Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary

[dpc]

I bought a Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary yesterday. This is my first and, so far, only shot with it. Taken with a 5D Mark II at f/8, ISO200, 1/125 second, 600mm. Handheld.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Beautiful image.
This is a lens I have been contemplating to add to my arsenal, while on the budget.

 

[dpc]

Beautiful image.
This is a lens I have been contemplating to add to my arsenal, while on the budget.

Thanks! I hope to get out one of these days and try it out on BIF and wildlife in general, which are the reasons I purchased it. I originally thought of the Canon 100-400 II with the 1.4 III adapter but I like the price on the Sigma much better.

 

[pato]

I'm also very torn between those two lenses and maybe also the Tamron 150-600 one.
Regarding the TC, I read that the canon at 400mm, cropped to 600mm, offers the same image quality as the Sigma at 600mm. But then, the Sigma is half the price of the Canon and I'm not sure if the other few positive aspects of the Canon are worth the price.
Would love to read more about your experience with the Sigma!

 

[AlanF]

I'm also very torn between those two lenses and maybe also the Tamron 150-600 one.
Regarding the TC, I read that the canon at 400mm, cropped to 600mm, offers the same image quality as the Sigma at 600mm. But then, the Sigma is half the price of the Canon and I'm not sure if the other few positive aspects of the Canon are worth the price.
Would love to read more about your experience with the Sigma!

I now have a Sigma 150-600mm C and the Canon 100-400mm II, used mainly on the 5DS R. For my copy of the Sigma, the centre at 400mm is actually sharper than that of the Canon. My Sigma is excellent at 600mm and much better than the 100-400mm II +1.4xTC III. This differs from the charts on TDP - probably due to copy variation. Over the weekend, I took the 100-400mm with me on a trip to Capri because it is smaller and lighter, and I much prefer its AF, IS and handling. The Sigma even works at 840mm with its 1.4xTC. Here is a chiffchaff I took this afternoon, hand-held, f/9, 1/200s iso 640. The 100-400 II would have given a great image, with better AF. But, it shows that the Sigma works.

 

[Click]

I bought a Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary yesterday. This is my first and, so far, only shot with it. Taken with a 5D Mark II at f/8, ISO200, 1/125 second, 600mm. Handheld.

Lovely. Nicely done, dpc.

 

[dpc]

I bought a Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary yesterday. This is my first and, so far, only shot with it. Taken with a 5D Mark II at f/8, ISO200, 1/125 second, 600mm. Handheld.

Lovely. Nicely done, dpc.

Thanks, Click! I haven't taken enough shots with this beast to pass much in the way of judgement. I'd say the sharpness at 600mm is acceptable, at least to my eyes. The autofocus seems O.K. to date but I need to take more pictures to decide on this for sure. The OS? Again, I need to spend more time with the lens. The pictures I've taken to date have been in significant winds and I've managed to get some decent files. I haven't had an opportunity yet to look for birds or other wildlife which is what I bought the thing for. The lens is heavy, as I knew it was. It can be a little taxing to shoot with for an extended period handheld but decent handheld shots are definitely possible even at 600mm. The one quibble I have is with the tripod mount. I wish it were longer so I could carry the lens comfortably with it, like I could with my old Sigma 150-500mm. Anyway...

 

[dpc]

I'm also very torn between those two lenses and maybe also the Tamron 150-600 one.
Regarding the TC, I read that the canon at 400mm, cropped to 600mm, offers the same image quality as the Sigma at 600mm. But then, the Sigma is half the price of the Canon and I'm not sure if the other few positive aspects of the Canon are worth the price.
Would love to read more about your experience with the Sigma!

