Sigma 745306 150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG HSM Contemporary Zoom Lens
Sigma 745306 150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG HSM Contemporary Zoom Lens for Niko
150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
Portability Meets Versatility
The Sigma 150-600 millimeter 5-6.3 DG HSM OS Contemporary was created around the concept of maximum portability meets utmost image quality in a variable aperture hyper-telephoto zoom lens. Light weight and compact, this s zoom can handle any long-reach photographic situation one may encounter. This 150-600 millimeter Contemporary boasts updated Sigma technology such as a quiet and optimized Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) and a new Optical Stabilizer (OS) with an accelerometer for improved panning photography both vertically and horizontally, essential for birding, wildlife and motor photography. The Sigma 150-600 Contemporary also touts a new zoom lock switch that can be locked at any focal length and a new manual override (MO) switch is incorporated for improved focusing control. Working with the Sigma USB dock, this lens allows for maximum customization such as firmware updates and adjustments to the focus limiter, AF speed and OS view.
USB Dock Compatibility
Sigma has developed special software (SIGMA Optimization Pro) that can update the lens firmware and adjust parameters such as focus. In addition, the lenses from our Sports line have customizable AF speed, focus limiter, OS function and full-time manual focus function. The ‘Custom Mode Switch’ is the device for further customization on the dedicated lenses.
Manual override incorporated to make two full-time manual modes switchable
In addition to AF/MF, MO (Override) is incorporated as one of the options of the focus mode switch. By setting it to the MO position, it switches to manual focus by rotating the focus ring even during continuous AF. With AF position, standard full-time manual focus is available. Using the optional SIGMA USB DOCK, it is possible to adjust the MO position’s sensitivity to switch to manual focus
About 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
- First hyper-telephoto zoom from the Contemporary line
- Lightweight and compact in construction for higher useability
- Water and oil repellent coating on front glass element makes maintenance of the lens surface easier
- Dust proof and splash proof mount
| Lens Construction | 20 elements in 14 groups |
| Angle of View (for SD1) | 16.4 – 4.1 degrees |
| Number of Diaphragm Blades | 9 (rounded diaphragm) |
| Minimum Aperture | F22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 280cm / 110.2in |
| Maximum Magnification | 1:4.9 |
| Filter Size | Diameter 95mm |
| Dimensions | 105mm x 260.1mm / 4.1in. x 10.2in. |
| Weight | 1,930g/100.9oz. (1,830gwith protective cover PT-11) |
| Weight: | 68 Ounces |
| Dimensions: | 25.9 x 10.4 x 10.4 centimetres |
| Brand: | Sigma |
| Model: | 745955 |
| Part: | 745955 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Dimensions: | 25.9 x 10.4 x 10.4 centimetres |
| Origin: | Japan |
This is my goto lens for long range wildlife photography. I absolutely love this lens and have not issues with it whatsoever. Many reviews online about this lens. I highly recommend this lens for those who love wildlife photography.
This is a great Lens for wildlife, the close up’s are great. The only downside is the weight, my tripod could not hold it straight so I now need a good solid replacement.
The only downside is the weight it is quite heavy after a while.
Some of the images I’ve captured have exceeded my expectations, very pleased with the lens and would describe it as very good value for money.
It is on the heavy side, but tbh this has added to its stability when supported.
Very happy with it.
Big improvement on my previous lens which was also Sigma. I thought that was good, but the technology built into this is fantastic and I can shoot freehand and still get great results.
Taken just in my garden, and set to auto, l know they are not brilliant pictures but not had Lens long, smooth zoom, heavy but even hand held can still get nice pictures, I am not pro, photographer wouldn’t say a good amateur also, but for what I want l love the Lens, I also have the Sigma micro love that also. Camera is a D7500 Nikon.
So take this information as you will
Affordable compared to the Canon equivalent. Take your time to get the right shot, keep your shutter speeds high you’ll get some very decent shots.
Picture gets a little soft at full 600mm but nothing that can’t be sorted in edit.
Only had the lens a week but already very happy with the purchase.
If you can’t afford Canon L series glass, this is the one for you
Very nice lens worked lovely with my Canon did everything I wanted but unfortunately it was a bit too heavy for me so at just under 3kg I had to return it.
