Sigma 150-500mm overkill?

fleaz · 27th April 2009

i haven't got any telephoto lenses at the moment.

i owned a 75-300 for a while. during my ownership of the 75-300, i only tried using for street candids & shooting my pet birds (they are quite camera-shy and even with their familarity towards me, i had to shoot using the 100-300 range working from about 3-5m away from them). i found the 200-300 range to be quite useful for street candids as well. due to the lack of IS and it tends to hunt a lot under low light, i sold it shortly.

i find myself missing on a lot of photographic opportunities. i'm wondering if a 150-500 gonna be overkill? i'm guessing the lens would be used mostly for street candids, outdoor events/concerts & also sporting events (eg. soccer, F1 etc). it will probably see the occasional use for shooting wildlife. for my budget, i could get a 70-300 instead, with cash to spare. for what i do, will i miss the 300-500 range?

Dream Merchant · 28th April 2009

If you don't need wider apertures, and carrying/using it around public places where you're at is not a problem, you might enjoy the range very much.

engrmariano · 28th April 2009

it depends on your use to say if its overkill.

if you'll find your self using 200-500mm most of the time, then its NOT.

spheredome · 28th April 2009

300mm, IMO is pretty long. So I presume you mean missing out on wildlife and far stadium events. The Sigma 150-500mm OS is a good lens for specific occassion but is certainly not a single walkabout lens without a standard lens as backup. It is very heavy to begin with and the 150mm is very narrow if you want to capture a view in 20m. But the OS at 500mm works well.
So yes, it is worth to have lens.

spartacus.ret · 28th April 2009

Originally Posted by engrmariano

if you'll find your self using 200-500mm most of the time, then its NOT.

i concur.

27th April 2009	#1
fleaz Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: United Kingdom / Singapore Posts: 709	Sigma 150-500mm overkill? i haven't got any telephoto lenses at the moment. i owned a 75-300 for a while. during my ownership of the 75-300, i only tried using for street candids & shooting my pet birds (they are quite camera-shy and even with their familarity towards me, i had to shoot using the 100-300 range working from about 3-5m away from them). i found the 200-300 range to be quite useful for street candids as well. due to the lack of IS and it tends to hunt a lot under low light, i sold it shortly. i find myself missing on a lot of photographic opportunities. i'm wondering if a 150-500 gonna be overkill? i'm guessing the lens would be used mostly for street candids, outdoor events/concerts & also sporting events (eg. soccer, F1 etc). it will probably see the occasional use for shooting wildlife. for my budget, i could get a 70-300 instead, with cash to spare. for what i do, will i miss the 300-500 range? __________________ 10-22mm f3.5-4.5//17-50mm f2.8//90mm f2.8

28th April 2009	#2
Dream Merchant Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 4,129	Re: Sigma 150-500mm overkill? If you don't need wider apertures, and carrying/using it around public places where you're at is not a problem, you might enjoy the range very much.

28th April 2009	#3
engrmariano Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rivervale Posts: 1,395	Re: Sigma 150-500mm overkill? it depends on your use to say if its overkill. if you'll find your self using 200-500mm most of the time, then its NOT. __________________ WTS: 16-35L Mk 1 (WTT: Sigma 12-24) & Sigma 150 Macro to fund 85L

28th April 2009	#4
spheredome Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: AMK Posts: 872	Re: Sigma 150-500mm overkill? 300mm, IMO is pretty long. So I presume you mean missing out on wildlife and far stadium events. The Sigma 150-500mm OS is a good lens for specific occassion but is certainly not a single walkabout lens without a standard lens as backup. It is very heavy to begin with and the 150mm is very narrow if you want to capture a view in 20m. But the OS at 500mm works well. So yes, it is worth to have lens.