Opinions on the Sigma 50 - 500mm?

[miurasv]

I'd like a powerful zoom lens and wondered how good the 50 - 500mm Sigma is? How long has it been made for and are they all the same? I ask as I seem to see them advertised with differing letters in the description. Your opinions will be very much appreciated and I thank you in advance.

 

[sdb123]

As I suggested the other day, have a go with the forum search facility. Put 50-500mm in the search box on the right, this question has been asked lots of times before.

 

[miurasv]

As I suggested the other day, have a go with the forum search facility. Put 50-500mm in the search box on the right, this question has been asked lots of times before.

I did try that the other day but I must have done something wrong as nothing came up. Anyway, I've done it again, correctly this time, and found lots of info so thanks very much.

 

[DoubleT]

i dont have any hands on experiance of this lens but ive read loads about it as ive been debating the perchase of one for ages,
it seems to be a very good lens for the price, although i wouldnt agree with that now as the price is around £1100 , when it was marked at £700 8 months ago i would say its a winner,
its now been "replaced" with a 150-500 OS but they dont seem to be getting as good reviews as the 50-500, i think the OS is quite important with a "walk about lens" capable of going to 500mm because you dont always have a tripod, especially with a maximum aperture of f6.3 and to get best results you would need to stop it down to around f8 so when shooting handheld for best results you need a shutter speed of 1/500 at f8 which can be a dificulty especially when its not best to shoot in bright sunlight becasue the light is too harsh,

but there has to be a draw back somewhere with such a cheap long lens.

 

[tesco]

I have the 50-500mm paid £700 new. I have never regretted it in the right situation it takes pin sharp shots and as good as lens 6 / 7 times the price. The downsides are its heavy, you will struggle on cloudy days (it needs decent light) plus the autofocus is a bit slow at times. But none of that is an issue as long as you recognise those limitations to be honest I don't want to take wildlife / aircraft / motor racing in poor light I leave it at home on those days.