Shame because it was just what I needed for nature/wildlife photos
Having thought about buying a zoom lens I looked at this Sigma lens as it had been recommended. I thought about buying second hand but the used prices were so high I willingly paid just that little bit more and bought new. I’m glad I did for the peace of mind a guarantee gives. I have found the picture quality very good at all focal lengths and aperture sizes. Due to buying in winter I’m expecting better pictures when the spring come and light quality is better.
I purchased this lens at the end of November so no real chance to get outdoors with it yet, but I have been impressed so far with some sharp photos on my R6 in poor light, shot hand held out of the bedroom window. This should be great in better light and with a tripod (its heavy).
Compared to the Sigma 100 – 400 this lens has given me sharper results on the same R6 with the same EF to RF adaptor but with added reach.
As a cheaper alternative to Canon lenses this lens has a lot to recommend it.
Amazing lens. Really impressed with the image stabilization and autofocus, but returned to Amazon and bought elsewhere as the one I recieved was not an official uk import. This means it is not eligible for the Sigma 3 year extended warranty. Was sold by Amazon Sarl. Suprised and dissapointed that Amazon are selling grey imports, however return was easy enough to be fair.
Bought as a christmas present for myself.
Out of the box it looks and feels very well made, I had a quick test to make sure it all worked, the images at 150 and 600 are shown.
Its heavy, but not noticable as I normally shoot with a 100 400L, its very smooth and nice to hold
Excellent colour, its as sharp at 600mm as it is at 150. The quality of the images are stunning, as good as the 100 400 L.
I shot about 50 images and all of them were sharp and looking great.
I’ve packed it away for chrismas, and look forward to having a go with it then.
I’m going to be shooting phenominal pictures at this years airshow season.
Very very happy.
I am not a photographer, I take pictures because I love taking pictures. I have to say, this lens has given me a lot of enjoyment, the quality of pictures is very good, I mostly use autofocus, it can be audible on video sometimes, but that’s the only black mark on this lens. It is big, it is beautiful, I use it on a Canon m200 and it always puts a smile on my face, whether it’s birds in my garden or planes at an airshow, wildlife in the forest, this lens is just perfec
Bought as a replacement for my tiring Canon 400mm prime lens. I have been more than pleasantly surprised with just how good this lens is, especially for vfm. It’s a lot heavier than I expected and that takes a bit of getting used to. But other than that, it performs superbly. I have even tried some images at 600mm and been plesed with the results.
I use a Lumix GH4 from Panasonic. It is a micro four thirds camera that should not work with any version of this lens. However, Viltrox make an adapter that gives full autofocus, stabalisation and metadata control to the Canon EF version. As a bonus, it also intensifies the light, making this lens an f3.5 to f4.5 with an 840mm equivalent reach.
The depth of focus becomes incredibly small, isolating the very sharp focus to just a few centimetres at a thirty to one hundred metre distance. You can see what I mean in the uploaded image. For bird photography this is perfect.
I already had a 100 to 400 Lieca Panasonic lens, but the Sigma 150 to 650 outperforms it by a significant amount by being a whole stop brighter, a slight increase in range and a considerable reduction in depth of field when paired with a Viltrox II M2 adapter.
I use the Sigma 150-600 on my Nikon Z6 body with a FTZ Adapter. I have to say it works just as great, quick at auto focus with great image quality.
Why spend over 2k on a Nikon 600mm F Lence when this is fraction on the price.
I would also recommend to buy a USB Dock UD-01 to make sure your lence is up-to-date.
“Unfortunately this serial number is not on our system as an official UK import. Please re-check the serial number (which should be 7 or 8 digits) and the product you selected. If the serial number has been entered incorrectly please re-register on our website with the correct details.”
This appear to be imported to Germany and is not a valid UK import.
This lens is an excellent lens for wildlife and possibly sport photography. I personally find the lens on the heavy side, but coupled with a tripod you can achieve sharp clear images of many wildlife subjects. For short term handholding you can achieve wildlife, sport, aviation etc. images sharp and close up.
I bought this lens to photograph the Kites and Buzzards around my home. I hardly ever remove it from my camera now as the image quality is amazing. I’m using it on a Canon 600d and am now going to upgrade to full frame sensor to get the best out of it. Really impressive and very cheap for the quality of the images it can produce.
I’ve wanted this particular lens for almost 2 years. Although it’s a more budget friendly option compared to the 12,000 prime 600mm lenses it is obviously not a cheap lens by any means.
