Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 DG RF APO Aspherical Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

I can't hold the darn thing steady under 1/100 sec, so with a tripod, it's awesome, otherwise you'll need a steady hand in lower light.March update - I've gotten better at hand-holding this lens using shutter-priority on my Canon 40D, especially in strong light, but with a tripod it really does do a fabulous job.

after several days going back and forth and with 500.00 c-notes to burn I decided on this lens ,as a casual wildlife and sports shooter i wanted a lens that was sharp at or around 400mm. reading reviews about the 400mm and the 500mm left me wondering. Some reviews stated that the 400 mm sigma was a bit soft at 400 and that the images of the 500mm where also a bit soft so i decided to go with the 500mm for one reason, i would rather have a 500mm lens that's sharp at 400 or 450mm then a 400mm lens that's soft at 400mm.ok here is the skinny on this lens ,as of may 20th 2014 these where going for about 400 to 500 USD on ebay.I got one for 530.00 buy it now.one week later the same lens different seller went for 390.00. boy was I mad.that being said my hope was that I would get a good clean sharp lens, notice I didn't say fast. The lens on my canon t3i when shooting RAW, where a disappointment at first. Its important to understand the difference between RAW and jpeg in relation to this lens and shooting situations. The first batch of photos looked soft and had a ton of noise because of the clouds and high ISO hand held..to fix the noise I used topaz filters program called denoise and Photoshop sharpen tool with decent results .Doing some research I discovered shooting in RAW gives you more editing options but are usally darker looking photo shop or lightroom with the noise level still very high.so I switched to jpeg and get much better results and editing was faster in most shooing situations.jpeg files and compressed and clarity color and saturation/contrast are added in the camera.The lens itself loves light but and no way should you keep it in the closet on a cloudy day if you are thinking about the image stabilized version and have the money get that. I simply could not afford the stabilized version. Keep in mind the stabilized version is also a slow lens.as far as AF its pretty quick and quite.Today I received the new canon 70D using in camera aberration reduction and took a few test shots, hand held cloudy day camera on full auto and the photos where amazing! I am pretty sure its the new camera that makes this lens shine with 19 point AF system.Lens creep is a big problem with this lens, I am not sure how the other are but my lens is so bad I wouldn't call it creep I call it lens free fall, but it was any easy fix. I simply put a wide rubber band around the ring that extends the tube, I change focal length not by turning the stiff ring but by pulling and pushing in or out.

Maybe I got a bad copy but I can only get a 10% keeper rate using a tripod with a 7DII, Also AF is noisy and clunky and the lens creep is awful.Well it was cheap!

I bought this lens to shoot pictures of my son's football games. It has been fantastic and very clear. Lens creep is an issue but not one that has really bothered me. The price on Amazon was great as I had priced it in NYC and most retailers wanted twice as much if not more.

Much has been written praising the Sigma 50-500mm zoom lens, often called the "Bigma." This lens is clearly its equal in everything but zoom range. I was very surprised when I purchased mine, used, and discovered that its sharpness was much better than I expected, and its autofocus speed every bit fast enough for challenging subjects like sports. The price I paid for this under-rated lens was about a third the price of a new Bigma, so I am extremely pleased with the bargain I got.My only beef with this lens is the "zoom creep" that results when you tilt the camera/lens downwards. The smooth zooming action apparently results in zooming even when you don't want it to.If you need a 500mm top end, and can live with a 170mm minimum zoom, this lens may be what you need. In my case, the 50mm short end of the Bigma wasn't wide enough, so I am happier with my 170mm-500mm zoom and a companion 18mm-200mm lens that together cover the full range I need.This lens is available in a variety of mounts, including the Canon mount listed here, as well as fittings for Minolta and Nikon (my own choice.)

This is an extremely versatile lens capable of handling many different shooting situations. I have been using this lens for a couple years now and my only complaint is that there is no zoom lock so in between shots where the lens is pointed up at a fairly steep angle you will need to make sure that the zoom is still in it's intended position. I'ts not exactly a walk around lens because of it's size and weight. It is a good lens to have for shooting wild life or taking photos of the moon. I compared it to the Tokina 400mm lens. This lens was far superior to the Tokina. and as good as the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Super Telephoto Lens. The only advantage is that the Canon had zoom lock.This lens takes amazing photos. I am very happy with the quality of photos that I get, great color, sharpness and contrast. It comes with a tripod coller, a great carrying case and a hood.I am very happy with this lens.

I own two lenses from Sigma, and I love them both. This ultra telephoto lens is possibly the best bang for your buck in the focal its focal range. If there is a better one in its class I've yet to see it. Manual Focus ring is well placed, easy access, we all like that, right? Sharpness has not been an issue for me at all; you will need a tripod in most situation, but you should be using one all the time, shame on you if you don't! jk, The only gripe I have with this lens is that it does not feature a "zoom lock" as this is a fairly heavy lens, creep can be an issue if you are carrying it around and not shoot. I highly recommend this lens. 5 stars no questions asked.