"Get used to it Marge, from now on we're going to spell everything with letters" - Homer Simpson.

Let's talk a little more about the new lens.

It's full name is Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM

So what do all those letters mean?

APO == Apochromatic - which means uh... well... it means we'll let wikipedia explain

DG == Digital [Some Word that Starts with G] - which according to Sigma basically means the lens is "ideal for Digital SLRs" and have "large-aperture lenses with wide angles and short minimum focusing distances".

OS == Optical Stabilization (which apparently is a word I always misspell the first time I type it) and was discussed a little here

HSM == Hyper Sonic Motor. This means the motor is driven by ultrasonic waves and it makes auto focusing, precise, silent and high-speed.

All those letters add up for a really nice lens. And as you can tell by the photo, a very large lens.

I spent the day thinking of something that would work well to compare the lens to, and I thought of a soda can. Well, it turns out that the only soda can we have in the house is from the last can of Fruitopia we have left. We need to restock, but that's a whole different story.

These shots are of the lens at its shortest length without the hood attached. But I included the hood to give an idea of the width of the lens at the front.

Impressive. Intimidating.

It looks like the plan is definitely to get to the zoo this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some nice photos to share from that.

- Bill