I’ve only had a chance to use it late in the evening and around the house which is a worst case for this lens. But wow even at 8000 ISO I was still taking perfectly usable photos. And outside with more light, I was at full zoom taking perfectly sharp photos. The auto focus is impressively fast although it’s not the fastest. The image quality compares well to my Sigma 105mm Prime Macro lens which is incredibly sharp and fast. The only thing with the 150-600mm is it doesn’t perform in low light as well as a prime lens but I wasn’t expecting it too nor do I intend to use it like that.
The easiest way to sum it up is like this. Yeah a Bugatti Veyon is a nice car but you’d still be happy with something like a Lambo at a much lower cost. No it isn’t as good as the Prime Lenses but I can’t complain, it is an amazing lens.
Only one criticism would be the zoom ring weirdly rotates the opposite direction to most lenses but that’s not a big issue. It is big and heavy but you can’t criticise it for that. It’s big and heavy because it has a long zoom range and brilliant build quality.
I’m out with this lens all the time. I use it so much it prompted me to buy a second camera and lenses with range from 10mm to 150mm just so I could keep this one attached. If you’re feeling in need of a post-lockdown workout, the lens is heavy too! The initial 14 mile walk I took with it ached a little, but a few more of those and the lens feels light and you have stronger arms to boot!
Initially expensive (though not so compared to many other telephotos) but it pays you back in photos in no time at all.
Haven’t used the lens much yet but a few initial shots are quite good, even hand-held. But I tried to get the Sigma extended 3 year warranty and was told by Sigma UK that the serial number means that it is not an official UK import. One star deducted but that is for Amazon rather than the lens. Very naughty of Amazon to be selling grey imports.
Good lens that does what it claims to do. As most telephoto lenses not so good at low light but not too bad either. Quite heavy to use without tripod but not impossible. Make sure you have a spare battery for the camera as the motor uses a fair bit of energy when using autofocus regularly. I mainly use it for nature photography.
I have wanted a telephoto lens for a long time, but wanted one that didn’t always have to be used with a tripod, and all I looked at were so expensive. This lens is brilliant so far, although I am still learning to use it. The pictures are sharp and clear using hand held, and the price was half those I had been looking at. If like me you are an amateur photographer who enjoys taking wildlife pictures this is a must – a lovely lens.
I feel I have to tag “for the price” to most of my observations here. I mostly shoot landscapes but have often wanted more reach than a 70-200 can give. I’ve owned canon’s 100-400mm L series lens and canon’s 70-200 f2.8 L series lens mk3 used with a x1.4 and a x2 extender. Those set ups gave me good image quality but you know what? Given this sigma lens can get me in to 600mm and has good sharpness and contrast across the range AND a decent aperture I’m glad I’ve settled on the sigma. Plus it has OS and the autofocus is solid. At almost 2kg it’s just within my own limits for shooting handheld for periods of time. I wouldn’t want the sports version even if it was the same price – just too heavy.
So “for the price” – this is an outstanding addition to a lens bag – opening up opportunities for some fairly serious wildlife intimate landscape photography. Real serious means anywhere between 5-12k
I have had the sigma 150-600mm before but when i original had it, i used it on the 7d mark 1….to say it didn’t preform will would be an under estimation. That being said I bought a 90d and it was a completely different story. The new sensor makes the image much better and it locks on so much easier, even with fast moving birds. It seems to do really well in live view and it’s amazing for video work now that i have the dock to adjust the setting in the lens. 600mm for this quality, you can’t fault it to be honest. You group this with a software like topaz denoise and your knocking on perfection. Look forward to trying it out on the canon r6 as soon as we get them in the uk.
Update, now that I have tried it on the R6 and even with the 1.4 and 2x extender, it looks on to the subjects. The results are very, very good. I can almost fill the frame with the moon photos, which is just amazing to see.
I use it with a Nikon 5600, no issues at all. It does have a bit of weight, you’ll notice it immediately, but get used to it very quickly. The auto focus is quick and reliable, if you know you’re camera, you’ll be fine. Everything I’ve done with it so far has been free hand, it comes with a tripod handle (standard sized fitting) but I’ve not used it as of yet, it does make a good grip when carrying it around.
The pictures I’ve added are of my first time out with it, picked a good day to practise with a touch of local knowledge and luck, and feel I’ve done not bad. Basically if I can manage it, anyone can.
