Sigma 50-500, 150-500 or 120-400

andrew653

andrew653

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Hi,

I'm currently looking for a lens to replace my Sigma 70-300 for aviation photography and have been looking at the Sigma 50-500, 150-500 and 120-400 as they are all within my price range, I was just wondering apart from the obvious differences in focal length, do these lenses vary much? for example in image quality and auto focus speed? If anybody has used them I would be interested in hearing what they thought of the lenses, Many Thanks, Andrew
 
From reading similar threads covering these lenses before, I'm sure the 150-500 comes out on top. Might be worth doing a search.
 
new2me said:
From reading similar threads covering these lenses before, I'm sure the 150-500 comes out on top. Might be worth doing a search.
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Thanks, i'll have a search around now, from what iv'e read already some places are saying the image quality of the 50-500 is better and others are saying the 150-500, not sure who to believe
 
I found the build quality on the 50-500 to be superior to that of the 150-500.

In reply to the above post you can get 50-500 OS but it will cost you some serious wonga. If you're spending that much then a 100-400 will be better I think. At the end of the day OS is pointless for aviation IMO. You've either got the SS high enough for it not to matter for jets or you're trying to pan and I find IS/OS counterproductive when doing so.
 
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But OS\IS does matter when shooting props\helos at 1/100 - 1\200 s, at least it helps for me.
 
I have been through this quandry for a while. I hired the 50-500 & 150-500 over christmas to try them out together to see if there was any obvious difference. Being absolutely honest, there was very little noticeable difference between the lenses. I tested them over 2 days in a mixture of reasonable and poor light. Poor light caused some headaches for the AF with both lenses, but when the light was adequate to good both lenses performed well.

The OS appeared to 'snap' into operation upon activation much more visibly on the 150-500 whereas the activation looked smoother on the 50-500.

From a handling point of view, I felt the 50-500 just seemed to feel better in the hand. Having said that I would buy either. From a cost point of view the 150-500 is cheaper and I may go for that purely on a cost basis.

I am waiting for some samples of the Tamron 150-600 in a Nikon mount before making a final decision.

An interesting note I read somewhere mentioned that the 50-500 seemed to perform better on Nikon bodies, whereas the 150-500 seemed to perform better on Canon bodies. If I can find the article I will post it - for reference I used the lenses on a Nikon D300
 
I have owned both the sigma 150-500 and 50-500. I have tried both on a 2x converter too.
Both shot on my 1d mk2. Loved both lenses but I sold the 150-500 OS to fund the 50-500 OS as after loads of research I decided it was a better lens overall.

And to be honest I was not disappointed. Been out in all the storm before and after Xmas. Never had any issues apart from low low light.
I use it a lot for moon shots and wildlife. But if you can handle the weight it's also a good walking around lens when you don't know what you will be shooting.

I got my 50-500 OS for £550 on eBay.
 
I've not used any of the 50-500's so I can't comment on them TBH but I've had a 120-400 OS and the 150-500 OS and can't fault either of them. I recently sold the 120-400 and got a Canon 300 f4L IS and I use that with both the Canon Mk3 converters and get some cracking shots. The 150-500 OS is virtually permanently bolted on my 5D3 all summer and has become my 'go to' lens for all my wildlife and air show outings throughout the summer. My 70D then gets either the 300 or 70-200 f2.8L IS II and converters to mop up all the rest of the shots.

There's plenty of shots on my Flickr pages to see examples of the 150-500 in action but these are a couple of my favourites.


Starlings In The Garden 4 by modchild, on Flickr


F-16AM Fighting Falcon by modchild, on Flickr
 
Many thanks for replies and help everyone I really appreciate it, reading the above replies and seeing the shots they both seem to be quite similar so I am drawn more to the 150-500 now purely based on price, the 50-500 is about £350 more at the moment with the Sigma cash back on the 150-500, and I don't think the extra 100mm of focal length is really worth that so will probably end up buying the 150-500 unless I can find a decently priced 50-500 OS on ebay.
I have looked at the non-OS version of the 50-500 but I shoot quite a lot of helicopters and prop aircraft so preferably I would like to have an OS lens, as one of the above posters said I think it could be quite useful with lower shutter speeds.
 
if your not to fussed about the extra 100mm that the 50-500 gives you over the 150-500 that would be your best bet ,i dont know if you have used the big sigs before but they are heavy , ebay are hit and miss it took me ages to find a good 50-500 os and i end up paid good money i could have got the 150-500 new after you take the cash back off lol ,you would be better off getting the 150-500 new out the likes of wex etc
 
I previously used a 150-500 and it was a cracking good lens, the OS system is far superior to the Canon 100-400, though it is a heavier lens. The 50-500 comes in to flavours, the early version did not have OS that latest one does.
 
