Sigma 150mm f2.8 APO Macro review

I haven’t owned a macro lens for a number of years since making the move to digital. At that time I was using a classic manual focus 105mm Nikkor and thoroughly enjoyed it. About a month ago I got the urge to shoot up close and personal again and after a little research decided on the highly rated Sigma 150mm f2.8 APO Macro DG EX HSM. What a mouthful that is! Two weeks ago my new lens arrived in Canada, just in time for the great mushroom season we are having this year. So what are my thoughts so far?

Other macro posts that might be of interest.

• Build: I’ve been very impressed with the high end Sigma lenses, in fact this is the 4th that I now own. This lens is solid and very well built, no complaints at all.
• Handling: The Sigma 150 macro coupled to a Nikon D2X makes for a very solid (and somewhat heavy) and excellent feeling package. With the built in tripod collar the balance is close to perfect. Rotating the camera to vertical using the collar is a very close fit with my Manfrotto tripod and I have found that I have to keep the camera straight on my ball head. This is a ball head issue and has nothing to do with the lens. I can’t imagine hand holding this lens as the depth of field is very shallow unless you stop down substantially with the resulting long shutter speeds.
• Image Results: This lens is sharp. I tend to use macro lenses wide open regularly to isolate the subject and throw the background out of focus. The Sigma 150mm macro does a beautiful job of this. Stopped down to f11 this lens is razor sharp as well. Bokeh is very impressive. For the type of work I do the working distance is a real bonus and the narrow angle of view is perfect for getting rid of those distracting backgrounds.

My verdict? Buy this lens if you are at all interested in Macro work. At $600 US it’s a real steal.

Sigma 150mm f2.8 Macro gallery

Lens Construction: 16 Elements in 12 Groups
Angle of View: 16.4 degrees
Number of Diaphragm Blades: 9 Blades
Minimum Aperture: F22
Minimum Focusing Distance: 38cm/15.0 in.
Maximum Magnification: 1:1
Filter Size: Diameter 72mm
Dimensions Diameter: 79.6mm X Length 137mm
3.1 in. X 5.4 in.
Weight: 895g/31.6 oz.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 8:58 pm. It is filed under Field Notes, Macro Photography, Technical Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.