News SIGMA 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports & 15mm F1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye Art Lenses Announced

[Tim Mayo]

Sigma has announced two new lenses for Sony E-mount.

There’s the super telephoto 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports lens and a slightly wider 15mm F1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye Art lens.

The 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports lens will cost $2,999.00 US or £2,779 in the UK.

The 15mm F1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye Art lens will cost $1,999.00 US or £1,859.00 in the UK.

Both lenses are available to pre-order already and will start shipping in March 2024.

Further details and early reviews can be found in the linked blog article.

SIGMA 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports & 15mm F1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye Art Lenses Announced - Alpha Shooters

Sigma has announced two new lenses for Sony E-mount and the L-mount. There’s the super telephoto 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports lens and a slightly wider 15mm F1.4 DG DN Diagonal Fisheye Art lens. The 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports lens will cost $2,999.00 US or £2,779 in the UK. The 15mm F1.4 …

www.alphashooters.com

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Very interested in that 500, 300mm close focus

 

[Tim Mayo]

Very interested in that 500, 300mm close focus

It definitely appears to be a decent lens and a nice size. It would be interesting to see how the image quality and AF compare to the 200-600. Still, I think I’d prefer to put my pennies towards the 300 2.8.

 

[gfcphotography]

Interesting lens - had been saving hard for the 300 F2.8 for a trip to South Africa later this year but now a little undecided between that and this Sigma lens. Have watched several reviews and it seems to be really sharp, fast to focus and great image quality. Not too bothered about the frame rate or lack of TC (with the A1 I can use the 35mm mode to effectively make it 750mm!). Anyone have any thoughts on which lens - mainly for wildlife?

I have the 200-600 also but it is a lot heavier than either of these lenses.

Cheers
George

 

[RogerSmith]

Interesting lens - had been saving hard for the 300 F2.8 for a trip to South Africa later this year but now a little undecided between that and this Sigma lens. Have watched several reviews and it seems to be really sharp, fast to focus and great image quality. Not too bothered about the frame rate or lack of TC (with the A1 I can use the 35mm mode to effectively make it 750mm!). Anyone have any thoughts on which lens - mainly for wildlife?

I have the 200-600 also but it is a lot heavier than either of these lenses.

Cheers
George

I'm in the same exact position as you George, a bit of a quandary between the Sig and the 300 f2.8 + TC. I've seen some good comparisons between the 2. I still shy away from the 2X. So the question is more framing images between 420 f/4 (300 + 1.4TC) and 500 f/5.6. Also keeping in mind APSC mode on high res Sony bodies (or using my a6700) would give equivalent FOV of 450mm on the 300 without a TC. But the increase in sharpness relative to my 200-600 is really calling me to a prime. I do mostly shoot birds (although aspire to broader range of wildlife), so there is always the answer of more reach is almost always better.

 

[gfcphotography]

I'm in the same exact position as you George, a bit of a quandary between the Sig and the 300 f2.8 + TC. I've seen some good comparisons between the 2. I still shy away from the 2X. So the question is more framing images between 420 f/4 (300 + 1.4TC) and 500 f/5.6. Also keeping in mind APSC mode on high res Sony bodies (or using my a6700) would give equivalent FOV of 450mm on the 300 without a TC. But the increase in sharpness relative to my 200-600 is really calling me to a prime. I do mostly shoot birds (although aspire to broader range of wildlife), so there is always the answer of more reach is almost always better.

Thanks Roger - glad I'm not the only one in a quandary! I think I'll pop down to my local London Camera Exchange when the Sigma is available and have my own look at it! I love my 200-600 but the thought of travelling (and hand holding!) a lighter lens is appealing not to mention the price aspect compared to the Sony 300m!

 

[Paul stuart]

I was waiting/saving on the 300mm f2.8 but as the 300mm with x2 does not outperform centre sharpness of 200-600mm at 600mm it has lost some appeal for me ,but it does perform very well at 300f2.8-420 f4 to be expected ,where as the sigma still outperforms the 300mm with x2 and the 200-600mm with a slight crop ,i have pe ordered the results look very promising ,very sharp across the frame where as my 200-600m is best only in centre in fact the 300 with 2x tc is better on the edges than the 200-600mm ,Sigma caveats 10ft close focusing is not to good ,No t/c option the biggest miss it would take a 1.4 t/c as good as any prime in sony emount and 15fps limit not end of the world i only use my A1 95% of the time at 20 fps ,but damn it 1.3kg best in weight class leading,5 stops optical image stabilization ,near perfect iq ,excellent build quality ,nice design ergonomics and its black and still get to keep my 70-200mm gm mk2.

