Sigma 100-300 EX and 50-500 Opinions Please

[Buckster]

I'm looking for a lens which I can use for airshows, birding, and hopefully general other zoom stuff ....

Max budget is around 400 -500 pounds - so am considering the following, in prioroty of the top being what I'm thinking would be the best bet - could anyone give me some advice/feedback on any of these options/quality of lenses please.

Sigma 100-300 EX HSM + Sigma APO 1.4x TC (400 for 2nd hand lens + 70 for TCON)

Sigma 50-500 EX (500 2nd hand from shop, 350 2nd hand non-shop)

Nikkor 300 F/4 AF + 1.4x TC (370 +100 ish)


Why I'm thinking the 100-300 + 1.4x TC as top prioroty is I'm hoping the IQ would be up there with the 50-500 without a TC ? 50-500 as good as it is - would be a very big lens to use for anything other than airshows or birding.

Anyone used a 100-300 with 1.4x TC ?

Thanks, Mark.

[miketoll]

I am not a Nikon man or have any knowledge of the Sigma lenses but in general terms its going to depend on your priorities. If its birding then the 50 -500 is the way to go as its longer and still leaves the option of adding a converter to that for even longer reach when funds permit sometime in the future. I don't know enough about air shows to comment but would imagine a 100-300 zoom with converter would be versatile and long enough for most shots (?) For general use the 50-500 would be way too heavy for me to lug around on the off chance I would need it and the necessary monopod or tripod. The Nikon prime I assume is the best lens optically but loses out heavily on the versatillity side for general use and I suspect at airshows. I use a Kenko Pro 1.4 converter with my Canon lenses and the optical quality is pretty good so I don't see any problems there apart from the loss of one stop. So, birding 50-500, any other usage 100-300 zoom with 1.4 converter.
Hope my thoughts help and happy hunting for whatever you decide. Mike

[Canis Vulpes]

I can only comment on airshows and I have no experience of third party lenses. I spend two years using Nikon 80-400VR and Fujifilm S2-pro combination. I found most flight shots at 300-400mm due to CAA regulations restricting proximity of fast jets to any crowdline. Taxy shots 80mm was a little too narrow and I sometimes used a 24-120VR for this purpose. Whilst 100-300 would fit the wide range of focal lengths required it does depend what you want of an airshow. I found VR an excellent aid to prop approach shots allowing lower shutter speeds capturing prop blur yet keeping fuselage nice and sharp.

If your budget is fixed at £500 or less then I would go with 50-500 for its range and its a popular choice along the crowd line, I would guess 30-40% of all SLR owners use this lens along the crowd line. However there is no VR for those prop shots and maximum aperture at 500mm is f6.3 and I assuming the lens will be coupled with S3-pro I am not sure of autofocus accuracy above f5.6.

My advice:- try 50-500 from a used source then save for a 80-400VR from Nikon or Sigma. If 50-500 does not workout then sell on used market and you should not loose too much as they are popular and in demand. A used copy of 80-400VR should sell for £750-800. Using a monopod may be an answer to the lack of VR but they are difficult to use when panning is required through 180 degrees.

I currently use 200-400VR f4 and monopod or 70-200VR and TC17E combination if crowded.

Sample prop photo.
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...500&ppuser=101

[jammie*dodger]

£350 for then 50-500 is a great price. Just make sure it's in good condition and you'll be able to resell it for more than that on ebay if it doesn't suit you.

In fact if you decide not to buy it let me know where it is ;-)

[Buckster]

Yes it was a good buy - had gone within 24 hours

Stephen - thanks for the advice - very useful.

I'm currently leaning towards the 100-300 Sigma EX + 1.4x TC ... am I going to be heavily disappointed ? When I looked at Pbase galleries, I was a bit disappointed with the results with the Sigma 80-400 OS .. and 50-500 is too big for me really to be used for anything other than airshows.

Thanks, Mark.

[jammie*dodger]

From what I've heard the 50-500 is too slow for Airshows. The f6.3 needs great light to work well.

[Canis Vulpes]

Originally Posted by jammie*dodger

From what I've heard the 50-500 is too slow for Airshows. The f6.3 needs great light to work well.

I would like to iterate a point I made earlier, 50-500 must be the single most popular lens seen along the crowdline of any airshow followed by Canon 100-400 IS.

[arwilson80]

What would a Sigma 100-300mm f/4 and 1.4Telephoto convertor on a D2x be like for airshows?

[Canis Vulpes]

Originally Posted by arwilson80

What would a Sigma 100-300mm f/4 and 1.4Telephoto convertor on a D2x be like for airshows?

Some would say ideal, a 400mm zoom seems to fill the frame but I have been using 300mm prime for airshows without any reach issues recently. In my experience 300mm is all you need at airshows, sometimes a little near sometimes a little far. The major benefits of not using a TC are better image quality and faster/ increased lowlight performance. Using a TC will cover all subjects but I bet if you looked at EXIF majority of keepers will be around the 300mm mark. I now allow the subject to come to me!

[woolleson]

Hi mark.

I use the Sigma 100 - 300 f4 APO IF HSM model and there own 1.4 EX TC. I bought the lens on, among many, this review 's'.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=103&sort=7&cat=37&page=1.

It is a very fast and silent internally focusing lens. Extremely sharp, contrasty and colour balanced and gives a nice bokeh too boot. On the downside it is heavy and not as long as I would like for birding. The 50 - 500 is a better option for general birding, quite a few of the photographers I see around hides use this lens, but the trumpet zoom is not to everybody's liking and it is not as good optically as the 100 - 300.

As a comparison my friend uses the Canon 100 - 400 L series lens and he has used my Sigma on his body, he reckons is optically as good and snaps into focus quicker. No data back up to support this, just hands and image on conclusions.

At the end of the day it is short for a birding lens, but all lenses are to short if you can't get close enough !!!! I'd recommend it as a long zoom, it has given my some great images and fault free service. I've attached an example of the sort of capture. This Swan was about 15 foot away, no TC was fitted at this time but also no post image cropping, i.e this was the view from the lens. Not the most imaginative shot but gives you a base to work from. If you want to see other images let me know.............................


Hope this helps

Jason