150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

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ted633
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150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by ted633 »

Anybody here had any experiences / suggestions when it comes to the 150-600mm lenses, those being the Tamron & the 2 Sigmas (Sport & Contemporary). My current 50-500 is usually alright at the long end, but when the light drops and the aperture is wide open most images are barely usable. Given this and the now more distant flying, I think the 500-600mm range is far more useful than the 50-150mm range. I'm aware there are reviews online, but I'm only really interested in the pro's & con's for airshows and not wildlife / sport etc.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as if I have time / decide, I may be getting one before a certain big event this weekend!

(Apologies if this is a repeat thread, had a quick search on the forum but couldn't see one)

pb643
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by pb643 »

At the time I purchased last year, the reviews were virtually equally split. I believe the Tamron has had an update since I purchased last year and I can't comment on that.

I went for the Sigma C, rather than the Tamron. Sigma Sport was out of my price range and I liked the concept of being able to update the software and customise to some degree via the docking pod. Though I did begrudge having to buy the docking station separately. There has been one update in the year, so I am not sure if I have fallen for a gimmick or not.

I upgraded from a Canon 100-400L and I don't regret the upgrade, it is a definite improvement in focusing speed and I like the customisation settings, though to be fair, I haven't decided which of the options are definitively best.
I do feel it is a heavy lump, it feels heavier than the old lens. As a result I have invested in a diagonal sling type of strap.

Hope this helps.
Phil

EDIT: If you are an Amazon prime member, their are both a Canon and Nikon Sigma C, in there Warehouse deals section at a reduced price. For today only you can get an additional 20% discount. (£706 down to £564 and £723 down to £578)

I bought mine from Amazon warehouse deals and saved around £150, the box was a bit rough, but I am sure the internal packaging had never been open. Still got a full warranty and they are UK stock.

Canon
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Canon »

I use the Sigma 150-600mm contemporary lens on a Canon 80D.
Absolutely amazing lens, not too heavy (easy to handhold all day at an airshow).
Had it for over a year now, by far my favourite lens that I've ever used. Definitely sharper than my Canon 70-300mm L lens. However when shooting at full 600mm it can be a little soft if not stopped down to f/8.
I would also recommend making sure you've got a rugged camera body to go with it, felt like I was going to snap my 600D when turning the zoom ring at first due to it being stiff.
I don't bother with a strap, I just hold it by the tripod collar on the lens, my only problem with it however is that the tripod collar is annoyingly small at first until you get used to it (definitely could do with a bigger one like on the sports version, anyone know of any cheap third party replacement ones?).
I also own the dock, however I have never used it to customise this lens as I felt mine was good enough out the box with no adjustments.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone
Canon 80D
Canon 600D
Sigma 150-600mm C
Canon 70-300mm L
Sigma 18-300mm C

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JJC
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by JJC »

pb643 wrote:At the time I purchased last year, the reviews were virtually equally split. I believe the Tamron has had an update since I purchased last year and I can't comment on that.

I went for the Sigma C, rather than the Tamron. Sigma Sport was out of my price range and I liked the concept of being able to update the software and customise to some degree via the docking pod. Though I did begrudge having to buy the docking station separately. There has been one update in the year, so I am not sure if I have fallen for a gimmick or not.

I upgraded from a Canon 100-400L and I don't regret the upgrade, it is a definite improvement in focusing speed and I like the customisation settings, though to be fair, I haven't decided which of the options are definitively best.
I do feel it is a heavy lump, it feels heavier than the old lens. As a result I have invested in a diagonal sling type of strap.

Hope this helps.
Phil

EDIT: If you are an Amazon prime member, their are both a Canon and Nikon Sigma C, in there Warehouse deals section at a reduced price. For today only you can get an additional 20% discount. (£706 down to £564 and £723 down to £578)

I bought mine from Amazon warehouse deals and saved around £150, the box was a bit rough, but I am sure the internal packaging had never been open. Still got a full warranty and they are UK stock.


