A Recent Acquisition - The Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 OS/DG/HSM Zoom Lens

I recently acquired a Sigma 150-500mm Zoom lens to complement my workhorse birding lens (Canon 400mm f/5.6L Prime). I had long wanted to cover the shorter focal lengths, as well as get a bit longer reach, and looked around for an affordable, light-weight Zoom for the purpose. The Canon L Lenses are great, but they are heavy and cost a lot, too! That left me with 3rd party lenses.

My first choice would have bee the Tamron 200-500 (because of its weight), but I could not find the lens here in the Philippines, so I took a look at Sigma. JT Photoworld in Manila just happened to have the Sigma 150-500 Lens, so I ordered it from my local Photoshop . They shipped it the following day and I got it just two days after ordering - great job, Peter!

Needles to say, I went out and tested the lens the first chance I had and came away with some interesting, but well-established findings:

1. The lens is a bit on the heavy side.
2. At 500mm full open (f/6.3) it is soft, but sharpens very well when stopped down to F/8 thru F/11.
3. It can take a 1.4X Teleconverter and still come up with lovely images.
4. The Optical Stabilizer really helps when hand-holding this lens.

A few samples:







I'm glad it turned out that the Sigma did as well as one would expect at that price range (less than USD 1,000.00) - it's a real value-for-money investment. It's a lens that any would-be bird photographer can start taking satisfying bird photos with - at an affordable price.