Sigma AF 170-500mm f/5-6.3 APO

Heavy, Good Quality, Sharp Lens Great for Bird and Wildlife Photography! This is a much heavier and longer lens than I've ever used before but I am very impressed with the results. I definitely recommend using a tripod with this type of lens to avoid shakiness. They say that every lens has a "sweet spot" and for me, with this lens, it seems to be 460 mm maximum for sharpness at a long distance but I am still getting used to it and it isn't bad at 500 mm. The attached photos were taken from my porch. The tiny bird in the second photo was in a nearby tree. All of the others were across my yard and driveway. The 1st was taken @ 400 mm, the next 2 @ 460 mm, and the last 2 @ 500 mm using a Sony A300 dslr camera. I am very pleased with the sharpness of the images and highly recommend this lens.

Affordable. Good Range. Not too heavy. Not for Professional results. Slow. I bought this product to get closer to wildlife than with my Sony SAL70400 G lens and for the aperture rating that is better than my Sony 500mm/f8. Pros: Weighs less than the SAL70400G Works with Konica Minolta 7D and Sony a300 cameras (as well as other Sony DSLR's). Nice storage bag Affordable Good for a beginner that doesn't have the budget for a pro-lens Cons: Noisy Slow Does not have focus limiter-often takes too long to focus and shots are more often than not - missed. Clarity is poor - detail is minimal. Color is fair to poor even with lens hood. Unless there is bright sunlight there is a fog/haze on photos that I don't find with any Minolta, Konica Minolta or Sony lenses. Must use post-processing on all images such as Lightroom or PhotoShop to get any usable images. Keep rate of even post-processed photos is less than 5%. Does not lock focus on anything but takes picture anyway. It appears to be in focus in viewfinder. I don't recommend this lens if... ...you are used to using a professional quality lens ...you want any kind of detail and color for reproduction online or in print ...you want to be able to crop at all I don't recommend this ...this is your only chance to get the photo ...you are inexperienced with your camera settings ...this is the only telephoto/zoom lens you are going to have in your kit - DON'T - wait and save up for a better one. No, I will not buy another Sigma lens for my cameras. This lens was discontinued because the 50-500mm is more popular, I believe but if the image quality is the same or worse which I'd have to guess with the extended range, no thanks. Compared to my SAL70400 G the extra 100mm zoom is just not worth it. Even at 170 the quality is not good so I will keep the SAL70400 on my camera and probably sell this one when the time is right. Compared to the Sony 500mm mirror lens which is less expensive, and is f8, I'd say the photos with the Sony are better. There is no haze. Some strange bokeh at times but once you learn where the light should be for the best results that can be worked with, sometimes to your advantage. Since you need bright light for both lenses, the 500mm Sony is lighter and smaller, focuses faster and is more precise. Photos are clear and colors are much more impressive. If you can't afford a pro-quality lens, and thus have not experienced such results, you may be quite satisfied with this lens for the price.

Love it! If I pass my camera and see this lens on it, I end up out in the woods chasing birds! It's everything you could ask for given the price.