Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN 'Sports' lens review 

Sigma did it without using "PF" element !

You're right, interesting. I was scratching my head about the design of it close to the mount.

It couldn’t be as sharp tho. IQ is always deteriorated by TC

if you're not using sony cameras you're right. Otherwise Sigma didn't offer a TC to sony E mount and ... the TC from sony are only compatible with sony lenses... and a prime lens will be always sharper without a TC attached to it ... specially the 2.0x TC.

@@ridingtherr0502 not if it's properly integrated.

@@victoroliveira1611 read again. I'm referring to an integrated TC. Similar to how they basically integrated an E-mount adapter in their HSM lenses when Sony went mirrorless. Extended the back of the lens to get the right distance to the sensor.

Well, the 150-600 DG DN has quite excellent stabilization on L-Mount since the latest FW update. At that range it is mostly on the lens. So I would hope this one will do quite well too

They should just sell this with a Speedbooster for Fuji X making it a 333mm f4.

Right?! I would buy this in a heartbeat... Fuji needs more lenses like this. I would prefer to not buy another camera just for wildlife

Day 1, I feel after having the 150-600 since release I crave a prime for wildlife now

@@christophergibbons8748 would you still recommend it after owning for so long? I'm on the brink but the F8 is kind of holding me back

@@christophergibbons8748 how do you feel about the 150-600mm after owning it for so many years? I think my other reply did not go through, so ignore the duplicate questions if I'm wrong

Yeah 15fps at 50mp is way too slow…..

Honestly the bigger problem is it's price! can't justify buying it over other dark aperture tele lenses available! Even the fabulous Sony 70-200 GM ii with a couple of teleconvertors cost the same but giving you much more flexibility!

@@networm64 Indeed at that price and with such aperture, for Sony shooters it’s really a tough sell vs the excellent (anche cheap in comparison) 200-600G

A prime is a prime.

@@networm64 primes are the best for image quality everyone knows this. This sigma paired with the Sony a7rV in crop gives you 26mp at 750mm… Nikon fanboys will always rage.

Do you REALLY need teleconverters !?

@@cameraprepper7938 the fact that i have to crop so much tells me yes i do, cant zoom with my feet when theres water in the way

@@The_GreenMachine I have 60 megapixels, so no problems with crop ! But if the situation anyway need a 4000mm lens, then I would not even bother to try and take a photo. Teleconverters is too overrated today and not in good quality !

@@cameraprepper7938 4000mm is quite a lot you'll lose quality just due to the atmosphere. All I want is something a bit longer so my 42mp sensor doesn't need to crop to 20mp or even 15mp. The less digital zoom I have to do the better the image quality will be when I print it out to hang on the wall. Plus trying to focus on something small you have a higher chance for it to not be in focus.

I had the SONY 200-600mm 5.6-6.3 G Lens, I sold it last year, I was tired of the bulky size and heavy weight. In March 2024 I got the excellent Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens and I love ! Very compact, very Light weight, very easy to handle and operate, it is a joy to carry in my hand, which I can do without any problems for several hours hiking in the nature. It focus fast, it is very sharp, I can highly recommend the Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens !

Or perhaps you're not good enough for the 500 5.6?

Sigma did it without using "PF" element !

Sigma did it without using "PF" element !

Sigma did it without using "PF" element !

@@cameraprepper7938 Nikon 500PF is from 2018.

Just for absolute clarity, Sony is the one that does not produce such a lens or anything near it. This lens is made by Sigma. Canon does still make the EF 400 f4. It is a bit long in the tooth, but it is still available for purchase as a new lens.

Sigma did it without using a "PF" element.

Yep they still limit it, some sources say it's limited to 15fps so only the A1 and A9's are affected, I have also heard from other sources that it limits every camera to half it's frame rate so many Sony cameras will be limited to 5fps, this I doubt this is true though. This is only with autofocus engaged though, in manual focus you should still see the full frame rates.

Sony is calling your name. Experience best battery life and autofocus. You won’t miss Fuji.

@@lewcehjitl3282 They will miss cameras designed by photographers, rather than Playstation makers. Yeah, Sony menus and shooting interface suck.