I’ve pushed the lens (and arguably my camera) to its absolute limit when taking pictures of deer at sundown, at full 600mm focal length, the pictures came out fine, but there came a point when the limit of f stop and ISO meant I didn’t have time on my side, but this is a limit of any lens.
The equivalent Nikon lens is around 300 more, so this one is perfect if the Nikon is out of budget.
If I’ve one negative, it is the Sigma warranty. There is a 3 year warranty, but it isn’t available for lenses bought via Amazon. When I’ve attempted to register it, I get an email stating it is not a genuine UK import so the warranty doesn’t apply. So if you want the warranty, its an additional 41. I’m not sure if this is something Amazon is aware of and can assist with, but Sigma aren’t budging on the matter.
Anyway, brilliant lens, definitely worth it if you’ve any desire to photograph wildlife. At 300mm I was pretty restricted, even when cropping, at 600mm with cropping I’m not chasing an animal and only getting pics of its ass!
It compares superbly alongside my Canon 100-400mm F4.5/5.6 L II IS USM despite not having quite the benefit of the larger aperture. This, in my opinion, is compensated for by having the extra 200mm reach without the need for a teleconverter, which then causes light loss anyway.
At less than half the price of the Canon, this lens is well worth its money. No it’s not built like the Canon but that comes at a premium. I still have and will continue to use the Canon, I can find uses for both.
In terms of Zoom lens I have been putting off buying one as the price of a telephoto lens was far too high. But that was because I was looking at Canon lenses and hadn’t considered using another brand. This is a beaut, it has meant I have regained my interest in photography. The lens itself is heavy compared to any other lens I have had but that hasn’t stopped me from capturing some fantastic images of wild birds. I love how the lens is able to focus on the subject and then has image stabilisation for a second or two to enable a crisp image. The deal with Amazon to pay in 5 installments interest free is fantastic. I would like to see more of this kind of offer as for me it makes the difference between buying it or not.
The lens comes with the attachment for a tripod, and a rubber protector for when you remove this from the lens. It has two straps, one for the lens bag and one to help support the lens when taking photos.
The only thing that I didn’t find worked well was that the warranty said it would only be valid if it has been stamped by the dealer, which of course it has not as it was purchased through Amazon. However, I assume that this 3 year warranty is still valid as I have a record of purchase.
Overall a great lens, fits the canon EOS 250 a dream.
When the lens arrived I was more than impressed by the build quality. This lens has a very solid build and feels very substantial. The lens hood is made from plastic, but so are most of my other lens hoods, provided you don’t intend to use it as a stepping stool it is more than adequate. The optical quality is excellent. I find my images to be very sharp when wide open at the 150 end of the focal length. I then stop down to about f8 from 200 – 500 for pin sharp images from center to the image edge. Ocationaly I’ll stop down to f11 at the 600 end of the focal length. All round this lens is good quality, it is a great performer and is value for money.
I’ve only had this lens for 5 days and wow is it fun! I’ve always used prime lenses and my “go-to” lens has been my Sigma 105mm for quite some time. While I’ll still always prefer the 105mm for macro shots, the 150-600mm is my absolute go-to for larger wildlife shots.
I’ve only used it handheld so far but am still pleased with the results even handheld. It’s not as heavy as I was expecting and I regularly have it round my neck on dog walks and the weight doesn’t really bother me.
I’m a complete amateur when it comes to photography but I feel this lens has really upped my game and I’m excited for what shots I can get in future considering these photos were all taken in the space of 5 days.
I bought this lens to try and photo the birds in the wood behind the house, unfortunately I have not managed that yet (they are too fast for me) it is a little heavier than I expected but this it isn’t too heavy or bulky so I can easily throw it I a bag and take it a walk with me. These photos were all taken hand held down the river one evening. I’m sure there are probably better lenses out there but I for one cannot afford them. For the price this is great I love it.
I’m typically far more comfortable with a wide-angle lens taking pics of landscapes, so wandering round with this lens looking for subjects out of my norms and from different perspectives has been really enjoyable – I’m sure I’ll get a lot of use out of it, it offers a great unique option.
