Most zoom lenses do perform better when stopped down a bit so I’m not surprised that you are getting better results shooting at f/8 than at f/6.3. Between 150mm and 250mm chromatic aberrations are well within acceptable levels, with Imatest recording colour fringes covering just over half a pixel width at 150mm. This level shouldn't cause many problems under normal shooting conditions. However, when the lens is zoomed to 500mm, the levels of colour aberrations increase to levels that will be noticeable in high-contrast situations and may need correcting afterwards in image editing software. Above: Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (left, needs mount converter), Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS (right) In bright sunlight, the Sigma performed better and the jpegs looked cleaner, although the shadows areas on some images still had a bit of muddiness to them. In good lighting focusing with the Sigma was very fast and accurate. If any Photography Life readers have ever tried to capture a swallow in flight over water…you know exactly how challenging that can be. Always I'm looking for a supertele. I'm a Nikon gay, new in photo and looking to this wonderful Nikkor lenses make many wishes about, but the price make me forget it.

APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM - SIGMA Corporation

The Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM is a stabilized super-telephoto zoom lens; indeed it’s one of only two stabilized telephoto zoom lenses reaching 500mm focal length, the other being Sigma’s own 50-500mm 4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM. This is the third Sigma 500mm zoom that I've owned. The first was their non-OS 50-500mm, and then their 50-500mm OS and finally the 150-500mm OS. I use the 150-500mm on Nikons, including a D3, D700, D7100, D300 and D2X. Sometimes I need more than 300mm. Wanted to wait for a new Nikon telezoom but needed something now. SLR Gear didn't have any test results to help my decision, but I bought one anyway. Having had a Sigma 150-600mm some years before getting a Sigma 150-600mm C, I can tell you that there was what I would call a good deal of difference in the copies I had. My Nikon 80-400mm G that replaced the Sigma 150-500 was a good bit sharper at the longer end than the Sigma 150-500. So I sold the Sigma not long after getting the Nikon. Reason I bring up the 80-400G is because every review I've seen where they compared the 150-600 lenses to the 80-400G has all the newer lenses sharper than the 80-400G at 400mm. As for focusing, sorry never used the old Sigma for BIF or sports. But the Sigma C is definitely usable for sports in the daylight. Is it worth it for you? Don't know you well enough to say. I ran the RAW files through my typical DxOMark OpticsPro settings, then through CS6 and Nik. Overall, I found that I had to add quite a few more adjustments to the Sigma files than with the Tamron produced files. Typically this included more Gamma adjustment, vibrance, and contrast as well as a host of other ‘tweaks’ that were image specific. The Sigma files also needed more sharpening, especially when shot at the longer end of the focal range. I found that I had to spend quite a bit more time working with the Sigma files than with the Tamron-produced ones…easily double. NIKON D800 @ 270mm, ISO 1600, 1/3200, f/5.6As well as the tempting zoom range the Sigma has four-stop image stabilization (Sony and Pentax users are advised to turn off respective in-body stabilization according to Sigma) and an ultrasonic-type AF motor for fast and quiet autofocus. The optical construction consists of 21 elements arranged in 15 groups and includes three low-dispersion glass elements to correct chromatic aberration. I also had the 120-400, which was really nice in the wide end, and, according to the lens engineer that serviced my lens, sharper than the 150-500, but I got more hits with the 150-500 @ 400 than I ever got with the 120-400 that's for sure. The current pricing on the Sigma 150-500 OS is very attractive and for budget-conscious folks who are looking for a cost-affordable long telephoto zoom, the Sigma 150-500 OS could be an attractive option, especially if they own an older DSLR body. You’ll need to have realistic expectations around image quality if you choose this option, and be willing to spend more time in post. NIKON D800 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/2000, f/6.3

Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM - Photography Life

Autofocus: All lenses in this comparison offer autofocus with built-in focus drive. Manual-focus override is by simply turning the dedicated focus ring. The focus ring on the Sigma 150-600 DN has the usual variable gearing of an original mirrorless design which allows for very precise manual focus when turned slowly but cannot be switched to linear gearing. Which makes smooth focus pulling for videographers almost impossible. The Sigma 150-600 HSM Sports and the Tamron 150-600 has the usual direct coupling and linear gearing of a lens designed for DSLRs and the Sony 200-600 also offers linear response for MF. [+] Distortion is low at all focal lengths, as would be expected from a telephoto zoom of this type. It would be very unlikely to be a problem, in fact you'd probably have a hard time seeing it, even in architectural shots. While this could be an issue, usually it's not. Vignetting is fairly easy to digitally correct in post processing. Also, unless the corners of the frame contain areas which are uniform in brightness (e.g. sky), vignetting even wide open may not be noticeable. If shooting with an APS-C crop sensor camera, vignetting, even wide open at 500mm is very unlikely to be a problem. The image below is the full images captured using an EOS 7D with the Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM wide open (f6.3) at 500mm. On this lens the focus control is closest to the camera body. As the lens has Sigma's Hypersonic Focusing motor, adjustments can be made at any time, without having to switch the lens to manual focus. The lens 86mm filters, which apart from being an odd size, may cost a fortune for filters such as polarisers. A deep circular lens hood and padded case are provided as standard. Following the advice of SLR Gear reviewers it is used mainly at f8 and with as high a shutter speed as I can obtain and still keep the ISO sensitivity reasonably low.While sharpness certainly isn't bad, I think you can see it's not quite as good as it was at 400mm and f8. I've had very good results with the basic D3300 and the Sigma 150-600 Sports, but, as always, VR/OS is an issue as usual. Certain shutter speeds, on tripod, works better with with VR/OS off, while handheld is no problem with it on.

Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS review | Cameralabs Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG DN OS review | Cameralabs

So I did some tests hand-held at 500mm to find out whether switching on OS could help to get a hit rate of sharp photos that equals shots without OS at 4x shorter shutter speeds. So I was effectively testing the assumption that the OS could give you a 2 stops advantage. When I tested the Sigma 120-400 OS I was quite disappointed to find only a 1 stop advantage (see my review of the Sigma AF 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM). The 150-500 also have a bit better reach than the competition and since nothing new was seen in the crystal ball from Nikon I decided to get the 150-500 OS Have used the lens for some wildlife and sports photography. Been using lens on canon mark III and the results are very good. Was able to compare pictures with a canon 500 f4 used on the same wildlife outing and found the images to be comparable in sharpness and tone but a bit off in color compared to canon. It is much lighter and portable than the canon and has the advantage of zoom. I am happy with it and would buy it again. I enjoy wildlife and sports photography but have never considered spending all the money it would take to get the canon lense. This one is great and i think you would have to do some very close scrutiny to tell the difference in the photograph produced. At 500mm wide open (f6.3) the image is slightly softer and lower in contrast than at 500mm. I'd guess what I'm seeing is probably a small amount of uncorrected spherical aberration, but whatever the cause, stooping down by 2/3 stop to f8 bring up the sharpness and contrast. The edges of the frame aren't as sharp as the center and show a small amount of chromatic aberration. At 500mm I'd probably try to shoot at f8 with this lens if I wanted maximum image quality, however I wouldn't do so if I needed the extra shutter speed that f6.3 would allow. Also against the Nikon 80 - 400VR was its age. It is generally considered to be overdue for an update, and I didn't want to buy one then find it superseded by an improved version in the near future!From Sigma lens literature) The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM. An ultra-telephoto zoom lens covering a telephoto range up to 500mm, incorporating Sigma's original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function.