What was the condition of the one you bought described as? Ones currently listed are 'very good' :smile:
''Time to dive into the fireworks!''

pb643
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by pb643 »

JJC wrote:
pb643 wrote:At the time I purchased last year, the reviews were virtually equally split. I believe the Tamron has had an update since I purchased last year and I can't comment on that.

I went for the Sigma C, rather than the Tamron. Sigma Sport was out of my price range and I liked the concept of being able to update the software and customise to some degree via the docking pod. Though I did begrudge having to buy the docking station separately. There has been one update in the year, so I am not sure if I have fallen for a gimmick or not.

I upgraded from a Canon 100-400L and I don't regret the upgrade, it is a definite improvement in focusing speed and I like the customisation settings, though to be fair, I haven't decided which of the options are definitively best.
I do feel it is a heavy lump, it feels heavier than the old lens. As a result I have invested in a diagonal sling type of strap.

Hope this helps.
Phil

EDIT: If you are an Amazon prime member, their are both a Canon and Nikon Sigma C, in there Warehouse deals section at a reduced price. For today only you can get an additional 20% discount. (£706 down to £564 and £723 down to £578)

I bought mine from Amazon warehouse deals and saved around £150, the box was a bit rough, but I am sure the internal packaging had never been open. Still got a full warranty and they are UK stock.


What was the condition of the one you bought described as? Ones currently listed are 'very good' :smile:


I honestly can't recall. I suspect it was the same. The description was nonsense, it talked about a "1cm mark on the screen", which I made no sense.
I decided to chance it, on the basis that I could always return it if the description didn't match.

If you are tempted, then I would strongly suggest you go for it. I have never had any problems returning things.

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JJC
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by JJC »

pb643 wrote:
JJC wrote:
pb643 wrote:At the time I purchased last year, the reviews were virtually equally split. I believe the Tamron has had an update since I purchased last year and I can't comment on that.

I went for the Sigma C, rather than the Tamron. Sigma Sport was out of my price range and I liked the concept of being able to update the software and customise to some degree via the docking pod. Though I did begrudge having to buy the docking station separately. There has been one update in the year, so I am not sure if I have fallen for a gimmick or not.

I upgraded from a Canon 100-400L and I don't regret the upgrade, it is a definite improvement in focusing speed and I like the customisation settings, though to be fair, I haven't decided which of the options are definitively best.
I do feel it is a heavy lump, it feels heavier than the old lens. As a result I have invested in a diagonal sling type of strap.

Hope this helps.
Phil

EDIT: If you are an Amazon prime member, their are both a Canon and Nikon Sigma C, in there Warehouse deals section at a reduced price. For today only you can get an additional 20% discount. (£706 down to £564 and £723 down to £578)

I bought mine from Amazon warehouse deals and saved around £150, the box was a bit rough, but I am sure the internal packaging had never been open. Still got a full warranty and they are UK stock.


What was the condition of the one you bought described as? Ones currently listed are 'very good' :smile:


I honestly can't recall. I suspect it was the same. The description was nonsense, it talked about a "1cm mark on the screen", which I made no sense.
I decided to chance it, on the basis that I could always return it if the description didn't match.

If you are tempted, then I would strongly suggest you go for it. I have never had any problems returning things.


Thanks very much for the advice! Unfortunately appears to have gone already, but will definitely be considering one of these lenses sooner than later.
''Time to dive into the fireworks!''

pb643
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by pb643 »

JJC wrote:
pb643 wrote:
JJC wrote:
pb643 wrote:At the time I purchased last year, the reviews were virtually equally split. I believe the Tamron has had an update since I purchased last year and I can't comment on that.

I went for the Sigma C, rather than the Tamron. Sigma Sport was out of my price range and I liked the concept of being able to update the software and customise to some degree via the docking pod. Though I did begrudge having to buy the docking station separately. There has been one update in the year, so I am not sure if I have fallen for a gimmick or not.