I bought a used one via amazon that has a small amount of lens fungus which was stated in the description so image quality is slightly below that of a new one, reviews of the lens are all on the plus side with the exeption of wide open at F6.3 at 600mm, I bought the usb dock after I bought the lens and spent 2 day’s calibrating it through all 16 test point’s and the degree of front and back focus varied at all 16 point’s quite considerably, since it’s been calibrated it’s as sharp as a pin and I hand hold the lens on a nikon d800 at 1,000th of a second wide open, from small birds 8 feet away to sheep on the mountains 2 miles away it’s a show stopper, if you use the usb dock and update the lenses firmware you’ll double the autofocus speed making it extremely fast and reliable and improves image stabilisation, it’s great for birds in flight but for day to day use if you’re hand holding i’d set a minimum shutter speed of 1,000th of a second at 600mm or you’ll lower the rate of keepers, the fact that mine has a small amount of fungus leads me to believe it wouldn’t be a good idea to use it in the rain for extended periods, the plastic barrel is great for handling rapid temperature changes but as a general rule if I bring a camera with a zoom lens into the house when it’s cold outside I put it in a cool room and extend the lens fully, number one tip, put the lens hood on and keep it on, i’m constantly knocking the end of the lens on gateposts etc while i’m out and the lens hood takes the flack not the front element, well worth the money, the 4 stars for picture quality is only with regard to an uncalibrated lens
The lens is great to use, but it is heavy. I have found that at distances close up to the camera, manual focus works better than the auto focus. The focus ring whilst not very wide is smooth and I was able to focus using one finger of the hand supporting the lens. The attached picture was hand held 1/500 sec and with the lens wide open f6.3 at 550mm ISO 5000 and at 4 metres. In future I will use a larger f number to increase the depth of field. The picture was sharpened in lightroom.
I love this lens. Its down sides are its big, heavy and expensive. One time I was using it in the rain and it stopped working. But then half an hour later it was fine. Other than that I think the picture quality is excellent and the autofocus is really fast. I use it mainly for Rugby and its transformed my work. You can use it hand held but its best to use a mono pod if you can. It came with the focus finely tuned so I didnt need to adjust it. I was apprehensive to buy it as its alot more than Ive ever paid for a lens, but no regrets at all. BTW I use it with a Canon 7DII if thats of any help to anyone, they work well together.
First of all I was going to purchase the Sport version but then having read the reviews and hired one for a few days decided I would get the less expensive version.
Reasons, It’s lighter in weight, I would be unlikely to be taking it out in poor weather so didn’t particularly need the waterproofing and of course substantially cheaper.
Why did I need it, well like any other situation with Binoculars, Telescopes and Camera Lens no matter which one you own there is always something a little bit out of reach with your current equipment.
So having decided I was happy to spend the money I bought this lens.
Yes there are still things just out of reach bit I have covered up to the 600mm range.
The photo I have posted with this review where taken in my garden from a distance of about 25 Metres and cropped.
Well pleased with the results, even low light level results seem excellent.
Conclusion :- Yes you can get a much bigger and better lens but it will cost you thousands of pounds and this is more than adequate for most amateurs. I should state i use it with my Canon Cameras especially the 6D mark 2.
1st thing I noticed was the size, it’s huge. Especially at 600mm. Now I knew it was big, but using it daily I realised how big. And heavy… When I 1st went out with it I thought how can you hand hold it? Now I’m a big bloke, and I felt the size and weight. However, as time has gone by, I don’t notice it any more, odd what you get used too.
Build is ok, very plastic. But feels sturdy and strong. The lens lock is invaluable, as it prevent lens extending as you walk. I use with a nikon D7200. And I can’t quite fit the assembled lens / camera into my lowpro sling bag. I will upload some images of the issue later. If you want to carry around fitted then you need a bag that allows the m to be packed vertically, not horizontal across the bag.
Focus is excellent, really fast. And zooming is a bit of a chore, in that you have to twist to zoom then release and twist again to full zoom. Not great if you need to zoom fast. But in general ok.
Image quality is far better than my old tamron 70-300mm. (still a great cheap lens by the way).
At this time focus at 600mm is slighty soft. So I neeed to tune it to the camera. Looks like another purchase coming up for the sigma tuning thingy.
I have bought a gimble for my tripod to help . But all the images except the moon were hand held. And I did take moon shots hand held. the image stabilisation is very good, does seem to pust hand held shots slightly to the right. You can feel the motor working. But its good as you can see.
I nearly bought the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E, I tried it at Jessops (lovely lens) but I don’t regret buying the sigma. I wanted the extra reach and boy do I like it. It is a slow lens though so brighter light is preferred unless you are happy with high ISO’s. the D7200 is great, but I am noticing the high ISO, (so noise when shooting moon was noticable to me)
Great lens, well worth a buy.
