Sigma 50-500 versus Sigma 150-500

[cyber_spud]

Following the really helpful advice I got on the forum in my last post, I have now decided on which macro lens to buy - thanks to everyone who posted.

I am also hoping to get a better telephoto lens. I am currently using the Sigma 70-300mm with a Canon 400D. The picture quality is reasonable for a cheap lens but it hasn't got quite enough reach for birds and wildlife and I do find that the AF hunts a bit. I would like a lens up to 500mm that will let me take sharp photos of birds flying etc. A lens that is also suitable for shooting the occasional air display and motor racing would be good too, though this is not a primary consideration.

I have been trying to decide between the Sigma 150-500 or the Sigma 50-500 aka Bigma and am in danger of going insane with all the conflicting opinions out there!

On the one hand, the idea of having just one lens from 50-500 and selling my 70-300 lens does appeal and general opinions of the Bigma are good. On the other hand, the Sigma 150-500 has OS which looks useful as presumably, I will need to shoot handheld for moving targets. However, there are very mixed views on how effective the OS is, some users have reported problems with the AF system and many feel that pictures are soft at the 500 end.

My biggest concern is whether I will be able to get sharp images handheld without OS as I do seem to get some blur in quite a few of my photos taken with the 70-300 at the 300 end and wonder whether I have shaky hands.

Are there any users out there who have tried both these lenses and which one did you like the best? I would also love to hear from other women who have used either lens to see how manageable they found the weight of these lenses. This does concern me as I sometimes get painful wrists even from the 70-300 if I am handholding it for too long!

Hope you can steer me in the right direction as it's a lot of money to spend on a lens (for me anyway) and I can't really afford to get it wrong...

[geordie graham]

I don`t know much about the 150-500 but I do have the 70-300 and the 50-500 and if you get sore wrists handholding the 70-300 you will REALLY struggle handholding the Bigma.I personally struggle handholding the Bigma but tend to use a monopod/tripod, beanbag anyway but I do know there are others on this site that do hand hold the Bigma with good results.I have the Pentax K10D which has shake reduction on the camera.

Graham

[glsammy]

I agree Graham.

The Bigma is a bit on the heavy side but these things are relative, for a decent 500mm lens it's positively a featherweight!
It never bothered me and I found it quite easy to use hand held, especially for flight shots. In some ways the weight helps.
I'd suggest you find a friendly local camera shop or a friendly photographer that may have one so you can try it. The 150-500mm isn't much lighter, so the same applies. Only you can tell if it's going to be too heavy or not.

[cyber_spud]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I am now wondering whether the wrist pain with the 70-300 lens is due to the way I am holding the lens rather than the weight of it. I have some RSI in my wrists due to keyboard and mouse use over the years. I recently changed both of them (keyboard and mouse that is ) to more ergonomic versions which forced me into a more natural position and things are improving.

Re trying the lenses out, I did pop into to a local camera shop and hold the Sigma 150-500 lens to check the weight but ultimately, I won't know how well I can manage until I use the lens for more than an hour or so.

Would still love to hear from anyone who has used both lenses to get their opinion on the comparative performance of each lens in respect of image sharpness and AF speed and to hear what they thought of the 150-500's OS system and any problems they had with it....

[Jim Ford]

A 40D user adapted one of these, which may help support a 'Bigma' and hold it steadier:

Sniper Bracket for SLR Cameras - Zenit PhotoSniper FS-122 Camera »

Scroll to the bottom to see the posting by the 40D owner.

Jim

[cyber_spud]

Interesting concept! Noted the comment that carrying something that looks like a gun may not be such a good idea...

Has set me off thinking about rigging up some sort of alternative handheld support system though. I am quite determined to buy either one of these lenses, so I must find some way to manage the weight...

[glsammy]

The lens comes with an additional strap which when fitted balances the camera and lens nicely. It hangs upside down so you can hold the Tripod support as a useful carry handle. This makes walking with the lens a lot easier. Pop it onto a monopod and your in business.

Whereabouts do you Live? There's quite a few Bigma users here, your almost certain to live near at least one of us!

[cyber_spud]

Thanks for that info glsammy, sounding better already. So you're a Bigma user then - have you tried the 150-500 out too?

I live in Paignton, so if there is a user of either lens, it would be great to hear from you....

[glsammy]

I have been known to use the Bigma. I don't at the moment having recently bought a Canon 300mm F4.
If you want to see what it can do, have a look through my earlier Gallery. I usually state which lens I've used.
I've never used the 150-500mm.

[catwasp]

The OS on the 150-500 works great, I find I can use it at 1/125th without any problems from camera shake. For bird photography though it's of limited use as you'd tend to keep the shutter speed at 500+ anyway, to cut down on motion blur.

I use a mafrotto monopod with mine, and can't recommend this highly enough. I was at WWT London on Monday and carried it around for about 5 hours without any aches or pains. Hand held, I can usually only manage about 5 minutes!