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

fracster said:
Is that a large crop Jeff?
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yes ade nearly 100% .did a trial run today with the lens bolted on the 1d3 ,and i can say with a fair degree of certainty and a months experience with the lens that the adjustments i made yesterday have helped immensely it just seems more positive when it locks on etc .and if any pics look sharp on a 1d3 screen then there definite keepers ,heres the first sample BIF, ring of fire a/f ,hand held at full reach .proof of the pudding etc View attachment 34209
 
and another from yesterdays session ,the setting changes have really upped the performance of this lens imho ,so well pleased View attachment 34268
 
and another shot 3mp crop right on the edge of the ring of fire a/f i.e over to far right of frame .pleased with these results now View attachment 34331
 
I went back to my Shots taken with the 150-600mm tonight and picked a few different ones to look at. I took a bit more care processing them and have to say I don't think they came out too bad at all. I am also aware that the MKI 7D isn't a great match for the lens, the noise it produces above ISO 800 is pretty bad and starts destroying detail.

I think I will unpack it and have another play as I don't need to return it just yet.



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they look fine mike ,a touch of selective layering ,noise reduction on the background layer ,and selective sharpening will work even better .theres absolutely nothing in those shots that would make me return the lens .the one main thing i have learnt since owning this lens is the fact that not only do you magnify the noise at 600mm ?? (or the apparent effect of it) you also introduce a touch of heat haze into the equation .once you realise it you can deal with it .the tweaks i did with the USB dock seemed to have helped to ,once i try it on the 70d i will be more confident as if you work it out your actually shooting at 960mm focal length with a 1.6 crop factor camera .

i said right from the start that you have to really think what your doing with this lens ,there is a learning curve involved
 
Thanks Jeff.

Mike ,the noise especially in the first two shots is plainly visible..

I`m still torn on this lens. The zoom range is excellent, no arguments, but it does not produce the IQ of a long prime, and it should not be expected to do so. I would imagine that the AF speed is nowhere near a long prime, happy to be proved wrong of course?

So can I live with the downsides compared to the upsides?.....I guess only I can answer that.
 
Ade ,I as you probably know have owned a variety of lenses ,I also have either used,borrowed,tried a variety of other long lenses from friends and family etc ,and I can quiet honestly state that used within the correct focus range i.e 10mtrs to inifinity at the 600mm F.L then this lens is right up there with the best of them for focus speed . the I.q is a case of you get what you pay for but is well above the rivals in its range and as I have stated before you need to adapt your style to the lens .in general day to day use I am finding it very flexible and exceeding my expectations
 
fracster said:
Mike ,the noise especially in the first two shots is plainly visible..
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Ade, the pictures were more to show that you can get detail out of the lens but as I said in my post, the 7D MKI isn't great at high ISO (although tbh I wouldn't call ISO 1600 particularly high these days, my Pentax K-5IIs handles it just fine) so it's a bit of a trade off, lose a bit of noise or a bit of detail and I have no problem with a bit of noise. Mind you, this is the reason I think the lens is much better on a full frame body, you can bump everything up a notch and still keep the noise down.

As for the AF speed, on this I can say I am impressed, if I lock it at 600mm and then compare it against my EF 300mm f2.8 and MKIII 2x converter the Sigma is certainly no slouch.

Whether I keep the lens is still up for debate though, I still think it's too heavy for using at an airshow for any period of time and from what I have seen the (C) version is very close for less money and weight.
 
Thanks for the response and info Mike.
 
the beauty of this one is you can lock in lots of different lengths if you wish to or just zoom in and out as required .but its each to there own ,had a good day today again using the 70d this time nuthatches everywhere i looked and not shy either .the reserve i use is a ex military secret establishment in the welsh hills and due to the nature of the ordnance buried there access is on a sign in at the gatehouse basis .on a bank holiday monday like today for instance in a mile and half long reserve ,me and my mate were the only people there .superb :banana:

return to the valley by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
By eck Jeff, that is some serious blue on that nuthatch, is it radioactive or summat?...............:)
 
fracster said:
By eck Jeff, that is some serious blue on that nuthatch, is it radioactive or summat?...............:)
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in the case of this place ade your jest may well have a basis of fact ,its actually where the atomic bomb was developed during ww2 ,before being built in the usa .the underground cave literally a few feet away from where i took this has a large beware radioactivy sign on its blast doors .most birds here are in fact very colourfull.
and as they say the proof of the pudding .lies below

IMG_2936 by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
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my hearing is not good at all mike ,but yesterday in a totally noise free environment yes i could hear it whirring ,and just to check i have held the lens against my ear while pointing camera out of the window and its definitely whirring away ,by the standards of previous sigma lenses though its virtually silent .i have also got my wife to stand beside me (ears like a s*** house rat) and she can also hear it whirring away
 
I'm still closely following this thread and looking forward to seeing the contemporary results, but cannot get the 120-300 OS Sport out of my head oh the decisions lol
 
I think it is nice reading and information..
1. Sigma 150-600 S First Impressions and Mini Review on D810 and D4s.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54669115
2. [Part 2 of Review] Re: Sigma 150-600 S First Impressions and Mini Review on D810 and D4s.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54676669
3. Review Part III: Tests at longer distances (Very surprising... WOW!!!!!!!!).
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54694447
4. Part 4 of Sigma 150-600 S Review: Performance with Sigma 1401 and 2001 Teleconverters.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54798110
 
Even though I had pre-ordered the Contemporary version, some part of me wished I had chosen the Sport version first. Darn, that means I will just need to get both of them! ;)
 
Well mine was packaged up and returned to Amazon today, unfortunately I just couldn't get consistent results with it even on a monopod.
Shame, I really wanted to keep it as the build quality itself was superb ... will be looking at the contemporary version now.

