New Lens

[Digifrog]

Hey ho

So I've gone and momentarily financially crippled myself.

I've gone and forked out for a Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG APO HSM mostly due to the fact that I found a very good deal. The thing is I have been hearing mixed reviews about this item, both on the net and from persons. You only get what you pay for I guess, but I was wondeing if anyone else here has this lens and if they are happy with it? Should have asked before temporarily bankrupting myself, but hey! Life's too short and you can't take your money with you eh.

Thanks in advance.

Scott

[big bill]

Hello Scott I dont have the 50-500 but do have the 170-500 mm lens and I am extremely happy with it I shoot alot of birds weith it have the camera on Aperture priority and the lens at f8 and have had no problems here are some shots taken with it



so you can see for yourself its ok there are quite a few users on here with thew lens and no complaints from them so far .
Get out and use it you will soon get used to it remember to use a tripod though as its quite heavy

[Digifrog]

Thanks Bill

Yes those look great. I particularly like the White Wagtail. I can't wait to get hold of it but I only have a cheap tripod. I hope it will be enough.

Scott

[NickCantle]

Good choice Scott mate. I've had mine a couple of months and although I've not got the best out of it yet, I've had a few nice shots. Not only stunning for birds, but great for dragonflies.

Here's a Dragonfly shot with the Bigma,



Here's some birds;





(might need to click this one to increase the sharpness)

You've made a good choice, and I do love mine. Hope you have fun and I hope to see some stunners from it soon, no pressure

Nick

[Digifrog]

Hi Nick

Thanks a lot for the reassurance. Those shots are great too. The Blue Tit is gorgeous and the Chaser is stunning.

I haven't recieved the lens yet, (I only placed the order yesterday) but can't wait to get to grips with it. As for getting some decent images up, that will be a treat, but as I've never used a lens this big before, it might take a little while, especially as I'm a little self critical

At least now I know what to aim for

Scott

[Ollie]

It's a fine all round lens and the best long range zoom you will get for your money without a doubt.

As Nick said it's good for dragonflies, butterflies and largish insects. Best used for these at 400mm or under. Just look at some of the older photos in my WAB gallery to give you an idea what it's capable of.

Fair enough I use a Canon 400 prime for most of my bird photography but I would not be without the 50-500 as it's such a versatile lens when needed.

You won't be disappointed
Roger

[Jon]

Scott
the best advice I can give you is keep the lens still. Plain and simple as that. Use a bean bag or tripod whenever possible and go for the fastest shutter speed practicable.
I don't know how good the lens is at full aperture, ineveitably it will perform better when closed down a little, but do practice at full aperture this will let you dtermine how fast or slow a shutter speed you are able to get away with.
Shots at full aperture will give goosd results, you may just need to do a little more in Photoshop. It wouldn't be f5.6 if it wasn't designed to be used at f5.6. Ok f8 will be better optically, but a better blurred shot isn't better than a sharp shot, if you get my drift.
Oh and get a decent tripod if you tend to use one as opposed to working from a wooden hide. Manfrotto are fgood value. I am quite surpised I found my 055CLB adequate so far.
Jon

[DavyG]

Hi Scott,

I think you'll find you've made a good buy, many people on theis forum use the Bigma and some produce excellent results, take a look at some of glsammy's images.

Jon gives some very good advice and, like him, I use a Manfrotto 055 tripod, it was a good investment, although I do tend to use my Manfrotto monopod more often.

Here are a couple of images I've taken with the Bigma recently:





Dave

[whis4ey]

Some great pics there
My best lens is a Canon 70/300 which I find is terrific except that it just doesn't quite get close enough
What sort of price would one pay for the Sigma?

[DavyG]

Originally Posted by whis4ey

Some great pics there
My best lens is a Canon 70/300 which I find is terrific except that it just doesn't quite get close enough
What sort of price would one pay for the Sigma?

Retail, the Bigma in Canon fit would be £700 - £750.

You can find them for less on a well known online auction site, buy with care though.

