First Shots with Sigma 170-500mm

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Hi Everyone,

These are the first shots of the Long-tailed Duck at Hove Lagoon....
I was happy with my lens' first outing. What do you think of them and any obvious tips I can use?

Cheers Jacob

[NickCantle]

They look excellent to me Jacob, well done mate. I'm going to be purchasing the 175-500mm's bigger brother at some point over the next few weeks and I can't wait! Top notch stuff mate

Nick

[zan]

nice shots I bet you're pleased! Nothing really obvious to say about your shots except to always try and get the eye in focus. I think the shots on here get compressed quite a lot so it's hard to see exactly, but I think your second shot is maybe a smidgen off. Good luck with your new lens and I hope you enjoy it!

zan

[big bill]

Hello Jacob like the pics they are nice only gripe is that they are slightly out of focus as said by zan try and focus on the head and the rest of the pics should be in focus,saying that I dont think on a second look at the full resolution that its focus I think there is some camera shake as no particular part of the image is sharp did you use a Tripod?

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Yeah I used a tripod but the conditions wern't great as it was blowing a gale....I had also not known to focus on the head and was focussing on the body of the bird instead.

Many thanks for such kind comments

Jacob

[zan]

It'll depend partly on your aperture as well. If you use e.g. f8, you'll get away with more than if you were at f2.8 for example, where your focus would have to be spot on. Having said that, with a lot of wildlife photography you'll want to get the fastest shutter speed you can which often means opening up your aperture. I use a 300mm F4 lens, and it virtually never comes off f4 unless I'm on a moving boat where I can't hold a focus point! Enjoy playing with your setup - you can only get better!

Zan

[sleipnerofasgard]

if you don't mind me asking jacob what specs were those pictures taken at ie top end 500mm of 175mm etc .nice pics by the way

cheers

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Full zoom 500mm....thanks so much for all this positive feedback.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Also these are some Tundra Bean Geese from today...100yds away lens used at 500mm zoom.



And a Cattle Egret at 150yds....some effects of bleaching here



Cheers Jacob

[cannylad]

Hi Jacob, i also have the same lens, it can be a tad soft at 500mm and i have found it works well on a tripod with a remote. Obviously good light can also make a heck of a difference.
here is a link to a photo using the 170-500mm in my gallery.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Cannylad, great shot there very jealous! I have really got back into birds now after a 4 year break but I'm afraid I've turned into a bit of a rarity hunter and just go to photograph whatever is on the pager in my area!

Cheers Jacob

[peterjclarke]

For the price the 170-500 and 50-500 are good value for money. I have the 50-500 and found shooting in anything but superb light most of the images were on the soft side at the 500mm end. For best results I found I nearly always used the tripod and a fluid head. I also used mirror lock where possible and if not using my hand or a beanbag on the top of the camera to reduce the shutter vibrations. Autofocus is very slow even with an HSM motor but this is due to the F6.3 apeture and was really only responsive enough in bright sunlight. Compared to my 70-200 F2.8 VR the lens was not as sharp and as fast but thats just the price you pay and a top of the range 500mm F4 will set you back many times the cost of the Bigma/Little Bigma. I did get a few surprising good results using the 1.4x TC in manual focus but I often had to stop the lens down a but because the viewfinder was soo dark I could rarely get the focus bang on. The best advice I can give is ALWAYS use a cable release with this lens on a tripod or beanbag.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by peterjclarke

For the price the 170-500 and 50-500 are good value for money. I have the 50-500 and found shooting in anything but superb light most of the images were on the soft side at the 500mm end. For best results I found I nearly always used the tripod and a fluid head. I also used mirror lock where possible and if not using my hand or a beanbag on the top of the camera to reduce the shutter vibrations. Autofocus is very slow even with an HSM motor but this is due to the F6.3 apeture and was really only responsive enough in bright sunlight. Compared to my 70-200 F2.8 VR the lens was not as sharp and as fast but thats just the price you pay and a top of the range 500mm F4 will set you back many times the cost of the Bigma/Little Bigma. I did get a few surprising good results using the 1.4x TC in manual focus but I often had to stop the lens down a but because the viewfinder was soo dark I could rarely get the focus bang on. The best advice I can give is ALWAYS use a cable release with this lens on a tripod or beanbag.

I can't agree with you on the Autofocus. Mine is slick and fast, it's one of the lenses main advantages, at least mine is. It hardly ever hunts even in low light. It did when I first got it, but that was because it was faulty. Once repaired it's been a delight to use in that regard.
Many, many of my shots are taken in anything other than good bright light, I NEVER use a tripod and rarely a remote release. Your Bigma experiences are miles away from mine.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one!

[peterjclarke]

Very interesting Graham. I actually dropped the lens and its being repaired so I had been wondering if there was something wrong with it because of the poor performance. I'll see what it's like when it eventually comes back from the insurance company.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

What is the spec of the Bigma?

[matt_xyz]

Originally Posted by Scarlet Pimpernel

What is the spec of the Bigma?

50-500mm, f6.3

Matt

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Ah I see so that is a pretty huge lens! And I thought the one I have had a large field of magnification! I'm still getting used to my 170-500mm so don't tempt me too much with a lens like the Bigma!!

Cheers Jacob

[baggy2508]

Hi.
I use the 50-500 and find I get good shots with this.
Regards baggy2508

[Chris_Johnstone]

I never realised the Bigma's widest aperture was 6.3. That's not all that great. I would always want an aperture of 5.6 minumum.

Chris

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Chris_Johnstone

I never realised the Bigma's widest aperture was 6.3. That's not all that great. I would always want an aperture of 5.6 minumum.

Chris

I don't find it much of a problem. It's F6.3 at 500mm, goes down to F4.0 at 50mm.
At the end of the day what's important is does the lens produce good images. In my humble opinion it does, and in all sorts of conditions.

[Chris_Johnstone]

Ah! I thought 6.3 was the maximum at 50mm.

That's much better.

Chris