Sigma's APO 200-500 F2.8 telephoto lens gets close to wildlife, your wife

Hello daddy! Meet Sigma's new APO 200-500 f2.8 ultra telephoto zoom lens. Weighing 16kg (35-pounds), it's the world's first to offer a F2.8 aperture at 500mm focal length. A dedicated F5.6 attachment ensures autofocusing at 1000mm while an internal Li-ion battery powers the zooming and AF mechanics. Available for Sigma and Nikon mounts in June or Canons in April for ¥2,500,000 or nearly $25,000. So ask yourself, just how deep does your love for the bird go?

Gallery: Sigma's APO 200-500 F2.8 telephoto lens gets close to wildlife, your wife

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[Via Impress]

[thef1re @ Feb 1st 2008 4:30AM]

"So ask yourself, just how deep does your love for the bird go?"

Rather, "So ask yourself, just how much are you willing to risk to be mistaken as a terrorist"

[matt @ Feb 1st 2008 4:41AM]

f2.8 @ 500?

wowsa. No wonder it costs 25k. For those who make a living on wildlife, I don't think the price will be too much of a problem though.

[Adam @ Feb 1st 2008 4:43AM]

It's a sad state of affairs if the first thing that comes to your mind is "terrorists....booogie boo"

I'm so skaywed

People in the U.S. have as much a chance of getting hit by lighting as being a victim of terrorism, yet 80% of the media is filled with that fear mongering garbage.

[Jake @ Feb 1st 2008 4:46AM]

That Sigma is for wimps. This is the real deal:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800557508-USE/Canon_2527A001_Super_Telephoto_1200mm_f_5_6L.html

[Alijah @ Feb 1st 2008 4:57AM]

@Jake
Yeah, but does that look like it could take out a tank? Seriously... army green?

[anonfx @ Feb 1st 2008 5:13AM]

I'm liking the resemblance to a missile launcher... complete with carrying handle!

But, seriously, with this I'd be able to get a fix on that tattoo my neighbor from 6 blocks away has on her lower back.

[Superprime @ Feb 1st 2008 5:13AM]

It's for wildlife
Plants are green
The lens is green

... put it together

[Anshul @ Feb 1st 2008 5:20AM]

This is not a lens. It a weapon of Mass destruction.

It will just kill the birds you shoot and your wife too.

16kg Military Equipment.

[carnagex2000 @ Feb 1st 2008 5:33AM]

Jake the Canon 1200mm is big, but Nikon made a 360-1200 zoom lens and a 1200-1700mm zoom lens
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/speciallenses/12001700mm.htm
(Not to mention last PMA Carl Zeiss showed off a 1700mm lens)

But if you want the largest production lens ever made, it was from Canon, it was in an FD mount, a whopping 5200mm f/14 lens, as you can see in the picture on the ad, on the right is a Canon F1 film body. And the new sigma 200-500 is 35lbs, this beasts weighs in at 220lbs.
http://www.canonfd.com/mirrorlenses/images/page10.jpg


(I actually came across an ebay auction for the smaller of the three behmoths that canon released it was an 800mm - the other two were 2000mm and the 5200mm). The 800mm is still the worlds fastest made, its an f/3.8 lens. (canon just announced a new 800mm f/5.6 lens with IS)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Huge-CANON-800mm-3-8-Lens_W0QQitemZ7568780308QQcategoryZ30027QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Mike @ Feb 1st 2008 5:40AM]

would this work with my new nikon d40x?

[bjorn_ahlm @ Feb 1st 2008 6:27AM]

How about 256kg of Zeiss loveliness?

http://www.zeiss.com/c12567a8003b58b9/Contents-Frame/8baac109cb80bddfc12571e100393a1b

[jamie @ Feb 1st 2008 7:00AM]

For all you "camera people" linking to other lens and saying it is bigger, better or just longer, please understand this; this sigma lens is impressive because it has a fixed aperture of f/2.8 at anything focal range. This guarantees you can shoot alot faster and can actually shoot without light/flash in near darkness. I can imagine how the bokeh on this will be, nice. Focal range alone is no big deal. The f-stop at 2.8 is the key.

[macfly @ Feb 1st 2008 7:23AM]

"... your wife"? how 'bout someone else's wife (probably your neighbour's).
Anyway, I would'nt wanna be anywhere near my wife after she finds out I dropped$25.000 on a lens!!

[huggles @ Feb 1st 2008 7:50AM]

Will be fun taking that thing down to the airport and photographing planes taking off, and watching said planes firing emergency flares and chaff! That thing looks like it should be shoulder operated :)

[Frankenstein Black @ Feb 1st 2008 9:09AM]

Oh fiddlesticks and bolderdash. There are 600mm CATs (by the same company no less) which gets you 100mm closer, that are a third the size and a quarter the price. I have one, and so what you have to focus it manually. If you have money to burn on that and no true photography skills you are simply a POSER (get it? Poser? Photography? See what I did there ;^)...

[kal326 @ Feb 1st 2008 9:58AM]

Me wonders what would happen I put my little pen laser pointer up to that thing?

[Dolemite @ Feb 1st 2008 12:29PM]

-"And this thing is for shooting down police helicopters."

-"Oh I don't need anything like that...yet."

[Tom @ Feb 1st 2008 12:51PM]

I don't know why the reply system isn't working for me right now.....
@ Frankenstein Black:
It's all about the aperture. There's a reason why Canon's L-series lenses cost damn near $2k - it's their constant f/2.8 aperture. This one has a constant 2.8 from 200-500mm - a huge feat in optics. So, if you're shooting for NatGeo or another wildlife firm - or want crazy flat portraits for your position at Vogue, this is your lens. Obviously, this is a professional's lens and will smoke your 600mm lens in terms of aperture opening and image quality.

[dave @ Feb 1st 2008 1:37PM]

Anyone else thinking Spartan Laser? =P

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 1st 2008 9:38PM]

http://www.blackdiamondproductions.net/d100/page/%5B1%5D.jpg

[admin @ Feb 1st 2008 10:38PM]

What ever happened to black lenses? I hate Canon's white L lenses, and now Sigma's going green (in fugly, non-environmental way)?

[billy bob thorton @ Feb 1st 2008 10:45PM]

I wish everyone would stop going on and on about this lens. it's a pointless publicity stunt. no one is going to lug around a 35lb lens to shoot something stationary. yea stationary. good luck hitting a moving target. let's not forget that it probably doesn't perform well at full apeture anyway.

[Joe T. @ Feb 2nd 2008 8:53AM]

@Frankenstein Black

Your solid cat 600m lens is a constant F8. Try capturing fast motion on that. The central mirror on the front of the lens also gives it wierd bokeh-- donut-shaped highlights might excite Homer Simpson, but for most uses (esp. pro) are pretty distracting.

This lens is a constant F2.8; it'll smoke any mirror lens. Chromatic aberation with glass vs. mirror at that length you say? APO optics eliminate that.

@billy bob thornton
Yeah, most lenses perform pretty poorly at full aperature, but stop it down one or two stops and it should be pretty sharp. So, you're getting a very sharp 4-5.6 and a usable 2.8 vs other lenses that aren't sharp at 4-5.6 and don't have 2.8 at all.

And lugging it around? That's what an intern is for.