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 150 Macro mushroom

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 Macro Photography and tagged with , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

6 Responses to “Sigma 150mm f2.8 APO Macro review”

  1. Vikki Shifrin says:
    April 13, 2009 at 10:35 am

    Very beautiful shots! I love these macros. :)

  2. kevin says:
    April 13, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Thanks Vikki

    Macro is great fun and not many folks are doing macro photography these days, what a shame. I spent some time in California last month doing some macro work at Torrey Pines: http://www.kevinokephotography.com/wordpress/archives/584

    I’m looking forward to seeing some of your work when your blog update is finished.

    Cheers

  3. Kevin Oke Photography » Cowichan River Flowers says:
    April 19, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    […] those that are interested, most of my close-up photography of flowers is with the Sigma 150mm macro lens. This lens is amazingly sharp and being on the long focal length end of the spectrum allows you to […]

  4. Mushroom Season in the Cowichan Valley « Cowichan Valley Travel & Tourism Information says:
    September 25, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    […] mushrooms is something that I really enjoy doing and I expect I’ll be in the dirt with my Sigma 150mm macro lens quite a bit this fall. There is nothing better than coming home with some great food, interesting […]

  5. Macro Photography – What equipment do you require? – Kevin Oke Photography says:
    November 17, 2010 at 12:17 pm

    […] of $120 (new about $270) and it is tack sharp and produces amazing images. My main macro lens is a Sigma 150mm Macro and cost a whopping $700, the best money I have ever spent. This gives you an idea about the price […]

  6. Vwen says:
    August 19, 2011 at 12:13 am

    Very Nice shoot, awesome. I just order this lens, maybe next week will be arrive. Thanks for your sharing.:) this is my first macro lenses. I’m very very pleasure to view your website & photo. Thank you so much..

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