Sigma 50-500mm Help Required.
- Thread starter snoop69
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- Dan
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My main reason for not purchasing one was that I prefer the Tamron 200-500mm. I concede, however, that I'm in a minority of about one. The Tamron is sharper glass than the Sigma [as confirmed by a recent Geoffrey Crawley review in AP], but a slower focusing torque speed and it doesn't have the added benefit of a closer focal length.
BTW, and this is heading off topic for a moment.. don't believe for a second that screw drive is that much slower than USM/AF-S.
Focusing speed is down to the motor, but focus lock is down to the sensor in the body. And that's a combination of sensor type and body dynamics. A screw driven lens on a good body [D700, D80 even with its CAM module] is just as quick to lock on focus as an ultrasonic lens on a lower end body. My motorless Tamron 17-50 is the fastest focusing lens I own, then it's my 50mm prime, then my 70-300VR, then the 200-500, then the 35mm/1.8 AF-S...
Anyway, you're Canon, so screw drives are irrelevant. You'll only have the option of the old-fashioned Tamron motor, which is undeniably slower than the Sigma's HSM. Both of these lenses are f/6.3 at the long end, so neither is going to lock focus terribly quickly in low light, even on your 1DmkII.
If you're only going to use these for the long end, better to go with a prime, [no converter, or you're back in the slow f/stops again], and crop in PP. At least then you'll have useable AF and good starting image quality. Canon's 400mm prime is probably the tastiest thing Nikkor don't have...
BTW, and this is heading off topic for a moment.. don't believe for a second that screw drive is that much slower than USM/AF-S.
Focusing speed is down to the motor, but focus lock is down to the sensor in the body. And that's a combination of sensor type and body dynamics. A screw driven lens on a good body [D700, D80 even with its CAM module] is just as quick to lock on focus as an ultrasonic lens on a lower end body. My motorless Tamron 17-50 is the fastest focusing lens I own, then it's my 50mm prime, then my 70-300VR, then the 200-500, then the 35mm/1.8 AF-S...
Anyway, you're Canon, so screw drives are irrelevant. You'll only have the option of the old-fashioned Tamron motor, which is undeniably slower than the Sigma's HSM. Both of these lenses are f/6.3 at the long end, so neither is going to lock focus terribly quickly in low light, even on your 1DmkII.
If you're only going to use these for the long end, better to go with a prime, [no converter, or you're back in the slow f/stops again], and crop in PP. At least then you'll have useable AF and good starting image quality. Canon's 400mm prime is probably the tastiest thing Nikkor don't have...
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- Peter Rushworth
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The sigma 100-300mm f4 is a great lens, fast, sharp and reasonable light weight, by adding the 1.4x TC, you've created another lens, 140-420mm f5.6, and even this combo will be miles better than the 50-500, which is heavy, definitely needs a monopod for heavy use, its slow focusing and f6.3 so need good light and probably stopped down to get the best from it (can't guarantee that with UK weather) and as for minimum focal length on 100-300mm with TC, well take the TC of, and hey presso, 100-300mm f4, will meet most requirements with a cropped sensor camera. Far better lens than most of the offer budget zooms sigma has to offer.