I would have loved a 500mm Nikon lens, however I settled on this lens from Sigma and have been very pleased with the decision. Having a range of 150-500 mm the lens gives me the reach that I wanted in wildlife photography. The lens though by no means light is easily managed and the anti vibration system works well even at 500mm, though if you can, I would use a mono-pod or tripod. Construction is solid, though I still have to subject the lens to rain or intense dust I have no reason to believe that I will experience problems, in really nasty conditions I always use a lens/camera cover. The only negative is the difficulty in positioning the lens when putting it on the camera, I added a white reference mark and this has made all the difference. Overall a good performing and useful lens that exceeds expectations and value for money.Read full review
I live next to a secluded pond where there are many forms of wild life. I took up digital photography after having used film many years ago, and decided to try my hand at shooting pictures of the animals I was only viewing everyday. I use Nikon cameras and they do not manufacture a zoom lens in this focal range, so I researched third party lenses and found that this lens has the best reputation among its peers. After studying this Sigma lens's performance data, I started watching for an auction that had both a price and lens quality that fitted my needs. I have done lots of picture shooting now and am very happy with this lens's magnification range and digital picture quality. As this is a very heavy lens, not easy to hand hold steady while trying to shoot fast moving and distant critters, I have decided to next purchase a heavy duty tripod to use with this lens.Read full review
I read Thom Hogan's review of this lens before I bought it. I find, its at its sharpest between 200-400mm at f8. I bought it primarily to photograph wildlife and found it to be an excellent buy. On my first outing with this lens, I was able to compare it with Nikon's 80-400 VR side by side and found the picture quality nearly identical in the 200-400 range. I say nearly identical because the two camera's were shooting with different settings plus the Nikon 80-400 was on a D7000 whilst I was shooting with a D90. The focus was smooth, fast and silent. The OS worked well and I did manage to get some photographs with light falling handheld (but the zoom was not fully extended). I did not have the focus and sharpness problems that other reviewers seem to have encountered. At 400-500mm there is a certain softness when you zoom into the pictures and finer details are lost but I felt that was an acceptable tradeoff for this lens. Compared to my Nikon 300mm f4 prime, this lens was a bit soft but I bought it more for the reach than the sharpness. Overall I'm very happy with this lens that Sigma has produced and wouldn't hesitate in recommending this lens to a serious amateur like myself.Read full review
The lens is in mint condition, easy to use, a little stiff, not as fast focusing as my Canon 100-400 lens. Pictures are clear and sharp in the center, a little distortion at the outer edges, but not too bad.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The lense is a bit big and heavy however this is to be expected with any 500mm lens of quality. I acquired this lens to take to a motorcycle race and it worked out great. I used it on a Nikon D7000 which gave it extra focal size due to a crop sensor but it was the right size for my needs. The autofocus was a bit slow to track speeding motorcycles however I was able to use manual and get a good job done. The photos were high quality and sharp when I was able to review them on my computer. I think from my use and what I have had others say about this lens it is the best bang for the buck. Of course if you spend $10K on a higher quality glass then you will get a better result but this Sigma is sure worth the price. It is a good value with many good points and only a few draw backs. Resale value tends to be pretty good as well allowing you to buy for a job or event and resale for almost full value costing you only little or no money. Of course that is no guarantee.Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Lenses
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Lenses