Lens choices: Sigma 50-500, 150-600 or 70-200 with 2.0x TC on DX (Nikon D500)

JasonBrown2013

JasonBrown2013

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Jason Brown
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Hi all,

Firstly, if this in the wrong section, please feel free to move it!

Shooting a Nikon D500 and after a long lens. Presently I have the 'very entry-level' Nikon 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G which I have been using for about 3-4 years. I'm looking to upgrade to something of higher quality that focuses much faster (though I guess the D500's in-built AF system will override anything on the lens anyway?) and with a longer reach, mainly for airshow, motorsport and wildlife photography (hence for choosing the D500!) I've narrowed it down to three options really (all Sigma) - 50-500, 150-600 or 70-200 with Sigma's TC-2001 2.0x teleconverter. They all cost about the same really (in the region of £700-1,000) but I can see each having it's pros and cons. I'm not really sure which to choose.

I've found that for the airshows I've been to, 300mm, even on DX, isn't really cutting it. That's why originally I was interested in the 600mm because I thought that'd be perfect and really good for wildlife too (though to be honest, 300mm has always been OK for wildlife at the zooes, I haven't really run into too many issues). When I buy this lens I want to do more motorsport photography, go to things like stock car racing and events on at Santa Pod. Sat in the grandstand at Santa Pod the other day at Flames & Thunder, I was finding that actually the majority of my photos were taken at under 150mm, which made me reconsider the 150-600 a little bit, thinking that whilst it would probably be great for airshows, it might not be good at other things.

I thought the 70-200 f/2.8 with a 2.,0x TC could be a good option. I think a 70-200 could be useful to have for shooting in low light and as a nice portrait lens, and then I can put the 2.0x TC on it to effectively turn it into a 140-400 (f/5.6?) My only concern is whether 400mm is long enough or not for airshows? I don't really want to crop - anybody using a 400mm lens for airshows? I'm aware that the TC can reduce image quality a little, but I've heard that even with the TC on, the 70-200 is probably sharper than the 50-500. Hopefully Sigma's TC-2001 will work fine with their 70-200 f/2.8 and a D500?

Then there's the 50-500 which I can see as being relatively wide at one end and very tight at the other. That could be a good combination. Anybody used this lens, got any thoughts on it or sample images to share? Anybody used it in an airshow environment?

If you were in my situation which would you choose? Thanks!
 
3rd partly lenses and TC's you take your chance with future compatibility.
I wouldn't recommend 70-200 + 2x for much high speed even with the D500 AF, although f5.6 the image quality would take a hit from the TC.
Sigma 150-600 + dock for firmware updates and tuning would probably be my 1st choice, followed by the 50-500 if I needed wider.
 
gramps said:
3rd partly lenses and TC's you take your chance with future compatibility.
I wouldn't recommend 70-200 + 2x for much high speed even with the D500 AF, although f5.6 the image quality would take a hit from the TC.
Sigma 150-600 + dock for firmware updates and tuning would probably be my 1st choice, followed by the 50-500 if I needed wider.
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Thanks for your input! How does the 50-500 compare to the 150-600 in terms of image quality?

I guess my concern with the 600mm is that 150mm on the widest end might be a tad too tight.
 
Don't discount the Nikon 200-500mm f5.6, i recently sold my Sigma 150-600mm C and replaced it with the Nikon as i was never happy with the Sigma over 500mm, i had to stop it down to be sharp enough for even the slightest cropping, and at f8 it's only of use when lighting is perfect (rare in the UK ;) )

Note, i also had the dock and after several long attempts to tweak the focus settings i could never improve it

The Nikon is a beaut of a lens, though i have only been out with it a couple of times so far, it appears really sharp at 500mm wide open, which is where it will get most use in my hands
 
rpsmith79 said:
Don't discount the Nikon 200-500mm f5.6, i recently sold my Sigma 150-600mm C and replaced it with the Nikon as i was never happy with the Sigma over 500mm, i had to stop it down to be sharp enough for even the slightest cropping, and at f8 it's only of use when lighting is perfect (rare in the UK ;) )

Note, i also had the dock and after several long attempts to tweak the focus settings i could never improve it

The Nikon is a beaut of a lens, though i have only been out with it a couple of times so far, it appears really sharp at 500mm wide open, which is where it will get most use in my hands
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Thanks for the input! The Nikon might be a little bit too expensive but considering at one point I was considering getting both the 70-200 and 150-600 I can probably afford it (or find it used). ;) It sounds like a lovely lens - let me know how you get on with it, would be interested to hear about it.
 