I was just about to get the SONY 300mm 2.8 GM with teleconverters, when I saw the Sigma DG DN OS Sports Lens announced, so I ordered it, because the SONY 300mm 3.8 GM is larger and heavier then the Sigma. So in March 2024 I got the excellent Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens and I love ! Very compact, very Light weight, very easy to handle and operate, it is a joy to carry in my hand, which I can do without any problems for several hours hiking in the nature. It focus fast, it is very sharp, I can highly recommend the Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens !

Watta?😃

Yeah, they didn't "make" it 70% smaller. It's 70% smaller because of modern optical design AND the smaller aperture.

Sigma did it without using "PF" element !

@@cameraprepper7938 so what?

The smart phone photos would look terrible in raw format, it would be interesting to see what they look like on the test chart

You can get a used copy of the 200mm F2 for around 3K. It includes a 1.4 TC which gets you to a 420mm field of view and an equivalent DOF of F4.2. It's very heavy - but incredibly sharp and it's bokeh is much more attractive, IMO.

@@jakelindsay6251 yes all true but that is still a far cry from the 750mm fov you get with the 500. For wildlife that is crucial

No stabilization issues with my Sigma 500mm f4 sports on my D850, D500 and Z9, or Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art in my Z9.

Try watching the video but where the stabilizer is turned on, it helps your trauma

Still better off that no compatibility at all..yeah canon

Do you need 15 fps !? I don´t !!!

It should perform like a dream. These news lenses are made for high megapixel sensor cameras. Don't forget, it's not the megapixels that count, but the person behind the viewfinder.

Also saying that hollow part at the mount tells it was probably a DSLR lens design!

sigma need to make a 400 2.8 and a 600 4 because you could just use the 200-600 like you said. we need fast glass at cheaper prices

@@networm64 If it was designed for DSLRs then it wouldn't have been able to take TCs when used on them, which would not have been a smart decision. That leads me to think it was probably designed for mirrorless.

@@Bayonet1809 But Canon just did the same trick with their 400mm and 600mm lenses and they also accept teleconvertors. So it's plausible to be done by Sigma too.

@@xplaneaviation737I think a 700mm f/8 lens would be the better play. The design could still be relatively small but it’d give additional reach that the zooms do not provide

I am not a fan of arca-swiss, it is far from as safe a foot as fx some from the Manfrotto system.

500PF? 600PF? 800PF? 400 4.5?

@@livejames9374 all heavier or a lot more expensive, would like an option like this lens.

@@striderwhiston9897 500PF is regularly ~$1800 on b/s board for like new units, less than $3000 during Nikon sales and weight difference is minute ~60g. Also looks to have much better image stabilization. It’s been great in use for past 6 years, I highly recommend it. The 400 4.5 is lighter, same price but of course shorter at 400mm. Also highly recommend it.

@@striderwhiston9897 500pf can be found for almost half priced in like new condition on B/S boards, the 60g difference won’t even be noticeable. The 400pf is same price or cheaper during sales and is lighter. But of course it’s shorter at 400mm. I highly recommend both.

The PF is an older design lens made for DSLRs, using it for any video work with a mirrorless and you will start hearing the autofocus mechanism noise. I should know, I own the fantastic Sigma 500mm f4 sports, been using it with the Z9, for stills it's fantastic, just like on my D850 and D500, but for video, you need to place the mic away from the lens. That goes for all lenses made for DSLRs. Doing video with the built in mic of the camera with any DSLR lens on a mirrorless camera, will be a nightmare, unless you are planning to remove the audio and replace it with a different soundtrack.

I have both the F 500 f5.6E PF and the Z 600 f6.3 PF. The short answer is the Z 600 PF is better. The long answer is the Z 600 PF AF's better (on a Z8/Z9), has better resolving power in good and less than good light, has better VR, is virtually silent AF/VR, obviously 100mm more reach, and technically is closer to the magic focal length to aperture ratio being a stop and third away from the 600 f4. The F 500 PF seems to get stuck on foregrounds a lot more and does not continue to try to find a subject, has less resolving power at distances in good light that would be considered far for either lens, has less resolving power in less than good light at any distance, less good VR, a little noisy but not very noisy like some other F glass, obviously 100mm less reach, and technically further from the magic ratio being a stop and a half away.

