150-600mm Lens Concerns
Aug 14, 2016 15:17:28 #
Too many times I've found myself in a position where I wished I owned a longer lens than my 55-200mm. I've been looking at the 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lenses offered by Tamron and Sigma. At the ripe old age of 75 I know I would have to use a tripod to keep it steady. My concern is the speed of these two lenses. Can they be successfully used on a cloudy day at f/8 shooting birds and other wildlife and not get blur due to low shutter speed? I guess I'm asking for your collective opinions on the usefulness of these lenses given low light conditions? Positive as well as negative feedback will be welcomed...
Aug 14, 2016 15:27:19 #
I have a Sigma Sport and bought it to photograph birds. Yes, you will need a tripod with a gimbal head to balance the weight and length of the lens with a long arca swill plate. On a cloudy day I just boost up the ISO to control the shutter speed.
If you are interested in a deal on a 150-600 Sigma sport in near mint condition PM me.
If you are interested in a deal on a 150-600 Sigma sport in near mint condition PM me.
Bunkershot wrote:
Too many times I've found myself in a position whe... (show quote)
Aug 14, 2016 15:29:09 #
I don't own one of these lenses but know several friends that do.
Using a tripod (and some without) they are getting god results with the lens.
With most modern cameras you can push the ISO up pretty high and still get good results.
I typically start at ISO 800 & f8 when shooting birds with my 70-400 F4-5.6.
Using a tripod (and some without) they are getting god results with the lens.
With most modern cameras you can push the ISO up pretty high and still get good results.
I typically start at ISO 800 & f8 when shooting birds with my 70-400 F4-5.6.
Aug 14, 2016 15:30:17 #
Bunkershot - f/8 would be the aperture, the shutter speed - enhanced by increasing the ISO - can be sufficient to stop motion. Not as good as a $$$ fast lens, but a workable solution. /Ralph
Aug 14, 2016 15:48:06 #
Bunkershot wrote:
Too many times I've found myself in a position whe... (show quote)
If you are fussy or making larger prints for sale, the 150-600's need GOOD (bright) light.
quote " Can they be successfully used on a cloudy day at f/8 shooting birds and other wildlife and not get blur due to low shutter speed?" unquote
Yes - IF - you are willing to sacrifice ISO (noise levels)
I continue to advocate cropping a high MP sensor and GOOD lens used properly and using pixel enlargement - over using an expensive/larger/heavier/slower f-stop lens or a tele-extender !
Aug 14, 2016 15:51:40 #
I have the Sigma 150-600 contemporary. I am 72 and have no problems hand holding. I bump up the ISO to 800 or 1600 and shoot away. You need the higher ISO for BIF. The Sigma Sport is much heavier and twice as expensive. At our age we probably don't need a professional lens any way.
Attached Eagle pic:
f8 1/4000 iso 1600 550mm hand held
Attached Eagle pic:
f8 1/4000 iso 1600 550mm hand held
Aug 14, 2016 16:10:09 #
Hi Bunkershot,
both, the Sigma and Tamron, are not the fastest lens, so you need mostly as already mentioned a tripod or monopod.
In perfect light conditions you may be able to get sharp pictures with freehand with high shutter speed and acceptable
ISO.
In cloudy conditions you have to consider ISO 1600 or more. To have reasonable shutter speed with moving subjects
expect even ISO 3200 or more.
Due to maybe height ISO the camera/sensor noise handling could be also important. Post processing of RAW files
can reduce visible noise.
Picture below: Tamron 150-600, 600mm, f8, 1/640, ISO 1600, overcast, monopod. Subject not moving.
Greeting
Thomas
both, the Sigma and Tamron, are not the fastest lens, so you need mostly as already mentioned a tripod or monopod.
In perfect light conditions you may be able to get sharp pictures with freehand with high shutter speed and acceptable
ISO.
In cloudy conditions you have to consider ISO 1600 or more. To have reasonable shutter speed with moving subjects
expect even ISO 3200 or more.
