New Sigma 150/600 contemporary (3 Viewers)

andrewins · Mar 14, 2017

Roy C said:
If you need the extra focal length from 400mm to 600mm then I would say the Sigma is the best bet and well worth replacing your MkI. In case you have never tried a 600mm, then there is an heck of a difference between 400mm and 600mm for things like birds.
I have the Sigma 150-600 C AND the Canon 100-400 MkII (which is a good bit better than your MkI imo). At 400mm and below the Canon MKII just beats the Sigma but at 560mm the Sigma beats the Canon 100-400 with a 1.4x tc. Cons for the Siggy is the extra weight (2kg)and the longer MFD compared to your lens. I still use the 150-600 C in preference to the 100-400 MkII for long range bird shots but I bought the 100-400 mainly for the incredible MFD (98cm) (butterflies and larger insects + close birds).
BTW I also had the original Tamron 150-600 and the Siggy C beats that lens for sure IMHO (AF is better/faster and the customisation options are great).

Thank you for the answer! MFD of the my version of 100-400 is much worser than in Mk2 and the stabiliser is also much worser than in Sigma so I think it is better to replace it by another lens.

Ad B · Mar 17, 2017

Hi,

this morning I made a few pics near to my place.
A couple is living in top of a old church tower, which is fully lit in the evening...|8)|
This are those pics on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/p/SXCfEA
Sigma lens at 600 mm + Sigma 1401 extender, handheld.
https://flic.kr/p/SPUV4k
Again Sigma lens at 600 mm + Sigma 1401 extender, camera at 1.2 mode and on a tripod.

Roy C · Mar 17, 2017

Goldfinch up close, I still use my 150-600 c occasionally - 7D2 + 150-600 C , f8 1/800 sec, 600mm

andrewins · Mar 18, 2017

Ad B said:
Hi,

this morning I made a few pics near to my place.
A couple is living in top of a old church tower, which is fully lit in the evening...|8)|
This are those pics on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/p/SXCfEA
Sigma lens at 600 mm + Sigma 1401 extender, handheld.
https://flic.kr/p/SPUV4k
Again Sigma lens at 600 mm + Sigma 1401 extender, camera at 1.2 mode and on a tripod.

Good trophy! :t:

andrewins · Mar 18, 2017

Roy C said:
Goldfinch up close, I still use my 150-600 c occasionally - 7D2 + 150-600 C , f8 1/800 sec, 600mm

Roy, does your lens suck dust or moisture inside it when the weather conditions allow that to do?

Still thining about this lens and Tamron 150-600 G2, which has moisture resistant construction.
Sometime I take pictures under very small rain and in sand deserts. My 100-400 MK1 which sucks dust like a vacuum cleaner after 3 years of using already has got some dust inside

rosbifs · Apr 7, 2017

Admittedly I'm using a 750d canon and not 7d but my results are nothing like others on here. I have tried on a monopod as well as hand held. I use ap but most others on auto...

nikonmike · Apr 8, 2017

rosbifs said:
Admittedly I'm using a 750d canon and not 7d but my results are nothing like others on here. I have tried on a monopod as well as hand held. I use ap but most others on auto...

Difficult to answer without seeing some images could be a few things,have you done a focus fine tune,if not take a picture of something small say 25ft away on short grass that will give an idea of the front or back focus situation.

Roy C · Apr 9, 2017

As already mentioned, to eliminate the lens take some shots of a static subject 25-35 ft away using a tripod and remote release or built-in Camera timer (BTW with this lens I would strongly advise switching off the OS when shooting on a tripod).
If the shots are out of focus then you will need to do some micro adjustments - if they are sharp then its something to do with your technique.

rosbifs · Apr 10, 2017

I changed to single focus, single shot and some pictures seem a little better. Tried less zoom as well. I will post up some examples later when have time... I get the feeling the focus it is a little short...

rosbifs · Apr 11, 2017

rosbifs said:
I changed to single focus, single shot and some pictures seem a little better. Tried less zoom as well. I will post up some examples later when have time... I get the feeling the focus it is a little short...

Right some examples. Not meant to be stunning photos but expect better 'image' quality.

The dove pictures were hand held and not very far. I would have expected better feather definition.

The dog was hand held and very windy.

The boat - again hand held and very windy but very little good about the picture.

Disappointed with the Egret. It was taken on the mono in fading light which is what drew me to the bird - quite far.

rosbifs · Apr 11, 2017

rosbifs said:
I changed to single focus, single shot and some pictures seem a little better. Tried less zoom as well. I will post up some examples later when have time... I get the feeling the focus it is a little short...

More examples

Disappointed with the gulls - mono pod - defeated by the light?

