Canon 300mm II & Sigma 120-300mm OS (1 Viewer)

[micloi]

Well the Canon is sharper...............

If I ever need to take pics of a tenner at f16 I'll bear that in mind...........

I thought you'd already sold your Sigma 120-300 OS?

It is a fiver and not a tenner

I did sell it, this belongs to a good friend

 

[micloi]

Sigma 120-300mm at 1680mm with Kenko 2x, Canon 2x III and Canon 1.4x III (12mm extension tube between the 2 canon TC's).

On a tripod with remote shutter release.
Approx 50% crop

 

[Tony_79]

Hmm, 300 II is definitely sharper than 120-300 OS. Now I wonder how about 120-300 OS vs. old EF 300 2.8L non-is, I think they are about the same.

 

[HokkaidoStu]

Hmm, 300 II is definitely sharper than 120-300 OS.

I should hope so too, here in Japan the 300L II is priced at around ¥650,000 and the Sigma 120-300 OS is under ¥300,000.

I was rather hoping Sigma would announce a new 300 f2.8 or 500 f4.5 (or f4) prime lens today but instead they announced a new macro lens and 2 lenses for mirrorless systems.

At the moment this 120-300 OS is the only thing I can afford to upgrade from my 100-400L and TBH I'm still not convinced by it.

 

[Keith Reeder]

This did it for me, Stu:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1125247

But I'm struggling to find the Siggy in the in the UK...

 

[HokkaidoStu]

Hi Keith, I've been following another long thread on POTN for a while now and whilst there are some good shots there I can't get rid of the nagging doubt that in real world shooting it may only be very slightly better than my 100-400.

The 120-300 OS appears to be quite easy to get in Japan, the Canon 300 MK2 seems to have a 2 month delay in shipping at the moment. The older Canon 300 Mk1 lenses are appearing on s/h sites but even they are more expensive than the brand new Sigma.

Damn, why didn't they announce a 500 prime with OS?

 

[Keith Reeder]

Well for me, if the IQ is better than my 100-400mm (even if only by a little bit), and I get better AF, a faster lens, f/2.8 bokeh when I want it, and the option of 600mm at f/5.6, that's good enough for me - especially as the lens will be paid for by a lottery win I've just had, so I'm effectively getting it for nowt!

 

[micloi]

This did it for me, Stu:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1125247

But I'm struggling to find the Siggy in the in the UK...

Hi Keith,

If you PM me I will tell you who has one in stock.

Michael

 

[Hor Kee]

Congrats on your lottery win Keith. Looking forward to your feedback on this lens, if you do decide to get one.

 

[HokkaidoStu]

Well for me, if the IQ is better than my 100-400mm (even if only by a little bit), and I get better AF, a faster lens, f/2.8 bokeh when I want it, and the option of 600mm at f/5.6, that's good enough for me - especially as the lens will be paid for by a lottery win I've just had, so I'm effectively getting it for nowt!

Hope you get it, I'd be interested in your opinions on it............

 

[Keith Reeder]

I'm definitely having one, so I'll report back as and when.

Michael, is the in-stock item you know about UK sourced? I want a UK lens so that I can get the three year Sigma guarantee.

 

[Keith Reeder]

Well, those nice folk at Harrison Cameras in Sheffield have been able to fix me up - I should have the lens in my hands by 1pm tomorrow.

 

[dbradnum]

Well, those nice folk at Harrison Cameras in Sheffield have been able to fix me up - I should have the lens in my hands by 1pm tomorrow.

Excellent - I'll be really interested to hear how you get on with it, Keith. Keep us posted!

 

[micloi]

I'm definitely having one, so I'll report back as and when.

Michael, is the in-stock item you know about UK sourced? I want a UK lens so that I can get the three year Sigma guarantee.

Yes it is

 

[Keith Reeder]

Ah - thanks for that, Michael, but as you see I'm sorted now.

 

[a.dancy]

Congratulations Keith. Sadly I will never win the lottery...I don't do it.

I wish you luck with the new lens. I am sure many will be watching this space.

What 2X converter do you propose using?

 

[Keith Reeder]

I don't actually own a 2x, Adrian - but I have a few 1.4xs and a 1.5x, so I'll start by stacking (say) the Kenko 1.4x and 1.5x converters and see how that works out.

 

[micloi]

Great!!! Cannot wait to see your tests.

 

[Keith Reeder]

I'm about to head out for a couple of hours to see how the Siggy deals with the gulls and Eiders on the river at the bottom of my street, but very brief first impressions of it, following the usual "leaning out of the front door and shooting cars parked across the road" tests are that at 450mm handheld (lens + Kenko 1.5x) it's obviously sharper than my 100-400mm - even just viewing the Raw files in Irfanview the additional sharpness is clear.

That's at f/2.8 (at the lens) too.

Contrast and colours look good as well - there's a "pop" to the IQ I don't remember seeing from the Canon: presumably that's partly down to the increased subject-background separation from the wider aperture, but I like it.

Big heavy bugger though!

 

[a.dancy]

I don't no about anybody else but the suspense is killing me!