The Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports ($1,499) is a made-for-mirrorless update to the older 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG HSM OS Sports for SLR systems. Despite sharing the same focal range and aperture, the DG DN OS Sports has a fresh optical formula, one that’s suitable for use with high-resolution sensors, and is lighter to carry. We especially like its extended reach versus the Tamron 150-500mm, and the fact that it costs $500 less than the Sony FE 200-600mm. It’s our favorite telezoom for Sony and L-mount cameras, and our Editors’ Choice winner.
Sigma Sports for Mirrorless
Sigma splits its lenses into three categories—Art, Contemporary, and Sports. Art lenses put emphasis on big f-stops and bokeh, Contemporary optics balance performance with price and size, while the Sports class is built around telephoto optics, with an emphasis on tough construction for use out in the real world.
The 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports is the first in the series available exclusively for mirrorless camera systems. The optical formula has been rethought and optimized for them, cutting down on the overall dimensions. The 150-600mm DG DN OS is still a big lens (10.5 by 4.3 inches), and weighty at 4.6 pounds, but not to the extent of the DG HSM OS Sports for SLRs (11.4 by 4.8 inches, 6.3 pounds).
The smaller overall dimensions make up some weight, but construction materials come into play, too. The newer DG DN OS Sports is made from a mix of aluminum and thermally stable composite, and the tripod foot is magnesium. Sigma puts its best level of weather protection inside—seals keep dust and moisture out of the system, and the front element is protected with anti-smudge fluorine.
A lens hood is included too, offering some extra protection for the front glass. The hood secures with a thumb screw and is reversible for storage and transport. Sigma includes a slip-on soft cap, as well as a standard 95mm pinch cap. You also get a soft carrying case for the lens, helpful to securely pack it for a trip.
Like most other long zooms, the 150-600mm Sports extends when zoomed. The zoom ring offers two levels of tension, and you can easily set the focal length with push-pull action if you prefer. The housing around the front optics has a tapered rear edge, giving push-pull zoom fans a natural control surface.
Sony owners have one alternative with internal zoom, the FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS. It’s a bigger lens to pack and carry, and costs more, around $2,000. It’s worth stepping up to if you’re photographing action where you need to quickly change the angle of view—it’s something I found invaluable when photographing pro soccer. But it does make for an overall bigger zoom to pack and carry—the FE 200-600mm is 12.5 inches long, but weighs about the same (4.7 pounds).
Handling and Focus
The 150-600mm is hefty, but it balances well with a full-frame body. Sigma markets it for E-mount cameras, made by Sony, and for L-mount models from Leica, Panasonic, and Sigma itself. I paired it with the SLR-style Sony a7R IV and found it to be a great fit for handheld work.
If you use a smaller full-frame model, something like the Sony a7C or Sigma fp, or an APS-C camera, the Sigma 100-400mm is a little easier to manage, but its shorter focal length isn’t as well-suited for situations where you can’t get up to close to your subject.
The tripod collar is integral, and required to get good balance when mounting the lens. The foot is magnesium, with a dovetail cut to fit into Arca-Swiss tripod heads without the need for an add-on plate. The collar isn’t removable, and you’ll need to break out an Allen wrench to take it off. The collar rotates, with detents every 90 degrees, so you can move the foot out of your way when handholding, or easily swap between landscape and portrait compensation when working from a tripod.
The lens has several on-barrel controls. The zoom ring sits at the front of the fixed portion of the barrel. It moves easily when the tension is set to smooth, but tends to creep when the lens is pointing downward.
There’s no creep with the tight zoom setting, my preferred choice for wildlife photography. There’s some effort required to set the zoom, so you’re not likely to bump it out of place. It’s as effective as the locking focus clutch Tamron puts in its 150-500mm, but not quite as seamless to swap settings. The Sigma also has a zoom lock; when it’s set, the lens won’t move beyond the 150mm focal length.
Programmable function buttons, three in total, are set in between the zoom and focus rings, placed 90 degrees apart. They’re programmable, but all tied to the same function; most photographers use them to drive or lock autofocus.
The lens uses a quiet stepping motor for focus; it takes about a third-second to drive from the closest focus distance (around two feet) to infinity. In practice, you’ll wait a beat for initial focus lock when the lens needs to drive across its long focus range, but it’s able to keep up with birds in flight with our a7R IV using its 10fps Hi+ drive mode. Sony a1 owners will be limited to 15fps focus with this lens—the FE 200-600mm is required to drive focus at 30fps.
