Which camera body for Sigma 50-500 (1 Viewer)

We've been using the Sigma 50-500 with a Nikon D50 for over a year. The problem is that the autofocus can't be used with this model. Photos are therefore variable. The Nikon equivalent which will go with the camera was out of our price range. Is there a camera body that I can get to go with the lens that won't break the bank? Jessops are unable to help.

Thanks

Pat

The Nikon D90 will autofocus with the Sigma 50-500. That is the cheapest current Nikon which will do so. If that is too much to spend, a used D200 or D70/D70S would do the trick. Both of those are decent cameras but neither will provide the performance (particularly in low light) that you will get from the D90.

Shouldn't the D50 work anyway? I thought it was the D40 and D60 that hadn't got af drive motors but the 50-500 has got a built in HSM anyway.

I used a D50 with the Sigma for four years and it always auto focussed for me. The 50-500 will work with any body it has its own motor!

My mistake and Paul is correct, the Nikon D50 was Nikon's last entry level DSLR which "should" AF with any Nikon or third party AF lens including the Sigma. I checked threads on the net and folks talk about using the D50 with the Sigma 50-500. In addition, the recent vintage Sigma 50-500 lenses did include a focus motor, so that lens should be able to autofocus with even Nikon's later entry level cameras (such as the D40, D60, D3000 or D5000). So here are some questions:

Does your D50 autofocus correctly with any other lens? If so, can you take your Sigma lens to a camera store and try it out with a new Nikon camera to make sure it is working correctly? If it won't autofocus correctly with a new body, there could be a problem with the lens.

Good luck (and sorry for the temporarily faulty information).

This may help you somewhat although I don't know anything about your camera as I use Canon. http://www.photoradar.com/news/story/sigma-admits-autofocus-problems

This link refers to issues with the new version of the 50-500 that comes with image stabilizer, not the "classic" 50-500.

From my own experience the D50 will AF with the 50-500, and in theory all Nikon bodies will do the same due to the on-board lens motor.
The only issue may be that AF in lower light conditions gets a bit slower and more sluggish. Later models with better AF modules will handle those situations a bit better.

If you consider updating your budget will help you to decide. My order of preference (considering money not an issue): D300s, D300, D90, D5000, D3000. The last two I would try to avoid due to their inability to AF lenses without built in motors.

UH

The Actor said:

This may help you somewhat although I don't know anything about your camera as I use Canon. http://www.photoradar.com/news/story/sigma-admits-autofocus-problems

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