Longer zoom thoughts

Greytop

Greytop

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Huw
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I'm thinking of (have been thinking for a while) about a longer zoom. It will be used for wildlife and occasional air show shots. My priority is image quality and light gathering capability.

I already have the Pentax DA*60-250 f/4 which is a lovely lens but unfortunately doesn't pair too well with tele-converters. I shall be keeping it though just because the image quality is rather nice :)

So in addition I'm currently thinking along the lines of the following two options:-

1) Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX DG IF together with a Sigma 1.4x APO Tele-converter
2) Sigma 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 APO DG HSM

Obviously option one is more costly and shorter but gives more flexibility and a faster aperture at the long end. Image quality seems to be generally excellent from what I've read even with the matched tele-converter (which is important to me)
Option two gives me more money in my piggy bank and is an all in one solution with a longer focal length. However it's a bit heavier and probably less flexible that the 100-300 + x1.4 solution. Not sure whether HSM is a good or bad thing?

I would be interested to know users thoughts on image quality, built quality general ease of use. Perhaps also some other options (Pentax mount) I could consider in this sort of price range.
Thanks.
 
From personal experience the 100-300mm f4 a great lens, quick autofocus, sharp and constant f4 through out zoom range. With a TC added, makes it a 140-420mm f5.6 but you're sort of getting 2 lenses for the price of one with it. Knowing the airshow seen, the 150-500mm f5.6-6.3 just won't cut the mustard because its slow. Great on a really clear day, with perfect light conditions, no problems, but lose the light and performance tails off significantly, especially for fast moving subjects like aircraft where shutter speed is the key.

I would tend to push the 150-500mm into the wildlife lens category and leave the 100-300mm for the action shots. Ok you will feel the hit (autofocus wise) when adding a TC to the 100-300mm (and an f-stop), but that's the case with all lenses and TC's combinations, but I still think its a better option than the 150-500mm which at f6.3 @ 500mm ain't quick.
 
Thanks Pete, I value your opinions and to be honest it's the way I'm leaning.
Do you have the 1.4x APO Tele-converter as well? If so how much of compromise to image sharpness would you say it is?

I've seen some bird shots on a Wildlife forum with this combination on a Canon mount and I have to say they look absolutely stunning, you would never have guessed it was a zoom and teleconverter combo.
 
Greytop said:
Thanks Pete, I value your opinions and to be honest it's the way I'm leaning.
Do you have the 1.4x APO Tele-converter as well? If so how much of compromise to image sharpness would you say it is?

I've seen some bird shots on a Wildlife forum with this combination on a Canon mount and I have to say they look absolutely stunning, you would never have guessed it was a zoom and teleconverter combo.
Click to expand...

From my experience the only things your lose with the 1.4x TC is an f-stop and a significant chop in autofocus speed. (i.e. say you have your subject in focus, using a single focus point, the subject is moving and your panning with the motion, that focus point loses focus on the subject, you may lose the shot unless your quick enough to recover it as the lens will hunt, but technique will compensate for this). As long as the light conditions are good enough to achieve a suitable shutter speed for your subject, then there ain't any significant drop in image quality, on the other hand, I wouldn't recommend the 2x TC as this does seriously effect the performance of the lens and image quality.
 
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