Sharing an Apple

[Geoff F]

Quite a few unavoidable issues with this scene but no opportunity to change the background or light, so I just had to go with what was available and hope for the best.



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens. 1/200 F14 Iso 400 a bit of fill flash. Merge of two Raw conversions from one original.

Pied Wagtail spots a meal This bird perched on an old rotten fence post then spotted something edible inside, so it hopped into the rotten cavity and stuck its head through the crack, but wisely decided to exit the cavity the same way it entered.



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/640 F8 Iso 800

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Tony M]

No. 4 is a particularly nice one. It must be hard to capture them at the right moment, as they must move pretty fast.

Tony

[Erik T]

Hi Geoff,
I noticed you are using a sigma 150-600 sport lens.
I'm thinking over to replace my sigma bigma for that one. Are you happy with it? Is it fast for focussing? And is it helpfull to change settings with the usb dock?
Thanks in advance for your reply
Erik

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

The Sigma 150-600 Sport is a good lens, Erik, although like any lens in this category there are some limitations. Previously I used the Sigma 150-500.

I went for the Sport version because it has a stronger build and better weather sealing. My thinking was that such a large and rather cumbersome lens is going to suffer the occasional accidental knock, while wildlife subjects mean sometimes working in damp conditions. So it will probably pay in the long run to get this better quality version unlike similar lenses.

It is heavy for hand held shooting so I normally mount it loosely on a ball head tripod which takes the weight while allowing me to shoot in a similar manner to being hand held.

Depth of focus can be shallow at times, much the same as macro lenses. Auto focus is a little on the slow side, but so are the similar lenses. It normally achieves good auto focus, eventually. Manual focus can be the best option for some situations. The manual over ride on auto focus use is a handy option. I have successfully photographed flying birds but you need to pan for a while until the focus locks on, using the AI servo camera mode.

I have tried it with a 1.4x converter but that causes a few problems and manual focus is recommended.

It copes reasonably well with poor light but I would describe it as being ideally a good light lens; like all the similar alternatives. I normally shoot around F8 to F11 and with an Iso between 400 and 800 to give sufficient shutter speed for moving subjects.

If you want to get a UV filter, they are expensive; I think I paid around £150 for one.

The lens cap is a fabric wrap around cover which seemed a little strange but has worked OK for me.

The lens adjustment buttons are reasonably large and easy to operate. The OS option does a good job when hand held.

So all in all, I am satisfied with this lens compared with direct alternatives. The only other options will not reach 600 except with a 1.4x converter or are substantially more expensive. In some cases they are 3 or 4 times more than I would pay for a new car !

For example, compare with the Sigma Green Lenses which are definitely for specialist users.

[Erik T]

Wow Geoff thanks for your explanation!
I assume you had autofocus trouble when using the 1.4 converter, but how about sharpness when using it?

Erik

[Geoff F]

For some reason, Erik, autofocus was not sharp with the converter. It did work and achieved some sort of auto focus result, but in each case I was able to get a sharper result with manual focus; or by initially using auto focus then doing a slight manual final tweak. Not sure of the reason.

The results when manually focused with the converter were sometimes acceptable but mostly not as good as without it.

Maybe in perfect light and sharp edged subjects with good contrast the results would be better. I haven't really done sufficient experimenting with this option.

[Erik T]

So I can conclude buying the converter is not worthwhile.

[Geoff F]

Depends on whether you have any other uses for it as well. I regularly use mine for macro work; but I wouldn't get one specifically for the 150-600 lens.

And remember that a converter may not physically fit on many lenses.