Lens News

Here’s a little more photo gear news we didn’t fully get to in our comprehensive photokina coverage last week. Third-party lens manufacturers Sigma and Tamron both made waves at the show by announcing intriguing new zoom lenses.

Sigma took the wraps off two long-zooming 150-600mm lenses at the show. While they’re the same focal length, they vary in size and use. The 150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens is designed for greater durability and to help capture fast action scenes.

The 150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary, on the other hand, is designed to be a versatile lens that offers similar performance to the Sports model but in a more compact and portable design.

The Sports version of the lens was on display at photokina (see image at the top of this story) and was attracting a lot of attention -- and a lot of grubby hands -- at the Sigma booth. (See image below.)

Sigma announced pricing for the 150-600mm F/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens at photokina: $1,999. That’s more expensive than a similar, Tamron lens in the same focal length – which we reviewed recently – but competively priced compared to telephoto zooms from Canon and Nikon, though neither company offers the same, monstrous 150-600mm focal length. (Sigma has not announced pricing for the more portable, Contemporary version of this lens.)

Tamron, meanwhile, announced it’s developing the SP 15-30mm F/2.8 lens with VC (Vibration Compensation). No pricing or launch date for this fast, wide-angle zoom has been announced yet, but we got some hands-on time with a prototype of the lens at photokina. (See image below.)

You can see the specs for the Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 lens VC USD (Model A012) lens here.