like a longer lens so please help me make a choice.
I use a Nikon D70 and I'm on a budget
Here's what I thought :
Sigma 50-500 mm F4 - 6,3 EX APO RF HSM DG
It's long and I did read some good reviews on it.
or
Sigma 80-400 mm F 4.5-5.6 DG EX OS APO
It's longer than my 75-300 mm and it has some kind of anti vibration system so it's better to use HH for flight-shots. Could it being used with a converter ?
Does somebody use one of these lenses ?
Do you recommend some other lens (within a reasonable budget of course)
Ok ... what do you think ?
I have the Sigma 50-500mm and I have been very pleased with it. It produces very sharp images when used with a tripod. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
From my understanding Jos, the second lens that you mentioned would not autofocus with a TC because the resultant aperture would not be large enough.
Nathan
Posted by Kent Staubus on March 3, 2006 at 9:37 AM
Why not the Nikon 80-400mm? I have one and it is an excellent general purpose lens. It will work with a 1.4x, but you do lose autofocus. Otherwise, the Sigma 50-500mm seems to have it's fans. Another thought would be a used Sigma 400 APO (the one that takes 77mm filters, not 72mm) from eBay. (Not the zoom lens.) Quality is good and I think they go for around $500.
The OS lens does not have HSM. It is therefore much slower at focussing than the 50-500. Having said that, though, even the 50-500 may not be fast enough for flight shots. It's a nice lens (I've got one), but I've had very little success with flight shots, shooting with a Canon 20D.
If flight shots are what you want, OS really isn't a factor, since you need to be at high shutter speeds to freeze the motion of the bird, and at those shutter speeds camera shake isn't an issue.
-Paul
Posted by Jerry Greer on March 3, 2006 at 10:34 AM
I own the 80-400 EX OS and it's wonderful. The autofocus is not bad and I have had no real problems with flight shots. A friend of mine has the 50-500 and the focus speed is NOT that different. The OS system by far out weights the small difference in focus speed. To bad you don't have a Canon (or me a Nikon) I'm selling mine and going to a 400mm prime.
Hi Jos
From what friends told me (and what I saw) the original 80-400 had painfully slow autofocus. If the EX OS is a new version that problem has probably been fixed. In general though if you're interested in bird photography the 500 mm length is preferrable to the 400 mm just because the birds don't generally like a close approach.
Discussion
6 repliesI use a Nikon D70 and I'm on a budget
Here's what I thought :
Sigma 50-500 mm F4 - 6,3 EX APO RF HSM DG
It's long and I did read some good reviews on it.
or
Sigma 80-400 mm F 4.5-5.6 DG EX OS APO
It's longer than my 75-300 mm and it has some kind of anti vibration system so it's better to use HH for flight-shots. Could it being used with a converter ?
Does somebody use one of these lenses ?
Do you recommend some other lens (within a reasonable budget of course)
Ok ... what do you think ?
Thanks
I have the Sigma 50-500mm and I have been very pleased with it. It produces very sharp images when used with a tripod. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Nathan
Kent in SD
If flight shots are what you want, OS really isn't a factor, since you need to be at high shutter speeds to freeze the motion of the bird, and at those shutter speeds camera shake isn't an issue.
-Paul
From what friends told me (and what I saw) the original 80-400 had painfully slow autofocus. If the EX OS is a new version that problem has probably been fixed. In general though if you're interested in bird photography the 500 mm length is preferrable to the 400 mm just because the birds don't generally like a close approach.