Should I buy the Sigma 50-500mm?


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nickmak

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Apr 16, 2004
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Hi all, i need advice whether to buy the Sigma 50-500mm to replace my Canon 70-200 f4L and my 28-135 IS USM. I need advice and i need it urgently... thank you...

Cheers!
 

nickmak said:
Hi all, i need advice whether to buy the Sigma 50-500mm to replace my Canon 70-200 f4L and my 28-135 IS USM. I need advice and i need it urgently... thank you...

Cheers!

U have 2 excellent lens... and the 50-500mm is not a direct replacement.... u lose the wide angle end unless u dun mind... cost is quite high too... and it weighs a ton as well and u really do need to lug tripod around to use the long end.....
 

I dun own this lens but 50-500mm is very huge and heavy...
if you are not into natural/wild life... stay with your current lens
 

Can u advice me how much is this 50-500mm? I'm getting a Sigma 12-24mm already so my wide angle is covered. I dun really use 28mm very often on my 28-135mm IS USM cuz its just not wide enough...
 

For what purpose ?

I used to have one, bought it, keep it, used it once and sell it off again :D

Was using it with my F100 + MB15 + 50-500, carry it around city .. and my hand ache the next day
[ well if you NS guys used to carry M-16 .. maybe that setup is lighter :D ]

Too heavy to carry around unless you have something "far" to shot.

Ie the moon .. I really miss the 500mm capability of that lens.
or you are into sports and wildlife photography ... well you can consider buying this lens :lovegrin:
 

b18 said:
For what purpose ?

I used to have one, bought it, keep it, used it once and sell it off again :D

Was using it with my F100 + MB15 + 50-500, carry it around city .. and my hand ache the next day
[ well if you NS guys used to carry M-16 .. maybe that setup is lighter :D ]

Too heavy to carry around unless you have something "far" to shot.

Ie the moon .. I really miss the 500mm capability of that lens.
or you are into sports and wildlife photography ... well you can consider buying this lens :lovegrin:
ok thanks for the advice... i'm gonna go to either Mongolia or Africa for holidays and i think maybe Africa will be the place i'm going, therefore i want to shoot animals and birds... Would the 50-500mm be a good lens for this?
 

nickmak said:
ok thanks for the advice... i'm gonna go to either Mongolia or Africa for holidays and i think maybe Africa will be the place i'm going, therefore i want to shoot animals and birds... Would the 50-500mm be a good lens for this?

if you are travelling that far, I dun think you want to carry a 50-500.
Its way too big and too heavy.

Have you consider which bag you want to bring ?
I think you better get some Teleconverter for your 70-200 ... I think it should be enough.

Unless ... you want to go all out and dun mind the weight.
That lens is way too heavy for me

Inside my bag now : D1H , 2 batts, 28-105, 80-200, 60 micro, 2x TC
and IF I ever travel to Africa ... that setup will have
1x laptop and 1x image tank and 1x 12-24 and 1x Carbon monopod and 1x prosumer cam for backup.

and if I stick another 50-500 in ... I must buy those foldable trolleys :D

Just play around with that lens if you know someone is using it ...
if the weight is fine with you .. then go for it.

[Or buy the Olympus C-750Uz featured in the African ads :) ]

=bob=
 

If I were going on a one of a life time african safari, I would get the 50-500 or some long lens equivalent. I wouldn't want to be changing lens in the middle of a dusty desert or wishing for a little bit of extra reach to get the cheetah to fill the frame. However reports I've seen on this lens seems to suggest that image quality at the short end isn't stellar, while the focal length at the long end isn't a true 500mm but something like a 450mm++. Since you are a Canon user, have you considered the equivalent Canon zooms, such as the 100-400mm?
 

justarius said:
If I were going on a one of a life time african safari, I would get the 50-500 or some long lens equivalent. I wouldn't want to be changing lens in the middle of a dusty desert or wishing for a little bit of extra reach to get the cheetah to fill the frame. However reports I've seen on this lens seems to suggest that image quality at the short end isn't stellar, while the focal length at the long end isn't a true 500mm but something like a 450mm++. Since you are a Canon user, have you considered the equivalent Canon zooms, such as the 100-400mm?


As b18 mentioned.... a 100-400mm f/4 or something equivalent plus a 2x TC would give 800mm with a decent DOF...
 

TME said:
As b18 mentioned.... a 100-400mm f/4 or something equivalent plus a 2x TC would give 800mm with a decent DOF...
the problem i have with the 100-400mm f4 is that its a push pull design and i nearly broke the lens when i pushed it too far too quickly and nearly smashed it into the showcase... :sweat: also the 100-400 f4 is a bit on the high side when it comes to price... maybe i can get some donation from my dad to supply me with a little extra... How is the lens like in terms of quality and the lot?

