Nikon 80-400mm trade in for Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary

ShinySideUp

ShinySideUp

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As per the title, should I do this? I am mostly happy with my 80-400mm but I hardly ever use it on 80mm and it is usually at full stretch or near enough so I'm thinking of moving to the Sigma. Putting a toe in the water shows me that WEX, for example, have the 150-600 at £849 and their quick quote says that they would give me t least £611 meaning that for about £238 I can get a new lens. The small amount of money involved seems a little too good to be true, so is there something about my Nikon 80-400 that makes it so valuable or is there something awful about the Sigma that makes it so cheap?

Should I do the trade-in? Any thoughts?
 
I suppose it depends on which copy of the 80-400 you have, I suspect a G. What, when and where you like to shoot with your 80-400. A 1.4tc might be the answer depending on your answers.
 
I have not tried the Nikon version but the L Mount was heavy. I can manage a 100-400 but the 150-600 was a non starter for me. Have you thought about renting one from Sigma for a weekend? You’ll know far more and it cost me just £25.
 
seadog99 said:
I suppose it depends on which copy of the 80-400 you have, I suspect a G. What, when and where you like to shoot with your 80-400. A 1.4tc might be the answer depending on your answers.
Click to expand...

I don't believe a teleconverter should be used with this lens. I had thought about it but I have seen a table that does not recommend it:

Compatibility table


Tulipone said:
I have not tried the Nikon version but the L Mount was heavy. I can manage a 100-400 but the 150-600 was a non starter for me. Have you thought about renting one from Sigma for a weekend? You’ll know far more and it cost me just £25.
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Sigma doesn't have a try before you buy for this lens, only for the 60-600mm which I'm assuming is for mirrorless cameras, I have a D850.
 
ShinySideUp said:
Sigma doesn't have a try before you buy for this lens, only for the 60-600mm which I'm assuming is for mirrorless cameras, I have a D850.
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oh, that is a shame. Sigma Select was really helpful for me. That said, WEX loo allowed me to try it (L Mount) in their Norwich store.
 
if the sigma is new ( i'm out of touch with current prices) then you will more than likely have a sigma 3 year warranty which they are very good at honouring .. the sigma 150-600 also takes there own 1.4 t.c which gives extra reach if needed and is also easily tuned to your camera via one of there docking stations ..
I had a sport when they came out ,followed by the lighter C version and both gave more than acceptable results
 
I am mainly a Canon user and have small selection of Sony gear.
I do have the sigma 150-600mm C, and a docking station.
The sigma is a good lens and it will perform better with some tweaking in the docking station. Well it did for me with my Canon 7Dii, R7 and Sony A6600.

If you can afford Nikon glass stay with that as native glass works flawlessly.
 
I have no experience of the 80-400 but have been using the 150-600C for a little over three years now and am more than happy with the results. Of course, if you are shooting wildlife then you will soon find that even at 600mm it's too short :oops: :$ To overcome that feeling I purchased the Sigma 1.4TC but that doesn't help as f/6.3 instantly becomes f/9 and my D780 is only rated to focus down to f/8. On a good day it will give me one sharp image out of a burst of six or seven shots but on a bad day (like I had recently) I can shoot 200+ images and they are all out of focus but that's my fault not the lens' :eek:

From my own experience, and that of speaking to other photographers that use the C version, I recommend buying the dock as you will almost certainly need to calibrate the lens to your camera and this gives you 16 calibration points - much better than the 1 or 2 available with most cameras. Doing this with my lens made a significant difference to the sharpness and focus reliability.
 
Native glass will usually always be the way to go but that said, I do enjoy the extra reach of my 150-600 C over my 100-400L (Mk1). The image quality isn't shabby either, I have gotten razor sharp images from the Sigma. Sigma after sales are very good too. I had some screws replaced on my lens and they also provided spares, out of warranty and free of charge.

I do sometimes wish the Sigma had a wider apertuire, especially at 600 but it is what it is and you get what you pay for in that respect.

It's still a lovely lens.
 
