nmoore6

Hi All,

I've been working with the Sigma 150-500 for a few months now, and while I really enjoy it, I find that a pretty good number of my shots, especially at the full 500mm zoom, tend to be on the soft side. I have been shooting almost exclusively handheld, and try to keep the shutter speed at least 1/800. Not too worried about the ISO problem, as I understand that if you are shooting in less than ideal light for birds you will have to bump that up, so I know there will be noise, I'm more concerned about sharpness. Does anyone have suggestions on how to improve sharpness in your technique or equipment? I have been told I may have a "bad copy" of the lens, although I find that utterly ridiculous as I paid about $700 for it used.

For what it's worth I have been using a Nikon D3300, but just purchased a D610, arriving at the end of this week. Do you think performing microadjustments with the D610 would help, or are there techniques I can use to get better shots? Any help would be appreciated, thanks guys!

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

It's hard to help you with no images to examine. Post some pics with exif not removed. I shoot with that lens and get sharp images at most focal lengths when the light is sufficient. The older I get the harder it is to shoot sharp images hand-held, though.

GWZ Loc: Bloomington, IN

I will let others comment on the equipment and exposure aspect of your question.

Just a thought - what conditions do you shoot in? You may be experiencing atmospheric conditions such as haze or heat waves/shimmy that may not be perceptible to your eye, but which may show up in the image itself, that can cause a loss of sharpness. I only raise this issue because I frequently shot across a pond or lake and had the same issues. I adjusted my shooting location and get better results.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

That lens is actually amazing, but will ALWAYS benefit from proper tuning to the camera. I used it for 4 years and posted many tack sharp images with it, including one of a bison shot at 500mm, F6.3 on a D7000 Nikon that is currently hanging on the wall in my gallery as a 24"x36" print and you can count his nose hairs. The lens was much maligned in its day by those that did not understand its capabilities, or did not have the ability (or inclination) to take the time to properly tune it. Unfortunately the D3xxx Nikons do not have AF tuning as a feature, the D610 will have it. I never would have gotten rid of mine except that Sigma came out with their 150-600mm Sport lens and that is what I have used for almost 4 years now. Tune it to your D610 and keep it, you will love the results.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The Sigma was not known for great sharpness, especially when zoomed to 500mm.

https://photographylife.com/bird-photography-with-sigma-150-500mm-os

Higher ISO will rob image sharpness.

A crop camera may not produce as good an image as a full frame one.

You cannot adjust a lens to provide sharpness that isn't there to begin with.

Try shooting the with the lens just short of 500mm, and stopped down to F8.

Post some samples of images you think ought to be sharper

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

I also have had a huge challenge getting sharp images of birds in flight.

I noticed you mentioned using a shutter speed of 1/800. I suspect you probably need to set 1/1600 or higher for many birds in flight. Set you shutter speed first and then the aperture (f5.6 or 6.3 depending on the lens and zoom range) and as you noted set the ISO to auto. Use either shutter priority or full manual settings.

Yesterday I finally had a few osprey shots come out sharp using these settings. I also think practice and experience following the birds is a major component of getting tack sharp images.

Keep practicing and good luck.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

A great point, and the same - or worse - can happen when shooting across a road. The quality of light affects also.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

I had to do some reading on your lens as I've never used one. The AF is slow so moving targets will be difficult. I use a 150-600 a lot, ss 2K for moving targets with auto ISO, try to using f8-f11. In camera adjustments may help on the D610. I use a yard stick in a chair at 45 deg, camera on tri pod. If 18in is in focus your good, if 16in is focus it's short focusing. In camera adjustments will effect all focul lenghts.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Good points. You need higher shutter speeds. I normall shoot at 1/250 or higher for BIF

nmoore6

Cool, thanks for the tips. I will try a faster shutter and shooting in better light. I have been shooting in mostly cloudy conditions with less sunlight than normal due to weather, so maybe using f8 isn't the greatest idea in the dimmer environment. I may wait for a sunnier day and try again.

Is there a significant difference with the 150-600mm lens? Or do people enjoy that lens?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Do you have a "protection" filter on the lens? If so, remove it and try without any filter. Might be better.