I upgraded from a Canon 100-400L and I don't regret the upgrade, it is a definite improvement in focusing speed and I like the customisation settings, though to be fair, I haven't decided which of the options are definitively best.
I do feel it is a heavy lump, it feels heavier than the old lens. As a result I have invested in a diagonal sling type of strap.

Hope this helps.
Phil

EDIT: If you are an Amazon prime member, their are both a Canon and Nikon Sigma C, in there Warehouse deals section at a reduced price. For today only you can get an additional 20% discount. (£706 down to £564 and £723 down to £578)

I bought mine from Amazon warehouse deals and saved around £150, the box was a bit rough, but I am sure the internal packaging had never been open. Still got a full warranty and they are UK stock.


What was the condition of the one you bought described as? Ones currently listed are 'very good' :smile:


I honestly can't recall. I suspect it was the same. The description was nonsense, it talked about a "1cm mark on the screen", which I made no sense.
I decided to chance it, on the basis that I could always return it if the description didn't match.

If you are tempted, then I would strongly suggest you go for it. I have never had any problems returning things.


Thanks very much for the advice! Unfortunately appears to have gone already, but will definitely be considering one of these lenses sooner than later.



Somebody got a bargain. :sad:

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tommercer
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by tommercer »

Canon wrote:I use the Sigma 150-600mm contemporary lens on a Canon 80D.
Absolutely amazing lens, not too heavy (easy to handhold all day at an airshow).
Had it for over a year now, by far my favourite lens that I've ever used. Definitely sharper than my Canon 70-300mm L lens. However when shooting at full 600mm it can be a little soft if not stopped down to f/8.
I would also recommend making sure you've got a rugged camera body to go with it, felt like I was going to snap my 600D when turning the zoom ring at first due to it being stiff.
I don't bother with a strap, I just hold it by the tripod collar on the lens, my only problem with it however is that the tripod collar is annoyingly small at first until you get used to it (definitely could do with a bigger one like on the sports version, anyone know of any cheap third party replacement ones?).
I also own the dock, however I have never used it to customise this lens as I felt mine was good enough out the box with no adjustments.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone


Your comment bout it being sharper than the 70-300 L interests me because that what I use at the moment. Have you got any shots you could share please?

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Col. Chibani
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Col. Chibani »

I have the Sigma 150-600 Sport, associated with a Nikon D7100 (Dx).
I mainly use it handheld (and believe me, I am not on the strong side !). It is quite tiring, especially at the end of airshows.
Check my Flickr gallery for the results. This year, at La Ferté, I tried low speeds (1/320), to avoid getting frozen props. The heavy weight of the lens did not make this task easy for me. As an indication, 10% of my photos were "OK", according to my standards, but I am quite pleased by the results.
According to the reviews, the Contemporary and the Sport have quite the same IQ, but the Sport is build stronger and is watersealed. The latter was important to me, as I take also photos from boats. It is also handy for UK airshow weather ... :sweat: At this time, the Tamron G2 was not available, and the Tamron G1 did not have the stabilization mode that enables panning shots. So my choice was obvious (and my personal banker was OK).

Hope this helps !
Last edited by Col. Chibani on Wed 12 Jul 2017, 11:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ted633
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by ted633 »

Cheers for all the replies and advice. As there doesn't seem to be much difference between the sport & contemporary except the build materials & weather sealing, and it seems to be highly recommended, I will take a trip to the camera store on friday to pickup a new 150-600 contemporary.
Bring on RIAT!

