I still own (though rarely use) my EF-mount Sigma APO 500mm F4.5 EX DG HSM and, for its day, it was a more-affordable alternative to Canon's own f/4 offering (and, I assume, whatever Nikon had to offer back then, as well). I can't speak to any personal comparison between the two, but for me it provided excellent results as this Flickr gallery (with 4.5K images) will attest to its performance (though, be careful to check for images with the actual Exif data posted as certain posters there have erroneously posted images with their f/4 version)...
Their HSM motors were spry and accurate and quiet (but not as nice as today's HLA AF motors from Sigma) and the lens adapted well both to Sony E-mount and less-reliably-so with my current L-mount. Again, I can't speak for performance with Nikon bodies.
Shutterbug reports a release date of April 25, 2005 and there are user reviews at Imaging-Resource dating back that far, if that's important to you...
As for the specs, up until this past year both Sigma USA and Sigma Global still posted full spec sheets for their discontinued lenses with MTF charts and Lens Diagrams, however I've noticed that the U.S. pages have disappeared and the Global pages have been greatly simplified with a lot of information omitted on their older lenses...unfortunately. However, being the digital packrat that I am I did screenshot this lens' former spec page...
Anyhoo, I hope this was helpful! Jimmy G
Mar 17, 2024 at 08:22 PM
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Jimmy G