the old Sigma zoom dilemma...

[midlifecrisis]

...but my excuse is I'm new here. I'm using a D70 and my Sigma 75-300 is proving a bit too short to get the wildlife and sons-playing-sports shots I want. So, having looked at 400 & 500mm primes and had a stabbing pain in the wallet, I've been looking at the Sigma 50-500 and 170-500. There are any number of reviews and opinions about these, which have left my head spinning. Really, I'd like to know if the 50-500 is worth the extra £200 or so over the 170-500 in terms of speed and quality (as I've already got the lower end of the focal range covered). Has anyone compared the two directly?

[paul goode]

...but my excuse is I'm new here. I'm using a D70 and my Sigma 75-300 is proving a bit too short to get the wildlife and sons-playing-sports shots I want. So, having looked at 400 & 500mm primes and had a stabbing pain in the wallet, I've been looking at the Sigma 50-500 and 170-500. There are any number of reviews and opinions about these, which have left my head spinning. Really, I'd like to know if the 50-500 is worth the extra £200 or so over the 170-500 in terms of speed and quality (as I've already got the lower end of the focal range covered). Has anyone compared the two directly?

Right, lets try to keep this simple. My take on the 2 lenses (as a 50-500) owner is

50-500

Benefits:-
HSM motor gives significantly faster and quieter autofocussing. I have compared the lenses side by side from this point of view.
EX spec. Higher quality finish and better glass. Looking carefully in the gallery though both lenses can be seen to produce excellent quality images.

170-500

Benefits:-
Lighter, maybe easier to handhold
Cheaper

I chose the 50-500 because I wanted the quicker AF and always planned to mainly use the lens on a tripod or beanbag. Whatever you choose be aware that handholding a 500mm lens is not easy. If handholding is going to be an issue then the 80-400 OS will be worth having a good look at.

hope that helps

Paul

PS there's a nikon fit 50-500 on Ebay at the moment.

[midlifecrisis]

thanks Paul - that's very useful, does indeed sound like the Bigma's the better bet. harder to hide from the wife though....

[DOC]

I suggest you also take a look at the Tamron 200-500.
I have a D-70 and my good old Sigma 70-300 was too short for birds .
After some thorough search i ended up with the Tamron .
I have never taken it off my camera since.
( give a peek at My Gallery (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/sort/1/perpage/24/ppuser/6414))

[yossi]

I'd opt for the Nikon 80-400 VR. It has a stabilizer, allowing for shooting hand held, the lens has a great bokeh and from what I saw and tested, it's the sharpest lens in it's range. I own it for 3 years now and it serves me very well.
A X1.4 TC can be added to it to obtain a 560/8 lens.
The lens is not AFS, and focuses rather slow in comparison to the 500/4 AFS, but when the range limiter is activated on the lens focusing speed is much improved.
Check the MTF figures of all the lenses mentioned or see their sharpness tests here:
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html

[midlifecrisis]

well in the end I couldn't resist bidding on a Sigma 1.4 teleconverter on Ebay and winning that led me to the Bigma - which arrived today from Digitalrev.
Grabbed the shot below in my garden and I am pleased with the potential, given a bit more time and practice. I have to say though that crouching behind the tripod wildly tracking birds with about half a metre of lens made me feel like a WW1 pilot...

[inka]

I suggest you also take a look at the Tamron 200-500.
I have a D-70 and my good old Sigma 70-300 was too short for birds .
After some thorough search i ended up with the Tamron .
I have never taken it off my camera since.
( give a peek at My Gallery (http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/sort/1/perpage/24/ppuser/6414))


Your photographs are fantastic, a real inspiration. I just purchased a D70s and a Sigma 50-500, soon I hope I can ask for some advice on taking some great shots from you at this forum. Thanks for posting your work, Inka.