Canon
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Canon »

Here is a link to a collection of photos I've taken with the Sigma 150-600mm C. Photo quality has improved (IMO) as I've got more used to the lens and got slightly better (although still terrible) at editing:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-B5utCVyCvfZUR0MDRNclRmcmc

I don't have any direct comparisons with the 70-300mm L lens unfortunately.
Canon 80D
Canon 600D
Sigma 150-600mm C
Canon 70-300mm L
Sigma 18-300mm C

austinp
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by austinp »

Meant to reply the other day :-S

I traded my Sigma 120-400 for the Sigma 150-600C. At first I regretted it. But not so anymore.

It weighs a little more, but it is bloody huge; and that's the thing that got to me at first. But now I've got used to it, I've been getting some cracking hand-held shots. I'm not at home, so can't post any I'm afraid.

The Sport version, not only costs a lot more, but it adds at least another kilogram in weight.

Despite the Contemporary version not having the weather proofing, the answer is simple. Grab yourself a decent weather proof cover for it. I grabbed one on offer from LensCoat in the US (they had a decent offer on), but there are plenty of equivalents in the UK all for a reasonable price.

Buy it, and enjoy it, you'll never look back.

Hope that backs up your decision :-)

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ted633
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by ted633 »

Bought one on Friday for just under £800 from Park Cameras, who also gave me £430 for my old lens which I was pretty chuffed about. Once again, thanks for the recommendations, you are all absolutely correct. No regrets whatsoever, so much sharper than the previous one. Didn't miss the 50-150 range at all (bar a couple of Red Arrows & Pat. Suisse passes) and was very grateful for the extra 100mm on the long end. Also, liked the option to limit the focus distance to a minimum of 10m, meant it take as long to re - focus after I'd made a mess of it the first time around!

rob68
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by rob68 »

Got to admit i have a problem with the weight of the S, met a few others at Marham who said they were as well. Monopod helps for BTCC but not airshows.

Has anyone else purchased a filter for protection or not bothered?

Canon
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Canon »

ted633 wrote:Bought one on Friday for just under £800 from Park Cameras, who also gave me £430 for my old lens which I was pretty chuffed about. Once again, thanks for the recommendations, you are all absolutely correct. No regrets whatsoever, so much sharper than the previous one. Didn't miss the 50-150 range at all (bar a couple of Red Arrows & Pat. Suisse passes) and was very grateful for the extra 100mm on the long end. Also, liked the option to limit the focus distance to a minimum of 10m, meant it take as long to re - focus after I'd made a mess of it the first time around!


Never had a problem with focusing speed even when set to the full range on my 600D it would snap into focus straight away
Canon 80D
Canon 600D
Sigma 150-600mm C
Canon 70-300mm L
Sigma 18-300mm C

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ted633
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by ted633 »

Canon wrote:Never had a problem with focusing speed even when set to the full range on my 600D it would snap into focus straight away


Wasn't a complaint about the lens, more my skill of keeping the subject in the frame whilst focusing!

Mfoster
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Mfoster »

The flying shots that I have just posted were on the Tamron 150-600 G2 I felt that it was a really nice lens with the focus snapping fast to the subject

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DerekF
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by DerekF »

ted633 wrote:
Canon wrote:Never had a problem with focusing speed even when set to the full range on my 600D it would snap into focus straight away


Wasn't a complaint about the lens, more my skill of keeping the subject in the frame whilst focusing!


I have that issue too.

These taken with a Nikon D600 and Sigma 150-600 C lens. Some with fairly brutal crops.

http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=78143

I've been using the back focus button method and I'm getting far more "keepers" than before. I still forget to focus sometimes but I'm getting better. :oops:

Canon
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Re: 150 - 600mm lenses - Which One?

Post by Canon »

Has any one who has the 150-600mm C lens used it with the 'new' sigma 1.4x TC. If so, what is image quality like etc? It should autofocus on my 80D, so I'm tempted to buy one, but at £250 on Amazon thats a lot of money to spend on something that will only work on one lens and will have very limited use (especially if the image quality is terrible as a result of using it)
Canon 80D
Canon 600D
Sigma 150-600mm C
Canon 70-300mm L
Sigma 18-300mm C

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