D300 WITH SIGGY 150-500

merv

merv

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Mervyn
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Have been doing a lot of searching for reviews of this lens. Has anyone experience of it on :bang::bonk:a Nikon D300
 
I don't suppose the D300 makes it any better...
 
The 170-500 I had was a very sharp lens throughout the whole range but as Desantnik says the D300 wont make a bad one good and there are good and bad ones out there, try one first
 
The trouble with trying one first is that I am lumbered with it if it is no good. Thre are a lot of conflicting reports out there and I suppose I should ask myself why? You cant make a silk purse out of a sow's ear ( the latter is the lens I suppose!) I hear what you say:bang::bonk:
 
I think the problem is that sigma quality control is renowned for being a little lackluster. If you are fortunate in getting a good copy then you'll no doubt be pleased. If you're one of the unlucky one's it'll land you in a bit of hassle getting it sorted one way or the other.
The only real certainty is that a zoom of this range is never going to match what is capable with a good prime of the same focal length. I opted for the Nikon 300mm f/4 when I was looking for a longer focal length a year or so ago. Coupled with the 1.7x teleconverter and you get 510mm f/6.3 lens that retains reasonable AF and also still has good image quality. It is a compromise though. This option may not be so justifiable anymore given the Nikon has risen in price considerably from the time i was comparing it to the sigma 50-500mm.Nothing will do the job like a 500mm f/4 prime. Sadly the price of these places it well out of the range of most amateurs.
Having written all this I seemed to have come full circle and offered no advice. Hopefully you'll get something from it though. :shrug:
 
miurasv said:
I thought the 150 - 500mm Sigma already had OS?
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sorry mate, read it wrong ,I thought it was the 170-500.....
the 150-500 OS is fantastic lens for the money ,I use this for all my bird & animal shots ,very pleased with mine ,I tried the nikon 80- 400 at the same time and did'nt see any difference in image quality, the only difference between the two was the nikon sounded like a tank ...to much noise if you are in a hide. take your camera with you to a jessops or jacobs camera shops and try them out...mark
 
Thanks guys. Triggerhappy, I already have the f4 with 1.4TC but havent used it yet. Is it overkill to go looking the sigma 150-500 as well - would I be better getting the 1.7TC at a few hundred £ instead?:bang:
 
Just read the test on super-long zooms in this months 'PHOTOPLUS' magazine (Canon Edition) OF 8 lenses tested including 2 Canon ones, the Siggy 150-500 came out tops with 95% rating! Next was another Sigma (120-400) followed by a Canon. What about that!:bonk:
 
Crap magazine reviewing again?
 
I see some are satisfied with this lens but others seem to be totally disenchanted. Maybe this highlights the alleged variable quality control:bang::bonk:
 
So Mark you would unreservedly recommend this lens?:bang:
 
After hours of conflicting comments about the lens, I have decided to use my 3oof4 with a 1.7 or 2x TC and keep all my glass NIKON and be none the worse off. There is some confusion as to whether the 2x will allow autofocus:wave:
 
merv said:
After hours of conflicting comments about the lens, I have decided to use my 3oof4 with a 1.7 or 2x TC and keep all my glass NIKON and be none the worse off. There is some confusion as to whether the 2x will allow autofocus:wave:
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That is the conclusion I came to and decided against the Sigma and am looking for a 300F4 Nikon. Will use the 135 - 400 Sigma I have in the mean time. I also read that the 300F4 won't auto focus with the 2X TC but would with the 1.7X TC.
 
miurasv said:
I also read that the 300F4 won't auto focus with the 2X TC but would with the 1.7X TC.
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In theory a D300 will focus up to f8, so loosing two stops from a f4 lens will leave you at f8, so it should work.

Dunno what you are shooting, but loosing 1.5 stops with a 1.7x TC on my 300 f4 is really quite noticable for motorsport, not to mention the loss of visible light in the photos. Even slightly over cast or shadow is going to cause you real focus problems too!

And thats before anyone starts telling you the IQ with the 2x is terrible regardless of the lens (even a nice 300/400 2.8 prime is going to suffer horribly)

The 1.7x is an acceptable trade off, I use it a fair bit but I honestly would tell you to step away from the 2x.

If you need good shots from 500mm+ then save your pennies and start looking at the 500 f4.
 
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