Which long telephoto zoom?

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Paul
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I am just about to purchase a long zoom, but I cannot make up my mind between the Nikon 200 - 500, or the two Sigma 150 -600's.

I will be using for Airshows and wildlife / bird photography, fitted on a Nikon D750.

I am not as young as I used to be! so weight could be a major consideration.

This seems to lead towards the Sigma contemporary

Any thoughts please?

Paul
 
There is separate threads on here for each of the 3 lenses, take a look through them. Unless you come across someone who has owned all 3, any owner is going to recommend the one they own. I have the sigma C and am really happy with it.
 
It's a tough one ... on the one hand the f5.6 of the Nikon 200-500 is very appealing but there is no doubt that reports indicate the AF on this lens to be slower than most action photographers would like.
The Sigma lenses seem to perform well but there appears to be some variances in quality/performance but a good one seems to be good with the main difference between the two being the build of the Sport version. There are some indications that the Sport is slightly sharper than the Contemporary but it depends who you listen to, the design is certainly different between the two.
As a wildlife/bird photographer I need reach from a lens so the initial choice between 500mm & 600mm is a no-brainer but the Sigma Sport is a heavy beast so may not be the best choice for you ... allegedly the Sigma will take a TC 1.4 but it will take you to the edge for AF depending on your camera body.
The addition of the Sigma dock will allow you to tailor the AF to your preferences (to a degree) so that is very useful and it can allow firmware updates which is a real benefit for a 3rd-party lens.

It's a difficult choice but I think the Sigma Contemporary with the optional dock tops it for your particular needs :)
 
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Many thanks for the replies
I think, as gramps suggests, the Contemporary is the way to go
I have looked through all 3 threads and there does not appear to be any one head and shoulders above the others
 
I always find this guy's reviews very reliable tbh.

https://photographylife.com/nikon-200-500mm-vs-tamron-150-600mm-vs-sigma-150-600mm-c


I have the Tamron, but at the time the Nikon wasn't out and the Sigma was £200 more. Now I'd probably choose the Sigma so that I could use the dock with it, although on saying that my camera doesn't seem to like Sigma (but would hope the dock helped with that). However, I'm more than happy with the performance of the Tamron. I couldn't justify the extra cost of the Nikon being as it's really no better optically, weighs more and costs more.
 
I considered all 3 a couple of months ago Paul. I went for the Contemporary in the end, the price was obviously appealing but weight played a big factor.

I'll think nothing of walking 5 mile plus with mine, fairly comfortably, over mi shoulder on a D7000 and grip.

Mines never off the body, its all I use these days and I've been really happy with performance but did have to take the first one back to the shop with AF problems and exchanged it. I haven't heard of this being a common problem though.

If I had to find a negative, it would be low light focusing tracking bif can be poor but I think I expect far too much from it anyway :D

Have a quick look on mi flickr if you like, all recent photos are with the 150-600C, value for money, it definitely gets a (y) from me.
 
I too looked at all 3, and settled on the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary.
Several reasons....
- Extra reach over the 200-500mm
- Although the sport may be slightly sharper, it's a lot heavier and more expensive, and I didn't need the weatherproofing.
- The contemporary is great value for money, and I've been more than happy with mines. In fact, I think it may be permanently stuck to my D7000 :)
I put the money I saved towards a sigma 105 macro which has been used about 3 times...
 
If weight is a big factor, the Tamron is, I believe, much lighter than either of the Sigma's.

I have the Tamron and I've had some great results with it. I haven't had much success with birds in flight though, which could be that the focussing is very slow, or it could be that I'm very slow.........