I'm in the same predicament but am waiting to see/try the New Tamron 150-600. I have seen a comparison review and a point was made that the Sigma's at 500 lose some sharpness whereas the Nikon 80-400 doesn't. I have seen the Nikon at various prices from £950-1800 so I suppose there are different versions.
 
I have a sig 150-500 it's a good lens but needs a lot of light. I have a friend that just bought a tammy 150-600.......wait for the tammy 150-600 they are knock your socks off sharp and fast......and at $1089 it's a bargain. There is a huge back log in the states. Are they available across the pond? Nikon mount is supposed to come out in March but they can't keep up with the Canon orders so Nikon mounts may be delayed. Check out Ugly Hedgehog there are several people using the Big Tammy.
 
I certainly can't fault the 150-500 but it is a heavy beast.
Its a great lens for hand held images with the OIS switched on
I use the 100-400L when travelling "light(ish)"

Must admit to being tempted by the Tamron though
 
I bought my 150-500 from Great Western Cameras on eBay, (see link below). They are a great company to deal with and are an official dealership for Sigma lenses. The lenses are advertised as "factory refurb" and carry a Sigma 3 year warranty. When I received mine, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was brand new and in it's original packaging.

As for the lens, it is great for Lunar, wildlife and birds, although a bit heavy after a couple of hours use. I recently bought a Dias carbon fibre tripod, which makes life a lot easier for an old chap like me.:(

If you are considering the Canon lens as an alternative. Before my purchase, I read a review comparing the two lenses, if I can find it, i will add it later.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Great-West...51181016&_sid=146718245&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322


Addendum:

I have found the comparison, so thought I would add it to this post.


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=535008
 
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I had a 150-500 and had no issues with it other than it being a little long at the wide end. For that reason I replaced it with a 50-500 and have had no regrets. Image quality is excellent and I don't have to swap lenses like I did before. I don't use it for aviation but for wildlife on our trips. Having said that, trying to keep up with a long tailed tropic bird at full speed, close in, certainly isn't easy!

As for weight, no, it's not light, but I use it on a strap mounted on the lens and not the camera so the balance makes it easier to lift. I've carried it like that, mounted on either a 5D3 or a 70D, on three hour hikes in the Galapagos Islands and on two hour treks across and up snow and ice covered islands in Antarctica with little discomfort. The results have always been worth it!
 
I use a Sigma 50-500mm OS for airshows and find it very good in decent light. From what I can see the 150-500mm and 50-500mm are very similar at the long end and you are basically paying the extra for the 50-150mm.








And one you couldn't get with the 150-500mm or new Tamron 150-600mm

50mm ;)


 
antc said:
So how did you come to the decision to get the 150-500 over the other two?

Very interested as considering these lenses myself.
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It mainly came down to the 150-500 and 50-500 in the end, after reading a bit more into the 120-400 most reviews seemed to suggest that the image quality at higher focal lengths wasn't as good as the other two and that images from the 50-500 and 150-500 are sharper at 400mm, as well as the fact that it has a shorter focal length. When it came down to the 150-500 and 50-500, I bought the 150-500 mainly because of the price difference, it would have been nice to have the extra 100mm at the lower end but I didn't think it was really worth the extra £350 that it would have cost me, and considering that the 150-500 and 50-500 seem to be quite similar in all other aspects from photos and comparisons iv'e seen.
 
andrew653 said:
It mainly came down to the 150-500 and 50-500 in the end, after reading a bit more into the 120-400 most reviews seemed to suggest that the image quality at higher focal lengths wasn't as good as the other two and that images from the 50-500 and 150-500 are sharper at 400mm, as well as the fact that it has a shorter focal length. When it came down to the 150-500 and 50-500, I bought the 150-500 mainly because of the price difference, it would have been nice to have the extra 100mm at the lower end but I didn't think it was really worth the extra £350 that it would have cost me, and considering that the 150-500 and 50-500 seem to be quite similar in all other aspects from photos and comparisons iv'e seen.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much that is really helpful!
 
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