Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM (S) (1 Viewer)

Hi,
could someone help to confirm whether this Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM (S) is suitable for bird photography.
Is it fast enough to capture those smaller birds like Tailor bird or Sunbird which tend to change positions and sometime is low light conditions?
Is it able to capture those BIF such as Kingfisher diving for their food?
I am happy with all its other spec and capabilities.

Thank you,
KC Lee.

Hi KC from another KC and on behalf of the entire staff here at BirdForum :t:

I've moved your thread to the lens section of the Forum and I have subscribed you to this thread so you don't lose track of it

Thanks KC

Here is another thread about the same lens: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=262721

Niels

Thanks Niels.
that link is helpful.

leekc said:

Hi,
could someone help to confirm whether this Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM (S) is suitable for bird photography.
Is it fast enough to capture those smaller birds like Tailor bird or Sunbird which tend to change positions and sometime is low light conditions?
Is it able to capture those BIF such as Kingfisher diving for their food?
I am happy with all its other spec and capabilities.

Thank you,
KC Lee.

Click to expand...

The Sigma 120-300 f2.8 is an amazing lens which will take a 2x TC so you can use it up to 600mm. I'm stuck between getting this lens or the new Sigma 150-600 f5-6.3. The Sigma 120-300 f2.8 is my first choice at the minute because of it's low light capability but I'll wait to see how the Sigma 150-600 performs before making a decision.

The 120-300 f2.8 will cost roughly £2700 and the 150-600 f5-6.3 is in the region of £1200 cheaper and I will have to spend something like £300 for a 2x TC to bring the 120-300 up to the 600mm focal length. It will be roughly £1500 more with the new Sigma teleconverter if that is as good as expected but it will give much more flexibility and put an hour or so on to the time of day I can use it.

Here's a good place to see the capabilities of the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=934592 The start of that thread is talking about the lens so you may need to read or skip a few pages before being able to see the images it can produce.

thanks Mickr,
I have decided on the Sigma 150-600 as I have the 70-300 and one 28-108 currently. So I go for the zoom range rather than the f stop.

leekc said:

thanks Mickr,
I have decided on the Sigma 150-600 as I have the 70-300 and one 28-108 currently. So I go for the zoom range rather than the f stop.

Click to expand...

Here is another thing to consider. A larger f-stop will in lower light situations still allow AF to lock-on and follow a target, even if the lens is stepped down for the exposure.

Depending on your usual shooting scenarios (if 300mm gives sufficient reach to begin with) I wouldn't dismiss the AF performance advantage that can be gained by using an f2.8 over a f5.6-6.3 lens, even if in both the photo is taken in the end with f 6.3.

The difference in price between the two lenses is certainly another factor that weights in heavily on making the final call.

hi Seaspirit, thanks.
I concurred with yours and Mickr posts.
the sIGMA 150-600 is out of stock and my order coming in next month.
can't wait to get my hand on it.
In the mean time, busy shopping for tripod (done), gimbal head (done) and bag.
It will be my next phase in bird photography.