A few questions for Sigma 50 - 500mm lens users

rusticalex

rusticalex

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Name
Alex
Edit My Images
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Hi All

I've just gone a bit crazy and got hold of a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens, which at the moment is attached to my Nikon D50, but next week will become attached to my new D7000 :)! I have bought this lens for wildlife photography, and from the very few shots I've had with it so far, I am very impressed. But I have a few questions to ask, and reckon this is the best place to ask them! So here we go...

1) I need to get a bag to carry my gear in, including the Bigma. I recently made the mistake of making an impulse buy in getting hold of a second hand Tamrac Expedition 8 from eBay - nothing wrong with the bag or the price I paid, but it is just way too big, even for this lens and all my gear. It really is huge, so when I get round to it I'll be selling it on here. Anyway, my question is, which bag is suitable for the Bigma, along with a couple of smaller lenses, a camera body, and a few smallish bits and pieces?

2) I have a decent tripod, but it is pretty heavy and I wouldn't want to carry it far. So I reckon I want a lightweight monopod which will bear the weight of the Bigma, and which won't break my bank (as I've done that already!). Less than £80 would be good, with head included. So please recommend a suitable monopod for the Bigma.

3) I should probably get a filter or two for the lens, mainly for protection, but also to help my images. There are some pretty pricey 95mm filters out there, but I'd welcome your thoughts please on what I should be looking to buy. I'm happy not to spend more than £60 if at all possible on this particular area!

4) I have a Kenko extension tube set, but haven't tried them yet with the Bigma - can they be used with the Bigma?

5) Is there anything else I should try to get hold of to go with the lens?

I think that's all for the moment, and thanks for letting me pick your brains!

Cheers
Alex
 
rusticalex said:
3) I should probably get a filter or two for the lens, mainly for protection, but also to help my images.
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They will not improve your images, the lens will have a substantial hood, using that would be my suggestion, and forget the filters.
 
Regarding the filters...

I always attached a uv on mine, I once dropped a lens glass down on the floor...all I needed was another £5 lens off ebay.

I've never noticed IQ degraduation from them and have tested extensively because people always harp on about losing IQ from them.

My experience is that you will not and is definately worth getting one just for the protection :)
 
Phil Young said:
Interesting video. Easy to draw conclusions from that based on what's most important to the shooter.

He had a good shot didn't he!
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each to there own phil people on here have used fillters and have found they do degrade quality someone even posted results to.

My findings from using them on my 500mm lenses in the past are they do degrade the quality, and why wouldnt they your adding another bit of glass to the lens, Not only that i have seen them smash and actually damage the lens from the filters glass going in and hitting the front element, the only place i would recomend one is at the beach maybe and some lenses state they need them for the weather sealing.


But if your happy to use them thats fine, the higher quality ones are defo better than the cheap ones but still not as good as none.
 
rusticalex said:
1) I need to get a bag to carry my gear in, including the Bigma. ... Anyway, my question is, which bag is suitable for the Bigma, along with a couple of smaller lenses, a camera body, and a few smallish bits and pieces?
Click to expand...

I have the 150-500 which is a similar size to the Bigma and use a Lowepro Computrekker AW which will house the Siggy, my D300 with 24-70 attached, 70-300 VR, 18-105 kit lens and SB600 flash. There are also loads of pockets/pouches for storing additional items.

3) I should probably get a filter or two for the lens, mainly for protection, but also to help my images. There are some pretty pricey 95mm filters out there, but I'd welcome your thoughts please on what I should be looking to buy. I'm happy not to spend more than £60 if at all possible on this particular area!
Click to expand...

When I bought my Siggy it came with a Hoya UV filter fitted. I tried a few shots like this and then without the filter and boy, what a difference! Not only were images sharper but they were much more contrasty and had better colour saturation too. The filter is languishing in my desk drawer.

5) Is there anything else I should try to get hold of to go with the lens?
Click to expand...

Maybe a gimbal head for your tripod instead of a monopod. My monopod technique sucks and I can get better results hand held with the 150-500!
 
scottthehat said:
each to there own phil people on here have used fillters and have found they do degrade quality someone even posted results to.

My findings from using them on my 500mm lenses in the past are they do degrade the quality, and why wouldnt they your adding another bit of glass to the lens, Not only that i have seen them smash and actually damage the lens from the filters glass going in and hitting the front element, the only place i would recomend one is at the beach maybe and some lenses state they need them for the weather sealing.

But if your happy to use them thats fine, the higher quality ones are defo better than the cheap ones but still not as good as none.
Click to expand...

Understand your views Scott and can totally get why people wouldn't use them. I would use one just for the piece of mind against scratches etc but I'm sure it would come straight off if there was a noticeable drop in IQ in my images.
 
Phil Young said:
Understand your views Scott and can totally get why people wouldn't use them. I would use one just for the piece of mind against scratches etc but I'm sure it would come straight off if there was a noticeable drop in IQ in my images.
Click to expand...
its supprising how hard the glass is, have you seen the video of him using the lens glass to hammer nails in:lol:
 
Scott, Phil, Martyn and Steve - thanks very much for the great help. Regarding the filter question, there are clearly arguments for and against. I think I will get hold of a cheap one to use when I am going to places where the risk of damage is more than usual, such as if I'm at the beach or clambering over rocks. But I won't splash out on anything excessive in that department.

The Redsnapper monopod and head looks fine, and would appear to be able to take the weight of the lens. Unless anyone comes up with any other ideas, I'll probably go for it. Thanks Scott for that one.

Still contemplating about a suitable bag - any suggestions gratefully received!

And thanks for the video links Scott - they make great viewing!

Cheers
Alex
 
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