[lesmore49]

I'm considering getting a Sigma 150-500 lens for my Pentax bodies...K10D, Km , K-5.

In the winter months I spend a lot of time taking photo's of Bald Eagles, Great Gray Owls, Horned Owls and Snowy Owls. Presently I use my Pentax 55-300 and I find although it does an excellent job....even with action shots...I have to crop to get a large enough photo of whatever bird of prey I'm taking a photo. That extra focal length of the Bigma would be nice.

My 55-300 (one of the first made) surprisingly for a consumer lens...does a really good job of taking sharp photo's. My photos using the 55-300, are all taken hand held. I have a very heavy duty tripod...an older Leitz Tilt-All and a mono pod. I have no issues with using either the tripod or the mono pod.

I like sharpness in my photo's and my other Pentax lenses that I most often use...my 40mm Limited, 70mm Limited, 12-24, 50 mm Macro F 2.8...deliver...well on the sharpness of the subject.

I've never bought a Sigma...so I'm wondering whether it is worth the large cash outlay.

• Is it capable of taking very sharp photo's ?
• Is it fairly good at taking action shots...when hand held or on a mono pod ?
• Does the bayonet mount connect well with the Pentax body ?
• Is it reliable, durable and robustly made ?
• In the future, if Pentax brings out a full frame DSLR I may just buy one. I understand that the Sigma 150-500 will work with both a full frame and a cropped sensor such as an ASP-C. Is this the case ?

Any other thoughts on Sigma, the 150-500 lens ?

[kev.pride]

Is it capable of taking very sharp photo's ?
Is it fairly good at taking action shots...when hand held or on a mono pod ?
Does the bayonet mount connect well with the Pentax body ?
Is it reliable, durable and robustly made ?
In the future, if Pentax brings out a full frame DSLR I may just buy one. I understand that the Sigma 150-500 will work with both a full frame and a cropped sensor such as an ASP-C. Is this the case ?

Hi - I have posted one of the reviews of this lens elsewhere on this Forum.

In answer to your questions:

- yes it is capable of taking sharp photos - but a lot depends on experience with the lens, and taking your time to practice, especially if you have never used a long 500 lens.
- fairly good is subjective - it can be heavy to hand hold for long periods - but I have seen very good action shots taken with this lens - Pentax & other brand cameras. Using a mono pod would be very useful.
- yes mounts perfectly - I have a number of Sigma lenses and none have had mounting issues - i've used them on K100/ K10/K7 & K5.
- Yes to all of the points - however I have heard it said older Sigma had quality control issues - I've seen some pretty bashed up Sigma's with loss of paint etc, but I have had no problems.
- The 150-500 is a DG so it therefor is Full Framed - Sigma DC lenses are APS-C similar to the Pentax DA.

The 150-500 also has 2 types of in lens Stabilization which does help @ the long end - but switch off the Pentax in body if you use the in lens Stabilization.

The only downside is that the lens is slowish @ the long end - but I don't have $12k + to spend on a faster lens.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

[Medium FormatPro]

The Sigma mentioned is quite sharp - especially exceeding most long end telephoto lens zoom optics, which brings me to the second answer...

NOT very good with action; especially given the entire aperature range. But just curious; what type of action were you looking to take pics of? Most action pics almost demand higher shutter speeds; and this lens' poor aperature balances out (actually narrows down) those shutter speeds. So for action one would have to use iso to bring those shutter speeds back up or have incredibly ideal lighting.

Which reminds me... Do you really need the higher end of the 500mm focal length range? Could you really make do with only using either 300mm or better yet only 200mm and then cropping out?? If so for the 200mm, there is a Sigma which zooms out to 200mm and also maintains a "constant opening aperature" of f2.8 - which is ideal for actions pics - even when factoring in any type of cropping. Also it's even priced less.

Sigma has very few recent quality control examples - any issues have already been addressed completely (for some time) out of all of the existing lens line. As a matter of fact I would clearly endorse Sigma much more than I would ever address the Pentax lens line.

[VisualDarkness]

Is it capable of taking very sharp photo's ? Yes, if there is enough light.

Is it fairly good at taking action shots...when hand held or on a mono pod ? Yes, if there is enough light.

Does the bayonet mount connect well with the Pentax body ? No problem at all, fits like a glove.

Is it reliable, durable and robustly made ? It feels pretty good actually, no wobbling or anything like that. The only thing is the easily scratched finish (non-issue in my eyes) and the zoom creep that they tried to solve by over-tightening the zoom ring making it not as smooth as it could be. When pointing the lens downward or upward you'll have to hold the zoom ring or use a rubber band as a lock. It's workable no doubt.

In the future, if Pentax brings out a full frame DSLR I may just buy one. I understand that the Sigma 150-500 will work with both a full frame and a cropped sensor such as an ASP-C. Is this the case ? Yes, but don't expect miracles in the border sharpness, though center is more important for these kind of lenses in my opinion.

