Sigma 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM  reviews

sharpness: 4.5 

color: 4 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: MartinM   review date: March-21-13  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

70-400G
70-200G

price paid:

1500 (new)

positive:

Focal length
Silent, Accurate and Quick AF
IQ

negative:

f/6.3 @200mm onwards
No AF-D support

comment:

I got the lens today for my A99. I am impressed.

The AF is really silent. It is accurate. The HSM is not as fast as the 70-200G. But I would not say it is slower than the 70-400G @ 400mm.

The IQ is not bad from terms of sharpness. A little contrast loss @500mm. No big deal for Lightroom.

The probably only thing buyers need to be aware of, the lens is already at f/6.3 @200mm. High ISO will be required to keep the shutter speed. Lets put it this way. On my A99, because higher ISO are not an issue, this lens fits perfect. On an A850 which at ISO 1600 is already noise, probably this is not the right thing.

No AF-D support!

One word on TC. The SAL-14TC does not fit.

OS works well, but the SS from the A99 delivers better results.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: Reisfeld   review date: December-05-12  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Sigma 135-400 F4.5-5.6 APO Aspherical

price paid:

1678 € (new)

positive:

Wide range of focal width. Sharp - even at open aperture. Work also very fine with Sigma EX 2x coverter (manual focus mode). Perfect colours. Smooth, precise, nearly noiseless autofocus - but also fast.

negative:

Rather long at 500mm

comment:

Excellent lense. Practically no distortion. Best results with OS in position 2. In this position it works also wit steady shoton! SLT compatible (Sony A77)! No problems. Fine bokeh.
Recommandation without restriction.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 4 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: thomaskplee   review date: November-24-12  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Canon EF 28-300L IS
Minolta RF 500 AF
Minolta AF 300 f2.8
Minolta AF 600 f4

price paid:

1450 USD (new)

positive:

Very sharp and good IQ
Very quiet AF
Very Effective OS

negative:

Slow AF at 500mm tele end
A bit stiff at 100mm tele turning

comment:

I own the non-OS version for Canon and have used it on my 1D4 and 1DX, the older version without OS is a very versatile lens and with tripod or handheld in good daylight (such as shooting golf) is a perfect lens.

So when I got A99, I want to find a "one lens - all purpose" lens, found this len could be the best choice if you are looking for better IQ. In Canon, there is 28-300 L which is very versatile, but for Sony this is the choice, or else, you can only use the lower IQ lenses such as the Tamron AF 28-300 or the older Vivitar AF 28-300 (push-pull for tele). With this and a wide angle lens, and perhaps a Minolta 35mm f2 ; it could be the best minimal lenses for carry-on travelling.

Furthermore, the OS on this lens is very good. At 1/30 and 500mm tele, I got 1 out of 8 to be successful, at 1/50, 1 out of 3. Also found it to be better when the Camera "steady-shot" is Off, both on A99 and A77.

sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

user: KS56   review date: January-08-11  

tested on film camera:

tested on APS-C:6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP:; 16MP:; 24MP:

tested on full frame:24MP

compared to:

Sony 70-400G

price paid:

1499USD(new)

positive:

Great focal length range
Outstanding image quality
Fast and quiet autofocus
Low distortion
Great build quality
Effective OS
Amazing bokeh

negative:

Somewhat heavy, but feels good hand held

comment:

Just received the new Sigma 50-500 f4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM. Nice!!!!
Focusing seems to be accurate, and very silent. Optical stabilization works very well. The lens feels good hand held on my Sony A77. Built like a tank!
Have not had a chance to do much testing due to inclement weather here in Western NY. Just took some low light test shots inside, love the bokeh!
Further testing with the A77 has shown that this lens is very sharp in the center at all focal lengths even wide open. Stopping down about 2 stops improves the edge sharpness to match the center sharpness.
The maximum magnification in the mid zoom range is near half life size on the APS-C sensor.
The bokeh seems to be superior to what I see from sample photos taken with the Sony 70-400G lens.
So far the lens has no incompatibility issues with the SLT-A77.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!