Sigma 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM SPORTS owners thread

the black fox said:
whats the betting they can't fulfill there orders at that price ,theres none for sale in europe as far as i,m aware,one thing was noted the other night though is there are a couple of sigma mount ones on amazon for sale at a low price ,sigma seemed surprised that no one had bought one and paid for a mount conversion to nikon or canon ????
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Paaaaniiicccc! It looks like my order at Amazon might be getting fulfilled a bit sooner than I was anticipating. Had an e-mail last night saying the estimated arrival date is 2nd March 2015. That's MONDAY! I'm not sure if that's arrival at Amazon or at my front door. It still says it's unavailable on their website so maybe they are only getting enough to fill some of the orders already placed.

I wonder if other retailers will start to bring their prices down seeing as Amazon are still much cheaper.
 
Well that escalated quickly!

It's just been dispatched! Estimated delivery is now TOMORROW. Somewhat nervous that Amazon have used Hermes to send such an expensive lens though ...

Amazon are still showing as out of stock so it would appear they only received enough to cover some of the orders already placed.

The price has also just shot up from £1308 to £1499. Must say I'm feeling rather pleased I managed to bag one at £1242.
 
Mike.P said:
Well I haven't heard anything from Amazon. is yours Canon or Nikon mount Neil?
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Mike, mine is a Nikon mount.

The price for the Canon mount has gone back up to £1499 as well. Timing is key with Amazon - their prices go up and down like yo-yo's.
 
i think i mentioned somewhere that once they actually had stock the price would rise ,lucky few that got it at that price ,not so sure about hermes though ,check behind your garden gate tomorrow LOL
and just to tease you heres one from today
the crown in its glory by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
the black fox said:
i think i mentioned somewhere that once they actually had stock the price would rise ,lucky few that got it at that price ,not so sure about hermes though ,check behind your garden gate tomorrow LOL
and just to tease you heres one from today
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Well it turned up yesterday! The Hermes driver left it on the doorstep and was already back in his car before I had answered the door. I'd like to think he'd have come back to pick it up if I hadn't come to the door ...

First impressions on the lens. The build quality is amazing. I've never owned one of the expensive Nikon lenses (£1k plus) so can't compare but I can say it is head and shoulders above the Nikon lenses I do own. It's on a different level compared to the Sigma 150-500mm in terms of construction. Everything feels rock solid and super smooth.

I've not had the chance to use it properly yet so can't comment much on it in use. My initial reaction was that the OS is not as effective as the OS on the Sigma 150-500mm I had. It doesn't seem to steady the image as much in the viewfinder and I did read someone else make this comment as well. Some of it can probably be improved with better technique and bigger muscles ... it's a heavy lump! Images were looking good on the camera screen but, like I said, not used it properly yet.
 
right neil ,the o.s is extremely effective its just working smoother so you can't see it operate , you REALLY REALLY need to get the USB DOCK ,and download the operating manual for it .this is what turns it from a well made lens into a stunning lens . when you have it you can do the firmware update which improves panning on OS.2 ,you will also see that your stabiliser is set to steady which is the standard setting. you can alter this via the dock to either run even more smoothly or to jiggle about as per 150-500 style ,after a couple of days use i also found that while using it in 10mtrs to inifinity mode gave lightning fast a/f compared to full ,it was a pain in the backside operating switches when a close bird popped up ,so again via the usb dock i have altered my settings in C1 to focus from 4 mtrs to infinity ,this really seems to work well and is imho no slower than from 10 mtrs to inifinity .

the one thing that has fooled me during my couple of weeks of use is d.o.f ,although its sharp wide open this can fool you as you start to wonder if your M/A is out so while it can be used at f6.3 i would advise for better results that a minimum of f7.1 or even f8 is used .if you need further advise or help you can either leave it in post or go to p.m .to finish off heres another picView attachment 31767 from friday .
 
and another shot ,this time taken INSIDE the flamingo house at martin mere 600mm hand held ,did alejandro say something about the image stabiliser :wave: personally i,m gobsmacked not just by the results but by the consistent results

birds eye view by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
bbg404 said:
Wow this lens looks impressive! I've had my sights on the Tamron 150-600 and the Nikon 80-400 but seeing these I think I'll add this tithe list [emoji3]
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Plenty more on my flickrstream ,it's got really impressive build quality to ,makes the tamron look like a toy ,this is fully weather sealed and with the USB dock is extremely customise-able
 
the black fox said:
you REALLY REALLY need to get the USB DOCK ,and download the operating manual for it .this is what turns it from a well made lens into a stunning lens . when you have it you can do the firmware update which improves panning on OS.2 ,you will also see that your stabiliser is set to steady which is the standard setting. you can alter this via the dock to either run even more smoothly or to jiggle about as per 150-500 style
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Some nice images you've been posting up Jeff - unfortunately I haven't been able to get outside with mine yet! Grrrr

I have managed to have a quick go with the USB dock and I see what you mean about the stabiliser settings. Sigma's explanations for each setting are a bit confusing but it would appear that the Dynamic mode is very similar to the 150-500 I had before. I'll be sure to try all the options once I get outside with it to see which I prefer. From what I can tell the OS dock settings only alter what you see in the viewfinder and the OS would be the same when you actually take an image.

Mine came with the latest firmware already installed.

:)
 
I'm *really* interested in this lens, but isn't there chromatic aberration in some of these shots? Namely posts 4, 14 (purple fringing on gull), 34, 54 (brilliant rarity there btw)? Or does specsavers beckon?
 