Revolutionary. I bought this for wildlife photography mainly for large animals here in Africa. It’s excellent although for stability it needs to rest on the window/ doorframe of the car. I am amazed at the clarity and sharpness of images. Autofocus has at times struggled and I found myself toggling between manual and auto on the lens at times when it really lost it. Not a dealbreaker but one issue to be aware of. To my surprise I have found myself taking far more bird photos – it’s now worth it since I can now fill the frame…. extraordinary!
Not had any issues so far. Yes it will need good light … but for this price I am hooked !
If you want a mega zoom up to 600mm and ultrafast autofocus then you are going to pay thousands of pounds. For those that want the occasional lens for wildlife, sports, air shows etc this lens will do a good job but it has its limitations in that autofocus isn’t the quickest and you will need a reasonably high ISO and tripod/ monopod to get sharp shots or have a very bright/ sunny day. Optical stabilisation is ok but not in the Canon class. Again it’s tradeoffs re price / quality. I think for the price range you can’t go wrong but if you spend all your time on things like birds in flight etc you might want to save up and get something a bit better. Finally one more gripe, think it’s disgusting to charge an extra 39 for the dock to allow you to upgrade the lens firmware make fine tuning adjustments etc.
After sharing some photos with my family, my Dad asked about the lens and on my recommendation, he also bought the same lens and he too is very happy with his purchase and it has also opened up a whole new world for him too.
Just be warned – you need a strong arm to hold it steady so you might want to invest in a monopod for walks.
Nice lens with slight focusing issues. The addition of lens switch settings does help performance, however lens calibration achieved better results through camera AFAM as opposed to Sigma software. Best photo quality results gained at f8 and f11. Still playing with settings, but happy with lens so far, but you can’t compare it to Canon lenses costing thousands of pounds in terms of capture quality. Only real negative is the tripod shoe, which could be longer; similar to Sport version. Sturdy build. Padded cases a bonus. Suggest buying a neoprene cover to give protection as lens is not weathersealed. Would I still recommend – yes.
Photo taken at 600mm f8 1/2000 ISO50 at distance of 800 metres on cropped Canon.
I can get close up shots from a width of a field. I would advise getting a monopod for it if you’re planning on holding it for a while as it’s a heavy bit of kit. Also find I get cleaner images at big magnification.
The downside is it does struggle in low light with the minimum F5.6 aperture. Given the price you can’t complain. I’ve owned this and used it a few times a week, taken thousands of photos and I’m very happy with my purchase.
Don’t get me wrong it doesn’t compare to a 2.8 canon for sharpness but that’s triple the price second hand so you get what you pay for.
Trading up from the Sigma 120-400 zoom that i though pretty good . Then I’ve just got this monster and wow – even better .
Heavier , but not unduly , image stabilisation initially , didn’t seem as effective as the 120-400 , mainly because it was almost silent . After some test shots , with and without OS ,I needn’t have worried – sharper than the 400 and even at 1/60 of a second on full zoom , clean shots . Had a wander round , shooting local wild life , some sporadic sunny episodes , but generally overcast .
Very happy with the results so far , can’t wait to fully figure the various functions and settings and get to use it in some sunny surroundings .
Downside , the tripod mount , which on the 400 was a substantial hand grip , is almost a third the size and makes hand-held shooting a tad tricky . better to hold the barrel further down to steady it – the extra weight may prove a struggle to hold up for long periods .Otherwise , very pleased .
The second sample was taken at night indoors and also handheld. This was at maximum ISO and the autofocus does hunt around a bit, but not bad for hand held indoors at 600mm. There is a feature to set the autofocus range to basically near or far and that reduces the hunt time in low light. You can see here that at max aperture the depth of field is insanely narrow, so when doing wild life stuff it’s better to go up to F11 or so and have a higher ISO unless you have manged to squash your subject flat somehow.
So the final picture was hand held at around 500mm with the lens resting on a railing to provide some extra stability. The bottom left inset shows the sharpness that can be delivered, the numbers on the blue container are perfectly readable. Again this was at 1000 ISO.
I was a bit worried about getting this in my backpack, but the solid zoom cover is reversible and it all fits in very nicely after a bit of reorganisation.