Lense focus length is by definition at infinity focus. Even those macro lenses which can focus to infinity! That said, lenses are rarely exactly the focus length they advertise, so it could actually be e.g. 490mm and be sold as a 500mm.

All telephoto lenses from ALL manufacturers exhibit focus breathing. It's a characteristic of telephoto lenses, do to the long focal length.

From another reviewer I understand that this Sigma 500mm is the same as the Sony 200-600 at 518mm. So either it's a 518mm lens or the Sony has it wrong

@@jeroenvdw The Sigma 500mm f4 sports is not anything like the Sony zoom at 500mm, the Sony at 500mm is a f/6.3 lens lens, the Sigma is a 500mm f4 prime. Two different types of glass. The Sony 200-600mm is not in the same league as the Sigma 500mm f4 sports. I see lots of idiotic posts on YT, the person who fed you this stinking pile of crap is one of those.

its f5.6 not f4@@jfphotography69

Ive heard a lot of people complain its not very sharp on long distance subjects. Do you have experience with it?

​ No telephoto lens is sharp on long distance subjects. Regardless of focal length, your main objective is to fill as much of your viewfinder as possible to maximize your sensors resolution.

@@jfphotography69 Many zoom Lenses are compromises, so are the SONY 70-350 which cannot be compared to prime Lenses at all for sharpness !

How are L mount cameras not appropriate for a sports lens? a) the S5 II AF is amazing, and any sports/wildlife photographer worth more than $5 an hour can deal with AF issues because we have done so since... before AF was a thing. b) sports are not the ONLY thing that is shot with a telephoto. I've used 500mm on full frame for outdoor wedding shots.

The rumours about quite a few L-Mount releases in 2024 are plenty. So the current Panasonic Line-up doesn't need to fulfil every wish. 24mp of the S5ii should be enough for Sports though

What an absurd, Sony has great Sport cameras.

@@joaovtaveiraI wasn't saying that Sony cameras were bad for sports, I was saying that the third-party lens limitations make this lens sub-optimal on Sony.

@@Bayonet1809 absurd in any case.

The old DSLR Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens is right now $3600 ! The Sigma DG DN OS Sports Lens is only $3000 !!! I will guess that a new Nikon Z 500mm will be around $4000.

Or almost twice the weight and size

@@livejames9374 and twice softer image than Sigma

@@livejames9374 Exactly, I had the Sony 200-600, too big an to heavy ! In March 2024 I got the excellent Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens and I love ! Very compact, very Light weight, very easy to handle and operate, it is a joy to carry in my hand, which I can do without any problems for several hours hiking in the nature. It focus fast, it is very sharp, I can highly recommend the Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens !

LOL, now, if EVER, is the time NOT to and this lens proves it. L mount is about to take its place on the iron throne.

Obviously optimized for stills photography. It likely does a better job at that, but it looks much worse on video.

For all Chris's exacting and repeatable sharpness testing he has yet to develop a similar approach to bokeh testing, so this review does not demonstrate whether the bokeh is smooth or not, as the scenes captured were not directly comparable to other lenses.

@@Bayonet1809 It didn't look soft enough (not saying perfectly enough) based on my experience, but your point makes sense. Maybe the lack of a similar approach is fooling me.

There is a Nikon-branded version of that lens. Christopher Frost has already reviewed it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QeR8JDTJ5EA.html Except maybe for flare characteristics that lens should be optically identical to the Tamron 17-28 f2.8

Look how big and heavy the Canon 500mm F4 is! I don't think they could make it much smaller, so F5.6 is perfect to keep the lens small. But I agree, they could have made the lens F4.5 or F5 and possibly kept the lens under 2kg.

I do not like big and heavy Lenses. In March 2024 I got the excellent Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens and I love ! Very compact, very Light weight, very easy to handle and operate, it is a joy to carry in my hand, which I can do without any problems for several hours hiking in the nature. It focus fast, it is very sharp, I can highly recommend the Sigma 500mm DG DN OS Sports Lens !

Thanks for the reply. but i want chris review@@djstuc

hahaha really, what about you. i am not asking any money. why dont you mind your own business@@djstuc