Best of luck with yours jeff, keep experimenting and I'm sure you will get there in the end ... I just don't have the time or patience the lens probably needs.
 
quiet quiet happy with mine now mike ,the settings i put in at the weekend with the usb dock i.e 'dynamic o.s" and " af set to focus point priority" have changed the way the lens works .its like chalk and cheese wish i had done it sooner ,now not only getting sharper shots there consistently better .
from your earlier comments mike i think you may well have had a faulty one as the stabiliser can be heard working and from your unanswered question i presume yours didn't
 
Hi everyone. I just signed up and am very happy to join the thread. I'm very, very interested in the Sigma 150-600 Sport. I'm a full time professional commercial photography and for my work I use mainly Nikon equipment, though, when contracted to work at other studios I may shoot their Canon gear....it all works well. I'm NOT a Nikon "fan boy"; Nikon's gear has simply always done the job for me. I would like to share an experience I've had that may help many fellow photographers; especially those shooting long telephotos. Though I photograph product and people for a living I dabble in wildlife photography (mainly deer on my property). Anyway, I use my Nikon 300 f4 AFS quite a bit and, after getting my D800 and D810 the sharpness fell off quite a bit...very aggravating. Using the D800 series means your technique really has to be flawless; kind of like shooting a 4x5 or 8x10. I ALWAYS shoot on a tripod. Yes, it's often a pain but it's the only way to squeeze every drop of quality out of any lens. I was using my small-midsize carbon fiber tripod with an Acratech head; I thought I was supporting the camera load well....I WAS WRONG! (Didn't think to test on my 8x10's tripod...too big to consider taking into the field). I immediately invested in a Really Right Stuff TVC-33 tripod with RRS BH-55 ball head....PROBLEM SOLVED. My photos with the 300 and with a 1.4 TC have gone from unusable to pro/publishable quality. Before judging any lens please test on a rock solid support; you'll set a benchmark to compare against when you go back to shooting handheld.
 
Mitch,

Thanks for sharing your background. So far Jeff and others have done a splendid job at posting pictures from their Sport lens. I have friends who uses Nikon D800 and D810 bodies, they are also interested in this lens as well.

Cheers,
John
 
Hi John. I have the Sigma 150-600 Sport on order; I should have it within the week...I hope. Let's also hope it's as sharp as people say; I really don't want to spend $8K (new Nikon 500 or used Nikon 600) for a lens I won't make money with : )

Have a great day!
 
Hooch1172 said:
Hi John. I have the Sigma 150-600 Sport on order; I should have it within the week...I hope. Let's also hope it's as sharp as people say; I really don't want to spend $8K (new Nikon 500 or used Nikon 600) for a lens I won't make money with : )

Have a great day!
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Hi Mitch,
That's great and thanks for the update! Are you planning to also get the usb dock and 1.4x tele with your lens? Please do post pictures here once you have chance to try it out. :D
Have a great day too!
Cheers, John
 
Hi John. If I do decide to keep the Sigma 150-600 I will get the usb hub. If the lens does prove to be as sharp as I'd like I'll get the Sigma 1.4 TC as well. I do have to say that I'll have to be very, very impressed with IQ of the lens to keep it. I'm going to compare to a rented Nikon 300 2.8, and my 300 f4 AFS. The only pro camera store in Cincinnati does not rent longer Nikon primes like the 400, 500 or 600. I may compare to the Nikon 200-400 as well if its not already rented. I've been down the Sigma telephoto route years and years ago and wasn't happy, however, I had the Sigma 10-20 that was awesome (used it on a D2X). I really want the 150-600 to be a keeper. I've been using my 300 f4 AFS with a Kenko 1.4 that has really impressed me but 420mm truly, in many cases, just isn't long enough. I'm mentally preparing myself to get used Nikon 600 or 500 if the 150-600 isn't what I want it to be. I'm a prime lens guy exclusively for my commercial work but for wildlife I'd really like the flexibility of a zoom. I will post photos and keep everyone up to date.
 
Sounds great, Mitch! :) ..I'll be looking forward to seeing your test pictures from the lens. ;)

Cheers, John
 
Since doing the upgrades with the usb dock last week it's changed not only the quality of shots ,but also the whole feel of it ,if that makes sense .the one thing Is its not a high end prime and you won't get the same results as from one of them .but stick with it and learn its quirks and it does a good job
 
Hi Jeff. I don't expect prime quality from the 150-600 but hope it's somewhat close; if it's as good as the Nikon 80-400 or great for a zoom I'd be happy. Time will tell. Glad to hear that the USB dock really helps fine tune.
 
I'm finding that my copy doesn't play nice with my 7D in AI servo mode making it very difficult to get BIF shots. I'll get the USB dock tomorrow and have a fiddle otherwise it's going back to the shop :(
 
mrgubby said:
I'm finding that my copy doesn't play nice with my 7D in AI servo mode making it very difficult to get BIF shots. I'll get the USB dock tomorrow and have a fiddle otherwise it's going back to the shop :(
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do these adjustments it really really helps set focus range from 5mtrs to infinity ,set stabiliser to to dynamic o.s .and set focus to focus point priority ,.i leave the o.s set to 2 as well even on a tripod .it does in all honesty take time to adjust to this lens but put all this together and i think you will find it falling into place.
if you go back through my pics ,the laughing gull in flight shot and the iceland gull in flight were both hand held with the 70d and that was before adjustments,the black backed gull with egg was after adjustments
 
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