Cheers! :gbounce:
 

nickmak said:
the problem i have with the 100-400mm f4 is that its a push pull design and i nearly broke the lens when i pushed it too far too quickly and nearly smashed it into the showcase... :sweat: also the 100-400 f4 is a bit on the high side when it comes to price... maybe i can get some donation from my dad to supply me with a little extra... How is the lens like in terms of quality and the lot?

Cheers! :gbounce:

U have to compare the price of a 100-400 f/4 plus 2x TC and the 50-500mm and then look at the range of optics quality... I can't help u cos I have never used the 50-500mm and as for the 100-400mm, I use Minolta not Nikon... :)
 

nickmak said:
the problem i have with the 100-400mm f4 is that its a push pull design and i nearly broke the lens when i pushed it too far too quickly and nearly smashed it into the showcase... :sweat: also the 100-400 f4 is a bit on the high side when it comes to price... maybe i can get some donation from my dad to supply me with a little extra... How is the lens like in terms of quality and the lot?

Cheers! :gbounce:


I still think 100-400 is better.... 50-500 you will regret it if you think 100-400 is too heavy for you.

You can't zoom in and out horizontally, you need to face the lens up or down to smooth the zooming.

In terms of value of money, it's a great lens.

http://www.pbase.com/digitalsonix/singapore

Zoo and Bird are taken using this lens... Happy deciding.
 

sonix said:
I still think 100-400 is better.... 50-500 you will regret it if you think 100-400 is too heavy for you.

You can't zoom in and out horizontally, you need to face the lens up or down to smooth the zooming.

In terms of value of money, it's a great lens.

http://www.pbase.com/digitalsonix/singapore

Zoo and Bird are taken using this lens... Happy deciding.
thanks lots for your opinions and advice! how much is the 100-400L? and how bout the problem with the zooming in and out problem with the sigma?

Nice pics btw, u used the 100-400L for these shots?
 

sonix said:
I still think 100-400 is better.... 50-500 you will regret it if you think 100-400 is too heavy for you.

You can't zoom in and out horizontally, you need to face the lens up or down to smooth the zooming.

In terms of value of money, it's a great lens.

http://www.pbase.com/digitalsonix/singapore

Zoo and Bird are taken using this lens... Happy deciding.


I think he wants to be able to view through the viewfinder as he zooms in on the subject to frame and compose... it's useful to have it....
 

spot on! now y can't the 100-400L be a twist type? i'm still interested in the Sigma 50-500mm though... dunno how to get me off this hook... any really really bad things about it? i think it was mpenza in another thread showing his pics using this lens that got me very interested...
 

thanx to everyone who have adviced me on this Sigma Lens... actually not gonna get it now... really eyeing the 300mm f4L that BigBen has... with a 1.4x teleconvertor can get great L quality! Thanx again to everyone!!! Cheers!!
 

nickmak said:
thanx to everyone who have adviced me on this Sigma Lens... actually not gonna get it now... really eyeing the 300mm f4L that BigBen has... with a 1.4x teleconvertor can get great L quality! Thanx again to everyone!!! Cheers!!

To me someone who get a prime zoom lens is someone who knows exactly the distance he needs.

E.g. football photography.

If you just buying prime lens as a hobby, at least for me it's not really a good idea. How willing are you to back and forward to frame your object nicely?

Anyway just a thought....
 

Tested the Sigma 50-500 today (Nikon mount). Not that huge and certainly portable for its range. Its not that heavy too - surprising. AF is fast for its size. Quality wise can't tell from the camera LCD. Overall it is a good lens worth buying if you don mind 500mm and F6.3.
 

ironargon said:
Tested the Sigma 50-500 today (Nikon mount). Not that huge and certainly portable for its range. Its not that heavy too - surprising. AF is fast for its size. Quality wise can't tell from the camera LCD. Overall it is a good lens worth buying if you don mind 500mm and F6.3.
:D .... I can see you are a stronger person than me :)
Was out snapping for my cousin graduation ceremony yesterday.
Was carrying 80-200 TC mounted on a D1H. [overall .. 3kg setup ? ]

it was a 3 hours event, by my arm sore now hehehhe .
Maybe I need to do more weights in the gym :sweat:

Imagine it is a 50-500 mounted on the same body ... its around 3.5-4 kg setup :lovegrin:
 

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