Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

[j.baker]

Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

I had noticed that both the four-thirds.org site and the sigma-imaging-uk.com had removed the Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd lens.

I asked Sigma UK the following

I have noticed that Simga have removed the 50-500mm four thirds mount lens from you website, and also from the four-thirds.org lens list. Does this mean that Simga have end of sale the original 50-500mm?

I noticed that you have replaced the 50-500mm with a new improved model including image stabilisation. Will this new model be released with a four thirds mount option, and if so when?



They replied with

Dear Mr Baker

The 50-500mm lens has now been discontinued. At present the new OS version will not be released in the 4/3rds fitting. We are unsure if it will be in the future as Japan have given us no codes.

Kind Regards


Gary

[Ian]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

The new 50-500 is a complete redesign and of course it's easier to produce versions for APS sensor cameras. One can only hope that they will produce a Four Thirds one in the future.

If the old version has sold out, that's a positive sign. Telephotos is perhaps where Four Thirds really shines, so I'm optimistic that we'll see a Four Thirds one in the future - after all it does fill a popular niche and it's a spec. that Olympus doesn't offer an alternative for at the moment.

Ian

[Melaka]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

That's not good news, especially as the Sigma 135-400 wasn't replaced either. It's not clear why they're introducing the 70-200 which has relatively little to offer over the Oly 50-200 whereas the long telephotos were unique. It leaves me wondering how committed Sigma are to the FT system. I think it was Sigma that used to claim all its lenses operated the same way as the camera manufacturers' but the main irritation with the long FT Sigmas is that the zoom is the reverse of Oly. It's going to be a long gap in price and performance between the Oly 70-300 and the 90-250 with or without a teleconverter.

[The Saint]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

Lucky I picked up a Bigma last year, but I now definitely think there is a need for Olympus to fill the gap with a pro class long telephoto beyond the current 200mm offering.

Simon

[forester]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

I did hear (Sigma employee) that Sigma were phasing out fourthirds from their line-up and at the moment no micro fourthirds in the pipeline.

[David.M]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

I did hear (Sigma employee) that Sigma were phasing out fourthirds from their line-up and at the moment no micro fourthirds in the pipeline.

I was told at Focus by the Sigma stand that they will soon be expanding the 4/3rds range but gave no hints to what they will be releasing. The only way to really know what they are planning is to wait for the official line...if there ever is one!

[forester]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

I was told at Focus by the Sigma stand that they will soon be expanding the 4/3rds range but gave no hints to what they will be releasing. The only way to really know what they are planning is to wait for the official line...if there ever is one!

Time will tell don't wait too long.

[David.M]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

I did hear (Sigma employee) that Sigma were phasing out fourthirds from their line-up and at the moment no micro fourthirds in the pipeline.

I've just got back in from the Calumet trade show at their Manchester store and managed to have a lengthy chat with the Sigma rep regarding the future of Sigma 4/3rd's lenses.

He said that at the moment Sigma has no plans to introduce more lenses into it's 4/3rd's range as there is currently insufficient demand for their 4/3rd's lenses.

However, he did say that this could change in the future depending on how the popularity of the 4/3rd's system goes. When I did mention that there was a rumour circulating that the current 4/3rd's range is going to be phased out, he did stress that the current 4/3rd's range is NOT being withdrawn but at the moment they are only producing 4/3rd's lenses every 3 months due to the lack of demand. Compare that with the fact they produce Canon fit lenses every week!

He was also optimistic that Sigma will be producing micro 4/3rd's due to it's growing popularity amongst the market Panasonic have found with their cameras but again nothing concrete.

Hope this answers some questions.

[Melaka]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

Wasn't the Bigma current until it was withdrawn? I don't find this a very encouraging statement especially as Oly seem to have no plans for mid price long telephotos.

[forester]

[David.M]

Re: Sigma 50-500mm 4/3rd mount discontinued

My thoughts too. He did say that Sigma didn't regard 4/3rd's as a great success so we can only hope that Olympus/Panasonic start to produce winning bodies to boost the popularity of the system to that of micro 4/3rds.