Sigma 120-400 & Alternatives

[leezer3]

I've got tickets to the British GP, and as such, will be looking for an appropriate long lens to use.
Longest current lens is a frankly atrocious 70-300, which I've had for years.

Went looking in LCE in town today, and all they really had in the longer used stuff they were some Canon 100-400L's, plus a Sigma 120-400.

Tried the Sigma, and whilst it was a good deal cheaper than the Canon examples, the lens didn't feel quite right. Would appreciate answers/ thoughts from anyone who owns one of these:

* Does the lens support FTM focusing? It didn't appear too happy adjusting the focus manually after it'd focused, and the staff seemed to think it didn't. Information I can find seems rather conflicting....
* Focus / sharpness at 400mm also wasn't as good as I'd like, although this was on a relatively new bottom end body- I'm hoping this would be better on a decent body with lens calibrated/ micro-adjusted (I have a 50D)

Would also be interested in any opinions on the alternatives I can see at the minute:
Canon 100-400L just about scrapes into budget, but not sure on spending absolutely everything possible,,,,

The Canon 70-200 F4 IS is tempting, but my instinct tells me it's a little short. I think the F2.8 is really out of my price bracket, unless I went for the non-IS version, which feels like a mistake if I'm trying to shoot fast moving cars....

If I'm thinking about non-IS lenses, I've also come across the Tokina 80-400.
I've got a Tokina 12-24 which IMHO is the best lens in my bag, so I'll admit that's a tempting prospect if the 80-400 is anywhere near as good as that. Cheap too.....

Only other option I can see is the Sigma 150- 500, but I suspect that'll have a very similar set of issues to the 120-400.

 

[odd jim]

How about the new Sigma 150-600 (both the Sport and Contemporary versions)? I have the C version and it's awesome

It's very sharp across the focal range, and can very fast to focus, especially when set up via the dock.

There's also the Tamron 150-600 which is very similar.

 

[Orville]

It depends upon how much you can afford. For ~£500 I suggest a used 100-400L mkI. If you can stretch to £700 go for the Sigma C 150-600. I own the latter and it is sharper than my 100-400 was throughout the range. It is also black which I prefer.

If your budget is >£1200 get the 100-400 mkII. It is an awesome lens (even if it is white).

 

[leezer3]

Budget is somewhere from ~£400 to ~£600.
Will almost certainly be buying used, but exactly what I don't know still.

To be honest, it really depends on the 'right' lens. I'm happy enough to spend a little more cash if it's worth it.

LCE wanted just under £400 for the Sigma and IIRC about £600- £650 for the 100-400L's they had in.

On the Sigma and Tamron 150-600 lenses:
Not convinced by these. I get the feeling that for motorsport I'm almost certainly going to want all the stops I can get.
Similarly, I keep on feeling that IS, and preferably with a panning mode is pretty much a requirement.....

The choices

 

[odd jim]

Budget is somewhere from ~£400 to ~£600.
Will almost certainly be buying used, but exactly what I don't know still.

To be honest, it really depends on the 'right' lens. I'm happy enough to spend a little more cash if it's worth it.

LCE wanted just under £400 for the Sigma and IIRC about £600- £650 for the 100-400L's they had in.

On the Sigma and Tamron 150-600 lenses:
Not convinced by these. I get the feeling that for motorsport I'm almost certainly going to want all the stops I can get.
Similarly, I keep on feeling that IS, and preferably with a panning mode is pretty much a requirement.....

The choices

The Siggy 150-600 is fast enough Mind you, on my 6d it's not an issue as you can pump the ISO right up without worrying about the IQ suffering until you get stupidly high! I've not tried it on my cropped bodies yet.

 

[Orville]

At 400-600mm the Sigma and Tamron 150-600's will be faster/brighter than the 100-400's which will need a TC to get there. Below 400mm there is a third of a stop disadvantage for the longer zooms. If you don't need >400mm then a 100-400 is a great choice. On the members market they go for ~£500-£600.