Sigma telephoto lens

andyred

andyred

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Hi

I'm after some help and advice for my FIL, he's a Sony user and is looking at buying a long telephoto lens...

He's been looking at the Sigma range - the 50-500, 150-500 etc, I know little about the Sigma long telephoto lenses and am after some guidance from those in the know as to which to look at and which to avoid...

Will be looking at 2nd hand

Any help / advice greatly appreciated

A
 
I've had the 50-500 the old version and I was stunned by the quality even wide open at 500mm, of course it is slow, but being cheap and versatile as it goes from 50 to 500 makes it a great lens :) Several things to check with these lenses - back/front focus, zoom creep and dust(they are push and pull so they gather good amount of dust)
 
I have the 150-500 os. Love it. Does like good light thou. Found mine is very good at around f8. Not the lightest but I use my mainly on a monopod. Its used for mostly wildlife and motorsport. It spends lots of it time at silverstone which isn't a dust free area. Just checked it and I can hardly see any dust in there considering its been there most weekends for the past 2 years. Os works really well. I have a 70-200 2.8 which rarely comes out the bag these days.
 
the screw-driven version of the 50-500 is one of the Sigma lenses known for breaking it's AF gears on Sonys. Don't know about the 150-500.
What is his budget & intended use?
 
heidfirst said:
the screw-driven version of the 50-500 is one of the Sigma lenses known for breaking it's AF gears on Sonys. Don't know about the 150-500.
What is his budget & intended use?
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Ah, thats good to know, thanks (y)

Budget wise not sure at the moment - trying to speak to him and get a definite price band.

Use wise - poss motorsport, some Airshows and probably Birds in the garden etc, I think he's after the extra reach from 300mm
 
I had a 150-500 for a few years, cracking good lens and excellent value for money. There are two versions of the 50-500, the earlier one had no OS, whilst it is a good lens I would get either the 150-500 or if spending a bit more the later 50-500 both have the excellent OS system.

Img_1714.jpg
 
Hi,
I can't advise you on the sony version, but I have the nikon 150-500. Its a great lens, however if i was going to buy one again, id buy the 50-500 simply because I've been out and missed stuff because 150 was too close for subject or wouldn't focus because I wanted to get in closer than lens would allow. I normally use this for birding but sometimes get sidetracked if theres not much out and want to take shots that would have been easier with a 50-100 kind of range. However as I have gone out with only that lens I miss out so end up carting a 18-105 just in case.

Thats my 2 p's worth
 
andyred said:
Budget wise not sure at the moment - trying to speak to him and get a definite price band.

Use wise - poss motorsport, some Airshows and probably Birds in the garden etc, I think he's after the extra reach from 300mm
Click to expand...
The other options considered are normally the Tamron 200-500 (same potential problem as the 150-500 in that the "short" end maybe too long) & if he has the budget the Sony 70-400 G SSM.
 
artyman said:
I had a 150-500 for a few years, cracking good lens and excellent value for money. There are two versions of the 50-500, the earlier one had no OS, whilst it is a good lens I would get either the 150-500 or if spending a bit more the later 50-500 both have the excellent OS system.
Click to expand...

That's great Ken, thanks.

I presume the later 50-500 with OS is not the lens with the screw drive ?
 
Storm Guitarist said:
Hi,
I can't advise you on the sony version, but I have the nikon 150-500. Its a great lens, however if i was going to buy one again, id buy the 50-500 simply because I've been out and missed stuff because 150 was too close for subject or wouldn't focus because I wanted to get in closer than lens would allow. I normally use this for birding but sometimes get sidetracked if theres not much out and want to take shots that would have been easier with a 50-100 kind of range. However as I have gone out with only that lens I miss out so end up carting a 18-105 just in case.

Thats my 2 p's worth
Click to expand...

That's great thanks, not sure the wider end is a problem for him, but I'll certainly discuss this with him to make sure he's thought about it.

Which of the 2 lenses do you prefer (ignoring the 50-150 focal range) for focusing, image quality etc ?

Cheers
 
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heidfirst said:
The other options considered are normally the Tamron 200-500 (same potential problem as the 150-500 in that the "short" end maybe too long) & if he has the budget the Sony 70-400 G SSM.
Click to expand...

Thanks Scott

Not sure he's thought of the Tamron lens - worth a read up on.

I'd thought of the 70-400 G Sony lens as heard good things about it, but not sure what price they go for 2nd hand and how available they are.

Will let him know, cheers
 
I had the 150-500 and it was great. I replaced it with a 50-500 as the 150 was too long at times.

