Best 500mm lens less than £2000-00

The best in that price range will be the Sigma 50-500 OS.

No other manufacturer really gets close and the sigma 150-500mm is also not as sharp.
 
RichardtheSane said:
The best in that price range will be the Sigma 50-500 OS.

No other manufacturer really gets close and the sigma 150-500mm is also not as sharp.
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I have the Nikon 300mm prime & it crops well. How would the Sigma 50-500 OS compare?

For instance I compared a mates Sigma 150-500 OS against the Nikon 300mm prime & when cropped the 300mm was as good as the 500mm at 500mm, if you know what I mean.
 
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You could pick up a Sigma 500mm f/4.5 for under the £2k, never used one so cant comment on the quality.
 
Euan said:
You could pick up a Sigma 500mm f/4.5 for under the £2k, never used one so cant comment on the quality.
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I agree with Euan i tried the 500mm f4.5 EX DG a great lens shame it lacks the OS not bad for handholding in decent light if sigma ever put OS on it i shall buy one like a shot to compliment my Canon 600mm f4 i.s
Regards
Richard
 
RichardtheSane said:
The best in that price range will be the Sigma 50-500 OS.

No other manufacturer really gets close and the sigma 150-500mm is also not as sharp.
Click to expand...

i agree with richard. had 3 150-500mm and its a great lens but the 50-500mm os is sharper wide open at 500mm, the os is the best i have seen and the af is nice and quick and quiet.
heres a pic from my 50-500mm os.
SJB_8422.jpg

happy to post many more pics.
 
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Redspider said:
I have the Nikon 300mm prime & it crops well. How would the Sigma 50-500 OS compare?

For instance I compared a mates Sigma 150-500 OS against the Nikon 300mm prime & when cropped the 300mm was as good as the 500mm at 500mm, if you know what I mean.
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the crop will be very good but you can still crop from the 500mm and it will be just as good, also it offers alot of flexibilty due to the zoom range.
 
I was going to suggest the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 coupled with a TC-20E III teleconverter, effectively giving you a 400mm f/5.6 (on a DX body that should be 600mm shouldn't it though, taking into account the 1.5x crop factor?). The 70-200mm is currently around £1600 and the TC is ~£400, so just about within budget.
 
Thank you everyone & thanks for the photo 'scotthehat', it is very clear. I'm not a lover of TC's in general. I haven't tried the Nikon or Canon ones recently but I did try a Nikon a year ago & a Kenko 1.4 with my 300mm f4 prime but all in all I was not happy with the results. If I took a picture using a tripod first with, then without the 1,4. Once I cropped the image there was no real gain with the TC, in fact a loss as you lose brightness, shutter speed etc. This is why I would prefer a dedicated 500mm lens.
 
Form what I've read in recent reviews, the earlier generation of Nikon TC's were not the greatest for IQ when attached to a mid-level zoom, but the third (III) generation TC-20E with its built in aspherical lens element is meant to be a much improved model.

Can you try one out in a shop somewhere?!
 
Euan said:
You could pick up a Sigma 500mm f/4.5 for under the £2k, never used one so cant comment on the quality.
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Please can you tell me where? I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

Considering the new price is £3800 I think getting one for under 2k - especially with the scarcity of them - is going to be very hard work.
 
here you go not to far from you either. I've had a quick look at it last time i was in town.
 
Depends to some extent whether the OP wants a walkabout or a hide lens but I've had a fantastic Siggy 500 in the past but would not have such a long lens without IS again.

I do not have one but I have tried a friends and I would purchase a Siggy 50-500 OS before a 500 f4.5 again any day.

OOI, I now have a Siggy 120-300 OS which costs just a bit over the £2k budget but that works stunningly well wth a x2TC. Bare, it is in the same league as the Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS mkII which I had for six months or so.

Just my 2p worth.

Gary

PS given the OP is just up the road from me (Loughborough) I'd be very happy to let him try out the 120-300 OS if interested ? Please note, I WILL NOT BE SELLING IT AT ANY PRICE..
 
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I used to own a 150-500 os,but circumstances forced me to sell it.I did say to myself that I would buy another when I could,in the meantime I borrowed a friends 50-500 (non-OS) and to say I was impressed is an understatement.Even without OS the results from the 50-500 were hugely better.I have since found and bought a pristine 500 f/4.5 which I have yet to find fault with.I use a monopod in the main and a tripod occasionally.I am a lover of Sigma glass,I have yet to buy,let alone use a dodgy lens from them.As to your original question,sub £2k it would be 50-500 (non-OS) with a decent monopod and bag the surplus cash for a nice holiday.whichever you choose - enjoy.
 
Euan said:
You could pick up a Sigma 500mm f/4.5 for under the £2k, never used one so cant comment on the quality.
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I had one, my 300 f4 AF-S + 1.7TC beat it hands down for optical quality even wide open at f6.7, the Sigma lacked contrast and definition.

This was 300f4 AF-S + 1.7TC f7.1 ISO 3200 (on a D300)

161_120.jpg
 
Looks stunning Martyn.

Why the 1.7 tc.

Is it a compromise 1.4 not enough 2x to many stops
 
mattyg said:
Looks stunning Martyn.

Why the 1.7 tc.

Is it a compromise 1.4 not enough 2x to many stops
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I have both the Nikkor 1.4 & 1.7, just chose to use the 1.7 that day, if the light was fading I would drop down to the 1.4, but on the 300 AF-S either works well.

The 2.0x would put me at f8 on an f4 lens, which is pushing it a bit in my opinion.
 
micloi said:
The Sigma 500mm I had was tack sharp at f4.5 so I suppose it is the luck of the draw!
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I have seen more favourable reviews of the Canon mount version compared to the Nikon mount version, mine was poor, shame as it is a nice and compact lens for the focal length.
 
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