The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA and the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS 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. Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA is the longer of the two lenses at 115mm. The Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM with a length of 102mm, is 13mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA also has a larger diameter of 89mm compared to the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM's 74mm 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. Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM weighs 420g, 60% (630g) lighter than the Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA's weight of 1050g.
Filter Threads
The Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA has a filter size of 77mm whereas the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM has a 55mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 77mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA:
And these are the 55mm filters that we recommend for the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM:
Lens Mounts
Both the Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA and the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A99 II, Sony A68 and Sony A77 II.
Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM is also available in Canon EF , Pentax KAF3, Sigma SA and Nikon F (DX) mounts.
Focal Range
Sony 135mm F1.8 ZA is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 135mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
202.5mm.
On the other hand, the Sigma 50-200mm F4-5.6 DC OS HSM has a focal range of 50-200mm and 4.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 75-300mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
