swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Hi, I have done a search but couldn't quite find the information I need. I would like to buy one of these lense to use on the Canon 7D, (not mk11). It is for photographing Birds, small and large as well as in flight. Trying to find out which one focuse the best and has the sharper images, especially at 600mm. Thanks for your help.
Anne

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I believe the Sigma Sport version is best of the 150-600mm lenses, particularly at 600mm.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

From what I have seen and heard, for all practical purposes they are equal except for the USB dock adjustments that the Sigma has.

If I were you, I would seriously look at the Canon 400mm f5.6 and use good pixel enlargement techniques/software to get to 600mm with good support techniques.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

UHH member MT Shooter is a well-respected wildlife photographer. Here is his assessment:
Quick comparison Tamron vs. Sigma "C" 150-600mm lenses
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-298404-1.html

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Thanks Joer, I think I'll go to a camera shop and try the Sigma.

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Thanks imagemeister, just when I thought I had made a decision to go with the Sigma Sport. Now you have me thinking about the Canon 400mm f5.6 with a 1.4 converter.

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Thanks for the link Nikonian72, it was very helpful. Was going to go with the Sigma Sport after reading what MT Shooter said butImagemeister said I might want to consider the Canon 400mm f5.6, thinkin I could put a 1.4 converter on it but then if any of the Birds were too close I would have a problem. Maybe MT Shooter will see this and point me in the right direction.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Take a look here.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/lenses
http://lenshero.com/lens-comparison
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx
http://www.lenstip.com/lenses.html
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Thanks jerryc41, these will keep me busy for a while and hopefully help with my decision.

Buildrt Loc: Sarasota Fl

I have the Sigma and I also use a 1.4 converter with it. It works really well for me with my D7100 and if I need I

Edcan get even more power going to the 1.3.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

This is a very good lens. I had it on a 20D years ago. If Nikon had an equivalent, it would have saved me a lot of money.

bigwolf40 Loc: Effort, Pa.

Ask Regis. He uses the Tamron and takes great bird photos.. I use the Tamron on a 7D and love it and so do a lot of other people on this site. The Sigma Contemporary and Tamron are both around $1000 dollars and the Sigma Sport is around $2000 dollars. Anther feature is the Tamron gives you a 6 year warranty where Sigma only gives you a 3 year one. Your choice....Rich

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Your 7D will not AF on the 400 with 1.4X. Now I see you are talking about the Sigma SPORT and not Contemporary. I hope you are aware of the size and weight of the SPORT ! ?

The new Canon 100-400 II is also an option now that we are talking $2000 cost. Both Canon lenses are smaller and easier to handle/manage. But, you will need 50% pixel enlargement to get to 600mm - but you can be using f5.6 instead of 6.3 when you do.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

I would go with the Tamron. The Sigma Sport is really on the heavy side to hand hold, and get good stable shots. Even with the Tamron, you may want to look into a gimbal mount for a strong tripod. The Sigma Contemporary is a lot lighter than the Sport. With a long lens, warranty is consideration. Tamron's 6 year warranty is great, and their turn-around time is about 3 days. Plus, you can send in the Tamron for tune-ups for your camera model. I sent mine in for tuning for the new 7D Mark II. It came back almost a new lens.

B

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

OP is asking about the Sigma "S" lens, not the Sigma "C".

The Tamron and Sigma C are relatively comparable.

The Sigma "S" is not quite 2X the cost, bigger, heavier and more robustly built... with higher performance. Surely you can find dozens of comparisons and reviews online, if you need more info.

Sigma "S" is also about the same price as the Canon 100-400 II.

For birding, the old saying is that "you'll never have a long enough lens". If you have 200mm, you'll want 300mm. If you have 400mm, at times you'll want 500mm. That's a strong argument for the Sigma S 150-600mm over the Canon 100-400mm.

But, on a crop sensor camera like the 7D/7DII, 400mm is one heck of a lot of lens... And 600mm is almost insane. The longer the focal length, the harder it is to get on target and track moving subjects. With 400mm and up you would really struggle with birds in flight, particularly. And with 500 to 600mm you'll be much more likely to want to use a tripod with a gimbal mount, which is added cost and makes you less mobile. And with a really long lens and more distant subjects you'll be shooting through more atmosphere, so will have to deal with some image degrading effects from that sometimes, too.

Still, there's no substitute for more focal length comes in handy at times. 500mm + 1.4X = 700mm, on crop camera was used for the shot below:



Previous response is correct... If combined with a teleconverter, neither Canon 100-400mm, nor the Tamron, nor either of the Sigma 150-600mm will autofocus on an original 7D. And your viewfinder will be quite dim for manual focusing. On the other hand, 7D Mark II would AF with the combos (center point only).

If planning to use a teleconverter, I'd look at the Sigma 120-300/2.8 combined with a 2X, instead. That's a pricey combo, though... close to $4000. And it's even bigger and heavier than any of the above. The Canon 100-400mm (both versions) is popular for birds in flight. So are the 400/5.6 and 300/4 primes, which are relatively affordable. The 300/4 works very well with a 1.4X, too. Those primes aren't as versatile as the zooms, but certainly are more portable!