TECHNICAL DETAILS
Type: Macro lens Focal length: 150mm at infinity Aperture: 9 blades
Magnification range: 1X - infinity
Coverage: Full frame Working distance: Good.
Chromatic Aberration (CAs): Very good LoCAs correction overall. At f/2.8 there are some traces, but these are just about gone by f/4. Lateral CAs are well controlled, better than most consumer lenses labeled APO.
Lens mount: The lens tested here was in G-type Nikon F-mount.
Optical design: 19 Elements in 13 Groups, including 3 SLD elements.
Coverage: Full frame.
Filter threads: 62mm.
Cost: Easy to find new, and on the used market so the prices on the low side.
RATING
Like:
There are other macro lenses over 100mm that are as good, or might even have a slight edge in sharpness in the center, like the Sigma 180mm f/2.8 APO EX OS Macro, or the Voigtlander SL I 125/2.5 APO-Lanthar, but both of these lenses are beat by the 150mm when it comes to chromatic aberration correction.
Image Quality.
APO correction
Compact size
Tripod ring
Can live with:
Image stabilization. I leave IS or OS off when working on macro subjects.
Disappointed with:
Nothing at all.
Don't need:
Image stabilization for macro photography.
Image Quality: This lens has very clean performance across the frame, edge to edge on a full frame camera.
Sharpness Test
First up is a comparison between the Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro and the Voigtlander SL I 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar at 1X or life-size. The target is a silicon wafer shot at 1X, Nikon D810 ISO 64 Nikon MM-11 stand. Image shown are 100% or actual pixel crops. Be sure to click on an image to see larger version.
100% Center crops, top row left to right Voigtlander SL I 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar at f/2.5, f/4, f/5.6. The bottom row, L-R, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO Macro at f2/8, f/4, and f/5.6.
In the image above showing 100% center crops, the APO-Lanthar is sharpest at f/2.5. The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro has very close sharpness at f/2.8 and f/4. with these center tiles the APO-Lanthar has a very slight edge in sharpness. CAs are well controlled with both lenses in the center.
Far corner 100% crops, top row left to right Voigtlander SL I 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar at f/2.5, f/4, f/5.6. The bottom row, L-R, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO Macro at f2/8, f/4, and f/5.6.
With the corners the situation changes with sharpness and CAs. The Sigma shows more detail and sharpness than the APO-Lanthar. The Sigma is best at f/4. The Sigma also bests the APO-Lanthar with CA control. This is interesting. On the internet the APO correction of the Voigtlander 125 APO-Lanthar is legendary. You can easily see the green and purple CAs in the APO-Lanthar 100% crops.
200% corner crops for the Scanner Nikkor ED, Voigtlander SL I 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar and Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO Macro.
These corner crops are at 200% crop to show the lateral CAs found with each lens. On the left I added the Nikkor Scanner ED lens for reference. Its the cleanest and sharpest lens that I have for 1X work. In the center you can see the APO-Lanthar green and bright purple lateral chromatic aberration. On the right is the Sigma 150 that shows just a tiny bit of corrected blue and red CAs. Red and blue CAs are common with APO lenses. The Scanner Nikkor is a high end lens that is completely CA free, a true superapochromat. To be fair the Sigma 150 is the most well corrected current Sigma macro lens and the Scanner Nikkor ED is one of the most well corrected lens ever. The APO-Lanthar is a great all around performing lens but it was released in 2001 so it is not going to be able to compete with the newest designs.
No, the ruler isn't floating in the air, it just looks that way.
This is the full frame uncropped wafer showing the two tile used for the 100% crops.
The Scanner Nikkor ED is my reference 1X lens so I thought it would be interesting to see it side to side with one of my most used lenses the Sigma 150 and the legendary APO-Lanthar 125mm. Click on the image to see the details in a larger size.
Scanner Nikkor, Voigtlander 125mm APO-Lanthar, Sigma 150 APO, 100% center and corner crops.
Lateral chromatic aberration 1X test
What are Chromatic aberrations (CAs)
Chromatic aberrations (CA) are one of several aberrations, or imperfections, that degrade image quality. These occur because glass bends different colors by different amounts. This phenomenon is called dispersion, and this is why you see some high performance lenses have labels such as, SD, UD, ED, SLD, ULD. These acronyms all refer to different types of low-dispersion glass types used in the lenses.
Lateral CAs appear in images as purple and green fringing, mostly seen on near-vertical hard edges on the left and right corners of the image. This results in softening of edges in the corners of an image. CAs occur because the different wavelengths of light are magnified by slightly different amounts by the lens.
CA correction
Minimizing chromatic aberration is one of the most important goals of a lens manufacturer. Lens design correct for CAs by combining different lens elements with different dispersion properties, or different refractive indexes. But CAs remain a big problem for lens manufacturers in ultra-wide lenses, long telephoto lenses, and extreme zooms. Most manufacturers offer some level of correction, some can completely correct CAs, with in-camera correction. Over the last few years some manufacturers have become really sneaky with the use of Opcodes.
Opcodes
According to Adobe, companies like Sony, Olympus, Leica, and Panasonic tag RAW files with Opcodes to remove chromatic aberrations. The sneaky part is that Opcode force corrections in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw before you even even open the image. Opcodes cannot be disabled but you can delete the codes with certain apps. Opcodes also corrects for distortion (and vignetting) which means the image will be enlarged slightly then cropped to correct for distortion so there could be some effect on sharpness.
Lateral chromatic aberration is reduced by the lens design to a certain degree by combining different lens elements with different refractive indexes. There are lenses that use very complex designs using expensive low-dispersion glass to completely eliminate CAs. Examples of these types of lenses would be the Printing Nikkor, Scanner Nikkor and Schneider Macro Varon.
Test Setup
D810 camera was mounted on a Newport PRC-3 rail carrier and Arca Swiss style quick release clamp and moved back and forth to accommodate the different focal length lenses set at 1X. The Newport PRL dovetail rail system was bolted to a Thorlabs aluminum breadboard. The laser printed test target was taped to a Newport 460P XYX micrometer controlled setup. A single Nikon SB-R200 flash was used for lighting and has bolted to a articulating flash arm.
Coming soon
Chromatic Aberration example
Sigma 150 Bokeh example
Sample images
The Sigma 150 compared to the Sigma 180
Links for more info:
The 150mm macro on the Sigma USA website: https://www.sigmaphoto.com/150mm-f2-8-ex-dg-os-hsm-apo-macro
Sigma 150mm test: http://www.objektivtest.se/tester/sigma-apo-macro-150-mm-f28-ex-dg-os-hsm-test/
Photozone.de 150 Sigma test on a Canon full frame: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/667-sigma150f28oseos
Photozone.de 150 Sigma test with a Canon crop sensor: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/668-sigma150f28oseosapsc
Lenstip Sigma 150mm test: http://www.lenstip.com/313.1-Lens_review-Sigma_150_mm_f_2.8_APO_EX_DG_OS_HSM_Macro-Introduction.html