A couple of shots:







The 150-500 + Kenko 1.5x PzAF

[joe.penn]

@Siluet23 seems to bang out stellar photos with his 150-500:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5/215441-k-5-sigma-50-500-os.html

[panoguy]

If you are looking to go to 500mm, the Sigma 150-500 is about the best "bang for the buck" way to get there. People have answered your questions already, so I'll just leave a link to my review of the 150-500 here (which goes into more detail about expectations and operation of the lens).

It's a heck of a lens, and I'm currently real-world testing it against it's Sigma sibling, the 50-500 OS "BigmOS." So far, the 150-500 wins at the long end, but Sigma Canada is taking a look at my 50-500 (for free!) to insure that everything is perfect with that more expensive model.

@Siluet23 seems to bang out stellar photos with his 150-500:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5/215441-k-5-sigma-50-500-os.html

Well, to be fair, that guy could use a Holga and kick some serious butt with it. The lens is part of the equation, but his talent behind the camera is not insignificant.

[joe.penn]

Well, to be fair, that guy could use a Holga and kick some serious butt with it. The lens is part of the equation, but his talent behind the camera is not insignificant.

Agreed, I noted that in the thread. I have seen really awful shots taken with this lens also (and higher end ones at that, just check out flickr for the good, the bad, and the awful)...

[VisualDarkness]

Agreed, I noted that in the thread. I have seen really awful shots taken with this lens also (and higher end ones at that, just check out flickr for the good, the bad, and the awful)...

Yeah, if you misuse it you get brutal results. It's not a "point&shoot" lens as some seems to think but it's handholdable as long as you know how to do it. Also at 500mm you're already starting to see turbulence and moisture in the air in some shots, something new to think about.

[jpzk]

Coincidence: I just started a thread on that very same subject just before :

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/216903-help-me...all-sigma.html

A little more feedback might help.

JP

[VoiceOfReason]

Is it capable of taking very sharp photo's ?

Absolutely. I have it and love it.

Is it fairly good at taking action shots...when hand held or on a mono pod ?

I would use a monopod.

Does the bayonet mount connect well with the Pentax body ?

It connects as well as my Pentax lenses do!

Is it reliable, durable and robustly made ?

It's all of the above and it's heavy!

In the future, if Pentax brings out a full frame DSLR I may just buy one. I understand that the Sigma 150-500 will work with both a full frame and a cropped sensor such as an ASP-C. Is this the case ?

No idea on that one.

I like my copy. Once you go that long you never want to go back!

[lesmore49]

The Sigma mentioned is quite sharp - especially exceeding most long end telephoto lens zoom optics, which brings me to the second answer...

NOT very good with action; especially given the entire aperature range. But just curious; what type of action were you looking to take pics of? Most action pics almost demand higher shutter speeds; and this lens' poor aperature balances out (actually narrows down) those shutter speeds. So for action one would have to use iso to bring those shutter speeds back up or have incredibly ideal lighting. Birds in flight (large ones ie; Raptors, Pelicans, etc.) and cars at speed....ice racing and drag racing.

Which reminds me... Do you really need the higher end of the 500mm focal length range? Could you really make do with only using either 300mm or better yet only 200mm and then cropping out?? If so for the 200mm, there is a Sigma which zooms out to 200mm and also maintains a "constant opening aperature" of f2.8 - which is ideal for actions pics - even when factoring in any type of cropping. Also it's even priced less.I would like the additional 200mm over my Pentax 55-300mm. I want to avoid cropping as much as I can.

Sigma has very few recent quality control examples - any issues have already been addressed completely (for some time) out of all of the existing lens line. As a matter of fact I would clearly endorse Sigma much more than I would ever address the Pentax lens line.

I've never had a Sigma. I've had plenty of Takumar and Pentax lenses, which have all been good.

[lesmore49]

Hi - I have posted one of the reviews of this lens elsewhere on this Forum.

In answer to your questions:

- yes it is capable of taking sharp photos - but a lot depends on experience with the lens, and taking your time to practice, especially if you have never used a long 500 lens.
- fairly good is subjective - it can be heavy to hand hold for long periods - but I have seen very good action shots taken with this lens - Pentax & other brand cameras. Using a mono pod would be very useful.
- yes mounts perfectly - I have a number of Sigma lenses and none have had mounting issues - i've used them on K100/ K10/K7 & K5.
- Yes to all of the points - however I have heard it said older Sigma had quality control issues - I've seen some pretty bashed up Sigma's with loss of paint etc, but I have had no problems.
- The 150-500 is a DG so it therefor is Full Framed - Sigma DC lenses are APS-C similar to the Pentax DA.

The 150-500 also has 2 types of in lens Stabilization which does help @ the long end - but switch off the Pentax in body if you use the in lens Stabilization.

The only downside is that the lens is slowish @ the long end - but I don't have $12k + to spend on a faster lens.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

Thank you Kevin. Very helpful info.

[lesmore49]

@Siluet23 seems to bang out stellar photos with his 150-500:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-5/215441-k-5-sigma-50-500-os.html

Phenomenal photo's. The photographer is a gifted photographer.

[lesmore49]

Thanks to all who contributed. Lot's of food for thought. Additional posts are welcome. The more information the more it helps my decision making.

[ramseybuckeye]

There is some more insight in this thread from the birding group:
Lenses for Birding