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Bigma or new 150-500mm?
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I’ve been reading the above posts and am considering buying a long zoom. I have my eye on either the Sigma 150-500 f5-6.3 (€900) http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3348&navigator=3 or the Nikon 80-400 f4.5/5.6 (€1590) http://www.europe-nikon.com/product/en_GB/products/broad/632/overview.html
Unfortunately my budget definitely won’t stretch to the Nikon 200-400 f4 at €6500!
Reading above hasn’t been non-committal about the Sigma and I was wondering what people think of it and also how it compares to the Nikon. While the Sigma offers a longer focal length for €600 less, the aperture is slower and I haven’t heard anyone raving over it. Has anyone used the Nikon lens and how does it compare? I will be using it on a D300, not, I suppose, that this matters. Advice anyone?David
Hi David,
I have had an 80-400 Nikikor since last November and am pleased with it. I use it on a D300.
What kind of photography do you do? This lens is not the fastest to focus and thus there probably are better offerings for for birds in flight or sport etc.
I think I paid about €1200 for it, new.
Aedan
How about the Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x extender, giving you a 168-420mm f4 lens
You should be able to pick up the 120-300mm for around the €1500 mark and another €100 odd for the converter.
The 120-300mm on it’s own is as sharp as a knife. With the converter onboard the images are slightly softer but barely noticeable. Only issue I have is the weight. You will need to use a monopod after a while shooting as it’s fairly hefty.
AedanC wrote:
Hi David,
I have had an 80-400 Nikikor since last November and am pleased with it. I use it on a D300.
What kind of photography do you do? This lens is not the fastest to focus and thus there probably are better offerings for for birds in flight or sport etc.
I think I paid about €1200 for it, new.
Aedan
I’ve always had a yearning to do some bird photography and having looked at these bird pics it has started me thinking again. I think the 300mm would be a bit short, based on John’s photos, so something that went up to 400 or 500 would be preferable. I used to have a 300mm f2.8 and it was a bit of a monster to use and it didn’t have VR so I offloaded it earlier this year. Now I’m not sure that it was a wise move but the cash came in handy.
The Sigma 150-500 is a big lens but it has Optical Stabilizer which would help. The Nikon is a VR lens too but I’ve never handled one so I don’t know how big it is or how it feels.
The Sigma 120-300 f2.8 is a bit more than I want to spend. At $4200 list price I would reckon that it would be about €4000 here and even second hand would still be quite expensive.I think I still have more homework to do on this but thanks for the advice, it gives me something to go on,
David
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