Dave

[glsammy]

You wont regret getting the Bigma. I love mine, I did flirt with upgrading, with disastrous results. I'll stick with the Bigma for now.
I tend to try and shoot at least at F8, at the 500mm end it's a little soft at F6.3.
As many here will know, I don't use a tripod. I use a mono-pod for most of my Bigma shots, but you can use it hand held, especially for flight shots where you usually will have plenty of shutter speed to play with.

Here's a few tasters for you:

Flight shots:





Darters:



Heron:



Good luck with yours, don't be surprised if it take a little time to get used to the lens, especially if you've never used a large lens before.

[wildlifesnapper]

Originally Posted by DavyG

Retail, the Bigma in Canon fit would be £700 - £750.

You can find them for less on a well known online auction site, buy with care though.

Dave

you can get the new 150-500mm version with image stabilisation for £750

neil

[barquar]

You will love the bigma and if you dont let go of your camera your cheap tripod will do untill you sort one out. I had a £5 miranda from the charity shop it was ok as long as i kept hold of the camera and lens. I have sent for a Velbon sherpa 600r Tripod from Bristol cameras £59 they are out of stock at the moment so still waiting. But this Tripod as come with good Recomendations from WAB members, the shop says its ok for camera and Bigma Lens.
Had a night out at the Races tonight But was more interested in the Cameras and massive lenes that the guys were photoing the horses with wow some big lenes would love to have had a go with one.
Barquar

[Blackbrook Eye]

Originally Posted by Digifrog

Hey ho

So I've gone and momentarily financially crippled myself.

I've gone and forked out for a Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG APO HSM mostly due to the fact that I found a very good deal. The thing is I have been hearing mixed reviews about this item, both on the net and from persons. You only get what you pay for I guess, but I was wondeing if anyone else here has this lens and if they are happy with it? Should have asked before temporarily bankrupting myself, but hey! Life's too short and you can't take your money with you eh.

Thanks in advance.

Scott

All I can say to re-assure you is that if anything disasterous happened to mine, I would be out to buy another within hours, I wouldnt know what to do without it.

Keith

[GerryNick2]

I have both the Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG APO HSM and the Canon 100-400mm. I find the Bigma performs very well at 400mm and f8 on a sturdy tripod and produces some very sharp images. For flexibility and handheld shots the Canon 100-400mm comes into its own.

Gerry

[whis4ey]

For flexibility and handheld shots the Canon 100-400mm comes into its own.

You see, that would be my problem with having to use a tripod
How on earth would one manage to capture, for example, a bird in flight with a tripod?
My Canon 70-300 has image stabiliser and is just terrific for hand held shots

[Digifrog]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It obviously gets the thumbs up from WABbers, and feeling quite positive that I've made the right choice.

Thanks Jon & glsammy for the advice & tips. I'm sure going to need as many tips n tricks as I can get.

DavyG - £750 for a Canon fit?? I should add I paid a lot, lot less than that and all fits are £570 where I purchased mine (Onestop Digital). With free delivery and VAT free. Love your puffin pic.

Thanks again everyone. I will obviously put some images up when I've figured it all out.

Scott

[NickCantle]

You've got to be careful when you're buying at those prices. Both myself and Graham (Glsammy) had a discussion about this. I presume your lens will be a grey import, probably from Hong Kong (not that that makes the lens bad or anything)... The trouble is with this, if you've not got a UK duty import paid receipt, the Sigma warranty will be void should you need it fixing or anything

[Digifrog]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

You've got to be careful when you're buying at those prices. Both myself and Graham (Glsammy) had a discussion about this. I presume your lens will be a grey import, probably from Hong Kong (not that that makes the lens bad or anything)... The trouble is with this, if you've not got a UK duty import paid receipt, the Sigma warranty will be void should you need it fixing or anything

Thanks Nick.

Yes, payment was made to Onestop Digital who are in HK, but I'm thinking maybe the lens itself will be distributed from Europe? I ordered on thursday and is due for delivery 3 (working days) days after order.

The item I bought is here...
Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG APO HSM Lens

They do state however...
"All our Sigma products come with Sigma international warranty."

... so I'm hoping I will be OK when it comes to any warranty issues.

Could you take a look at that link for me & tell me if it seems to all be in order?

Thanks for the warning. If I get any hint of 'void', I will speak to Sigma UK customer services.

