SIGMA APO MACRO 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM £780/$1,100

It’s a relatively big and weighty lens, with extra telephoto reach and a fairly hefty price to go with it

This is the only lens on test that weighs over a kilogram – 1,150g, to be precise. To put that into context, the Canon 100mm L-series and Sigma 105mm weigh 625g and 725g respectively. It’s also about an inch longer than both of those, at 150mm. As usual for modern macro prime lenses, however, focusing is internal, so the lens doesn’t physically stretch.

Build quality and handling are essentially the same as the Sigma 105mm lens. Features in common include ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, dual-mode stabilization for static and panning shots, and a three-position autofocus range limiter switch. Again, it comes with a hood and APS-C hood converter, plus a padded soft case. This time, however, a tripod mounting collar is also supplied. The number of SLD optical elements is also extended from two to three. As such, the 150mm is one of Sigma’s APO (Apochromatic) lenses, with theoretically minimized colour fringing. One disappointment is that neither lens is from Sigma’s Global Vision line-up, thus incompatible with the company’s USB Dock for applying fine-tuning and firmware updates.

performance

Levels of centre sharpness through the aperture range are very similar to those of the Sigma 105mm, but the 150mm does better to maintain sharpness around the extreme edges. Despite its APO badge, colour fringing is no less than in the similarly well-performing 105mm lens in our tests, but distortion is even more negligible.