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guess&press said:
I'm *really* interested in this lens, but isn't there chromatic aberration in some of these shots? Namely posts 4, 14 (purple fringing on gull), 34, 54 (brilliant rarity there btw)? Or does specsavers beckon?
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if you can see any then there is some monitor resetting needed on your end m8 .i certainly can't seem to induce any in the raw files ,thousands of people have viewed these and lots of other pics from it over the last few weeks and your the first to mention that at all .
it is i admit a learning curve over and above the 400mm f5.6L i previously used but thats simply a time and weather based problem .what you have to remember as well is to get this sort of reach from other lenses apart from the tamron version you would have to spend many thousands of pounds more .
heres another shot this time in woodland 600mm ,1/250th sec HAND HELD
i live thurgh by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
the black fox said:
if you can see any then there is some monitor resetting needed on your end m8 .i certainly can't seem to induce any in the raw files ,thousands of people have viewed these and lots of other pics from it over the last few weeks and your the first to mention that at all .
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Good--that's what I wanted to hear! This looks like an absurdly good lens for the money, though for me it makes sense to see how the Contemporary turns out before taking the plunge, not least because the Sport is a heavy beast compared to my current Sigma 150-500. Then again that handheld blackbird is an amazing technical feat!

Another bit of me is wondering whether I'd be better going with the Nikon 300mm PF prime and using it with the 1.4 TC I already have. I see you're selling your 400mm. Is that because of the extra reach, or because of better image quality at 400mm, or the stabilisation, or...?

Cheers for any thoughts (anyone).
 
guess&press said:
Good--that's what I wanted to hear! This looks like an absurdly good lens for the money, though for me it makes sense to see how the Contemporary turns out before taking the plunge, not least because the Sport is a heavy beast compared to my current Sigma 150-500. Then again that handheld blackbird is an amazing technical feat!

Another bit of me is wondering whether I'd be better going with the Nikon 300mm PF prime and using it with the 1.4 TC I already have. I see you're selling your 400mm. Is that because of the extra reach, or because of better image quality at 400mm, or the stabilisation, or...?

Cheers for any thoughts (anyone).
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the 400mm f5.6 and my 120-400 sigma have both now departed for new homes ,simply down to the performance levels i'm getting from this lens .lets put it in perspective ,that blackbird shot was not a fluke i have loads more from the same series ,its obviously taken in a woodland setting ,and to get that sort of i.q hand held at that shutter speed ,and with a camera lens combo that weighs in at around 9lbs in total is good enough for me .i originally got this lens so i could get full use of all a/f points on my 1d3 at 600mm and its excelling at it .
also what your not seeing is all the other shots i have taken a lot of them b.i.f and the lock on and focus accuracy is unreal ,i live on the north wales coast so seagulls are a very common target/practise bird and i reckon on a around 95% success rate with b.if with this lens ,which equals or excels the 400 5.6 .
one adjustment i have made is change the focus limits my mid range is now about 4 mtrs to infinity this saves messing about with switches if a bird pops up in front of you and is virtually as fast as the pre-set 10mtrs to infinity .
the only two other lenses i have kept are the 70-200 L for summer insect use ,and the 17-40L wide angle
 
guess&press said:
I'm *really* interested in this lens, but isn't there chromatic aberration in some of these shots? Namely posts 4, 14 (purple fringing on gull), 34, 54 (brilliant rarity there btw)? Or does specsavers beckon?
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Is it the contrast halo your seeing,if so it has nothing to do with the lens
 
@Jeff: No I don't doubt it, I'm pretty much sold mate! Are they both 600mm? Will still hang on though to see if the Contemporary is anywhere near this for almost 1kg less.

I can easily get to New Brighton in a few weeks' time. Is the US visitor still likely to be there? An amazing looking gull!
 
no they are pulled back shots at 260mm and 350mm something i couldn't have done with a fixed prime ,the bird landed right in front of me,as for the bird who knows ask again nearer the time and if its in the n/wales wirral area i should know ,theres also a resident iceland gull at pensarn n/wales right by where we had the hoopoe last year.

out of the car window in a 50-60mph gale so not optimum focus

icelandic airlines by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
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To be honest the IQ looks no better than the Sigma 50-500mm OS I currently use on my Pentax K-5IIs (and had for the 7D up until recently).

For anyone not needing the better build quality, extra length or ability to lock the focus length the 50-500mm may be the better option. It's a good deal cheaper as well.
 
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each to there own i suppose ,having had one of those earlier ones i can say with absolute certainty that the build quality varied from lens to lens and if you have a good one then be thankful .sigma seems to have turned itself around since the son of the previous owner took over two years ago .heres one from this morning to be going on with

clear blue by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
the black fox said:
each to there own i suppose ,having had one of those earlier ones i can say with absolute certainty that the build quality varied from lens to lens and if you have a good one then be thankful .sigma seems to have turned itself around since the son of the previous owner took over two years ago
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Don't get me wrong, I'm still waiting to get the 150-600mm as I think it will be perfect for airshows (especially with the ability to lock the focus which should all but eliminate AF hunting between shots). Also, when I said it is no better than the 50-500mm OS that's no bad thing as mine is very very good even at 500mm so if the 150-600mm can match it at 600mm I am more than happy.

I did toy with the idea of a 120-300mm f2.8 sport and 2x but decided against it.
 
Few photos taken today with 7D mark 2. All wide open. Seems like flickr killed them with compression as they look VERY detailed on my iMac Retina.

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I have compared the 150-600mm with the Sigma 500mm + Kenko 1.4x. I would say that open wide the 150-600mm was almost as sharp which is not bad at all as the 500mm copy I had was exceptionally sharp.
 
gary996 said:
So where is a good place to get the lens from?
I do not mind going grey as I would rather pay less than more
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still in short supply world wide ,carefully of grey only 1 years warranty not 3 .they activate it from the bar code on your box
 
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