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JasonBrown2013 said:
Thanks for your input! How does the 50-500 compare to the 150-600 in terms of image quality?
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It used to be pretty much the most popular lens for amateur sport and wildlife and is still very often seen, if it covers your range then it would be the cheapest option too. :)
 
gramps said:
It used to be pretty much the most popular lens for amateur sport and wildlife and is still very often seen, if it covers your range then it would be the cheapest option too. :)
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True, the range of the 50-500 is very appealing indeed - just looking into the 200-500 too but again, not sure if 200 is too tight. I suppose the 50-500 offers more flexibility.
 
Nikon 200-500 will work well with the D500 but will be 300-750 effectively remember as it's a DX body. :)
 
The flexibility of the 50-500 is great, very noticeable when you swap to a 150-600. I could use that wide end for some wider shots of the scene I would be photographing especially at an airshow. Iq wise, I think the 150-600 might be slightly better, af is very similar to me, it might be faster on the 150-600. They both have there uses, the 150-600 has performed very well in the last 2 weeks, on land with birds and at sea.
 
michael23 said:
The flexibility of the 50-500 is great, very noticeable when you swap to a 150-600. I could use that wide end for some wider shots of the scene I would be photographing especially at an airshow. Iq wise, I think the 150-600 might be slightly better, af is very similar to me, it might be faster on the 150-600. They both have there uses, the 150-600 has performed very well in the last 2 weeks, on land with birds and at sea.
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Thanks for your response, so the 50-500 is probably the way you think I should go?
 
Used to use a 300mm f4 Nikon prime on my D300 for airshows and for a while had a 1.4TC. Found I had a lot less keepers with the TC but just the 300mm gave great IQ and was relatively light to use.

As you said, 300mm is often not long enough for airshows so switched to the Tamron 150-600 which I now use on my D750 (FF). IQ is good, and probably only noticeably different to the 300mm if you pixel peep! But bearing in mind I shoot props at 1/200 or 1/250, shooting at 600mm as opposed to 300mm is a lot harder! I do have some airshow pics on here from this year with this combo. No probs with AF.

This is a pure airshow lens for me, too heavy and slow for a walk around lens!
 
Owning the 70-200 and having tried it with the 2xTC I wouldn't recommend it, IQ wasn't great. I have the Tamron 150-600 and am very happy with it.
 
I have to say I love my Sigma 150-600c, very sharp across the whole range (I'm very pleased with it at 600mm) and I've taken some of my best shots of 2016 with it. Also fantastic bang for buck.
 
Thanks for all of your replies! Very interesting to read your responses (and how quickly this thread seems to have appeared on Google! I keep finding it when I Google!)

I don't think I'll go with the 70-200 with the TC and I'm not sure about the 200-500. I guess it's still an option but I keep getting drawn to the 150-600 because of its focal length and the 50-500 because of it's range. I guess I need to think about how often I need to shoot under 150mm. I still have the 55-300 I guess but perhaps in due time this might be a lens I want to get rid of.
 
JasonBrown2013 said:
I guess I need to think about how often I need to shoot under 150mm.
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Do you use Lightroom? If so, you can select to see pictures from a certain lens, and then another column to show focal lengths used with that lens. That way you can see how often you shoot under 150mm.

(Apologies if you know this already etc)
 
Stu Meech said:
Do you use Lightroom? If so, you can select to see pictures from a certain lens, and then another column to show focal lengths used with that lens. That way you can see how often you shoot under 150mm.

(Apologies if you know this already etc)
Click to expand...
Yes I do. Funnily enough I was just looking in Lightroom at the individual photos I last took with the 55-300 to see what kind of focal lengths I shot, but I didn't know you could see all the focal lengths you'd shot at on a particular lens! Nice! :D
 
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