Due to maybe height ISO the camera/sensor noise handling could be also important. Post processing of RAW files
can reduce visible noise.
Picture below: Tamron 150-600, 600mm, f8, 1/640, ISO 1600, overcast, monopod. Subject not moving.
Greeting
Thomas
Aug 14, 2016 16:15:30 #
imagemeister wrote:
If you are fussy or making larger prints for sale,... (show quote)
I agree...I have the Tamron 150-600 and like all long lenses its a light hog...pick the one you favor...and if you are worried about noise get Topaz DeNoise 6...I cant say enough good things about this little plug in...it wipes put noise and preserves detail.
Aug 14, 2016 16:23:33 #
If you're using an APS-C camera, the old rule-of-thumb would say that you need a shutter speed of 1/900 to hand-hold a picture taken with a 600mm lens; these days, people seem to expect more sharpness than we did with film, so you would need even more than that (*). Yesterday I was using an AdaptAll {manual focus} 300mm lens + 2X back to photograph ground bees by our garage. The weather was mostly overcast, and I found that an effective F-stop of f/11 forced me to use an ISO of 3200 just to get a shutter speed of 1/500. I was hand-holding my camera, and frankly the results were not terrific - just enough for us to be relatively confident of what we had - but certainly not something even to put on the web, let alone to print.
(*) If the object you're photographing is moving, then the same considerations apply even if you're using a tripod.
(*) If the object you're photographing is moving, then the same considerations apply even if you're using a tripod.
Aug 14, 2016 18:37:22 #
Old Timer
Loc: Greenfield, In.
I have the Tamaron 150 600 and yes you need a good tripod and gimbal head. I am five years older than you and I do not have a problem hand holding if I got some thing to lean on or some other form of support. But as far as bif I would not attempt with out the gimbal head. As others have said if you have a newer camera you can go at a higher Iso and get good shots on cloudy day. I have the Canon 300 f4 prime and as for as focusing on a cloudy I believe the Tammy is better. For BIF I have trouble focusing with a long zoom. I usually shoot at a least 400 Iso and crank it up according to condition. I do not like to go over 1600. I use a Canon 7D or a 60D. I seem to have better luck with the 7D as the focusing system is superior to 60D. In fact my Tammy is probably my most used lens for me because I shoot a lot of wild life.
Bunkershot wrote:
Too many times I've found myself in a position whe... (show quote)
Aug 14, 2016 20:34:03 #
Bunkershot wrote:
Too many times I've found myself in a position whe... (show quote)
Depends on ISO and what you consider "successful".
Aug 15, 2016 05:39:32 #
mikegreenwald
Loc: Illinois
imagemeister wrote:
If you are fussy or making larger prints for sale,... (show quote)
Nice shot!
I prefer the Sigma Sport, because I often find myself in inclement weather, and the build quality and seals are significantly better than either the Tamron or the Sigma Contemporary. I've used all three, and found the Sigma Sport IQ to be better than the others as well, on test shots. The optics of the two Sigma lenses are NOT identical. The downside of the Sport is weight, but once mounted on a tripod that is a non-issue. I sometimes use it hand held as well, but it requires some careful arm placement and strength for quality shooting. If I can do it at 81 y.o. others can too!
I mount mine on either a Canon 5DIII or a Canon 1DsMkIII, and I'm very happy with the results with both.
Aug 15, 2016 06:17:06 #
I don't know what brand of camera you shoot with. If Nikon, also consider the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 lens. You might have a slightly faster aperture at long focal lengths.
Aug 15, 2016 06:28:11 #
The only thing that I could add to what the others have already said is that you could easily rent the lens of your choice for 4 days from lensrentals.com and decide after using it whether you want to keep it or not and they will take the price of the rental off the lens.
Aug 15, 2016 06:44:27 #
I own the Sigma 150-600mm sport lens and can not hand hold it, however I use it with a mono-pod without any trouble. I am 72 and in poor health.
Bunkershot wrote:
Too many times I've found myself in a position whe... (show quote)
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