I do have a Nikon 600mm f/4 prime lens. It is certainly very good but with Sigma's recent firmware upgrade to the 150-600 Sport and shooting single point, continuous focus with my Nikon D4s the Sigma is doing well. And it sure is a lot easier to hand hold than my 600 f/4!
It turns out just the opposite works. Only one focus point, continuous focus. Very strange. Not true for my Nikon brand lenses (80-40, 200-400, 600) but works for the Sigma 150-600 Sport.
The fact that Sigma in anything but single point focus insists on going to closest distance when trying to focus on a bird in the sky is weird.
It turns out just the opposite works. Only one focus point, continuous focus. Very strange. Not true for my Nikon brand lenses (80-40, 200-400, 600) but works for the Sigma 150-600 Sport.
The fact that Sigma in anything but single point focus insists on going to closest distance when trying to focus on a bird in the sky is weird.
OK, I have egg on my face.
I did not believe that switching from D21 or D9 to single point would make a difference, but it did!
The lens focuses fine using continuous focus, single point but has a consistent problem (reverts to near distance setting - which is out of focus) for other focus modes modes.
So for birds in flight with the Sigma 150-600 sport with my Nikon D4s I am using back button focus, continuous focus, single focus point.
I always use back button focus.
I am hoping to find someone that actually has experience with this lens, a Nikon body and bird-in-flight shooting.
My only issue is with birds on a sky background.
Using single point autofocus is a challenge on a small moving object at distance (high in sky). That is why I am using 9, 21 or 51 focus points.
I don't think single point autofocus will resolve the issue. Have you tried your Sigma lens under the conditions I described?
Walt
My neighbor & I both have Sigma 150-600 Sport lenses. I use a Nikon D4s. The lens focuses fine on static subjects but when I try to focus on a medium sized, distant flying bird (raven) against a clean blue sky the lens insists on shifting to the near focus point (10m when focus slider is set to "10m to infinity" for example) rather than on the bird.
I know I can customize the minimum focus distance using the Sigma dock and the C1 or C2 focus distance options, but this creates other issues - not focusing if the bird gets closer. At present I have C1 set on 10 meters minimum.
I have updated the lens firmware to the very recently released Sigma version.
I have played with Nikon's various continuous focus options (D9, D21, D51, 3D, Group, etc) and also various apertures (f/6.3 to f/13) with no luck.
I have Nikon lenses (80-400, 600 F/4, etc) which do not have a similar focus issue.
Does anyone have a Sigma 150-600 Sport and is shooting distant (100 ft plus) flying birds against a clear sky background that can offer ideas?
Please don't suggest another brand of camera body, just any Nikon related options.
I called Sigma but the tech support person did not seem to want to address the issue.
Walt Custer
Using the Sigma dock to upgrade the 150-600 firmware is VERY easy. Certainly MUCH less of an effort than packing & shipping the lens.
I have. I sank a Nikon D800e in the Galapagos. Fortunately I had a second body When you spend big bucks on a multi-week international photosafari having a second body makes sense to me. It also allows having both a telephoto and a wider angle lens mounted and ready to shoot.
One with a higher FPS than the D810. Shooting birds in flight, cheetahs chasing prey, etc really benefits from a fast shooting camera.
I just tried the D5 and D500 at a Nikon intro event. For the money the D500 @ $2000 looks super. 10FPS, rapid autofocus and the ability to shoot at very high ISO (to achieve fast shutter speeds) with low noise.
The D5 is outstanding but its $6500. The D500 offers many of the benefits of the D5 but at a more reasonable price.
Walt Custer
I have customized two things via the dock:
- focus speed - to the fastest
- minimum focus distance - to 30 feet
I did this for only one setting bank. I shoot a lot of birds in flight and I found with the default minimum distance the search range was too great and it difficult to lock on to flying birds. I am still experimenting to identify optimum parameters.
Of course you can always switch to default to bypass these adjustments.
I also updated the firmware. When I first got this lens it would sometimes "chatter" when autofocusing. The firmware upgrade resolved this.
I shoot it primarily on a Nikon D4s.
Walt Custer
I have the Sigma 150-600 Sport version. I consider the dock very important. I shoot a lot of birds in flight. I used the dock to update firmware and also to adjust:
1) speed (delay) of shifting focus from one subject to next
2) set minimum focus distance for one of the two custom settings. I set one to 30 ft to prevent lens from constantly reverting to a very short focus distance and delaying/inhibiting "locking on" flying birds.
Walt Custer
I have the Sigma 150-600 Sport version. I consider the dock very important. I shoot a lot of birds in flight. I used the dock to update firmware and also to adjust:
1) speed (delay) of shifting focus from one subject to next
2) set minimum focus distance for one of the two custom settings. I set one to 30 ft to prevent lens from converting reverting to a very short focus distance and delaying/inhibiting "locking on" flying birds.
Walt Custer
I have been to Africa three times for wildlife. A lot depends how/from what you will be shooting. I shot from an open roof Land Cruiser in Tanzania using a beanbag and also shot from a specialized boat and land vehicle (designed by Lou Coetzer) in S Africa, Namibia & Botswana. Those Coetzer vehicles had seats with attached tripods and Gimbal heads. I used a Nikon 600mm f/4 (with & without a 1.4, 1.7 or 2x extender) and very much appreciated the long reach. My first decent leopard pictures were at 1200mm (600+2x). I handheld a second body with a Nikon 80-400. The more mobile (80-400) arrangement was great for closer and unexpected shots. Alternative zooms (28-300) would be good.
We have the new Sigma 150-600 sport which so far gets good marks. I would think it would be fine. Other lenses (Sigma 150-500 or 50-500, Tamron 150-600 or a 400 f/2.8) would be good alternatives but none would give you 1200mm if you need this reach.
A lot depends on the surroundings (desert, open range, forest, water) , how close you will be to the animals and your vehicle setup. You might want to bring a monopod or light tripod depending on your situation.
Walt Custer