Sigma 50-500mm
Posted 15/01/2009 - 17:44
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It's a bit of a Marmite lens this one!
I had one in Pentax fit, and it was an impressively heavy beast!
My particular one was pants at 50mm wide open, but pretty good at 500mm stopped down to f8, which is the focal length most used anyway I would guess.
Given good light, and a fair wind, it is a very capable lens.
But, if I were buying all over again, I'd beg borrow and steal the extra cash for the Pentax 300mm f4, and use that with a Kenko 1.5x TC to get 450mm f5.6 with better image quality even with the TC than the Bigma, and a larger aperture before you start stopping down.
If you really need the zoom, then I'd still take a Sigma 100-300 f4 EX over it having owned both. The 100-300 is also very good with the TC. Both combos would also be quite a bit more manageable than the Bigma too, and the Bigma was like using a trombone sometimes!
Get a good Bigma, and you'll probably love it, but think carefully whether you really need a lens capable of 50mm to 500mm, but then it was pretty much exclusively used for wildlife. I found I was using mine mostly at 200mm to 500mm.
I took this pic with mine;
I had one in Pentax fit, and it was an impressively heavy beast!
My particular one was pants at 50mm wide open, but pretty good at 500mm stopped down to f8, which is the focal length most used anyway I would guess.
Given good light, and a fair wind, it is a very capable lens.
But, if I were buying all over again, I'd beg borrow and steal the extra cash for the Pentax 300mm f4, and use that with a Kenko 1.5x TC to get 450mm f5.6 with better image quality even with the TC than the Bigma, and a larger aperture before you start stopping down.
If you really need the zoom, then I'd still take a Sigma 100-300 f4 EX over it having owned both. The 100-300 is also very good with the TC. Both combos would also be quite a bit more manageable than the Bigma too, and the Bigma was like using a trombone sometimes!
Get a good Bigma, and you'll probably love it, but think carefully whether you really need a lens capable of 50mm to 500mm, but then it was pretty much exclusively used for wildlife. I found I was using mine mostly at 200mm to 500mm.
I took this pic with mine;
Posted 15/01/2009 - 17:47
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Tooks wrote:
... like using a trombone sometimes!
Pah, trombones are for pansies... ... like using a trombone sometimes!
Cheers, Kris.
PS, sorry. Utterly off topic!
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.
Posted 15/01/2009 - 18:22
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Well, not really OT, I did raise wind instruments first!!
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393 posts
17 years
Apart from the price, what are your thoughts or recommendations, regarding this lens?
Is the price justified, what is your main usage of this lens, Wildlife, Sports ?