Please help...What do you know about this lens??? Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot...

Namwife Loc: Midwest

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

You can find an interesting review of this lens at the-digital-picture.com. Under specifications you will see that the first 23 mms are going to be at f/5.0. From 174-312mms you are at f/5.6, and from 313mms you will be shooting an aperture of f/6.3. This is not a fast lens, however, airshows are not held at night, but aircraft can be photographed then. Under the correct circumstances this lens would be a good fit for you. Check the above mentioned site and see the rest of the good news. GL

Namwife Loc: Midwest

davidrb wrote:

You can find an interesting review of this lens at... (show quote)

Thank you I will check out the site...

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

Nam, if your your mounting it on a Cannon, should be able to shoot planes just fine!!! :lol: :lol:
SS

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

I use a Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Lens on a Canon 70D
It is an OK lens, not a great lens.
A bit soft at the long end wide open, however it OK whn stopped down to F8 for web publishing and smaller prints (say up to 10x8 (~A4)).
Fast, and accurate focus tracking is just fair, however I have used better lenses in this regard. This is from shooting motor racing trackside. It is OK for slow moving or static subjects.

Keep in mind it is a big heavy lens and I almost always use it on a monopod (it helps with the weight).

Lupin Loc: West Sussex, U.K.

SharpShooter wrote:

Nam, if you're mounting it on a Cannon, should be able to shoot planes just fine!!! :lol: :lol:
SS

Took the words out of my mouth!!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Namwife wrote:

...that will be fast to shoot aircraft....

That could be taken out of context. :D

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

I get great pics of birds in flight with this lens. Shooting aluminum "birds" will also work.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

I have the Canon version, and use it for birds in flight. I'm satisfied with it, although, as others have pointed out, it's a little soft at the 500mm end. For tracking planes in flight ("PIF?"), I suggest you set your camera up for back button focusing.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

You might want to check out the new Nikon 200-500 lens that was just announced. I have the Sigma 150-500 that you are asking about & i'm not satisfied with the consistency of the AF system. It can produce sharp photos BUT not as consistently as a Nikon brand lens.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

Nikon is about the release a 200-500mm lens. The specs look really good, as does the optical quality according to the MTF charts--much better than the Sigma or the Tamron.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

SharpShooter wrote:

Nam, if your your mounting it on a Cannon, should be able to shoot planes just fine!!! :lol: :lol:
SS

Doesn't it work on a Nikon? :mrgreen:

Peekayoh Loc: UK

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....

The upside of this Sigma lens is the price, it's undeniably cheap but that also leads to the downside. It's slow and from 300mm up, the optical quality falls away so you'll have to stop down to f/8 or f/11 to get anything decent. That's not so bad if you're shooting prop driven aircraft because you need some blur in the prop but for faster jets, you'll need to up the ISO several stops (not good) to deliver the required shutter speed.

You don't say which one you have but the lens will probably perform better on a full frame camera than it will on APS-C depending on the pixel density. If you have an APS-C camera, 500mm is too long for an Airshow.

GPS Phil Loc: Dayton Ohio

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

I have that lens, and I shoot aircraft, but not with this lens. It is too long and too heavy for me. I use a 70-200 2.8 ( a little heavy) and the new 300 f4 by Nikon (26 oz.) a joy to use, but expensive!

Phil

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Namwife wrote:

Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Lens -Nikon
I was thinking about getting it but I need a lens that will be fast to shoot aircraft....
I would appreciate anything you can share about it...
Namwife :)

The Sigma is an OK lens - a little big/heavy for what you want - assuming you are on a crop frame body - if you are full frame, then 500mm will be better for you.

On crop frame, XX-400mm works good at airshows- I prefer using a bodypod like this .....

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