Bristolian said:
I have no experience of the 80-400 but have been using the 150-600C for a little over three years now and am more than happy with the results. Of course, if you are shooting wildlife then you will soon find that even at 600mm it's too short :oops: :$ To overcome that feeling I purchased the Sigma 1.4TC but that doesn't help as f/6.3 instantly becomes f/9 and my D780 is only rated to focus down to f/8. On a good day it will give me one sharp image out of a burst of six or seven shots but on a bad day (like I had recently) I can shoot 200+ images and they are all out of focus but that's my fault not the lens' :eek:

From my own experience, and that of speaking to other photographers that use the C version, I recommend buying the dock as you will almost certainly need to calibrate the lens to your camera and this gives you 16 calibration points - much better than the 1 or 2 available with most cameras. Doing this with my lens made a significant difference to the sharpness and focus reliability.
Click to expand...

I didn't know what the Sigma dock was until this thread. Seems to me that with a little effort, Sigma could have written software that utilised the camera as the docking station since they all have USB capability now, rather than charge an extra forty quid or so for something that will probably only get used once.


Dale. said:
Native glass will usually always be the way to go but that said, I do enjoy the extra reach of my 150-600 C over my 100-400L (Mk1). The image quality isn't shabby either, I have gotten razor sharp images from the Sigma. Sigma after sales are very good too. I had some screws replaced on my lens and they also provided spares, out of warranty and free of charge.

I do sometimes wish the Sigma had a wider apertuire, especially at 600 but it is what it is and you get what you pay for in that respect.

It's still a lovely lens.
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I think, having read these responses, that I might just stick with the 80-400mm and use cropping to get the extra reach. I think that if I was looking for my first super-telephoto zoom I would probably buy the Sigma but I don't think I'm willing to trade in the devil I know for one that I don't, plus the maximum aperture might be a step too far, I get touchy when a max aperture goes beyond f6.
 
@ ShinySideUp: "I didn't know what the Sigma dock was until this thread. Seems to me that with a little effort, Sigma could have written software that utilised the camera as the docking station since they all have USB capability now, rather than charge an extra forty quid or so for something that will probably only get used once."

My guess would be that your idea would need Sigma to have access to Nikon's software and permission to take control of the camera, which I would say would be highly unlikely. The dock has other functions too so, whilst it doesn't get used often, it is more than a single use device. When I bought my lens I was using a D750 and used it to calibrate that combination and when I switched to the D780 I used it again and have used it once since then to check that the calibration was still correct.

When I bought my lens it came with the dock as a kit and the difference between that and the lens on its own was £15, but that was back in 2020 so maybe the prices have changed since then.
 
Tulipone said:
Is the Sigma dock platform specific? I need to research if this is something for me!
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By platform do you mean operating system (e.g. Windows vs Apple)? If so, then I can say no it isn't. My dock has been used with both Windows and Mac computers - the software that you download from the Sigma web site is OS specific though.

If, on the other hand, you mean lens mount then yes as the dock fits onto the lens in place of the camera.

Hope that helps.
 
Tulipone said:
That was what I was interested in - I note that only some lenses appear to be supported also within mount also. Thank you.
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Yes, as far as I remember the dock only fits to the newer Sigma lenses in the Art, Contemporary and Sport ranges, and even then maybe not all of them. There is a table on the Sigma web site somewhere.
 
Bristolian said:
I have no experience of the 80-400 but have been using the 150-600C for a little over three years now and am more than happy with the results. Of course, if you are shooting wildlife then you will soon find that even at 600mm it's too short :oops: :$ To overcome that feeling I purchased the Sigma 1.4TC but that doesn't help as f/6.3 instantly becomes f/9 and my D780 is only rated to focus down to f/8. On a good day it will give me one sharp image out of a burst of six or seven shots but on a bad day (like I had recently) I can shoot 200+ images and they are all out of focus but that's my fault not the lens' :eek:

From my own experience, and that of speaking to other photographers that use the C version, I recommend buying the dock as you will almost certainly need to calibrate the lens to your camera and this gives you 16 calibration points - much better than the 1 or 2 available with most cameras. Doing this with my lens made a significant difference to the sharpness and focus reliability.
Click to expand...
Could you enlighten me regarding about how to calibrate the lens to a camera body. I have the Sigma and dock. I have just got the Canon R7 and would like it to be as sharp as possible.
 
