New Sigma 150/600 contemporary (3 Viewers)

Paul - Herts · Apr 22, 2015

The AF speed on the Sport can be changed; I believe there are 3 settings and I would assume that is comes set to "middle of the road". Whether Sigma have given the same functionality to the Contemporary I can't work out

Roy C · Apr 22, 2015

All these AF speed settings are a trade off, if you set to 'speed' you could lose accuracy and if you set to 'Focus' then you could lose speed, the mid point 'standard' is a trade off between the two. If there was one setting that gives you the fastest AF speed and most accuracy then that would be the only one needed. It is up to the individual to choose what best suits him or the situation.

tommybj · Apr 22, 2015

Paul - Herts said:
The AF speed on the Sport can be changed; I believe there are 3 settings and I would assume that is comes set to "middle of the road". Whether Sigma have given the same functionality to the Contemporary I can't work out

I have read elsewhere that there are 3 settings available for the Contemporary regarding AF speed and also 3 settings for OS. If you change the OS to Dynamic you should get the best stabilization, it should make a big difference.

tommybj · Apr 22, 2015

Roy C said:
All these AF speed settings are a trade off, if you set to 'speed' you could lose accuracy and if you set to 'Focus' then you could lose speed, the mid point 'standard' is a trade off between the two. If there was one setting that gives you the fastest AF speed and most accuracy then that would be the only one needed. It is up to the individual to choose what best suits him or the situation.

I think you're correct. I think I would set C1 to Speed and C2 to Focus and then try to remember which one to use while shooting

Roy C · Apr 22, 2015

tommybj said:
I have read elsewhere that there are 3 settings available for the Contemporary regarding AF speed and also 3 settings for OS. If you change the OS to Dynamic you should get the best stabilization, it should make a big difference.

Here are the three OS settings from the Sigma manual. Not sure I really understand the differences though.
Dynamic View Mode
This mode offers a recognizable OS effect to the image in the viewfinder. This helps to ensure the composition of images quickly.
Standard
This is the default setting. The OS effect is well-balanced and suitable for various scenes.
Moderate View Mode
This mode offers an excellent compensation of camera shake, and achieves very smooth transition of the image in the viewfinder. The composition of the image remains natural even when the angle of view keeps changing

Roy C · Apr 22, 2015

Re the AF speed, you can do the same thing with the latest Cameras, I have my Servo first image priority set to 'Focus' and the second shot to the mid point. This works fine for most situations but I was out today having a crack at some Swallow in flight and found that 'focus' priority was just not quick enough to latch on before they were out of shot most of the time - I switched the first image priority to the mid point and it at least took a lot more shots with an AF over the bird albeit not all in focus but a few were (I just need to remember to switch it back to 'Focus' when finished).

hosesbroadbill · Apr 22, 2015

tommybj said:
I have read elsewhere that there are 3 settings available for the Contemporary regarding AF speed and also 3 settings for OS. If you change the OS to Dynamic you should get the best stabilization, it should make a big difference.

Have it set to dynamic os and focus priority. It is not as fast as the Tamron with those settings.

tommybj · Apr 22, 2015

hosesbroadbill said:
Have it set to dynamic os and focus priority. It is not as fast as the Tamron with those settings.

Then it seems like the Tamron has the fastest AF. That's good for people who has it or decided for Tamron. I still haven't decided but Sigma is still on preorder and I hope there will come a lot more info and pictures before I have to decide what's important to me.

hosesbroadbill · Apr 22, 2015

tommybj said:
Then it seems like the Tamron has the fastest AF. That's good for people who has it or decided for Tamron. I still haven't decided but Sigma is still on preorder and I hope there will come a lot more info and pictures before I have to decide what's important to me.

don't get me wrong it is not that much slower, but it is slower. I think I will return it to factory settings and see if that makes any difference. I was still able to get fast moving oystercatchers in flight from close range and have a sharp pic so that should not deter you from getting it if it is the one you want.

tommybj · Apr 22, 2015

Roy C said:
Re the AF speed, you can do the same thing with the latest Cameras, I have my Servo first image priority set to 'Focus' and the second shot to the mid point. This works fine for most situations but I was out today having a crack at some Swallow in flight and found that 'focus' priority was just not quick enough to latch on before they were out of shot most of the time - I switched the first image priority to the mid point and it at least took a lot more shots with an AF over the bird albeit not all in focus but a few were (I just need to remember to switch it back to 'Focus' when finished).