It does suck in a hell of a lot of dust.
 
as has been said the recommendations will come with what you use ,i have the sigma 150-600 sport and i totally love it ,not used (but tried) the C model and feel the S has a bit of a advantage .just gut feeling really . as to weight being a problem i don't find it is really i use a black rapid sport strap to carry mine ,its by my side as i walk around ready for action as soon as i spot a bird .i tend to use mine hand held around 95% of the time with no problems ,see my pics in the sport lens thread . and btw i'm fast approaching 71 so age doesn't come into it

below hand held b.i.f after a couple of hours walkabout
hi flyer by jeff and jan cohen, on Flickr
 
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I recently bought the Tamron 150-600. Must have read every review available on all the lenses mentioned here.
After careful consideration and thinking about my budget I opted for the Tamron, have been amazed with this lens, just my choice.
 
jerry12953 said:
If weight is a big factor, the Tamron is, I believe, much lighter than either of the Sigma's.
Click to expand...
The Tamron and Sigma Contemporary are the same weight at just over 1.9kg. The Nikon is heavier at 2.3kg and the Sigma Sport is the heaviest at 2.9kg.

I have the Tamron and I've had some great results with it. I haven't had much success with birds in flight though, which could be that the focussing is very slow, or it could be that I'm very slow.........

It does suck in a hell of a lot of dust.
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It does indeed suck in a large amount of dust, although it doesn't affect IQ on mine. I've read some people have had them cleaned by Tamron for free as apparently Tamron are aware of the issue, but I've not checked for myself.
 
Having been through this pain myself, i eventually went with the Sigma C, Reasons why Weight and cost, the differences in the sport are only really noticeable at the long end 600mm, where it does go ahead in the sharpness stakes, quite a lot of reviews talking around this dilemma and the pros and cons at differing MM over each other.
One thing that sigma have is the USB dock, and if used properly with products like Focal pro, you can dial in the lens to be even sharper, The USB dock allows 16 variations over 4 segments at 150mm 250mm 400mm and 600mm for you to dial in the focus if you feel you need more.

The Nikon is a very good lens, the problem i had with it is the 200mm short end on my D500 is effectively 300mm which is massive for what i do, the sigma is slightly shorter ar DX 225-900mm which helps me a lot in shooting motorsports. The other thing is weight, when i walk around the track the D500 and SIgma C do become heavy, but with the sport i bet its a killer, and also the fact that i pan a lot panning with a 3KG lens just wouldn't be doable for long.

For Birding and Wildlife id consider all 3 and probably go for the sport
For Bikes Cars and Birding id go Sigma C or Nikon, but prob Sigma due to the ability to have the USB dock

As for Tamron its as good as the Sigma, i only went sigma because of 2 things You can lock the lens at varying focal lengths and you also have 2 custom switches on the lens, so that once you've attached the USB dock, you can in essence have lightning fast focus on 1 and super duper steady shot on 2 and normal is normal, good for when you want to test things....the other is the Tamron is labelled a dust pump, at least the Sigma C has some sealing and the sport is fully sealed..
 
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When I researched for mine I went with the Tamron, in part due to long end sharpness, as I'm not using mine much due to moving to closer subjects I'm actually selling it too, so I may sound a little biased.

The only thing I think could have lent me to Sigma was the dock, but I was lucky enough to get a good one - although in fairness I've not had issues some seem to have with either Sigma or Tamron and I've had the Sigma 150-500, 50-500 and Tamron 150-600 Vc (as well as a Canon100-400 and 400l) over the years.

Of course you don't have to stick to just birding though - its a very adaptable range.


Flight by John Norton, on Flickr


Leave none behind by John Norton, on Flickr


DSC_2931 by John Norton, on Flickr
 
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Bobsyeruncle said:
I too looked at all 3, and settled on the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary.
Several reasons....
- Extra reach over the 200-500mm
- Although the sport may be slightly sharper, it's a lot heavier and more expensive, and I didn't need the weatherproofing.
- The contemporary is great value for money, and I've been more than happy with mines. In fact, I think it may be permanently stuck to my D7000 :)
I put the money I saved towards a sigma 105 macro which has been used about 3 times...
Click to expand...
I didn't find the Sport any sharper at all than the contemporary, and I bought the C after testing the two extensively.

