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Sigma 150mm to 500mm for bird pix. Any advice?
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Enthusiastic beginner (still!!) thinking about going up to a longer lens. Really want to photograph birds and was wondering what advice others with the same interest have to offer. BTW I’m using a nikon d40 and don’t want to spend huge amount for a prime lens although looking at some of the pix on Nature and Wildlife forum maybe I’m running before i can walk? – (I’ve only got the camera since just before last Christmas). I’ve seen Sigma 150-500mm lens (Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM) advertised elsewhere but no reviews – his could be the answer (I have a nikon 55-200 VR lens but need longer. Thanks in advance for any help. regards Kieran (Cork)
I had the Sigma 150-500 and sold traded it in a few months afterwards. I think Conns might still be trying to get rid of it, 2 years later :) It’s not a good lens. If you do want long glass but don’t want to go crazy then there’s two decent options:
– Sigma DG 50-500: It’s flexble and popular with birders. It’s not the fastest in the world but it is good.
– Canon EF 400 F5.6: It’s sharp and a lower cost long prime. Doesn’t have image stabilisation. It’s a prime so it’s not flexible, e.g. my EF 100-400L is handy when I’m dealing with larger subjects that come closer.Look at the HK based shops on EBay. There’s plenty of threads to search through on here on that very subject.
Watch out when you do get a long lens. It’s a lot different to using a short lens. Rock solida support and understanding the minimum hand-holding shutter speed are important, otherwise you end up with lots of handshake and soft photos.
joe_elway wrote:
Watch out when you do get a long lens. It’s a lot different to using a short lens. Rock solida support and understanding the minimum hand-holding shutter speed are important, otherwise you end up with lots of handshake and soft photos.
A good question that you have to ask yourself… Do you have a solid tripod and a good tripod head? Anything longer than 300mm is not really hand holdable without vibration reduction/image stabilization. If you shoot at 500mm, even the sharpest lenses will give you poor quality pictures due to camera shake.
When I had the kind of lens lust you have now, I bought a 30 years old 300mm Nikkor lens for a little bit more than €100 on ebay. I am not sure if it would work at all on a Nikon D40 though. You could try finding one of the newer (less than 10 years old) 300/4 Af-D or Af-S Nikkor lenses. They are very sharp and not too expensive… also, you can use them on a cheaper tripod or hand held at fast shutter speeds.
The third party long zoom lenses are not stellar, and not worth that kind of money in my opinion.
Nikon 300mm AF-S F4 and a Nikon 1.7 converter are supposed to be a great combination. Will give you 300mm and 510mm
Im using the 1.7 converter on the 2.8 VR 70-200mm and its great
M
Thanks to everybody who took time out to reply. I apologise for not getting back sooner – its a long story! Well having decided I wouldn’t go the telecoverter route I’ve made up my mind to either get the 50-500mm HSM lens from Sigma OR wait a little (will probably do this) while and check out Sigma’s new 150-500mm OS hsm lens anthough there are conflicting reports on the Canon fit.
Another option is Sigma 80 400 APO with image stabilization. A good lens and you can handhold, with good technique, at fairly low shutter speeds.
See this handheld at 1/100 at around 350mm
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=18037
Hi wrongfont, I use the Sigma 50-500 and find it nice and sharp as per the above link, if it’s any help to you.
It is a heavy lens and not image stabilized so a tripod is a must and most of the time too you will need a cable release.
Best of luck.
Pat
just saw this if this is what you’re looking for.
lousy wrote:
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=18037
Hi wrongfont, I use the Sigma 50-500 and find it nice and sharp as per the above link, if it’s any help to you.
It is a heavy lens and not image stabilized so a tripod is a must and most of the time too you will need a cable release.
Best of luck.
Pat
Thanks Pat/Neelly/Summerdream. I’ve been looking at your pix and am very impressed. I bought the camera to take pix of birds (mainly) and wildlife in general – no other reason. Because I’m new to the whole area of photography i could easily bore – and everybody else – you with too many questions but a few are (if you or others don’t mind); how important is the ability to auto focus? I know a tripod is a must but for general wildlife shots if the animals don’t regularly come to where you are setting up the tripod must be a nightmare. then again this is the beauty and skill of this type of photography I suppose? Sigma are due to bring out an 150-500mm OS (stabilized) hsm lens. This I imagine would be worth waiting for rather that buying the 50-500 now? – although the wait is driving me mad. Once again thanks to everyone for the advice.
regards Kieran
I don’t necessarily agree with the tripod being required with the Bigma. If you bump up your ISO you can get fast shutter speeds with the Bigma. IS is useful but you can do a lot for yourself by making your camera work for you. I do have built in IS but I never (rarely) use a tripod or monopod. You may use a wall or a tree or any solid object to support your lens and camera so bare that in mind.
And as for a 150-500mm – you’re loosing a lot of range between 50-150 which would be an awful pity just so that you can get the minor benefits of IS.Alan
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