Evaluation:  
Conclusion: Good lens with a Learning Curve
Review: I've had this lens for several weeks and have taken it in the field on three occasions shooting wildlife photos in the South Florida wetlands. It has an exellent zoom range and the image quality is very good but not great (great comes at about 4X the price). The number one complaint you will read about on all the review sites is the weight of this lens. This is true and if you are looking for a walk-around lens or hiking companion to cary around your neck all day this is not it. The build quality however is excellent using metal, glass and rubber throughout. This is a professional level piece of equipment and I'll take trade light weight for solid build quality anytime. You will definitely need a good monopod and develop a solid steadying technique, or use a sturdy tripod, to get consistantly decent results beyond the 300mm focal length. There is a real learning curve to getting consistantly good results from this lens so you'll have to experiment for a while. A minor niggle is the barrel will 'creep' when the lens is carried pointed downward with the lock mechanism off. Also to shift from AF to manual is a 2 phase process requiring a push or pull on the lense barrel ring as well as the on-camera switch. I find myself using the manual setting most often when using this lens at its maximum focal length. Overall - a very good lens for the birder, wildlife photographer, sports enthusiast or those who are scared of their subjects. The Amazon price was very competitive and UPS shipping went without a hitch as usual.Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 LensPentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Great lens at a good price
Review: I've read many reviews of this lens, in many places. Most of them begin by stating that this lens is very heavy - too heavy to use without a tripod. I agree, but why would anyone use a 500mm lens without at least a monopod? Yes, this lens weighs four pounds. But Sigma also makes a 500mm prime lens that weighs seven pounds, so it's all relative. As for quality, this lens is excellent. It's f/6.3 at 500mm, so there's the tradeoff between this lens and their (street-price $4,200) 500mm f/4.5 lens. But it's very sharp from f/8 to f/22, so that suits me fine. I've used this lens for a couple of months and did a rather exhaustive test indoors, with everything tightened down and no wind, at all focal lengths, and it looks very sharp. If you have it on a tripod and the wind is blowing from the side, it can be problematic because the lens becomes a sail, but that would be true of any large lens, regardless of the price. If you're looking for an affordable 500mm lens, this is it. Just do yourself (and your photography) a big favor and also invest in a tripod, or at least a monopod. One point of curiosity - Sigma says you cannot use this lens at less than 100mm with a teleconverter. Why would anyone put a teleconverter on a zoom lens and use it at less than the maximum focal length?
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Great decision
Review: I was first thinking about this lens a year ago. I had seen some great results on different forums but ended up not buying it. I bought a teleconverter instead for my existing lens. Now a year later after being disappointed with the teleconverter I decided to go ahead and buy the Bigma. What a difference. The images are sharp, there is no CA, edge sharpness is good. Yes, it is a little heavy and not the fastest 50mm lens out there, but who buys a 50-500 zoom for the short end anyway? I took it out to a local lake and got some great shots of Osprey, Red-tailed Hawks, and Herons. None of these would have been possible without the Bigma. All shots were taken hand-held. The Bigma on my K10D with shake reduction work well together. I took a few test shots handheld down to 1/60th, while not crystal sharp there were still far superior to anything I could have gotten with the teleconverter on a tripod.
All in all I highly recommend this lens.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: Wonderful lens. A little too heavy.
Review: This is a very good lens. Very sharp pictures and excellent zoom range. However, the lens is quit heavy so u probly need a tripod most of the time. Although it can be used as a 50mm lens I doubt anyone will carry it for that purpose. On the other hand it is nice to have that zoom range if ur on a safari so u dont have to change lenses to shoot something close. I will mainly use this for wild life photography and this an excellent lens for that purpose for the money I can spend.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: SigmaBigma & 47th ST - Great Combo!
Review: I think the title tells it all. The Sigma Bigma is a perfect match for my K10D and the service from 47th St could not have been better.
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