mm (there is some atmospheric aberation from the heat)
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500 at 500mm (there is some atmospheric aberation from the heat)
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm 
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500mm at 350mm
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500mm at 350mm
(BELOW) Sigma 150-500mm at 380mm
Comparison shots between Sigma 150-500mm and Nikon 70-200mm
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 290mm
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Nikon 70-200mm at 200mm
Notice that the photo below taken with the Nikon has better overall sharpness, contrast and color.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm
Overall this is a nice photo but compare the sharpness and contrast with that of the Nikon combo below
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Nikon 70-200mm with 1.7x tele at 340mm (not cropped)
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 450mm
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Nikon 70-200mm with 1.7x tele at 320mm (cropped) – Notice more details of the feathers and talons compared to the Sigma.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Nikon 70-200mm with 1.7x tele at 300mm (cropped)
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ADDED BELOW ON 3/6/11
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm : This caracara was very far away and the resulting image is very soft at 500mm and this was actually the best of the group.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm (cropped): This sickly looking tern was also very far away and this photo has been cropped. Higher magnification shows that the feathers and beak have some softness at the edges.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm : This Yellow-crowned night heron was relatively far away and this photo at highest power shows what I would consider “normal” results with this lens. The edges are soft and have a loss of detail.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm: This shows the strength at closer distances with nice preservation of feather detail. Subject as also stationary.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm: Another relatively close subject (Great Blue Heron) with nice preservation of detail. Subject was also stationary.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm : Another relatively close subject with good detail.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm : Higher magnification of this photo will show some loss of feather and beak detail. At lower magnification the photo is usable IMO.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm: Actually works as a fairly good macro lens at time. I was very close to this moth and there is nice detail in this one.
(BELOW) Photo taken with the Sigma 150-500mm at 500mm: Another photo take very close to the subject. This is a real strength of this lens IMO
Feel free to leave your feedback or thoughts… Also check out Thom Hogan’s review on this lens at the link below. I think his findings are similar to mine but read for yourself at : http://bythom.com/sigma-150-500mm-lens-review.htm
-KSQ
http://ksqphotography.zenfolio.com/
