Buy Sigma 500mm f/4.5 EX DG IF APO Telephoto Lens for Minolta and Sony SLR CamerasSigma 500mm f/4.5 EX DG IF APO Telephoto Lens for Minolta and Sony SLR Cameras Product Description:
- Front Slip-on Lens Cap
- Rear Lens Cap
- Lens Hood
- Soft Case
- Two 46mm Rear Drop-In Filters
Product Description
This Sigma 500mm f/4.5 EX DG APO Autofocus Lens for Sony/Minolta A Mount lens is an Apochromatic ultra-telephoto lens for Sony or Minolta cameras with an A-mount. It has a fast f/4.5 maximum aperture, and it incorporates two ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass elements to reduce chromatic aberration to a minimum. Internal focus enables responsive and fast autofocus speed.The improved DG lens design corrects for various aberrations. This lens is specially coated to get the best color balance whilst cutting down on ghosting caused by reflections from the digital image sensor. The lens provides the utmost correction against lateral chromatic aberration which is a serious problem for digital SLR cameras.By adding the optional Sigma APO teleconverter, you can use this lens as a 700mm f/6.3 MF ultra-telephoto lens with a 1.4x EX teleconverter, or as a 1000mm f/9 MF ultra-telephoto lens with a 2x teleconverter.EX lens series denotes excellence of engineering and new technology.A rotatable 46mm drop-in filter holder in the rear part of the lens barrel facilitates the use of filters including a polarizing filter.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
So far so good
By Gary
I am surprised at the performance. I also own the Sigma 300mm f2.8. It is pretty good also. The 500 is excellent in a light weight 500 super telephoto. And not to cheap anymore. Kinda pricy. If i had it to do over again i would buy the canon or nikon version. They have many features that are better. But I already owned the Pentax K-7 and 1.4 and 2.0 T.C. 's. So as not being one to make a living shooting wildlife it is just exceptional for me. Don't listen to the guys that say Sigma is second best in IQ. It is almost there with them now...Update:After shooting with the lens and using a dedicated Sigma 1.4 T.C. I can say that in good light I cannot tell the difference between this and the Canon or Nikor counterparts. It really is that good. It is exactly where it should be with the MTF chart readings I think. This is one product i can recommend without any problems. It is extremly sharp.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.Exceptional value for money!
By Steve Tracy
Having used the Canon Ef 500mm f/4.5L USM for many years, I decided it was time for an upgrade, as this lens had certainly seen better days. My first inclination was to go for Canon's latest incarnation, the EF 500mm f/4L IS 11 USM, but the price was way out of my current budget range, having just purchased a new 1DX body. In the birding and general wildlife circles I move in, I had noticed many folks using both the 500mm & 800mm Sigma lenses with exceptional results, so decided to take this tack. All I can say now is that it was the wisest decision I have ever made photographically. As it is always on a tripod, monopod or bean-bag, and as I was accustomed to the Non-IS Canon anyway, this super-sharp, light-weight lens soon became a favorite. Apart from the before mentioned sharpness across the field (especially at f/5.6), it also has superb color rendition and a very high level of contrast. It may not have IS or weather-sealing, but given the fact that it is less than half the price of the Canon, those missing features can be forgiven. Given the lenshood could be a little deeper, it still does a more than ample job of eliminating stray light. One feature I particularly like is the tripod shoe. Smooth as silk and as solid as a rock. The drop in filter holder is nifty, with a polarizer included (a $200 option with Canon), and on this latest DG version, has a rotating ring in front of the filter holder to operate the polarizer when fitted. As I said.....nifty. Overall, I have no complaints at the price, and think it a worthwhile , though not quite budget option to the Canon (and I imagine the case would be the same for Nikon, too). My only real gripe is that the 1.4x teleconverter (both Sigma & Canon) do not allow for AF, but at 700mm, manual focus is not a problem.In summing up.... excellent value for money with no real cons. Highly recommended.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Value for money
By Ram
I am an amateur photographer owning this lens for last 3 months, spending every weekend for bird and wild life photography.This is a very good,solid lens. It produces good image in f4.5, and step down to f5.6 very good, f.6 -f8 tack sharp image. I got some excellent shots.Handheld, If you are upgrading from IS/OS/VR lenses. Some learning curve and handheld shooting technique required to get adjusted.My personnel suggestion for photo enthusiast like me want to upgrade to 500mm but shot of 8k then this is the lens for you.I will buy the same lens if Sigma comes with OS/VR in it. The reason is image quality is good and easy handling and portability (hoping OS not going to increase the weight a lot).If you want to see the pics taken with this lens. Please visit my Flickr.
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