Kayos
Gone......
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I know we have a few camera enthusiasts, so I thought I would share some information about the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens I have just acquired
I have wanted a telephoto lens for a long time, I nearly hired one a few years ago but the hidden fees and insurance costs made it prohibitive. I also undertook a project to convert some Canon FD lenses to work with my EOS-M, including Doubleboost modifying a viewfinder/tripod mount for me. It gave excellent results with all lenses including the 400mm but was cumbersome and not user friendly.
For those who don't know, FD mount are the older Canon manual lenses that cannot be easily used with more modern EF mount cameras (not sure about R series, I don't have one). Although I am looking into having one lens converted, this would be an expensive undertaking for lots of lenses
I have looked at cheap lenses and second hand options, however a lens in the £5k-£10k second hand is either going to be well used, expensive or both. I looked at some examples that had been used by pro photographers and they were in terrible condition. I came across the Sigma lens and decided to give it a go, knowing I could send it back or even sell it on.
I opted for the full pack that came with the teleconverter, dock and all the std accessories such as hood, tripod mount and carry case
I also purchased a high quality UV filter, 95mm diameter so quite spendy (I know you don't need UV on digital, but I have found the quality of clear lens protectors to not be as good as UV filters YMMV)
Contemporary is the lens model, there is a Sport version that is more waterproof, more dustproof, more money but the same optically
First impressions are that it is a big lens, I expected this but it is quite comical, even on a full frame body with a battery grip
*This is not a full frame body, I have several options but actually prefer this, it is lighter, just as fast to focus (the multipoint focus on my 5d is mostly turned off) and has incredible battery life. I will do multiple full days of shooting on one charge (2 batteries in the grip)
Initial use consisted of putting the camera in P, pointing and shooting. As expected this led to some variable results
The camera detected the lens size and opted to go for fast shutter and very high ISO, 3rd party lenses are not supported so it must not recognise the image stabilisation. It will allegedly work down to 1/100 hand held, I have not gone that low but I have had success with 1/200 and at iso 100, even at 600mm
Test shots below, these are all terrible shots but I have learned a lot from them. All handheld and mostly all high ISO and fast shutter
150mm
600mm
All the birds are handheld and lucky shots, at 600mm
First light and they were walking away from me, will be better prepared next time
These are both almost 100% crops, handheld and 600mm, also much processing in Lightroom
I still have a long way to go, setting a lower ISO and F8 is giving better shots, I have also setup some customisation with the dock to see what effect that has.
I also received the teleconverter, this gives a 1.6x increase in zoom, at the cost of 2 F stops. It does not officially autofocus but it does work in Liveview, however it is very slow. I will try it with Magic Lantern and a tripod, could be interesting but not useful handheld
Once I have got the hang of it (and some better light) I will post more shots if people are interested
I have wanted a telephoto lens for a long time, I nearly hired one a few years ago but the hidden fees and insurance costs made it prohibitive. I also undertook a project to convert some Canon FD lenses to work with my EOS-M, including Doubleboost modifying a viewfinder/tripod mount for me. It gave excellent results with all lenses including the 400mm but was cumbersome and not user friendly.
For those who don't know, FD mount are the older Canon manual lenses that cannot be easily used with more modern EF mount cameras (not sure about R series, I don't have one). Although I am looking into having one lens converted, this would be an expensive undertaking for lots of lenses
I have looked at cheap lenses and second hand options, however a lens in the £5k-£10k second hand is either going to be well used, expensive or both. I looked at some examples that had been used by pro photographers and they were in terrible condition. I came across the Sigma lens and decided to give it a go, knowing I could send it back or even sell it on.
I opted for the full pack that came with the teleconverter, dock and all the std accessories such as hood, tripod mount and carry case
I also purchased a high quality UV filter, 95mm diameter so quite spendy (I know you don't need UV on digital, but I have found the quality of clear lens protectors to not be as good as UV filters YMMV)
Contemporary is the lens model, there is a Sport version that is more waterproof, more dustproof, more money but the same optically
First impressions are that it is a big lens, I expected this but it is quite comical, even on a full frame body with a battery grip
*This is not a full frame body, I have several options but actually prefer this, it is lighter, just as fast to focus (the multipoint focus on my 5d is mostly turned off) and has incredible battery life. I will do multiple full days of shooting on one charge (2 batteries in the grip)
Initial use consisted of putting the camera in P, pointing and shooting. As expected this led to some variable results
The camera detected the lens size and opted to go for fast shutter and very high ISO, 3rd party lenses are not supported so it must not recognise the image stabilisation. It will allegedly work down to 1/100 hand held, I have not gone that low but I have had success with 1/200 and at iso 100, even at 600mm
Test shots below, these are all terrible shots but I have learned a lot from them. All handheld and mostly all high ISO and fast shutter
150mm
600mm
All the birds are handheld and lucky shots, at 600mm
First light and they were walking away from me, will be better prepared next time
These are both almost 100% crops, handheld and 600mm, also much processing in Lightroom
I still have a long way to go, setting a lower ISO and F8 is giving better shots, I have also setup some customisation with the dock to see what effect that has.
I also received the teleconverter, this gives a 1.6x increase in zoom, at the cost of 2 F stops. It does not officially autofocus but it does work in Liveview, however it is very slow. I will try it with Magic Lantern and a tripod, could be interesting but not useful handheld
Once I have got the hang of it (and some better light) I will post more shots if people are interested