There is something special about shooting flowers with long lenses, so when I saw the flower images provided by Sigma, the first thing I looked for in the specifications was the close-up data for the SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports. The minimum focusing distance at 600mm is 280 cm (110.2 in.) but at 150mm it goes down to 58 cm (22.8 in.). According to Sigma, the maximum magnification ratio is 1:2.9, at a focusing distance of 180mm, which is not bad, as the flower photographs published here confirm… especially when on the other end the lens is ideal to capture anything from birds in flight to flying aircraft.
On the L-Mount, it can be used with SIGMA’s 1.4× and 2× L-Mount dedicated teleconverters, that allow you to shoot with AF effective up to 1200mm.With these features, this new ultra-telephoto lens is the perfect tool for tackling a broad range of shooting situations, giving you a greater freedom in your choice of composition.
As I’ve a keen interest in everything from flowers and wildlife to planes at airshows, this is the type of lens I would probably add to my kit, even despite its dimensions – maximum diameter x length: φ109.4mm×263.6mm / φ4.3in.×10.4in. – and weight: 2,100g / 74.1oz (tripod socket included). You may think this is still too much to carry around, but compared to the SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sports, designed for SLR cameras, the new lens is lighter by 760g and shorter by 26.6mm. For users of mirrorless cameras this first ever Sports line lens is as portable as possible, and a practical optic that revolutionizes the way mirrorless users capture wildlife, motorsport and other fast-action subjects.
Sigma states that the lens was “designed from the ground up specifically for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It offers outstanding levels of performance, functionality, and build quality required for ultra-telephoto shooting in the most demanding situations. Image quality is exceptional, with ultra-high-performance glass capable of delivering ultra-sharp results even on the highest resolution cameras. The lens displays beautiful bokeh throughout its zoom range, and optical aberrations are kept well under control.”
The lens construction, based on 25 elements in 15 groups, includes a range of special types of high-performance glass that ensures thorough control of different types of aberrations. This helps give images the resolution and clearest detail—not only at the tele end around 600mm, which is critical for an ultra-telephoto zoom, but also throughout its entire zoom range—with no compromise. The lens was designed with image quality in the out-of-focus areas in mind as well, with attractive compression and beautiful bokeh for creating eye-catching images that can only be achieved with a long focal length.
The 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports comes with the pro-level functionality that defines the SIGMA Sports line lens, which is designed for capturing fast-action subjects. With an AF actuator controlled by a stepping motor, the lens combines fast and quiet autofocus with excellent tracking of moving objects. Furthermore, a high-precision magnetic sensor enables highly accurate positioning for fast and high-precision AF. This is particularly impressive on an ultra-telephoto lens where the focus lens has to move a significant distance.
The OS function delivers effective image stabilization that offers an advantage of approximately 4 stops, which is ideal for hand-held shooting at slower shutter speeds. It is possible to change the OS settings using the OS switch and Custom Mode switch to best suit the shooting situation. The lens has a Focus Limiter switch offering three-zone AF modification, which helps to speed up AF performance, and on the L-Mount it is possible to set a custom focusing limit via the SIGMA USB DOCK. The lens also has three AFL buttons to which you can assign various functions on the camera side depending on the model of camera used. This ensures that key settings are able to be customized to suit your shooting style and be accessed easily so that you can adapt quickly to changing conditions.
The lens features a Dual Action Zoom, which supports both straight zoom and ring zoom, allowing you to change the angle of view in a quick and intuitive way. In addition, there is also a newly incorporated Zoom Torque switch, with which you can change the resistance of the zoom ring and lock it at the wide end, ensuring ease of zoom operation as well as elimination of zoom creep.
The lens body uses parts made of aluminum and TSC (Thermally Stable Composite), where they are most suitable. TSC is a type of polycarbonate with a thermal expansion rate similar to that of aluminum, ensuring the lens behaves consistently at different temperatures. By taking advantage of its design intended exclusively for mirrorless camera systems, the lens is both robust – an attribute essential for the Sports line of lenses – and compact and lightweight.