The Bigma has arrived

I picked up my Bigma this afternoon.
Wow what a beast this is
It's really heavy but it is not to heavy and unbalanced when attached to my K20D with grip.
I have to take some practice in hand held shooting with this thing but with a monopod or tripod it is very nice.

I am allso very impressed by the complete package. You get a nice softcase to store it in and it comes with a strap to attach to the lens.

Congratulations Remco! Beautiful weather at the moment to try it out too!

Wow that's fast I'm still waiting for my lens
Good luck trying your lens out, we are expecting some photos from you now

It was in stock at a store close to where I was working today so I could pick it up easily.

The pictures will come, I was outside for a bit but it is quite hazy today so the light is quite harsh. (and those d**n birds don't sit still )

When you refer to the Bigma - is it the Sigma 150-500 lens?

If so will be interested to see the results - I'm thinking of getting one.

John

the bigma is the 50-500mm kenty, but the 150-500mm is heavier.

@Kenty: No I am referring to the 50-500.
I was thinking between the 50-500 and the 150-500.
I asked a fellow forum member on her use of the Bigma and I did a statistical analysis on the focal lengths I use and this gave me a pretty good idea that the 50-500 is the better choice for me then the 150-500.
The 150-500 is a HSM (SDM) lens so focussing is silent but the 50-500 is not any noisier than my other screw drive lenses.
My Sigma 50mm Macro is a lot noisier for example.

Mmmm - which is best - apart from the weight??

Must re-read some reviews.

John

heres some reviews kenty, the 50-500mm is around £1100 and the 150-500mm around £700
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Sigma-50500mm-f463-EX-DG-APO-HSM-4335

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Sigma-150500mm-f5663-DG-HSM-OS-10138

so the bigma has no hsm (sdm), well i did not know that

Thanks Scott - have had a quick read of the reviews - at present not too sure which would be the better for me - guess price will come into it!!!

Both reviews are good and presumably work well with the Pentax Shake reduction (I have a K10D).

Can't afford one just yet but soon I will have to make up my mind!

Thanks again.

John

depends what you want it for, i have a 170-500mm and i use it at 500mm 99% of the time, and the hsm is a big advantage in my eyes,:winkand mine is non hsm)

I don't know if the price of £1100 is right, here in the Netherlands it is less then €1000.
But then again the Pound has lost some of it's value.

I have read just about every review of the two lenses I could find including a couple of comparisons. Some say the 150-500 has a slight edge in sharpness when the lens is stopped down, other reviews tell you the oposite. If I take all the reviews with a pinch of salt I came to the conclusion that they are on par when you look at the image quality.

I have read that the 150-500 is based on the 50-500.
There are people wondering why the 50-500 is labeled "EX" and the 150-500 is not. This is due to the fact that Sigma has changed their labeling so that the "EX" label is only for constant aperture lenses so a new Bigma will not carry the EX label anymore.

from are trusted friends at srs and, think your self lucky,
http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/2169/Sigma-150-500mm-F5-6-6-3-APO-DG-HSM-Lens--...


http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/141/Sigma-50-500mm-F4-6-3-EX-DG-Lens---Pentax-F...

i did want a bigma, but i know where my money will be going,