testing out Sigma 150-600

sarimento1 · Jun 30, 2015

I was able to get my hands on one of Sigma's new 150-600mm f/6.3 zoom lens, and played with it this morning at the wetland boardwalk.
Here are a couple shots, one at 150mm and the other at 600mm, then the latter shot, cropped actual pixels.
Taken in JPG, nikon d4, with VR on and mounted on monopod. 1/250, f/6.3, iso 3200.
No post processing other than +20 clarity.

eawtan · Jun 30, 2015

Nice, I use a sigma 150-500 OS handheld for my bird shots ....
eg:

sarimento1 · Jun 30, 2015

nice!
handheld will give you some good weight lifting exercise!
have you had to do the focus re-calibration thing at all?

eawtan · Jun 30, 2015

sarimento1 said:
nice!
handheld will give you some good weight lifting exercise!
have you had to do the focus re-calibration thing at all?

I used to shoot handheld with a nikon AFI 300/2.8 with TC17E. As I aged I had to get a "lighter" kit (the 150-500).
I did a focus test with the lens on my D800 and it's perfect once I found and dial'ed in the focus compensation.
try f7.1 if possible, the image quality improves quite a bit... with a monopod and VR, i think u can do 1/125 (for static objects) ....

I prefer handheld as I can quickly react to things like:

sarimento1 · Jun 30, 2015

the 150-600 weighs in at 6 lb, vs 6.6lb for the 300/2.8 (not including the converter).
this will be hand-holdable, for me, but not for a really long time.
shot attached was handheld, largely due to shooting at low angle.

eawtan · Jun 30, 2015

Is that a wild alligator or croc ?

Wild salt-water croc using AFS 300/4 w/ TC17 -- didn't like the handling and eventually settled on the sigma 150-500.

sarimento1 · Jun 30, 2015

eawtan said:
Is that a wild alligator or croc ?

Wild salt-water croc using AFS 300/4 w/ TC17 -- didn't like the handling and eventually settled on the sigma 150-500.

Gator in wild, about 20 ft away, in light drizzle.