Having a Nikon D7100 don't give me that option. It could be an issue with Canon, maybe it is different with a Nikon, I don't know. Think we have to wait for it to be released with Nikon mount before we can rule that out.

hosesbroadbill · Apr 23, 2015

One from today. Cropped a bit. Light not great and in high wind. I think the sharpness is very good. But did not like how the lens hunted in the trees. Feeling confused. So far I think the lens is sharper than the Tamron but worse at focusing. Only had a bit today during lunch. Impressions were the same as other day. Just went back and looked at some old warbler shots I had from last spring. This shot is sharper than all of them. They were taken with the 70d so not exactly a fair fight but I think the sharpness on this shot is much better. How much has to do with the lens is to be determined. I took some shots with Tamron today and all came out like crap. It was just so windy that I could not hold the lens steady.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/16628356683/in/photostream/

njlarsen · Apr 24, 2015

Were the sharpening settings the same on this shot compared to those from previous times? It looks like the setting might have been a bit high, that is why I am asking.

Niels

hosesbroadbill · Apr 24, 2015

njlarsen said:
Were the sharpening settings the same on this shot compared to those from previous times? It looks like the setting might have been a bit high, that is why I am asking.

Niels

Sharpened the same always. Probably should mess a bit with that but never do. Try and keep things consistent. Just curious, what are you looking at to see that the settings might be high?

njlarsen · Apr 24, 2015

Isaac, if you look at the shoulder (scapulars) they look like they should have an olive color overall, but if you look at the edge of each barb in that area it looks white. I am just wondering if that was the way it looked in real life or if sharpening has increased the contrast in that area. I see similar effects elsewhere on the bird.

Niels

hosesbroadbill · Apr 24, 2015

njlarsen said:
Isaac, if you look at the shoulder (scapulars) they look like they should have an olive color overall, but if you look at the edge of each barb in that area it looks white. I am just wondering if that was the way it looked in real life or if sharpening has increased the contrast in that area. I see similar effects elsewhere on the bird.

Niels

Think that was just the way the sun was reflecting off of the feathers. As mentioned all shot sharpened the same. I never look at exif data. I was hoping there was something in there that you were going to teach me :t: I took about 60 shots of this bird over the 10 seconds it was there. That was the sharpest. Again it was really windy so many of the shots suffered from motion blur. Here is another one that came OK. Bird was turned around. Angle slightly different and the sun glare different as well. Both have exact same sharpening. It was about 11:30 when I took these shots. Sun angle was not good and sun was strong. Also the reason the bottom of bird is heavily shadowed as light was from above.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17249067791/in/photostream/

hosesbroadbill · Apr 24, 2015

I think I am about ready to say it. The Sigma is sharper. I will say it again for all of those that never thought I would say such a thing. The Sigma C is a sharper lens than the Tamron.3

Tested today in high wind again. Sun was in and out. Just found a close Mallard and took some head shots. In every shot, the Sigma was sharper than the Tamron. Took more with the Sigma than the Tamron but again, every shot with the Sigma was sharper. So either that means that the IS is better in the Sigma or the Tarmon just is not as sharp.

Here are a few shots to prove my point. Taken minutes apart of same bird at basically the same distance. Shots with both lenses processed identically. Only differences are a foot or two in distance depending on where the duck walked and the light changed a bit as the sun went in and out.

Sigma @ 484mm 1/1250 (advantage Sigma)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17049958797/

Tamron @ 600mm 1/1000

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17049957967/in/photostream/

Sigma @ 600mm 1/500

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17256827431/in/photostream/

Tamron @600mm 1/1000 (advantage Tamron)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17256827431/in/photostream/

A few more with Sigma to prove that sharpness was consistently better than the Tamron

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17071153959/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17256825541/in/photostream/

Also tested it with some flying gulls and it worked very well. Will get out more later.

hosesbroadbill · Apr 25, 2015

Went after work to a Martin colony. Most birds are not in yet. Winds still really high (20 miles per hour with gusts more than that). Overall I think the lens did really well at tracking and locking on very quickly. Given the conditions I am very impressed with the performance. First time I walked away thinking the lens did not hold me back...

Here are a few:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17074010179/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/120553232@N02/17259696141/in/photostream/

punta · Apr 25, 2015

:t::t:

Roy C · Apr 25, 2015

I am leaning towards the Sigma C as a good lightweight walkaround although I do not think there is a lot in it between the Siggy and Tamron from everything I have seen and read (here and on all the other sites like FM, POTN, Talk Photography, DPR .........). The Tammy is now down to £770 in the UK which is a fair bit cheaper than where it was a few months ago (£950) and unlike the Siggy it is readily available in the UK. I may even get another one now I have a 1.6 cropper again

For me the Sigma S is totally out of the running for weight reasons.

wardy11 · Apr 26, 2015

I'm looking to sell my Tammy Roy if you're looking for one as I've just bought a canon 300 f2.8. It's about 6 months old with camo cover. Pm me if you're interested.

New Sigma 150/600 contemporary (3 Viewers)

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