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For some people it will be a lens they will not trust due to it's price point and because it's a Sigma, but let's read on.
MF is great for studio work/landscaping etc. but on one thing it stays behind alot and that's zoomrange.
I still love my Canon 5D and use it alot for birds, visiting the zoo and of course sports.
For most of that work the 100-400L was my weapon of choice, however I always had the urge to go a bit longer so I decided to sell the 100-400L and maybe buy a good 400/300mm which could work with a convertor.
But I also had my eye on the new Sigma 150-500 which was about to be released.
I decided to buy one and test it and if it was no good return it to the supplier and buy the 300mm or 400mm.
Today the box arrived and surprise there was the Sigma 150-500.
First let me say that I never was a third party basher, I think tamron and sigma make some wonderful lenses that for sure can rival the Canon glass.
I still use the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 and strongly believe that it performs as good as the Canon L glass version, although I know that you have to be a bit careful with choosing your copy, but my first 28-75 got broken during the trip to the states and I bought a new one straight from stock at sammy's and it's as sharp as my original lens, so I don't know were other people got the horror stories. Maybe it's just my luck.....
The 150-500 looks like a serious piece of glass, I wonder why Sigma did not include the EX logo, because on the carrying case you get with the lens the EX logo is printed, probarbly they use the same carrying case from another EX lens, but still it's a bit strange.
The lens is a bit longer than the 100-400L in the 150mm setting.
Zooming can be done with a zoomring (no push pull), for my taste the ring is a bit too stiff but this will probarbly ease up after some weeks, I know I had the same experience with the 80-400OS.
Getting back to the 80-400OS, this was the first long range lens I bought for the 5D, I absolutly loved this lens, it performed great and was razorsharp. I sold it in favour of the Canon 100-400L due to the focus motor which, for my applications, was too slow.
The 150-500 uses a HSM motor and that's obvious from the moment you press the shutter.
I can't say if it's faster or slower than the Canon, let's say they are REALLY close.
The 100-400L uses the old IS, meaning you can win app 2 stops, the Sigma claims 4 stops.
I cannot confirm 4 stops but what I can confirm is that when the OS kicks in (app 1 second) the image at 500mm looks ROCK solid.
On the 100-400L at 400mm you could always see a very slight movement, so here all the points go to the Sigma.
The difference however is also noticable in the time the OS kicks in, the 100-400L is slightly faster in that area but not too much to be a problem.
I tested the lens very quickly arround the house so I cannot yet give you photos that can be called exceptional.
I will however post the first results of today.
Photos are sharpened in photoshop like I do in my normal workflow.
My first conclusion (and that is a very careful one) is that I will probarbly for the time being stick with the 150-500.
I know it's not as sharp as primes that goes without saying, however it gives me more than reasonable shots that are sharp and have a nice contrast, for what I will be doing with the lens for the moment that's more than enough.
I expected the lens to be fuzzy at 500mm wide open but to be honest I was a bit surprised that the quality is very nice considering the pricing of the Sigma.
If you are in the market for a zoom like this, and I think for birders this is a great lens if you want to travel light, the Sigma 150-500 should definitly be on you to look at list.
Here are the samples (all 100% crops), again no spectaculair photos.
Order the lens from B&H on http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Sigma+150-500&N=0&InitialSearch=yes@BI=6344&KBID=7055
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