Looking for 600m lens for wildlife videography

[Rofocale]

Hi, all. As the title says, I'm looking for a 600mm lens for some wildlife videography here in Japan. something that doesn't break the bank as I'm just dipping my toes in this field and will probably just use it to shoot videos for a YouTube channel, photos for social media, etc.

I spend so much of my free time watching wildlife around Japan and I run an arts promotion company with a video production arm so I thought it made sense to combine the two. I'll probably end up deeply regretting taking my work home with me, so to speak, but that's a problem for tomorrow.

I'm thinking of using it with a spare Canon C70 (s35 sensor) and an EF to RF speed booster for that extra stop of light as the EF 600/4 is well out of the budget for this personal project. I might also use it with an R5 for stills.

I was looking at the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens for Canon EF, but I can't seem to find any in stock or second hand.

Any other recommendations or experience with the Sigma? Should I be looking for something different? Thanks in advance!

 

[AJ]

I have a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary and I love it. It has great image quality, focuses quickly and silently, and has rock-solid image stabilization. I shoot 600 mm hand-held with a high keeper rate (in good light).
If you want a step up then there is the Sigma 60-600 which comes in EF mount. Despite its wider zoom range it is reported to be a tad sharper at 600 mm.
I shoot stills and I've never used a speedbooster so YMMV.

Sigma 150-600 C:

 

[kaihp]

Have you considered an EF300/2.8 with a 2x TC?

This is a very capable combination st least for stills. The 300/2.8 should be significantly less expensive than the 600/4.

 

[cooldood]

I second this Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. I use mine a lot and love it

 

[Rofocale]

I have a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary and I love it. It has great image quality, focuses quickly and silently, and has rock-solid image stabilization. I shoot 600 mm hand-held with a high keeper rate (in good light).
If you want a step up then there is the Sigma 60-600 which comes in EF mount. Despite its wider zoom range it is reported to be a tad sharper at 600 mm.
I shoot stills and I've never used a speedbooster so YMMV.

Sigma 150-600 C:

View attachment 212525

Thanks! Great shot, by the way. I've got the Sports model in mind, but can't find any. The 60-600m is readily available, however. It's also a little cheaper. Will see if I can track down a model to try out with my video cam. Cheers!

 

[Rofocale]

Have you considered an EF300/2.8 with a 2x TC?

This is a very capable combination st least for stills. The 300/2.8 should be significantly less expensive than the 600/4.

No, I haven't. Also, I'd get to keep the depth of field and not miss the loss of light so much if I stack it with the speed booster... This has really got me thinking. Never had use for a TC before, wonder what sort of complications I'd be introducing. Cheers!

 

[koenkooi]

No, I haven't. Also, I'd get to keep the depth of field and not miss the loss of light so much if I stack it with the speed booster... This has really got me thinking. Never had use for a TC before, wonder what sort of complications I'd be introducing. Cheers!

Since your shutter speeds will be a lot lower with video, clog3 having a native ISO at 800/3200 on most sensors and almost all 4k video in Canon bodies is oversampled nowadays, do you really require f/4 or f/5.3? Could the RF600 f/11 work for your usecase? Or something like the RF100-400?

 

[Rofocale]

I'll be using the C70 for this particular project as we have a rarely used "C CAM" on standby that I can bring along on off days. It's not oversampled 4K, but the base ISO is 800. The image really is fantastic, as is the dynamic range, but it does still need to be exposed correctly to get the most out of the sensor, so I'd say f/11 is gonna leave me unable to shoot in anything but the brightest days. I have to say that I'm quite taken with the idea of using the 300f/2.8 with a TC so I get to keep the DOF. The Sigma version is also really not that expensive, comparatively.