ShinySideUp said:
Sigma doesn't have a try before you buy for this lens, only for the 60-600mm which I'm assuming is for mirrorless cameras, I have a D850.
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They make the 60-600 for F mount; and it is very good on a D850. It has been my primary lens for quite a few years now.

Going from worst to best (at 400mm+)...
80-400D, 150-600C, 80-400G, 150-600S, 60-600S

I would not put a TC on any of them (I have tried)...
 
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I have 80-400G and 200-500E Nikkors. I did own a 150-500 Sigma EX in K-mount. OH bought a 150-600C in EF mount as she was envious of the 200-500 and felt her 100-400 EF2 was too short for Costa Rica....

We both tried the 150-600C in the camera shop and were happy with it... But in Costa Rica we couldn't get used to the handling characteristics of it....It went back on our return.

I always thought the old EX 150-500 was a bit unwieldy - the perfect social distancing/scalping lens - and it was replaced by the 200-500 (and eventually the Pentax DFA 150-450).
 
dougan said:
Could you enlighten me regarding about how to calibrate the lens to a camera body. I have the Sigma and dock. I have just got the Canon R7 and would like it to be as sharp as possible.
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If you go on YouTube there are loads of tutorials, doesn't matter what the camera is, the software does it all so the tutorials apply to all cameras.
 
I have watched some of those videos prior to a possible purchase and am getting slightly put off buying the lens in the first place. The process for calibration is long-winded and tedious and I very much doubt that it is generally necessary to adjust focussing for different focal lengths, indeed, I wonder about the quality when someone has thought that the focus would need adjusting after purchase. I have bought many lenses over the years and not one of them has had focussing issues and yet now, all of a sudden, self-calibration has become 'necessary'. Tamron have an almost identical lens and they haven't seen fit to ask the user to buy an extra piece of kit to calibrate their lens. Is this really necessary or is it just a way to make the buyer thinking he's getting more for his money when in fact they are almost admitting that without this extra device, their product is not up to the best standard? Just thinking out loud really.
 
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ShinySideUp said:
I have watched some of those videos prior to a possible purchase and am getting slightly put off buying the lens in the first place. The process for calibration is long-winded and tedious and I very much doubt that it is generally necessary to adjust focussing for different focal lengths, indeed, I wonder about the quality when someone has thought that the focus would need adjusting after purchase. I have bought many lenses over the years and not one of them has had focussing issues and yet now, all of a sudden, self-calibration has become 'necessary'. Tamron have an almost identical lens and they haven't seen fit to ask the user to buy an extra piece of kit to calibrate their lens. Is this really necessary or is it just a way to make the buyer thinking he's getting more for his money when in fact they are almost admitting that without this extra device, their product is not up to the best standard? Just thinking out loud really.
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Tamron also have a USB dock for some of their lenses, including the 150-600 (TAP-in console).
I have not calibrated my 60-600 at all; although I have used the dock to customize the OS and AF behaviors somewhat. I generally believe that you are more likely to make AF accuracy worse if you are not very precise in how you go about adjusting it.
 
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sk66 said:
Tamron also have a USB dock for some of their lenses, including the 150-600 (TAP-in console).
I have not calibrated my 60-600 at all; although I have used the dock to customize the OS and AF behaviors somewhat. I generally believe that you are more likely to make AF accuracy worse if you are not very precise in how you go about adjusting it.
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I have also been looking at the 60-600mm. What do you use yours for and is the weight an issue for you, after all it is a very heavy lens?
 
I ha
ShinySideUp said:
I have also been looking at the 60-600mm. What do you use yours for and is the weight an issue for you, after all it is a very heavy lens?
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I use it for everything LOL! But mostly wildlife/birds. It is a relatively heavy lens but I almost exclusively handhold it using a shoulder mount (rifle stock)... when I'm going to be doing a lot of standing around waiting I'll mount the shoulder mount onto a monopod.
FWIW, I'm 57 and in pretty decent shape, but I'm not a big guy by any means (5'8" 145#)... I also have muscular atrophy in my left arm, shoulder, and pectoral due to nerve damage (C5/6/7 fused).

