*Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3, the new Bigma: A user review.

We are living in a time where our photographic reality is absolutely overflowing with optical options.  Regardless of which system or systems a photographer is invested in, the choices are plentiful.

I was an early adopter of mirrorless system cameras, in fact this very blog was largely built upon the back of my passionate love affair with the micro 4/3 system over a decade ago.  In the time that I’ve been writing about photography on this site, I’ve wholly switched over to mirrorless cameras which has provided me with certain benefits as well as a few drawbacks.  A facilitating factor for much of my excitement originally was adaptability and that factor has, over these years, turned into a revolution in many ways with the birth of smart adapters for the mirrorless setups I have and am currently shooting with in the micro 4/3, Canon RF and previously the Sony E system.

One drawback to investing in newer mirrorless system architecture is that many new lenses are expensive.  A global economic landscape, combined with investment needed by the companies building these newer systems, in optical engineering, manufacturing and marketing results in that cost being passed to the consumer, especially with proprietary offerings.  

In come third party manufacturers.  Whether you’re shooting a mirrorless or DSLR system, third party lens options can offer huge cost:performance benefits.  The last few years have seen some changes in my life, not the least of which seeing me move from part time working independent photographer, to hobbiest.  Cost is now more important to me than ever as I’ve seen my fun budget reallocated elsewhere by necessity these days.  C’mon in to see more from this Sigma super tele zoom lens on Canon, Sony and Micro 4/3 bodies, and to see if it’s up to snuff.

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*Olympus m.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens, a user review w/ @getolympus

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Ultra wide angle options for every system, tend to be expensive and/or compromised.  It can be difficult to optically correct and transfer light onto these digital sensors which are far less forgiving than film ever was, especially outside of the center frame.  Add to that, with various “crop” formats, the physical focal length needed to achieve these angles of view has to be remarkably short which provides other engineering challenges.  Panasonic saw the need for an ultra wide angle zoom lens from the very early stages of the Micro 4/3 format, and has offered a very solid 7-14mm f/4 lens for years, but many system shooters wanted both a faster option, along with one that was environmentally sealed for outdoor work.  Olympus answered that call with the m.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens.  A substantial, weather sealed, tank like 14-28mm f/2.8 equivalent lens (in light gathering you FF fanatic naysayers, you) that costs a pretty penny, especially considering the Panasonic Lumix option at close to half the price, it’s not necessarily one for the budget minded shooter.  It is however, a pretty damn stellar performer.  I have had this lens for the better part of the year, and I’ve just returned from a trip to Portugal and Holland where I used this lens on the GX8 for my travel documentation needs.  I have some other shots sprinkled in, but I want to give a bit of perspective when using this lens as a travel companion. C’mon in for some shots and thoughts…

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