Sigma 150-500 - issues?

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Anyone have anything positive or negative on this beast?

I'm thinking of wildlife on Exmoor (daytime) and I'm thinking of this on a Nikon D7000.
 
This is a very popular lens with many fans, including myself. I use mine on a Canon 550D but the issues are basically the same for other manufacturers.

Pros: very good image quality (although the Sigma 50-500mm is said to be better), solid build and a very good four stop image stabilisation system (vibration reduction in Nikon-speak). Excellent value for money.

Cons: weighs two kilos and it's a big mother. The image quality isn't as good as the nearest equivalent Canon lens (probably also true of Nikon) .
 
Capable of remarkably good pictures, but does need good light as you will have to stop down a couple of clicks at 500mm to get it sharp.

The weight and size are offset by it having a tripod collar which doubles as a good substantial collar.
 
i was looking at these for a super telephoto lens, but have shyed away due to some concerns over autofocus speeds and the ammount of light needed, in my case the canon 100-400 would have been a better purchase but ive never had the money to buy either... might be worth seeing if a member on here has one to try or see if you can hire one for a weekend to see if its what fits your needs?
 
It might be worth checking on D7000 forums if it works properly? I've heard some sigma lenses don't work properly on the D7000 (sigmas are reversed engineered, so there is always a slight issue that they may not be compatible with future bodies).

If it works fine, it's an absolutely fantastic lens for what you pay for it.
 
Whilst it isn't af2.8 lens on the light front, it is no worse than any other lens at f6.3 I frequently shoot wide open at 500mm with mine and no problems. Yes it is heavy, but any lens with that range isn't going to be light. I happly carry mine round for a few hours.

Used with both 1.4 and 2X TC's it can still produce good shots.

Cropped and shot on my 350D
http://SPAM/c3whur/Birds/Img_5951c.jpg

Crop from a shot with 1.4
http://SPAM/c3whur/7Dtest/Img_0166c.jpg

and shot with 2X
Img_1986.jpg
 
squishy said:
It might be worth checking on D7000 forums if it works properly? I've heard some sigma lenses don't work properly on the D7000 (sigmas are reversed engineered, so there is always a slight issue that they may not be compatible with future bodies).

If it works fine, it's an absolutely fantastic lens for what you pay for it.
Click to expand...

I've heard similar stories about compatibility with the Canon 40D on the early production lenses. Sigma has an excellent reputation for fixing problems like this, however.
 
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