I’ve not bothered with the USB tuner. The results are amazing without it. But I can see how it might be useful.
Finally, don’t bother with a 1.4x converter. The images are better if you just crop! Sigma do seem to make very good lenses! My Sigma 12-24mm ultra-wide angle is also excellent!
I went to Chester Zoo today to see what the lens could do and I am more than satisfied with the results. An image is attached, taken at the long end, 600mm. The elephants were about 100ft or so away. Hand held in a moderate breeze.
Although a tripod or monopod would have made things easier as it is a heavy lens but lighter than some I have held.
It is well built and the controls are quite accessible. I took more shots than this one along the full range of the lens and they were extremely good for sharpness and contrast.
I am very well satisfied with this. It competes extremely well with the Tamron 150-600 and the Canon 100-400. I made a good choice.
First reactions – WOW that is a big lens…. I have it on my Canon 700D, & it works brilliantly. It’s solid, & very heavy, so for best results I use it on either a mono pod or a tripod. I have read that some people find it heavy on batteries, I don’t find this in my usage. I used it for a weekend at the Silverston F1 race, I had the image stabiliser & auto focus working all weekend taking over 2000 photos & only did 2 battery changes. Image quality is brilliant, & for the price well worth every penny I paid.
I can find only one design fault. Its the lens hood. It’s a very big hood, & costs about 45 to replace. It fits with a twist lock, & is very poor. I have nearly lost it 2 or 3 time now. My solution was to fix it in place before going out & I add 3-4 strips of insulation tape to keep it in place.
The lens itself comes with a padded bag (with shoulder strap), rubber ring, a separate strap for the lens itself and a lens hood. The bag seems robust and well made, with foam inserts at either end to ensure that the lens is seated centrally within the bag and can’t move around. It’s not the fastest lens when it comes to autofocus, and occasionally I find that it fails reach focus, but the manual focus ring is well positioned and can be used very easily.
Image stabilisation works well, although at 600 mm it can’t do miracles. Hand held it usually requires a couple of shots to make sure that at least one image will be completely motion-blur free (unless you are shooting in extremely bright sunshine of course). The manual states that the IS system should be turned off before the lens is detached. I guess this is to prevent you removing the lens when the IS system is engaged. I don’t remember Canon IS systems having this requirement, although I could be wrong.
The lens accepts 95 mm filters, which tend to be quite costly. I bought a CP filter along with the lens, but this turned out to be a mistake. At 600 mm there is already hardly any light reaching the sensor and a CP filter cuts out most of it.
First of all, this thing is a monster. Its big and heavy. But, don’t let that put you off. It’s ergonomic, and we’ll balanced, so shooting handheld isn’t an issue, and with the excellent image stabilisation, even shooting handheld at 600mm generates, gorgeous, crisp, images.
The lens arrives very nicely packed, in a outer box, the Sigma branded box, and inside that, a soft, padded lens bag.
The lens is really well finished, and feels like a quality product. It has a matte finish, and the focus and zoom rings are chunky, grooved rubber.
The lens foot is well made, and quick release plates fit perfectly, despite what I had read on a few places.
The slider switches on the lens are excellent, and provide access to a range of settings, including focal distance, image stabilisation mode, focus mode, and custom settings (programed through the USB dock).
The lens has a zoom lock, which hard locks at 150mm, and will then soft lock at any other focal length. A nice feature is when soft locked, you can manually override the zoom lock by firmly twisting the zoom ring.
Initially I had issues with this lens focus hunting when at the longer focal lengths, and I was shooting against a low contrast background (clear blue sky, no clubs for example). This was user error, as I had the focal distance set to “all”. As soon as I set that to 10m – infinity, the auto focus acquired focus incredibly quickly, even on birds in flight.
The lens hood that comes with this product is massive but very nicely constructed.
Overall, a fantastic lens, that gives you unbelievable reach. I can’t understand how sigma can produce such an amazing lens, at such a competitive price.
10/10
For the money, this is a fantastic buy – it sells for the same price as the Tamron, so I read as many reviews as I could both editorial and via purchasers and decided on the Sigma.
For the few quick tests so far it has not disappointed – a big smile on my face every time I connect it to my 7d Mk II !! Image quality is great; it includes the lens hood, a great lens case and carry strap! Build quality is superb, the tripod collar and mount is substantial – a very firm and sturdy mount. Autofocus is quick and accurate – even with a (big 95mm!) protector filter screwed on the front.
