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Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports
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Sigma · 500 mm · f/5.6 · Sony E, Leica L mount

Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports

From $2,844.49 — 1 offer
KEY FACTS
BrandSigma
Announcement dateFeb 2024
Released2024
Production started2024
Production statusIn Production
What We Like
+Remarkably compact and lightweight for a 500mm prime (1,365g), making it handholeable
+Exceptional sharpness corner-to-corner at f/5.6 with minimal improvement when stopped down
+Fast and accurate HLA autofocus system ideal for wildlife and sports photography
+5.0 stops of image stabilization with dual OS modes for general shooting and panning
+Rich feature set including aperture ring (clickable/declickable), three AFL buttons, and focus limiter
+Dust and splash-resistant construction with weather-sealed design suitable for field use
Worth Knowing
−F5.6 aperture is slower than f/4 alternatives, limiting low-light sports performance (requires higher ISO)
−Fixed 500mm focal length lacks zoom flexibility; no compositional adjustment possible
−E-mount version lacks teleconverter support (L-mount only); Sony restricts third-party teleconverter compatibility
−Minimum focus distance of 3.2m is quite far for close-up work; not suitable for macro or insect photography

General

Brand
Sigma
Announcement date
ⓘ
Refers to the date the manufacturer publicly announced the upcoming release and general specs of this camera.
Feb 2024
Released
ⓘ
Refers to the year this camera was officially made available for sale.
2024
Production started
2024
Production status
ⓘ
Current status of lens manufacturing (e.g., in production, discontinued).
In Production
Read our notes on general
The Sigma 500mm f5.6 DG DN OS Sports is a light and compact super-telephoto prime lens measuring 235mm long and weighing just under 1.4kg. The lens delivers exceptional image quality, with impressive sharpness from full-frame corner to full-frame corners at wide-open f/5.6 aperture. The latest OS2 optical stabilization algorithm provides an outstanding image stabilization effect of 5.0 stops, while the HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) enables fast and accurate autofocus even in ultra-telephoto photography such as sports and bird photography. Price-wise this pitches it roughly between a variety of super-telephoto zooms and super-high-end prime lenses, while beating them all on portability.

Optics

Minimum Aperture
F32
Optical Formula
20 elements in 14 groups
Maximum Magnification
1:6 (0.17x)
Min focal length
500 mm
Max focal length
500 mm
Focal range
ⓘ
Shortest to longest focal length of the lens (zoom range start - end )
500 mm
Zoom lens
ⓘ
Zoom allows you to vary the focal length, change between long shots and close-ups
No
Max aperture wide
5.6
Max aperture zoom
5.6
Closest focusing distance
ⓘ
Minimum distance for a subject to be in focus.
320 cm01500

Stabilization

Type
OS2 Optical Stabilizer (2 modes)
Effectiveness
5.0 stops

Autofocus

Mechanism
HLA (High-response Linear Actuator)
Focus Limiter
Yes (full range, 3.2-10m, or 10m-infinity)

Build design

Material
High-precision engineering plastic with magnesium alloy
Tripod Socket
Arca-Swiss compatible magnesium alloy
Lens Hood
Removable (model LH1034-02)

Controls

Aperture Ring
Manual with clickable/declickable modes
Buttons
Three customizable AFL (Autofocus Lock) buttons
Focus Ring
Wide focus ring with click-stop mode
Switches
Focus mode (AF/MF), Focus limiter, Image stabilization (3 modes), Custom mode (L-mount only)

Optical coatings

Multi Layer Coating
Sigma Super Multi-Layer Coating
Special Coating
Water and oil-repellent hydrophobic coating
Lens Design
Refractive optical system (no diffractive elements)

Mount compatibility

Teleconverter Support
L-Mount only (TC-1411 1.4x, TC-2011 2.0x up to 1000mm)

Physical

Front filter size
ⓘ
Diameter of attachable filters.
95 mm
Lens length
ⓘ
How long the lens is from front to back.
236 mm
Lens diameter
ⓘ
Width of the lens at its widest point
108 mm
Lens weight
1365 g
Lens mount
ⓘ
The lens mount will tell you what type of lens range you can fit onto the camera body. Often the same camera company will have different lens ranges for different cameras.
Sony E, Leica L

Features

Weather sealing
ⓘ
Weather sealing capabilities will give you more confidence when shooting in unfavourable conditions.
Yes