How to use 500mm Sigma Telephoto Lens for Nikon SLR Camera.

• This sigma telephoto lens is a vast improvement over the 170-500mm nikon lens model. I used that lens on a wildlife trip and had to jack up the ISO to 800-1600 to get decent shutter speeds and a clear picture. Unfortunately that introduced noise, really bad in some shots.

• The D300 is much better than the D200 in that regard, but the telephoto lens was pretty much unusable without a tripod. This  telephoto lens will alleviate any of those problems.
• The quality of the lens is very good. There 500mm nikon lens is zero zoom creep. Autofocusing is fast, though just a tad off (a few pixels off on the ‘TM’ - could be the camera, and that can be adjusted.)
• Manual focusing is tricky with the tripod collar on, it blocks the focusing ring so either move your hand to the top, slide your hand in between the 500mm nikon lens and collar, or take the collar off. I got perfect focus using the viewfinder indicator as a reference point.
• The finish is of high quality, but a little strange. The whole lens including the hood is coated in some kind of flat black matte textured finish, makes me think of a stealth bomber.
• The Optical Stabilizer and the fact that sigma telephoto lens had proven itself with the 50-500 were the determining factors in my decision. So far I shot some 200 pictures of various subjects at various distances handholding the camera with the OS turned on.
• Half way through my shots I reverted from full manual mode to Aperture control and noticed an improvement in the sharpness and colors which tells me that I need to hone my skills with this sigma telephoto lens. So far, I am amazed at the quality of my shots with this huge glass.
• I take all my pictures with a -.7 exposure compensation as I like very vivid pictures and until I develop a better feel for what the lens can do I will continue to used it with Aperture control.
• The Auto focus is smooth, the overall feel is quality and the pictures are phenomenal for the distance. I look forward to plenty of fun with this 500mm nikon lens , if you go for it you won’t regret it.
• In response to the person who rated this 500mm nikon lens three stars I would like to quote David Bush’s book Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide where he states most lenses produce their sharpest image approximately two stops less than wide open.
• For example, if you’re using a zoom lens with an f/4 maximum aperture, it probably has its best resolution and least distortion at roughly f/8. I’ve practiced David’s suggestion with my sigma telephoto lens 150-500 and it works beautifully, but like everything else, it takes some time to getting used to unless you’re a professional photographer then you’d know this before hand.

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