I plan on getting the USB dock – the ability to update the firmware and tweak parameters was a big plus for me; I’ve been caught out before with lenses needed to be sent for upgrade to work with a new body etc.
Will probably try a teleconverter too as I’ve read that the 1.4 and 2.0 sigma and canon versions both work with the lens!
So far absolutely no regrets. After spending 4hrs in a hide taking birds I can say it more that fulfilled expectations producing beautiful sharp images once I remembered to activate the OS!!!
The OS really does its job. The lens can be used handheld at 600mm at 1/60th and still give sharp images. But not for long! This lens is heavy. When attached to my 70D the combined weight is 2.5kg. Even resting your elbows on the hide’s window sill my arms were aching after an hour or so. This is most definitely not a lens you carry around on the off-chance you may use it. A monopod is a very useful accessory.
Back to the OS. With the USB dock it is possible to change the mode of the OS. I found that on the default setting the images were fine but the viewfinder jumped around a little. Changing the mode to “dynamic” settles down the viewfinder and I will most likely keep this setting. The lens allows 2 custom settings to be stored with different parameters for AF and OS.
The autofocus works very well but sometimes I found it needed a little manual assistance to get it into the right ball park to prevent lengthy hunting around. This happen when there is low contrast and you switch from a few meters to infinity or vice versa. One of the custom settings may help in this regard but it really isn’t a huge issue.
The attached photos are low resolution jpg’s straight from the camera.
I opted for the contemporary lens over the sports version as all reviews indicated the quality was the same, key differences being build quality and weight – the contemporary version being significantly lighter. You can use this lens hand held, and it is bearable enough to carry around (I use a Kata backpack for transport), but for extended sessions I would recommend a monopod or tripod to take the weight and extra stability.
The lens comes complete with a very sturdy carry case of its own if you don’t have an existing camera bag able to accomdate a lens of this size.
I pondered long and hard, read review upon review and professional field tests too before buying.
It is my most expensive lens and my first none Canon purchase so I was concerned not to mess up
Reveiws are like statistics in the sense you can read into them what you want. As you read you eliminate options looking for better and the purchase price soars.
My choices were the Tamron 150-600, Canon 100-400 Mark 2 or Sigma 150-600 Contemparary.
I was tempted by the Canon and the Sigma Sport but dismissed both on price, eventually choosing the Sigma Contemparary. I thought the extra focal length would require less cropping and therefore give better results than the 100-400 and the Canon/Sigma Sport are too pricey for me
There are cheaper opions to buy a Sigma C From third parties on Amazon but Ive had problems before so bought supplied and fullfilled by Amazon (no grey imports and no arguements). Glad I did as registering it gives 3yrs warranty and you can claim 50 in their winter promotion*.
It arrived 2 days early. The lens is everything I hoped. Its well made with a sturdy, quality feel and although its is heavier than any of my other lens (be surprised if it wasn’t) is a usable weight. At least for short periods.
I took a few hand held photos at low shutter speeds and the results are very acceptable, clean and crisp. Can’t wait to try it propery.
So far I am very pleased with my purchase.
I could’ve bought cheaper online but I wanted piece of mind so I bought reputably and saved money anyway. Happy
* I have registered for 3yr warranty and will claim the 50 redemption but Sigma haven’t confirmed acceptance yet.
Good news. As its supplied and fulfilled by Amazon and not bought through a third party seller I get both the 3 year warranty and cashback.
Fortunately I found salvation with a Canon G10 several years ago, soon to be joined by an EOS-m, ridiculously cheap (in it’s later life) and very underrated, then the bug really bit and these were joined by a 70d.
I thought the Sigma 150-600 was a bit of a luxury but would be nice for the long reach occasionally. Having used it since it arrived yesterday, in spite of the glowing reviews, I had totally underestimated just how good this lens is.
first trial was on the EOS-m, 9 o’clock at night photographing trees a hundred feet away at full zoom (handheld), autofocus was very quick, even on the EOS-m, and the images very sharp.
Today was it’s first real trial in good daylight on the 70d, excellent results at full zoom but the revelation was in the 150 to 300 range, I have the Tamron 16-300 zoom which I think is a fantastic piece of glass but the images from the Sigma at it’s shorter ranges are far superior.
If my first impressions are right, this is a fantastic lens and will be getting used far more than I had envisaged.