The 50-500 has produced some amazing results. Thoroughly recommended and excellent value for money.
 
digital said:
I had the 150-500 and it was great. I replaced it with a 50-500 as the 150 was too long at times.

The 50-500 has produced some amazing results. Thoroughly recommended and excellent value for money.
Click to expand...

Which of the 2 do you think is best (ignoring the focal length difference upto 150mm) for focusing, image quality etc ?

Cheers
 
I didn't do any side-by-side comparisons. I just know that they're really good lenses!
 
The OS versions of the 50-500 & 150-500 have HSM so not screw-driven.
s/h versions of the Sony 70-400 G typically go for £800-1000, might get slightly cheaper & more available now that the G II is out. If he can afford it that's the lens that tends to get the nod over the others by most.
Which body is he using?
 
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heidfirst said:
The OS versions of the 50-500 & 150-500 have HSM so not screw-driven.
s/h versions of the Sony 70-400 G typically go for £800-1000, might get slightly cheaper & more available now that the G II is out. If he can afford it that's the lens that tends to get the nod over the others by most.
Which body is he using?
Click to expand...

Thanks, thats good to know about the HSM version...

He's using the A700 as well as his older Minolta 5D

Will keep an eye open, I've put a wanted add up in

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=487739

Thanks again
A
 
andyred said:
That's great thanks, not sure the wider end is a problem for him, but I'll certainly discuss this with him to make sure he's thought about it.

Which of the 2 lenses do you prefer (ignoring the 50-150 focal range) for focusing, image quality etc ?

Cheers
Click to expand...

My preference is my 300 f4 as that is lightening quick and sharper better contrast. But I'm still a sucker for taking out the 150-500 unless winter then poor light the 300 f4 produces good shots that the sigma will fail with. I haven't been able to try a 50-500 so I cant tell wether better or worse.(like I say I'm Nikon)

On the other side of things I have noticed since I upgraded to the d7100 the higher resolution really shows up the lens weakness at 500
 
Storm Guitarist said:
My preference is my 300 f4 as that is lightening quick and sharper better contrast. But I'm still a sucker for taking out the 150-500 unless winter then poor light the 300 f4 produces good shots that the sigma will fail with. I haven't been able to try a 50-500 so I cant tell wether better or worse.(like I say I'm Nikon)

On the other side of things I have noticed since I upgraded to the d7100 the higher resolution really shows up the lens weakness at 500
Click to expand...

Thanks ian

Am seeing FIL over weekend, so am going to try to get a def idea of budget from him.


The 50-500 and 150-500 seem to be F6.3 at long end - does this still allow AF on the Sony body does anyone know ?
 
andyred said:
Thanks ian

Am seeing FIL over weekend, so am going to try to get a def idea of budget from him.

The 50-500 and 150-500 seem to be F6.3 at long end - does this still allow AF on the Sony body does anyone know ?
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Yes, you should still get AF with them (I've not used either, but have considered them in the past & read a number of user reviews of them over on Dyxum Lens database - I'm reasonably sure I'd have remembered (and people would have noted) if they lost AF at the long end)
 
I have just purchased the Sigma 150-500 for my Sony a230, just received it yesterday and had a quick play out the backdoor snapping small sparrows etc and from what little time I had I can say im pleased so far with the results it produced, its a bit heavy but nothing that's uncomfortable and I would recommend it, I mostly snap aircraft and will be using it at Waddington airshow next week so hopefully get a few keepers
 
I've got a Sigma 150-500 OS and I love it. It's my most used lens throughout the summer for air shows and wildlife. I'll be at Waddington both days next weekend and I'll be borrowing the wife's 120-400 OS as well.

Will have my 150-500 on my 5D3 and the 120-400 on either my 7D or 1D MkIII. My 150-500 is very sharp at f6.3 (wide open) and I got a load of great photos at Waddington last year despite the weather being poor. The weather forecast sounds reasonable for next week so hopefully it should be good for photography.
 
Thanks Guys

Think he has decided on one of the xx-500 lenses, unless a Sony 70-400G lens pops up at a very good price. His other option for a lens is a 70-200 2.8 - he can't afford both, but wants either, so it may well come down to which lens comes 1st at the right price...
 
Mike.P said:
Used Sigma 100-300mm f4 and a 1.4x teleconverter.

Superb lens, sharp at f4 and loses nothing with the tc, ideal for a Sony due to the inbody stabilisation. (use one on my Pentax K-5II).
Click to expand...

Cheers Mike
 
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