Sigma 150-600mm contemporary

Roy C said:
Nice egret capture :clap:
Good light helps no matter what lens you are using. But full sunlight when the sun is high in the sky gives poor light, for me the ideal conditions is a bright but slightly overcast day or full sunlight but when it is low in the sky (mornings or evenings) - Beautiful light this morning so I popped down to my local estuary at around 9:30 (to catch the right tide condition) and the light was superb, by 10:30 the sun was to high so I jacked it in.
As for capturing fine detail the nearer you can get the better (again as with any lens). Exposing to the right (ETTR), and shooting in RAW also helps to get the best out of the shots and a good processing understanding/workflow can also help, although you cannot make 'a silk purse out of a sows ear'.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you for your detailed reply. ETTR was not a technique I was familiar with until you mentioned it so I shall research and practice that. I also think my post processing needs improving and so I have bought a good eBook to help me with that. I'm looking forward to showing off my improved results on here. Thanks again for your time.
 
Roy and Mike, your bird photography is outstanding and I am in awe. How close to your subjects are you when you take your photos? Especially the smaller birds? Do you use hides etc to get really close so you achieve that about of detail?
 
At the moment i cant do a lot of small birds,i can only work stalking and did a daft thing earlier this year,decided i was finished with bird photography,returned my Tamron 150-600 as it had been nothing but trouble.Traded my D7100 for a D750,then bought the Sigma,i now dont have the reach or the ability to crop the same,for the V2 i need the best of light,thinking about adding a D7200.
 
Any one getting decent results with the Sigma 1.4,ime using the lens on a D750 so cropping is a bit limited and as the camera can handle higher ISOs stopping down isnt too much of a problem,making me think converter image could be better than a crop.
 
Thanks for your reply. I'm still intrigued as to what distance you (and Roy) are to the small birds with this lens to get such good detail in your photos?
mikew said:
At the moment i cant do a lot of small birds,i can only work stalking and did a daft thing earlier this year,decided i was finished with bird photography,returned my Tamron 150-600 as it had been nothing but trouble.Traded my D7100 for a D750,then bought the Sigma,i now dont have the reach or the ability to crop the same,for the V2 i need the best of light,thinking about adding a D7200.
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WWA said:
Thanks for your reply. I'm still intrigued as to what distance you (and Roy) are to the small birds with this lens to get such good detail in your photos?
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If ime honest ime avoiding quoting distances because they would be guess work,the d750 does not get me a big enough image most of the time for small birds,i would guess i need to be no more than 15ft away for a decent shot of a goldfinch and that would be a fair old crop,the D7100 or D7200 would give me enough pixels for a very nice crop.
 
Just got a S/H Dock and set the lens up as per instructions in this thread,just need it to stop raining so i can try it.
 
WWA said:
Thanks for your reply. I'm still intrigued as to what distance you (and Roy) are to the small birds with this lens to get such good detail in your photos?
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Out yesterday and took this one @ 15-20ft to show you,it has now been dumped but it shows the lack of reach a D750 has and how poor the crop is,on a 24mp DX there would have been loads more detail.

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crop.jpg
 
I know this may be strange, but where is the best place to buy a Sigma 150-600 contemporary canon fit? There seems to be a huge difference in prices.
 
Wex are advertising them with a £50 cash back at the moment from sigma bringing the price down to £799.
Im just waiting for the postman to knock on my door with mine which is due for delivery today.
Please please hurry up, and, please please fog disappear :)
 
I have seen he Wex advert but I have also seen the price as low as £589.99
 
Fred Ward said:
I have seen he Wex advert but I have also seen the price as low as £589.99
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Its possible at that price its a grey import,no problem with the lens but you would lose the 3 year warranty from Sigma.
 
bx338 said:
Wex are advertising them with a £50 cash back at the moment from sigma bringing the price down to £799.
Im just waiting for the postman to knock on my door with mine which is due for delivery today.
Please please hurry up, and, please please fog disappear :)
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Dont worry about the fog,the lens will cut straight through it :D;)
 
Not the best start for me today, still foggy and overcast but had to give the new lens a try.
Shot at iso 3200.
Not much point in trying for anything decent with conditions like this, rain tomorrow and friday which i suppose is predictable when you get some new photography kit.

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If i have missed this in the instructions then sorry,if you set U1 to dynamic stabilizing,what do you set the normal stabilizing switch to,off,1 or 2 when using U1.
 
