Sigma 150mm 2.8 EX DG APO IF MAKRO

The Sigma AF 150mm f/2.8 APO EX macro DG D is one of the few third-party lenses that can play in the league up there with the big boyz. The performance figures are excellent and leave really nothing to be desired across all tested quality characteristics. The mechanical build quality is very good thanks to a metal body and a true IF (internal focusing) design with a constant physical length. The AF speed is about average in absolute terms but pretty good for a macro lens. Thanks to Sigma's HSM (Hypersonic-Motor> the AF operates virtually silent. The lens is compatible to Sigma's APO EX DG converter so there´s also an option for some extra reach or increased working distance if needed. The price tag of the lens is moderate at around 550-600 €/US$.

It is a little tricky to find a verdict for the Sigma AF 150mm f/2.8 APO EX DG macro HSM - as mentioned above the sample lens suffered from a rather extreme degree of decentering which pollutes the resolution potential of the lens (on the left image side) - a rather worrysome quality control issue.
Assuming a good sample the lens can show a very high performance straight from the max. aperture with a peak performance at or even beyond the resolution limits of an 8 megapixel APS-C sensor. Chromatic aberrations are quite negligible, distortions are basically absent and vignetting is very low. The bokeh (the characteristic of foreground and background blurr) is very smooth with pleasant out-of-focus highlights. The mechanical build quality is very high. The HSM AF drive is virtually silent but the focusing speed is rather slow which is typical for most macro lenses though.

So in principal the lens can be highly recommended - see also the Nikon review of this lens where it performed stellar.