Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C, reviewed by jtmiv

These pictures look heavily over-sharpened in post. Is the focus really so soft that was necessary?

Dear spitfire,

Like I said I mounted the lens and took pictures. I don't claim to do well with post processing, in fact I stink at it. If they are over sharpened you might be able to make a better assessment of the lens by viewing some of the thousands of pictures posted by other people in the thread for the lens here on the POTN forum.

I can tell you that I have taken other pictures with the lens since that first day and I am not disappointed at all with the results.

Regards,

Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA

Sorry, Tim. I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking your photo or PP abilities, I was just wondering if the pictures produces by this lens always looked a bit soft and needed sharpening or if it was just these examples (primarily the second one, the first looks pretty good as posted).

JD

Dear JD,

No worries. I'm not kidding when I say that I absolutely stink at PP. I do it with no rhyme or reason, and just kind of wing it by eyesight on my filthy un-calibrated 7 year old monitor. Every once in a while I make a clear improvement to a shot I have taken. Other times I take a picture that was OK as is and probably ruin it, but it looks good to me so I really can't tell that I made it worse instead of better. I wish I was better at PP but it's going to take me a while, and I may never get to the point where I learn to leave well enough alone.

That's my roundabout way of saving I am happy with the results of the lens and I decided to buy it based on some of the example photos I've seen posted by other members of the POTN board. I am sure I will get better at using the lens but the $ 64,000.00 question is just how much better will I actually get?

Time will tell. I can tell you that I sent these pictures along with some other ones taken with the lens to a friend who then decided to buy the Nikon version to put on his D7200. He seems to be happy with the lens too, so I definitely think the lens can be a capable tool in the right hands.

Regards,

Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA

Absolutely LOVE my Sigma 150-600 C. I bought it for photographing birds and it's the only one I use now. I used to use it on my Sony a6000 with the mc-11 adapter but I recently got the canon 7d mark ii. On the Sony the focus was a lot slower which is mainly why I switched to canon.

Completely agree with the OP's brief assessment of this lens. It's certainly not for nighttime shooting but with modern sensors giving good results beyond 6400 iso it takes nice crisp shots in good to fair lighting, and the slower aperture just gives a realistic working DOF at 600mm. All of my wildlife shots are taken with this lens, and it never disappoints whether its on my 7D2 or my 80D. The lens is sharp wide open, but I usually stop down to f/7.1 or higher when shooting at maximum focal length. Compatibility with the Sigma dock to customize stabilization and make microfocus adjustments means the lens will work well with a variety of bodies, even those without MFA. The lens is big and bulky, but certainly not overly heavy like the Sport model or some of Canon's large prime lenses, and I have no problem carrying it for extended periods of time on a padded neckstrap or it works well with a harness as well.

Here's a couple samples from my gallery of shots I've taken with this lens:

Photo from TreeburnerCT's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (865937)

Photo from TreeburnerCT's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (855674)

Photo from TreeburnerCT's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (854561)

Photo from TreeburnerCT's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (844736)

OP: Why does your second shot look horrible compared to the first?

Dear icor,

Probably because I suck at editing even more than I suck at photography?

I sort of thought it was a pretty good shot of a bird with a 40 mph wind blowing up it's arse but I'm probably wrong.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg, PA

wow those are some nice pics treeburner. I really like the chipmunks.

considering this lense. thanks for the images guys.

Interesting lens indeed.. nice pics btw

Just placed the lens on order. While waiting I reviewed lots of photos available in the "Lens Sample" thread here and elsewhere. The majority of them looked soft to me, sprinkled here and there with very acceptable quality images. This discrepancy in results tells me two things: 1) user error or inexperience or 2) no calibration using the USB dock and firmware update.

Even though I have some mixed feelings about it, I decided to order it with my mind prepared to really get to know the lens in order to maximize its capabilities.

I calibrated mine in camera instead of the dock and have been very pleased. I have had mine for at least a couple of years with no problems. I did use the dock to set up OS and focus speed in the custom modes. I use Dynamic OS and fast focus almost 100 percent of the time. Cannot tell difference in focus speed, but worlds of difference in dynamic versus default OS. I think you will like it!

greenjeans wrote in post #18554626
I calibrated mine in camera instead of the dock and have been very pleased. I have had mine for at least a couple of years with no problems. I did use the dock to set up OS and focus speed in the custom modes. I use Dynamic OS and fast focus almost 100 percent of the time. Cannot tell difference in focus speed, but worlds of difference in dynamic versus default OS. I think you will like it!

Thanks for the tip! The lens is arriving today, a few days earlier!