The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro and the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM is the longer of the two lenses at 215mm. The Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro with a length of 160mm, is 55mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM also has a larger diameter of 119mm compared to the Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro's 79mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro weighs 760g, which means it is 1640g (68%) lighter than the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM which has a weight of 2400g.
Filter Threads
The Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro has a filter size of 72mm whereas the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM has a 46mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 72mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro:
And these are the 46mm filters that we recommend for the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM:
Lens Mounts
The Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount whereas the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM has the Nikon F (FX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount and Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500 for the Nikon F (FX) Mount.
Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM is also available in Canon EF , Pentax KAF, Sony Alpha and Sigma SA mounts.
Focal Range
Olympus ED 40-150mm F2.8 Pro has a focal range of 40-150mm and
3.8X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
80-300mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
On the other hand, the Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 300mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 450mm.
