Hello, so I'm looking at getting my first DSLR, and I'm looking to go with the Nikon D500. I haven't really decided on a lens yet. I think I'll go with the Tamron 150-600 G2 or Sigma 150-600 C. I've read that the Sigma has slow AF. If so is Tamron's AF quicker? I'd like to have a lens with good af to get the full potential of the D500's AF, and to be able to capture birds in flight. Which of the two would you recommend? Is there any other in that price range that would be better on the D500? Thanks in advance.
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Tamron 150-600 G2 or Sigma 150-600 C on D500? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Colin06
- Start date
Ian Byrnes
Well-known member
Go for the D500 & Sigma 150 - 600 Contemporary. Both are fantastic for the price even though I now use the Sigma 150 - 600 Sport. If you read the reviews the D500, although launched in 2016, is most probably the best DSLR ever produced & still out performs many current models offering lightning shooting speed & great BIF options.
If you Google set up for bird photography - you'll find loads of info & advice.
The Contemporary has great AF & IS, is light to use & produces very good results. I only changed to the Sport as I do a lot of hide photography & if I'm honest produces slightly better resolution. For results, it's clarity is not far off some of the primes so may be worth considering although it's fairly heavy (battle ship build quality).
I've always shot with Nikon so can't compare with Canon or Sony, but you won't go far wrong with Nikon & Sigma.
Here's a Snipe & Water RailI photographed this week so that you can see the clarity produced.
Good luck & hope you enjoy them.
Regards...Ian
If you Google set up for bird photography - you'll find loads of info & advice.
The Contemporary has great AF & IS, is light to use & produces very good results. I only changed to the Sport as I do a lot of hide photography & if I'm honest produces slightly better resolution. For results, it's clarity is not far off some of the primes so may be worth considering although it's fairly heavy (battle ship build quality).
I've always shot with Nikon so can't compare with Canon or Sony, but you won't go far wrong with Nikon & Sigma.
Here's a Snipe & Water RailI photographed this week so that you can see the clarity produced.
Good luck & hope you enjoy them.
Regards...Ian
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Thanks, I ordered that setup a few hours ago from B&H. Very excited to get it.
Oldnintheway
Well-known member
The Tamron G2 is the clear choice for me. The first gen Tamron/Sigma get pretty much identical results. The second gen are clear upgrades in both, but the Sigma sport is much heavier. You can search reviews for these, ad I did, and get stats. I own both of the Tamrons and have been happy with both.
I’m with Ian on the Nikon/Sigma combination. I had both a while back and agree that the D500 is great for birding. One nice feature of the Sigma is the the ability to fine tune the lens using the Sigma USB dock. You might not need it but the capability is there if you find that its a little soft at points across the zoom range.
Oldnintheway
Well-known member
Tamron G2 also comes with a dock. Along with better performance, the second gen lenses are much better weather sealed and import little to no dust compared to the first gen.
SmokyMoments
Member
I have been using the Tamron 150-600mm G2 for several years now and couldn't be happier. I highly recommend a tripod with a gimbal mount so you can easily track birds in flight without having to hold up the long and somewhat heavy camera/lens combo for extended periods of time.
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Barred Wobbler
Well-known member
I'm not a Nikon user, but I have owned a Sigma 150-600 Sport since 2015 and used it exclusively for my bird photography until after I went mirrorless in 2020 and then bought a Canon RF100-500 in 2021. The ability to tune the lens using the Sigma docking station has been mentioned above and I used this to set the focus limiter to my advantage.
Each autumn for many years and several springs I've been going to the Strait of Gibraltar for raptor migration. I used the 150-600 amongst the usual bird stuff for hundreds of shots of raptors in flight. These were relatively easy when shooting against the sky, apart from the usual problems with keeping the focus cluster on the bird in the almost constant high wind that blows on The Strait while waving a heavy camera and lens about, but added difficulty was introduced when an eagle, kite or honey buzzard flew against a more interesting background such as a mountain the the medium distance.
The lens allows three focus limit settings including 'Off', (where the lens can focus from its minimum setting to infinity). I used the docking station to put No1 setting for everyday small stuff at close range, focusing from the minimum range (2.8m iirc) to about 20 metres. I kept the 'Off' setting for my third option, set from 10m to infinity just in case I wanted to take a long shot of the Moon or some other distant object., but it was on the 2nd custom setting that the lens came into its own with birds in flight.
I used the dock to set a minimum focus distance on Custom Setting 2 at 10m (ie less than the 20m max I chose for setting 1, to allow an overlap with closer birds), but it was with the longer range that this lens is clever. It has a long range focus limiter also, so I set this top end for about 100m (using a bit of trial and error to get an approximate distance). This meant that if I was tracking a raptor against the sky with the central focus cluster of my Canon 7Dii and the bird flew in front of a distant mountain or forest that there was no chance that the focus would jump from the bird to the backgound, provided that the background was more than about 100m away. This trick saved me hundreds of lost shots. The 100m Max also meant that this was there for everday stuff at ranges of over 10m if needed.
Each autumn for many years and several springs I've been going to the Strait of Gibraltar for raptor migration. I used the 150-600 amongst the usual bird stuff for hundreds of shots of raptors in flight. These were relatively easy when shooting against the sky, apart from the usual problems with keeping the focus cluster on the bird in the almost constant high wind that blows on The Strait while waving a heavy camera and lens about, but added difficulty was introduced when an eagle, kite or honey buzzard flew against a more interesting background such as a mountain the the medium distance.
The lens allows three focus limit settings including 'Off', (where the lens can focus from its minimum setting to infinity). I used the docking station to put No1 setting for everyday small stuff at close range, focusing from the minimum range (2.8m iirc) to about 20 metres. I kept the 'Off' setting for my third option, set from 10m to infinity just in case I wanted to take a long shot of the Moon or some other distant object., but it was on the 2nd custom setting that the lens came into its own with birds in flight.
I used the dock to set a minimum focus distance on Custom Setting 2 at 10m (ie less than the 20m max I chose for setting 1, to allow an overlap with closer birds), but it was with the longer range that this lens is clever. It has a long range focus limiter also, so I set this top end for about 100m (using a bit of trial and error to get an approximate distance). This meant that if I was tracking a raptor against the sky with the central focus cluster of my Canon 7Dii and the bird flew in front of a distant mountain or forest that there was no chance that the focus would jump from the bird to the backgound, provided that the background was more than about 100m away. This trick saved me hundreds of lost shots. The 100m Max also meant that this was there for everday stuff at ranges of over 10m if needed.
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Musoman
PETE - Nikon/Sony Shooter
I've had both Tamron and Sigma 150-600's. Gen 1 Tamron and then Gen 2 Tamron and finally Gen 2 Sigma C. You will be fine with either.
They're light enough to hand hold for birds in flight too.
I'll post a couple of examples ...
Gen 1 Tamron + Nikon D610 Black headed Gulls
Gen 2 Tamron + Nikon D610 - Whitethroat
They're light enough to hand hold for birds in flight too.
I'll post a couple of examples ...
Gen 1 Tamron + Nikon D610 Black headed Gulls
Gen 2 Tamron + Nikon D610 - Whitethroat
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