Sigma 150-600 Lens Alternatives (1 Viewer)

[mattpitts74]

Hi Guy,

i’ve been trying the above lens on my R6 and finding the focus is a bit hit and miss, which i now realise people seem to be aware of these focus issues.

So my question is what other budget lens would people suggest?

Options seem to be:

Canon 400mm F5.6 people seem to rate this old lens, also great value secondhand and could use 1.4 extender
Canon EF 100- 400 ii not sure, but many people seem to rate this lens
Canon RF 100-400 seems good value, but not so great in low light
Canon RF 100-500 expensive, but sounds amazing, is it worth the expense?

Any insights from owners of any of the above lens

 

[Owen Krout]

I don't have the R7 that I have been wanting yet but with my D7 ii I found the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary to be excellent in general, but indeed it could sometimes be uncooperative with establishing a focus lock. Overall it was the weight that made me put it aside though. The EF 100-400mm ii are almost as expensive as the RF 100-500mm plus you would need the adapter. Given that choice, I would just say go for the RF mount designed for the system.

The RF100-400mm is much more affordable and probably what I will go for once I convince myself to spring for a R7. From the reviews I have seen, the R7 handles low light conditions so well that I wouldn't worry about the f stop values.

Anybody with actual experience with any of these combos please comment as I am as eager as you are Mattpitts74 to hear how well these options work.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Veer away from the old 400/5.6. I've had one for about 15 years and while it's a great lens image-wise, it's not up to the mark these days in some other respects.

I've not used it on my R7, and I hadn't really used it since 2015 when I bought my Sigma 150-600 Sport to pair with a 7Dii, but I took it out for a run with an R5 in 2021 partly to see how it would cope with a modern camera, but mainly because I was thinking about buying an RF 100-500 and I wanted to see what I thought of the shorter focal length, having been used to the 150-600.

On the plus side, using it to photograph in-flight fulmars from a cliff top, it found them well and allowed the camera eye detection to show its skills. It gave great images.

On the minus side, it slows the maximum burst rate of the R5 down from its rated 12fps to something more like 5 or 6fps. Although it found the birds' eyes, I've no way of telling if it was slower than should be expected, but I'd not be surprised if it was. My ear could tell the difference in burst rate immediately. This is common to a lot of older Canon lenses with the new bodies. It also doesn't have image stabilisation, but this isn't maybe such a big issue with IBIS bodies. Canon publishes a list of older lenses that don't dive the full burst rate on the new cameras

I bought the 100-500 and it's an exceptional lens. Light, great image quality and lightning fast to focus. The F7.1 isn't a problem with the new camera bodies and the way they handle higher ISOs.

I've not used the RF100-400, but it gets good reviews and it's a lot less expensive than the 100-500.

 

[SteveT100]

Hi Guy,

i’ve been trying the above lens on my R6 and finding the focus is a bit hit and miss, which i now realise people seem to be aware of these focus issues.

So my question is what other budget lens would people suggest?

Options seem to be:

Canon 400mm F5.6 people seem to rate this old lens, also great value secondhand and could use 1.4 extender
Canon EF 100- 400 ii not sure, but many people seem to rate this lens
Canon RF 100-400 seems good value, but not so great in low light
Canon RF 100-500 expensive, but sounds amazing, is it worth the expense?

Any insights from owners of any of the above lens

add the Canon 200-800 to the list

 

[mike nesbitt]

Hi Guy,

i’ve been trying the above lens on my R6 and finding the focus is a bit hit and miss, which i now realise people seem to be aware of these focus issues.

So my question is what other budget lens would people suggest?

Options seem to be:

Canon 400mm F5.6 people seem to rate this old lens, also great value secondhand and could use 1.4 extender
Canon EF 100- 400 ii not sure, but many people seem to rate this lens
Canon RF 100-400 seems good value, but not so great in low light
Canon RF 100-500 expensive, but sounds amazing, is it worth the expense?

Any insights from owners of any of the above lens

Look no further if it's a budget lens you're after.
£375 after the £200 Canon cash back. That's a remarkable price.
John Lewis.