For those that will inevitably ask when I’m doing more traditional “tech talk” style videos, I assure you I have multiple in the works as I write this. I love cameras, lenses, microphones and a plethora of other gear, so for me videos like this are passion projects to share the things that interest me. As always there is more content coming soon, thanks for watching! :)
I got the Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens in March 2024, I like how compact and light weight it is, I can go hiking in the nature with this Lens carrying it for several hours in my hands with no problems. The handling and operation of this Lens is easy and the optical image quality are excellent, I can highly recommend the Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens.
Thanks for the informative video Josh. Lens looks to be a gem. I owned the Sigma 500 f4 when I was shooting Canon and it is not only heavy but was very slow focusing, even on the 1DXii which at the time was Canon's flagship DSLR. Now I'm shooting mirrorless in L mount this lens has a lot to offer in terms of reduced weight and a better f stop compared to the array of slower tele zooms. Just need a faster and better focussing Lumix body (S1ii?) to realise the potential of this lens for sport and wildlife.
I was using this on a Sony body, but I had the L mount S5iiX before that and all of the newer Sigma lenses are super fast focusing on that body. Sigma said that the L version is as fast as the E mount, so this should be super fast if you're looking for that speed.
A compelling lens for sure there. One can appreciate the weight factor when out and about in the wild. Great photos by the way. Probably would also do well in exterior photojournalistic environments too, due to its compact profile. Thank you for another great review. Already looking forward to the next one.
All true, thanks for the comment. I do think this lens would be particularly excellent in a photojournalistic capacity. Shooting warzones or something where you can't get too close would be especially useful as well.
I don't know. I haven't used the Fujifilm yet. They're on different mounts though, so even if they were to lend it to me I'd have to figure out the best camera to use with it. Hopefully in the future!
Beautiful shots from the zoo! I especially love the lion photo. He looks like he is posing for you. And so relaxed. No one relaxes like a lion. I'm surprised you were able to get such good shots of the Tennis players - that's not easy! Great to see this lens in action and see the sharpness of the subjects, even in motion and from far away. Would love to see a video about the accessories you use with your gear - when traveling and getting outdoor shots I don't want to have to carry a lot of heavy stuff, but still want a way to protect my camera/lens, take stable shots, and take some of the load off my arms.
I thought 5.6 was fine when it was bright daylight. It did become a slight problem for sports after it got darker, and when the sky was totally occluding the sun during the rainstorm. As long as your lighting is good and it's daylight you won't have any issues at all.
Great question. These were taken on the Sony A7IV. My previous video with the 50mm Sigma was on a Panasonic Lumix S5IIX. The L mount is a larger mount, but otherwise they're quite similar.
It does feel light, but it doesn't necessarily feel cheap. I'd say the quality feels on par with most products made from Sony. Though it's not all metal like many other Sigma lenses. For a lens this large it's probably a good thing it's not all metal, it'd just be too heavy and unwieldy.
They claim it can give more than 2 stops, I've read mixed messages on that so not entirely sure how much, but I read up to 3 from one source, and 4 from another. So I'm unsure.
This is definitely not a portrait lens. I wouldn't recommend it for general weddings and portrait work. Some people like that separation you get between planes, but you don't want to use something this long for the human face because it compressed the features too much. A person with a skinny face will look like they have a wide face. As you compress features the face becomes flatter and the ears get bigger. Generally somewhere from 50mm to 135mm is good for portraits depending on your subjects face. A person with longer features like me will look better towards the latter end of that at 135, but a person with a wider face and small nose will look better at 50mm.
They can depending on which glass elements are used. Some really long telescopes have that issue, same thing with stopping down until you hit refraction. Things can only get so good before they start to get worse again, ironically. But with a general lens like this you don't get any distortion at all. In fact with a 500mm you'd get absolutely zero noticeable distortion. Only in the Bokeh basically.
Because the lighting was super dark. You can't tell from the photos but I was dealing with thunderstorms and heavy rain for like 3 days while shooting these photos. The motion blur would be the natural result of the subject moving quickly when there just isn't enough light for 1/2000'th of a second or whatever.
There are plenty of Sony and Sigma lenses that offer this range and beyond but with smaller apertures. I'd recommend you look into some of those. Go to Sigma's site to see options, it'll depend on the mount you have.
Wellllllllll... It's $3,000. One could argue that's cheap for what it is, most other fixed prime 500's are a lot more expensive. But it's not really cheap compared to other lenses in general.
Yeah it's not a cheap lens for sure, but I think for a lot of people it'll be well worth it in the long run. You could see it as an investment product for sure.
I thought the images were very clear, minutes a few with motion blur, but motion blur isn't a bad thing. And remember the lighting was extremely dark by sports standards. Thunder storm above me.