If it's the 150-500mm APO OS HSM... are you certain the OS (optical stabilization) is working? Trying to hand hold without it will certainly have an effect on the sharpness of a lot of images. 1/800 is actually just about the bare minimum shutter speed to try to hand hold steady shots with an unstabilized 500mm lens on an APS-C camera. Even with OS, you'd likely still see some percentage of your shots spoiled by camera shake, trying to handhold such long focal lengths. Get a monopod at least... a quality tripod with a gimbal mount would be even better.

You mention "I have been told I may have a "bad copy" of the lens, although I find that utterly ridiculous as I paid about $700 for it used." I doubt it's a "bad copy", though that's a rather high price for the 150-500mm OS lens used, so I'd expect it to be in top condition and fully working. Most of them go for around $500-$600 now (Adorama and KEH each have them priced in that range, in a couple different mounts.)

In it's day, the 150-500mm was a bargain telephoto. In fact, it and similar 120-400mm and bigger 50-500mm that Sigma offered were the first of the "bargain" super telephotos. Before Sigma produced them, you had to sell your car to buy a big telephoto!

However, it never was the sharpest lens. The past five or six years there have been a lot of new and improved, powerful tele-zooms introduced by both third party and OEM manufacturers since then.

Micro adjust might help a little, is worth a try. But switching to using the lens on a full frame camera you'll be giving up a lot of the "reach" you've enjoyed using it on a DX camera. For a birder, I'd have recommended sticking with a DX camera, unless you have the really big $$$ for the big, heavy super telephotos and a sturdy tripod to put them on.

The 150-500mm was discontinued and replaced by the Sigma 150-600mm "Contemporary" in 2014. The newer lens has noticeably better image quality at all the focal lengths they share, is still in production and now sells for just under $1000 new. There's also a more "robust" Sport version of Sigma's 150-600mm that's closer to $2000, better built and sealed, but bigger, heavier, and not really much different in image quality. Tamron also offers a 150-600mm.... their current G2 improved upon image quality, build and performance of their first version, and sells new for about $1500.

In comparison, a Canon or Nikon 500mm f/4 lens will set you back close to $10,000 and are about twice the size and weight. One of the more affordable is the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 which costs about $1500... The the higher performance and more premium build/better sealed Nikon 80-400mm and Canon 100-400mm each cost around $2000.

You can compare image quality of the 150-500mm versus the newer 150-600mm (or other lenses) here:

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=683&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=3&API=0&LensComp=990&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0

Note: the test shots at the above link were not done using the same camera as you.... But for comparison's sake, it doesn't matter so long as you set the site to display tests from both that were made with the same camera... in this case, a Canon 1Ds Mark III. That happens to be a full frame camera, like your D610, so gives you some idea what to expect on the FX camera. But when using the lens on a DX camera like your D3300, the corners and edges of those sample/test shots would be cropped away, the DX camera will only use the central portion of a lens, which is better than the corners/edges in most cases.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

One of the advantages of the newer Sigma and Tamron lenses is the ability to set customized focus ranges. I don't think the 150-500 has any range options. The result of no range setting is a lot more focus hunting and, as a result, poorer results.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

It could be your technique, or it may also be the lens. That lens of yours is known for being soft at the long end, You'll just have to find out if it is motion blur or a focus issue. I would shot at a faster shutter speed than 1/800 and see if that makes a difference!

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

The IS on the newer lens is much better. Put your camera on AUTO iso, you may get noise but photos should be sharper.

Straight Shooter Loc: Newfoundland, Canada

I have the Sigma 150-500, and like it. However, I do see a difference between results for hand-held and tripod-mounted shots. In fact I use a tripod most of the time, with a gimbal head. I find it performs best at an aperture of f8 or smaller, and when photographing more or less static birds, with a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster. For birds in flight, you want a much faster shutter speed: 1/2000 minimum, preferably faster - 1/4000 is not overdoing it. Adjust ISO as needed to get those specs. and be prepared to do some de-noising. Obviously, a camera that can handle high ISO is going to be a big advantage.