Scott

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Digifrog

Thanks Nick.

Yes, payment was made to Onestop Digital who are in HK, but I'm thinking maybe the lens itself will be distributed from Europe? I ordered on thursday and is due for delivery 3 (working days) days after order.

The item I bought is here...
Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG APO HSM Lens

They do state however...
"All our Sigma products come with Sigma international warranty."

... so I'm hoping I will be OK when it comes to any warranty issues.

Could you take a look at that link for me & tell me if it seems to all be in order?

Thanks for the warning. If I get any hint of 'void', I will speak to Sigma UK customer services.

Scott

I've used One stop on numerous occasions. They've very good, but I recently worked out how they manage to get the goods to us without paying the import duty. One of the things they do is send the goods as if they were returning items sent in for repair.
Sigma are very strict on the warranty issue, they usually insist on seeing proof import duty has been paid. You can't do this, so if there's any fault with the lens you'll have to send it back to One stop to have it repaired in Asia.
I'm not sure if they cover the postage in cases like this, if they don't that will cost you around £60.
It's the chance you take for such good prices. Even if you have to pay the postage you'll still be saving a huge amount over UK prices.
I recommend you buy a Mack Warranty for the lens. This will cover you for a further 3 years. They're very reasonable, I paid only £17.00 for mine, which I still have but don't need it! (I bought it at the same time as a lens I subsequently sent back.)

[Digifrog]

Originally Posted by glsammy

I've used One stop on numerous occasions. They've very good, but I recently worked out how they manage to get the goods to us without paying the import duty. One of the things they do is send the goods as if they were returning items sent in for repair.
Sigma are very strict on the warranty issue, they usually insist on seeing proof import duty has been paid. You can't do this, so if there's any fault with the lens you'll have to send it back to One stop to have it repaired in Asia.
I'm not sure if they cover the postage in cases like this, if they don't that will cost you around £60.
It's the chance you take for such good prices. Even if you have to pay the postage you'll still be saving a huge amount over UK prices.
I recommend you buy a Mack Warranty for the lens. This will cover you for a further 3 years. They're very reasonable, I paid only £17.00 for mine, which I still have but don't need it! (I bought it at the same time as a lens I subsequently sent back.)

Hi Graham

Thanks for letting me know. I hope of course I never have to cross that bridge. At the moment I'm more concerned about getting the grey import, I want a black one. But that's just aesthetics.

I've just read the warranty section at Onestop.

Originally Posted by Onestop

"Unless otherwise stated, we offer 12 months "Return to Hong Kong" warranty for all of our cameras from the date we despatch your order.

Please note that some products on our site do come with international warranty. If this is the case, it would be stated in the product description."

As my buy does come with 'international warranty', I'm still a little unclear on what Sigmas stance would be. But you're right, even if I do have to send it back for any repair (touch wood that will not happen) I still save quite a bit. Even if it is a little inconvenient.

Could you tell me how I can get the Mack warranty? Is that like a kind of separate insurance? I suppose buying insurance for the lens would be a good idea anyway. If you could pass me a link for that recommendation, I will be very grateful. Thanks again.

Scott



edit: I have sent an email to Sigma UK Service Enquiries asking for clarification. Will pass on their response.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Digifrog

Hi Graham

Thanks for letting me know. I hope of course I never have to cross that bridge. At the moment I'm more concerned about getting the grey import, I want a black one. But that's just aesthetics.

I've just read the warranty section at Onestop.



As my buy does come with 'international warranty', I'm still a little unclear on what Sigmas stance would be. But you're right, even if I do have to send it back for any repair (touch wood that will not happen) I still save quite a bit. Even if it is a little inconvenient.

Could you tell me how I can get the Mack warranty? Is that like a kind of separate insurance? I suppose buying insurance for the lens would be a good idea anyway. If you could pass me a link for that recommendation, I will be very grateful. Thanks again.

Scott

You can buy them from various suppliers. They cover the cost of any repair for any manufacturing failure of the goods, which can happen. I've had my Bigma repaired three times so far under warranty, one HSM Motor, a new support bracket and a broken zoom mechanism.
If you'd like to send me your email address by PM, I'll give you the full details.