I now have a Sigma 150-600mm C and the Canon 100-400mm II, used mainly on the 5DS R. For my copy of the Sigma, the centre at 400mm is actually sharper than that of the Canon. My Sigma is excellent at 600mm and much better than the 100-400mm II +1.4xTC III. This differs from the charts on TDP - probably due to copy variation. Over the weekend, I took the 100-400mm with me on a trip to Capri because it is smaller and lighter, and I much prefer its AF, IS and handling. The Sigma even works at 840mm with its 1.4xTC. Here is a chiffchaff I took this afternoon, hand-held, f/9, 1/200s iso 640. The 100-400 II would have given a great image, with better AF. But, it shows that the Sigma works.

Looks good. There's hope for me yet.

 

[AlanF]

By the way, I bought the Sigma dock to set the OS to "Dynamic". In the standard OS mode, the image jumps all over the viewfinder at 600mm, but dynamic cures it.

 

[dpc]

By the way, I bought the Sigma dock to set the OS to "Dynamic". In the standard OS mode, the image jumps all over the viewfinder at 600mm, but dynamic cures it.

Thanks for the tip! I've noticed the 'jumpiness' and it is annoying.

 

[dpc]

I finally found a bird to focus on, a boring bird but a bird nonetheless (600mm; ISO1600; EV1.67; F/6.3; 1/1000s). Not too bad. I'm probably going to have to use a tripod or other stabilizing supports when using this thing.

 

[AlanF]

I finally found a bird to focus on, a boring bird but a bird nonetheless (600mm; ISO1600; EV1.67; F/6.3; 1/1000s). Not too bad. I'm probably going to have to use a tripod or other stabilizing supports when using this thing.

You don't need a tripod! The OS, despite appearing to jump around, is very good. Just hold it steady. The shake from you comes in at slower speeds than the birds moving around.

 

[dpc]

The sharpness of the bird is less than I normally accept. I'm just going to have to practice, practice and practice some more.

 

[dpc]

At 600mm with a tripod.

ISO100; EV0.33; f/6.3; 1/60second

 

[dpc]

If I reverse the lens hood, I can fit a DSLR with the 150-600 attached into my ThinkTank Digital Holster 30 V2.0. I'm taking it out on a bit of a hike around town to see how I fair with handholding and how painful it is to haul around. I'll drive out into the country with it this afternoon.

 

[FramerMCB]

I finally found a bird to focus on, a boring bird but a bird nonetheless (600mm; ISO1600; EV1.67; F/6.3; 1/1000s). Not too bad. I'm probably going to have to use a tripod or other stabilizing supports when using this thing.

Not bad! Not bad at all. Perhaps a monopod...that way you still can move rather quickly but gives you support for the weight as well as having one axis stabilized.

 

[dpc]

I finally found a bird to focus on, a boring bird but a bird nonetheless (600mm; ISO1600; EV1.67; F/6.3; 1/1000s). Not too bad. I'm probably going to have to use a tripod or other stabilizing supports when using this thing.

Not bad! Not bad at all. Perhaps a monopod...that way you still can move rather quickly but gives you support for the weight as well as having one axis stabilized.

Excellent suggestion. Thanks.

 

[dpc]

I think I'm going to like this lens. These shots from this afternoon are decent, I think. Handheld with no supports, focal length = 600mm, f/7.1, 1/1,000 second

 

[dpc]

960mm (7D). I quite like this lens. It's sharp enough for me at the long end. The lens focuses well for the most part with subjects that don't move around too much. I've now had an opportunity to try it out with birds in flight. To date I've not had any luck. It's not just that the subjects are hard to find in the lens (I've used long telephotos before so this isn't much of an issue for me) but that the lens doesn't lock on very speedily or, pretty consistently to date, not at all with rapidly moving subjects. I'll have to explore the literature on this lens when used to shoot BIF and other moving subjects. Maybe I need to get the dock and see if there is some adjustment I can do with that. I guess there's new firmware for the lens.

 

[dpc]

I broke my ankle so my photography is going to be pretty much restricted to flowers and birds in my garden for the next while.

Not sure what this is. Looks like some kind of daisy. Picture One: 7D, 960mm, f/8, -1ev, ISO400, 1/160sec; Picture Two: 7D, 960mm, f/8 -1ev, ISO400, 1/250sec