Lots of examples on the first page of my flickr feed (with exif)... if taken in the last five years and it's not an owl, harrier, or elk (really low light), it was probably taken with the 60-600 on the D850 (or Z9 lately).
 
sk66 said:
I ha

I use it for everything LOL! But mostly wildlife/birds. It is a relatively heavy lens but I almost exclusively handhold it using a shoulder mount (rifle stock)... when I'm going to be doing a lot of standing around waiting I'll mount the shoulder mount onto a monopod.
FWIW, I'm 57 and in pretty decent shape, but I'm not a big guy by any means (5'8" 145#)... I also have muscular atrophy in my left arm, shoulder, and pectoral due to nerve damage (C5/6/7 fused).

Lots of examples on the first page of my flickr feed (with exif)... if taken in the last five years and it's not an owl, harrier, or elk (really low light), it was probably taken with the 60-600 on the D850 (or Z9 lately).
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Impressive stuff. Well, I've got my quotes for trade-in from WEX, I've watched, what seems like, a thousand videos on the merits of various long-zoom long-reach lenses but your images are the clincher. If I can get pictures half as good using the 60-600mm with my own new D850 (just can't do mirrorless, it's a noise thing, like Formula E vs F1) I'll be more than pleased.
 
are you going for the 60-600 or 150-600 ?????
as I have preordered a Nikon z tele and will be selling my 150-600, might save you a few quid.
 
Nikon f1.8 said:
are you going for the 60-600 or 150-600 ?????
as I have preordered a Nikon z tele and will be selling my 150-600, might save you a few quid.
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The 60-600mm, as it functions well as a macro lens and so I'm disposing of my Micro Nikkor 105mm too. I'm trying to consolidate all my DSLR stuff before it becomes increasingly side-lined by retailers and manufacturers. I'll never say never but the likelihood of me going mirrorless is quite small, so in the last few months I have upgraded from the Nikon D810 to the D850, I have bought a Sigma 14-24mm wide-angle zoom, sold my Nikon 24-70mm and filled the gap with my trusty 50mm f1.4 Nikon prime and a pair of legs, I'm selling my Nikon 80-400mm and now, to complete the zero-to-hero focal range, I'm going to buy the Sigma 60-600mm so I'm good for 14mm to 600mm with a 46Mp camera. Life is good, but with a little less money.
 
dougan said:
Could you enlighten me regarding about how to calibrate the lens to a camera body. I have the Sigma and dock. I have just got the Canon R7 and would like it to be as sharp as possible.
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There are a number of methods described in various YouTube videos. Personally, I only have experience with calibrating Nikon cameras and Canon is almost certainly be different, sorry :(
 
seadog99 said:
I suppose it depends on which copy of the 80-400 you have, I suspect a G. What, when and where you like to shoot with your 80-400. A 1.4tc might be the answer depending on your answers.
Click to expand...

I tested the 80-400 with and without the 1.4 teleconverter and the image quality using the teleconverter wasn't satisfactory. Cropping gave clearly better results.

It's here:
https://flic.kr/p/qoENVT
View: https://flic.kr/p/qoENVT
 
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seadog99 said:
The 80-400G ?
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The 80-400D cannot accept TC's without modification.
Citizen of Bath said:
I tested the 80-400 with and without the 1.4 teleconverter and the image quality using the teleconverter wasn't satisfactory. Cropping gave clearly better results.
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FWIW, the V-III TC's are notably better than the V-II; but it wouldn't really make much difference here.

The problem is that the 80-400 isn't that sharp to start with; and the only thing even a perfect TC does is enlarge what the lens is already projecting.
I.e. even if the 14 E III were perfect (it's not) the result would only be as good as cropping with a high resolution sensor (but if the sensor resolution was only around 10-12MP, then using the TC instead might help some).
 
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