OP - for real world action stuff, see my British GP post where the lens was utterly faultless all day :) https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/british-f1-gp-2016.630125/

As a side note, there does seem to be a bit of copy variation and QC issues on the Tamron if you Google, with a lot seemingly being soft past 500mm?
 
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littleted said:
Having been through this pain myself, i eventually went with the Sigma C, Reasons why Weight and cost, the differences in the sport are only really noticeable at the long end 600mm, where it does go ahead in the sharpness stakes, quite a lot of reviews talking around this dilemma and the pros and cons at differing MM over each other.
One thing that sigma have is the USB dock, and if used properly with products like Focal pro, you can dial in the lens to be even sharper, The USB dock allows 16 variations over 4 segments at 150mm 250mm 400mm and 600mm for you to dial in the focus if you feel you need more.

The Nikon is a very good lens, the problem i had with it is the 200mm short end on my D500 is effectively 300mm which is massive for what i do, the sigma is slightly shorter ar DX 225-900mm which helps me a lot in shooting motorsports. The other thing is weight, when i walk around the track the D500 and SIgma C do become heavy, but with the sport i bet its a killer, and also the fact that i pan a lot panning with a 3KG lens just wouldn't be doable for long.

For Birding and Wildlife id consider all 3 and probably go for the sport
For Bikes Cars and Birding id go Sigma C or Nikon, but prob Sigma due to the ability to have the USB dock

As for Tamron its as good as the Sigma, i only went sigma because of 2 things You can lock the lens at varying focal lengths and you also have 2 custom switches on the lens, so that once you've attached the USB dock, you can in essence have lightning fast focus on 1 and super duper steady shot on 2 and normal is normal, good for when you want to test things....the other is the Tamron is labelled a dust pump, at least the Sigma C has some sealing and the sport is fully sealed..
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At 600mm I found them to be the same. And I can't put that down to copy variation as the C version that was delivered was just as good. These reviews can be subjective, as technique has more relevance at such long lengths!
 
odd jim said:
At 600mm I found them to be the same. And I can't put that down to copy variation as the C version that was delivered was just as good. These reviews can be subjective, as technique has more relevance at such long lengths!
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that's good to know Jim, i was only going by what i read, i have to admit there wasn't much in them for the extra...
 
odd jim said:
I didn't find the Sport any sharper at all than the contemporary, and I bought the C after testing the two extensively.

OP - for real world action stuff, see my British GP post where the lens was utterly faultless all day :) https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/british-f1-gp-2016.630125/

As a side note, there does seem to be a bit of copy variation and QC issues on the Tamron if you Google, with a lot seemingly being soft past 500mm?
Click to expand...
Apparently the Tamron is sharper than the Sigma C at 600mm, if you get a good one. The Sigma can similarly go slightly soft over 550mm just as the Tamron can. My Tamron is a touch softer at 600mm than 550mm but it's still very good. That being said I keep mine to 550mm as there's virtually no difference in framing between 550mm and 600mm on FF.

I think with all these things sample variation and technique play a large part in why there's such conflicting info. I do think on the whole the general consensus is that the sport is the best of the bunch, but only by a fraction and it's very difficult to justify the extra weight and cost if you're only considering IQ. If you want build quality and weather sealing then the sport makes more sense.
 
Many thanks for everybody's input.

I think I will be going for the Sigma C. I don't need the weather proofing, so the lighter weight and lower price seem to swing it

Paul
 
Not much in it weight wise (3oz with everything on - the Tamron is actually lighter for just the lens, its the tripod ring and its better grip that makes the Tammy heavier in total) - links here and here that said both are great lenses from what I know of the Tamron and read of the Sigma, plus the Simgas 50-500 and 150-500 were very good so it can only be better.

Same price on Amazon too (cheaper still here second hand ;)) - either way you can't go far wrong.