 

[Paul stuart]

Interesting lens - had been saving hard for the 300 F2.8 for a trip to South Africa later this year but now a little undecided between that and this Sigma lens. Have watched several reviews and it seems to be really sharp, fast to focus and great image quality. Not too bothered about the frame rate or lack of TC (with the A1 I can use the 35mm mode to effectively make it 750mm!). Anyone have any thoughts on which lens - mainly for wildlife?

I have the 200-600 also but it is a lot heavier than either of these lenses.

Cheers
George

Depends on your wildlife and where. The 300mm f2.8 has slightly/lot better options low light shooter at 300mm ,option of 600mm f.5.6 which is its weakest option or 400mm f4 420mm ,but i doubt the sharpness of 420mm f4 or 600mm 5.6 match the 500mm sigma bare lens ,so you have to guage how much you are likley to use 300mm f2.8 if not very often then the sigma makes better sense ,from what i can gauge from reviews this is tony and chelsea testing the 500mm with crop to 600mm against the 200-600mm it actually renders better actuance and detail even with crop .and if you go to sony alpha blog the 300mm f2.8 with t/c x2 only matches the centre of the 200-600mm 6.3 so from this assumption you can kind of guess it will have better iq across the frame than either 300mm with 2x t/c or the 200-600mm with even a crop to 600mm ,but if you wait this will most likley be confirmed in other reviews ,check out christopher frosts review on you tube .and i am guessing that a 2x t/c also impact af which they do on all other lenses the 500mm would be a good choice ,ad if you have other lenses like a 70-200mm f2.8 you can bridge the gap a little105-280 f4 with 1.4 t/c ,but other notes the 300mm and 200-600mm have the option of better subject seperation. which can enhance the look of a sharp image.

 

[Tim Mayo]

There are some comments and images from Alex Phan in our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/alphawildlifeshooters/permalink/1381743229022777/

Just in case you are not on Facebook:

Big thanks to Samy's LA and Sigma USA for sending me the pre-production lens to evaluate. I had this lens for over a week and had been shooting with it on a daily basic.
Right of the bat, congrats to Sigma for this Compact, lightweight and excellent build quality. By incorporating large-diameter, and low-dispersion glass elements, SIGMA significantly reduced the lens size while maintaining high resolving power expected from a 500 mm prime lens. Low-dispersion convex elements at the front of the lens delivers both a high aberration correction capability and a short overall length.
High-speed AF with a linear motor HLA ( (High-response Linear Actuator).). A linear motor HLA is used for the actuator, which is characterized its high driving accuracy owing to the advanced electronic control, as well as its quietness.
The lens is also weather resistance. (passed my rain test (*_*) )
I was able to track a fast diving falcon in a challenging lighting condition with no problem. Subject acquisition is fast. Focus from minimum focus distance to infinity also quick.
During my time with the lens, i got couple times the auto focus just drop during the bird in flight sequences. Since this is a not a final production lens, final firmware should address this issue.
Unfortunately, you can't use any Teleconverter with this lens. You're also limit at 15 fps only.
Overall, i really enjoy using this lens due to it size and weight. It is much easier to maneuver to track/pan in a tight spot. I'll replace my Sony 200-600G with this lens.

 

[Paul stuart]

There are some comments and images from Alex Phan in our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/alphawildlifeshooters/permalink/1381743229022777/

Just in case you are not on Facebook:

Looks good and crispy sharp even for facebook compression and you know a pergrine is just the subject to track with a fast movement a small light lens makes this job fun and easier ,went parks cameras today but not available to end of march.

 

[spudhead]

Did Sony leave a gap in the market here for the Sigma 500 5.6 ? kind interesting that Sigma will only make this in e-mount and L-mount and the Sony 300 is still hard to get in the Uk , So now possible Sony 300 buyers suddenly have options and the Sigma should hit the shops quickly so they say. Most bird shooters want reach and having had the old 300 g 2.8 and tcs I feel like Paul says that the 300e-mount will be great at 420mm with the 1.4 but I am not sure about the 2x here in the Uk , the a-mount 2x have never been great and I had a 2x e-mount for about 10 minutes and it went back, so as much as I hate to say it out loud The sigma could be better option for me, yes no tc but that is what it is and I like prime lens and it is not often I have to walk backwards to gain focus. If the sigma was heavier and bigger maybe the Sony 300 would fit better, but the Sigma is roughly half the price and that can get me a 70-200 mk2 as well.