Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3
| Focusing distance: | 100cm / 39.4in |
| Magnification: | 0.19x |
| Filter size: | 86mm |
| Lens size: | ø95mm x 223.9mm / ø37.4in x 88.1in |
| Weight: | 1830g / 64.6oz |
| Construction: | 20 elements in 16 groups |
| Accessories: | Detachable tripod adapter, Shoulder strap, Hood, Case |
Eddie's take on it
The Sigma 50-500mm, nicknamed Bigma, is Sigma's best telephoto zoom for 4/3. If you read online reviews, you will notice that they are all over the place. Some say the lens is bitingly sharp, others dismiss it. This is due to 2 aspects:
- Sigma lenses of the era suffered from sample variation (as well as back/front focus issues). Lots of people simply have a bad lens, and whether the one that you're eyeing on ebay is the good one is probably impossible to tell.
- People's expectations are different. As this lens zooms to 1000mm full-frame equivalent, which makes this one of the biggest zooms you can buy, some people though this would be their golden ticket to pictures of small birds from far away. But it turns out, shooting at 500mm is difficult. Haze, heat, slow f-stop leading to slow shutter speeds, as well as bad technique all negatively affect results.
Ultimately, the Sigma 50-500mm is a good lens. It is not a bad lens, it is not a very good lens. It's just good. Results you can expect are similar to the Olympus 70-300mm, but with greater zoom range. There are valid reasons to have this sort of telephoto range - for example, if you want to take pictures of a small bird that is not very far away, and you only need them web size.
If you really need it, results with the 50-500mm are going to be better than the 70-300mm with the EC-14 or 50-200mm with the EC-20. I would recommend though to use a shorter telephoto and well, simply try to get closer. You will get better results.
On a 4/3 camera, the bad high ISO capabilites severely limit its possible use, as you need very high shutter speeds to use it at 500mm. If you buy it, best to use it on a m4/3 camera. It works on all m4/3 cameras that support PDAF focusing, such as the E-M1/OM-1 series.
Finding this lens on ebay is pretty difficult.