Harrier - OK I guess

Kestrel - hand held and big zoom

Reed test - is anything sharp - mono

Osprey - should have been a great photo with the dawn light effect

rosbifs · Apr 11, 2017

rosbifs said:
I changed to single focus, single shot and some pictures seem a little better. Tried less zoom as well. I will post up some examples later when have time... I get the feeling the focus it is a little short...

Finally, three wagtails

One is actually quite good in terms of definition, two are awful!

nikonmike · Apr 11, 2017

Just looking at the first set,under the first dove from the black plastic thing to the post i can see a cobweb,i would put the dog down to the wind,the second dove the best focus looks to be in front of the bird and the boat one the focus is on the water in front of the subject.
The Egret was bound to be a failure such a small white bird in darker surroundings.

nikonmike · Apr 11, 2017

Although small if the Osprey had been exposed correctly you would have stood a chance of a small but decent image.

I think you need to check for back front/ focus and work some more with it.

Roy C · Apr 11, 2017

They all look soft to me 'rosbifs'. Can you post one of the poor images with all the settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO - focal length, AF area mode, metering mode, hand held or Pod, OS setting etc), also were you shooting in RAW or jpeg? That way we can rule out obvious bad settings.

Roy C · Apr 11, 2017

'rosbifs' here are a few examples taken with the 150-600 C on the 7D2 Camera, all taken handheld at the full zoom of 600mm. not exactly top class but the sort of IQ you should be getting with the lens. The surfer image was taken from around 400 metres away.

rosbifs · Apr 11, 2017

Roy C said:
They all look soft to me 'rosbifs'. Can you post one of the poor images with all the settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO - focal length, AF area mode, metering mode, hand held or Pod, OS setting etc), also were you shooting in RAW or jpeg? That way we can rule out obvious bad settings.

I would certainly be happy with most of the other pictures on here:

The man with the boat was
f6.3 600mm 1/800sec iso 160 - auto - hand held 'windy' I think the exposure was centre weighted.

I still get the impression that the focus is short...

Roy C · Apr 12, 2017

rosbifs said:
I would certainly be happy with most of the other pictures on here:

The man with the boat was
f6.3 600mm 1/800sec iso 160 - auto - hand held 'windy' I think the exposure was centre weighted.

I still get the impression that the focus is short...

What I do find with this lens is that it benefits from stopping down to f8 at the long end although that would not account for the softness you are getting.When you say 'auto' what do you mean (auto ISO or the main dial on the Camera is set to auto). For most stuff you always want to shoot with a single AF point or single point expansion (multi point AF is best left for fast action stuff like birds in flight where it is difficult to nail the focus with a single point).
You certainly need to try some micro adjustment test but I do not think that the 750D gives you an AFMA option!. Your best bet is to micro adjust via the Sigma USB dock (well worth getting if you do not already have one as there are all kinds of useful customization you can do with it). Like has already been said, just set the camera up with staple support and take some test shots at a static subjects using a remote release so as not to blur the image when pressing the shutter button. Use the lens wide open for this test. You can set the micro adjustments from -20 to +20. I would start off by taking some shots at say -10, zero and +10 and see if one looks better than the others, If, for instance -10 is best then take some more test shots at say -15, -12, -10, -8,-6 etc until you find the best setting for your lens. The Sigma dock allows you to store micro adjustments for different focal lengths and shooting distance.
Failing this just do some simple tests at a static subject but using support and remote release (remember to de-focused between shots) at least this should tell you if you need some AFMA.

Ad B · Apr 19, 2017

Hi,

my advise is to test your lens/camera combo at a static subject.
Put your combo on a tripod.
Make one picture with normal AF (through your view finder) and make one by using live view.
If there is a difference between these two pictures, you need to "fine tune" your AF.
Fine tuning in your lens, with the docking station, will take some time.
You have 16 (!!) places to fine tune your lens (4 focal lengths and 4 shooting distances).
And you can download the latest firmware in to your lens.
You can see a few of my examples in posts #514 (storks) and #522 (peregrine falcon) at the page before this one.
More at my Flickr site.

rosbifs · Apr 19, 2017

Thanks all. i have started the fine tuning with the docking station.

I took a set of pictures - middle of the road, sign on building, roof and distant. Then took same pictures at -10 across the board and finally +10. I found it very difficult to differentiate between them! I have been away without the tripod so that won't have helped but the writing on a small electrical box was clear at 20m on all settings...

I plumbed for +10 and want to run some shots through at this and then review and fine tune. I got some pretty good shots of a chiffchaff that started to show (even full screen) some details I'm looking for. Looks like I'm getting there.

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