Just pulled the trigger and ordered myself a 150-600 C with dock from DigitalRev, i was torn between this and the new Nikon 200-500mm, but having read all the reviews i can find i don't think it is worth nearly twice the price, and by buying the Sigma it allows me to keep my 300mm f4 (which i would have had to trade against the Nikon)

I do hope i have made the right decision :)
 
rpsmith79 said:
Just pulled the trigger and ordered myself a 150-600 C with dock from DigitalRev, i was torn between this and the new Nikon 200-500mm, but having read all the reviews i can find i don't think it is worth nearly twice the price, and by buying the Sigma it allows me to keep my 300mm f4 (which i would have had to trade against the Nikon)

I do hope i have made the right decision :)
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You must have got a good deal on the sigma if it was nearly half the price of the nikon.(unless you're fudging the figures to justify your choice);)
I'm saving hard, but not sure which to get either.
Will probably get the sigma as it's the one I'll have the money for first, then I'll be like you....have I made the right choice?
 
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Bobsyeruncle said:
You must have got a good deal on the sigma if it was nearly half the price of the nikon.(unless you're fudging the figures to justify your choice);)
I'm saving hard, but not sure which to get either.
Will probably get the sigma as it's the one I'll have the money for first, then I'll be like you....have I made the right choice?
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Well the Nikon is best part of £1100-1200 depending where you get it

I just ordered the Sigma from DigitalRev at £620, so in my book thats about half the price ;)

Plus a £10 discount when ordered with the USB Dock
 
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rpsmith79 said:
Just pulled the trigger and ordered myself a 150-600 C with dock from DigitalRev, i was torn between this and the new Nikon 200-500mm, but having read all the reviews i can find i don't think it is worth nearly twice the price, and by buying the Sigma it allows me to keep my 300mm f4 (which i would have had to trade against the Nikon)

I do hope i have made the right decision :)
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thats what i have done,and keeping the 300 f4, you wont regret it, its a cracking lens.its.much better than i thought it could be...
 
mark richards said:
thats what i have done,and keeping the 300 f4, you wont regret it, its a cracking lens.its.much better than i thought it could be...
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Yes, i saw you snap that one up in Classifieds, i was a little too slow on that day, glad you like it though as it was that thread that tipped me over the edge
 
mark richards said:
out of camera, untouched..only converted to jpg ..Nikon D7200 , 600mm, F6.3, iso 6400,hand held on a abysmal day...not had one good day to try it out yet...mark.

View attachment 50013
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Tell me about bad light,took the new D7200 and sigma for its first outing,as i arrived so did the fog:(

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mikew said:
Tell me about bad light,took the new D7200 and sigma for its first outing,as i arrived so did the fog:(

View attachment 50019
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Quite like that pic! Thank you for all your replies and info on distance from your subject, I've been trying my best to get closer to retain image detail.
 
Just had a thought, having just ordered myself the Sigma 150-600mm C, i'm not sure it's going to fit into any of my bags as my current 300mm f4 is a bit of a squeeze as it is with the body attached

So, a quick question for all you Sigma owners, what bag do you transport yours in as i could well be in the market for a new bag

Only other thing i would ever be likely to take with me is one other lens (17-50mm) and possibly a tripod/monopod
 
rpsmith79 said:
...So, a quick question for all you Sigma owners, what bag do you transport yours in as i could well be in the market for a new bag...
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I have the Sport version which is a bit bigger than the Contemporary but it fits in my LowePro Flipside 400 with room for another couple of smaller lenses (like your 17-50mm). :)
 
Spiritflier said:
I have the Sport version which is a bit bigger than the Contemporary but it fits in my LowePro Flipside 400 with room for another couple of smaller lenses (like your 17-50mm). :)
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Cheers, I've got a Flipside 200 so might have to look into getting one of it's bigger brothers then
 
I found for me the best way to carrry the camera is attached to the lens in a Think Tank 50 V2 holster, fits nice and easy to get out, and if I want to carry another short lens I go with the Lens Changer 25

Gord
 
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GordH said:
I found for me the best way to carrry the camera is attached to the lens in a Think Tank 50 V2 holster, fits nice and easy to get out, and if I want to carry another short lens I go with the Lens Changer 25

Gord
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Cheers, i'll have a look into those
 
I just find them a lot easier to carry than a big rucksack type bag that you end up putting loads if gear in cos theres empty space otherwise stuff move about, then its back breaking to haul around all day I have three of that type but when it comes to the Sigma C I usually find thats the only lens I'm taking for wildlife, birds, the dog etc and a small wide angle or 24-105 in a lens changer which is light and Im sorted, it suits me but may not suit eveybody

Gord
 
Wahoo, my lens has arrived, fingers crossed for nice weather tomorrow afternoon and i might be able to hunt out the illusive Crag Martin that has been spotted in my home Town
 
My xr2 version (sport!) arrived last night... the thing is a beast of a lens... no pictures yet... Still not got a camera to attach to it!
(Friday 12-6pm delivery according to DPD though... canon 70d)
 
eeyore said:
My xr2 version (sport!) arrived last night... the thing is a beast of a lens... no pictures yet... Still not got a camera to attach to it!
(Friday 12-6pm delivery according to DPD though... canon 70d)
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Wrong thread Donkeh! ;)

There's already one running for the Sport version. :D
 
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