Probably the lens that has excited me the most from Photokina this year was the new Sigma 150-600mm Sport. I love the combination of professional weather sealing and high quality optics, in a range normally suited for amateurs or semi-professionals.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, so I prefer that most of my lenses be weather sealed from the usually damp conditions of the area. Even if this may not be a lens that I would take out for a night sport event, this would be a massively impressive lens for daytime sports and wildlife photography.

Matt Granger was lucky enough to get to play with it on the floor at Photokina, and you can get his initial thoughts and some sample images below:

Overall, I thought the sample images looked pretty good. They all seemed well lit and pretty sharp, which is saying something with the horrid lighting on a trade show floor. I am excited to get my hands on one for review, so stay tuned for that.

This lens is available for pre-order now from B&H ($1,999), and should be available late September. 

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What are your thoughts on the Sports 150-600mm? Do you think that the IQ performance and professional build/Weather Sealing is enough to warrant the somewhat hefty price? Leave a comment below!

[via Matt Granger on Youtube]