A focus limiter function is included. It’s set using a switch, with a full range, 10 meter to infinity, or close focus to 10 meter settings. You’re locked into those distances with the E-mount lens, but L-mount owners can use a UD-11 USB docking station to set custom distance limits. Sigma doesn’t sell a dock for E-mount lenses. Because of this, the Custom toggle is a vestigial control for Sony owners.
I’d expect most photographers to reach for autofocus first, but manual focus is an option here, too. The focus ring is a little slim, but its rubberized finish stands out. It has a long throw, useful for making really fine adjustments, but frustrating if you’re trying to zip across the focus range.
Big lenses don’t always focus close, but the optics here can focus down close for macro work. It does its best at 180mm, focusing to around 22.8 inches for 1:2.9 life-size reproduction. This is one area where the Sigma does a better job than the Sony FE 200-600mm—Sony’s lens is limited to 1:5 macro.
Teleconverters are supported, but Sigma only makes its 1.4x and 2.0x extenders for L-mount cameras, and the lens doesn’t work with Sony’s extenders. E-mount owners will need to step up to the FE 200-600mm if that’s a requirement.
Optical stabilization is included, with a toggle to swap between modes for static photography (Mode 1) and for panning along with a moving subject (Mode 2). It’s very effective; in Mode 1 handheld photos are consistently blur-free at shutter speeds as lengthy as 1/8-second. My results at 1/4-second were more miss than hit, but netted some keepers. Tests were done at 600mm with the Sony a7R IV.
In the Lab
I tested the E-mount edition of the lens with the 60MP Sony a7R IV in the lab, using Imatest software to check its resolution. It’s a strong performer throughout the zoom range. At 150mm f/5, it shows excellent resolution in the center (4,500 lines), with off-center results that are still very good on the demanding 60MP sensor (4,000 lines). At f/8 and f/11, resolution is excellent from center to edge.
Results fall off a little when zoomed in, but you’ll still enjoy good results at 350mm f/5.6 (3,600 lines) and 600mm f/6.3 (3,400 lines). If you’ve got the light to work at f/8, you’ll enjoy a bit better clarity—it pushes results to the very good range (3,900 lines).
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The numbers back up what we see from real-world results—the 150-600mm snaps images with clear, sharp detail. You’re unlikely to see any drawbacks on 24MP full-frame models, and is as good as the Tamron 150-500mm and Sony FE 200-600mm for use with more pixel-dense APS-C cameras and full-frame models that cross the 42MP barrier.
Optics show a little bit of pincushion distortion, pretty common for telephotos. If you use your camera’s JPG mode you’ll enjoy automatic correction, and while Adobe hasn’t yet rolled out a profile for Lightroom, it’s only a matter of time before one-click corrections are an option.
A Cut Above
Sigma has put its best foot forward with the 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports. Its first made-for-mirrorless Sports lens cuts nearly two pounds from its predecessor, reason enough for backpackers and nature photographers to consider an upgrade. Dust and splash protection allow you to use it outdoors without worry, and materials are all topflight.
This is the only 150-600mm zoom available for the L-mount system, so it’s the easy one to pick if you’re shopping for a super telephoto. Sigma also makes the 100-400mm DG DN OS Contemporary, but it doesn’t have the same reach, and isn’t built to Sports level standards. You may prefer its lighter build and lower cost, around $950. Panasonic has a 70-300mm for $1,250, but it’s a bit short for some disciplines.
Photographers using the Sony system have two strong alternatives. The Tamron 150-500mm costs $100 less and is slightly slimmer, making it a good option for photographers using smaller cameras. The Sony FE 200-600mm is priced $500 higher, but supports teleconverters and the fastest continuous drive speeds on a1 and a9 cameras.
All three offer similar optical performance, good enough to hold up to pixel-peeping on high-resolution full-frame systems. It’s a close call for E-mount shoppers, but we give preference to the 150-600mm Sports, our Editors’ Choice winner. It costs less than the Sony 200-600mm, and has a little bit extra zoom than the Tamron 150-500mm. And in L-mount, it’s peerless—there just aren’t other lenses that match it.