Have fun :)
 
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JohnN said:
Not much in it weight wise (3oz with everything on - the Tamron is actually lighter for just the lens, its the tripod ring and its better grip that makes the Tammy heavier in total) - links here and here that said both are great lenses from what I know of the Tamron and read of the Sigma, plus the Simgas 50-500 and 150-500 were very good so it can only be better.

Same price on Amazon too (cheaper still here second hand ;)) - either way you can't go far wrong.

Have fun :)
Click to expand...

There's a big weight difference between the Sigma Sport and Contemporary (around a kilo), I think that's what he was referring to?
 
JohnN said:
Not much in it weight wise (3oz with everything on - the Tamron is actually lighter for just the lens, its the tripod ring and its better grip that makes the Tammy heavier in total) - links here and here that said both are great lenses from what I know of the Tamron and read of the Sigma, plus the Simgas 50-500 and 150-500 were very good so it can only be better.

Same price on Amazon too (cheaper still here second hand ;)) - either way you can't go far wrong.

Have fun :)
Click to expand...
Less than an ounce if you go by the manufacturers website specs, just 21g, so not sure which is right :confused: (joys of the t'interweb ;)) Either way the weight difference is negligible and both great lenses and doesn't really matter which you choose (y)
 
Oh, I thought he was comparing Tamron to Sigma C, yes a big difference in price and weight.

I guess he ruled the Tamron out, no idea why it reviews well and in my opinion is the better choice, well it would be I bought one :)
 
JohnN said:
Oh, I thought he was comparing Tamron to Sigma C, yes a big difference in price and weight.

I guess he ruled the Tamron out, no idea why it reviews well and in my opinion is the better choice, well it would be I bought one :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm. I wouldn't say the Tammy was the better choice. Admittedly I ruled it out when I was buying as all I was reading about was poor copy variances, focus hang up and freezing, and softness after 500mm? I was also reading about poor AF Servo performance on Canon bodies.

Also with the Siggy, you have the dock and it's AF is a lot faster than the Tamron when you customise the AF to one of its speed settings. The dock is revolutionary IMO, it creates functionality and tweaking unheard of until now. And of course, you can update the lens firmware sat at your desk :)

In fact I just Googled the Tamron and a lot of these issues are still about! Sounds like you got a good copy though.
 
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Lol, maybe I should keep it :)

I will give you the dock does sound intruiging
 
JohnN said:
Lol, maybe I should keep it :)

I will give you the dock does sound intruiging
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I would :) I'm sure it will all be fixed with a firmware update if its not been done already, but at the time the lens hadn't been updated and they hadn't resolved the focus issues so it was one of the reasons I went for the Sigma.
 
odd jim said:
Hmmm. I wouldn't say the Tammy was the better choice. Admittedly I ruled it out when I was buying as all I was reading about was poor copy variances, focus hang up and freezing, and softness after 500mm? I was also reading about poor AF Servo performance on Canon bodies.

Also with the Siggy, you have the dock and it's AF is a lot faster than the Tamron when you customise the AF to one of its speed settings. The dock is revolutionary IMO, it creates functionality and tweaking unheard of until now. And of course, you can update the lens firmware sat at your desk :)

In fact I just Googled the Tamron and a lot of these issues are still about! Sounds like you got a good copy though.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned above from the reviews I've seen the Tamron is the best compared to the Sigma C and Nikon at the long end so I guess it's a case of which review you read which makes me think it's more down to user and variation. Nikon have the least copy variances, Sigma next then Tamron the most if you believe the t'interweb. However, the Tamron has been around much longer and from what I've seen more complaints were with the earlier models (although others may read differently). I've read about Tamron freezes but never experienced them myself.

Something else to consider is that the Tamron sucks a lot of dust in. I've not got any problems with IQ yet, but boy is there a lot of dust there. As I mentioned before now that the Sigma C and Tamron are the same price the Sigma C plus dock would be a no brainer for me. If my camera wold work with Sigmas I'd even be tempted to trade my Tamron in for the Sigma C. Not because of IQ as the Tamron is very good indeed, but just so I could play with the dock :lol:
 
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