Equipment Review: Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX APO RF HSM Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF-D
Text and images copyright Heather Forcier, all rights reserved

When I started in wildlife photography, I would leave the field almost every time wishing I had a longer lens. In researching my options I quickly realized that telephoto lenses were a serious investment. On a budget and just beginning as a photographer, I couldn't justify several thousands of dollars, so a review of the Sigma 50-500mm lens in a photo magazine captured my attention.

A cost effective solution to my dilemma, the Sigma 50-500mm appeared to have all the features I was looking for. I made the purchase, and it quickly became the lens mounted on my camera almost exclusively.

The ten times magnification factor available with this lens allows for a lot of versatility in the field. On my early photographic journeys I could easily frame scenics in countless ways, or switch to photographing wildlife with the telephoto range. A durable tripod mount allows adjustment from horizontal to vertical compositions, and a zoom lock prevents “lens creeping” for subjects such as birds in flight. Even extended to 500mm f6.3, the Nikon dynamic auto focus tracks admirably as the Sigma's quiet Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) auto focuses on the subject.

Weighing in at just over four pounds in addition to a camera body there’s no question when it’s in the pack! But with such a zoom range, other lenses can be left at home. Minimum focus distance is approximately three feet at 50mm (and roughly ten at 500mm), allowing close work with flowers and smaller animals or birds. Magnification is listed as 1:5.2. At 50mm the lens is eight and a half inches long, fitting nicely into a Lowepro Mini Trekker bag; extended it reaches about thirteen. The lens hood that comes with the lens can add another three inches but reverses for packing.

I had my share of minor incidents while carrying this lens, yet it has been durable and continued working throughout. It's been used in cold enough weather that my film stopped advancing, as well as in hot and humid weather, with no perceptible change in performance.

The versatility of this lens, especially combined with its price, made getting into nature photography feasible for me. This lens may be all some photographers need in their camera bag.

About the Photos

Purple Sandpiper, Barnegat, New Jersey. Captured with Nikon D1, Sigma 50-500mm lens at 420mm (effectively 630mm with the camera’s magnification factor), tripod mounted. There were groups of these birds moving over the rocks and the zoom range provided some flexibility in framing to help isolate one bird and still capture it in its entirety.

Lily close up from a vase of flowers. Captured with Nikon D1, Sigma 50-500mm lens at 370mm (effectively 555mm with the camera’s magnification factor), tripod mounted. The image was cropped from a horizontal composition to a vertical one, and then some.