Sigma 150-600mm sports version Or nikon 200-500

Hi,
I am lil confused over deciding on two lenses Sigma 150-600mm Sports and Nikon 200-500 mm

I am getting the following offer

1)Nikon 200-500 $1179.28 (US Dollar)

2) Sigma 150-600mm sports version with USB Dock $1940.59 (US Dollar)

3)Sigma 150-600mm sports version with Sigma TC1401 (1.4x USB Dock) $2164.50 (US Dollar )

Which one i should go for I own Nikon D750

explanation with taking photographs and its difference would be very helpful but not madatory

Thanks in advance

Have you considered the 150-600 Contemporary? ($1089@ B&H)

I can't help much more than that as haven't used any of these (already have a 120-300/2.8 OS)

What is your main use for this lens? What is your budget as options 2 & 3 are almost twice the price of 1. How strong are you?

I own the Nikon 200-500 and the Sigma 150-600 Sport and have tried the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens.

My main uses for these lenses are for motorsport and air displays. I have the Nikon 200-500 paired with a D500 and have been happy with the results. I also have the much heavier Sigma 150-600 Sport which is currently in Japan, where Sigma are changing the camera mount from Canon to Nikon and I think when it is returned will be my first choice with a monopod, as it is too heavy for me to hand hold for long periods.

The Nikon 200-500 is good value and can be handheld for most of the time. Also constant 5.6 throughout the range and can take a teleconverter.
It does lose out to the Sigma at both near and far, so I believe that the Sigma is more flexible

A UK magazine has just votes the 150-600 sport as the best zoom lens against the Nikon, Sigma Contemprary and Tamron equivalents.

I would steer clear of the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary as it is quite soft at the longer end. I did buy it to use with the D500 but returned it as a lot of images (more than I expected) were borderline "soft".

Nikon 200-500:
Advantages:
Price
Constant aperture f5.6
Less weight

Disadvantages:
Less range than Sigma equivalent
Hood does not fit well and comes away easily

Sigma 150-600 Sport
Advantages:
Built like a tank (but also a disadvantage)
Greater zoom range

Disadvantages:
Heavier, may need a monopod
More expensive
f6.3 at long end

If I could only have one lens then I would probably have the 200-500!

Hope this helps...

Sigma

Thanks for such a detailed review I have used nikon 200-500 it was heav but manageable I am not getting sigma 150-600MM sports on rent next weekend renting tamron 150-600mm

my main use is birding or wildlife

I am not that happy with Nikon 200-500 rented one..

recently 6 months back I upgraded to Nikon D750 from Sony A200 to be honest my click from Sony A200 with sony 70-300 was much better than Nikon D750 Nikon 200-500 dont know why but I like the sony combo

Since you posses both 200-500 and sigma 150-600 sports can you share pics of both so that I can just have a feel

Regards

Hi

Not possible at the moment as I am still waiting return the of the Sigma 150-600mm from Japan.

I notice that you have already hired the Nikon 200-500 and are not impressed. Can you not hire the Sigma 150-600 Sport so that you can have a hand-on comparison with the D750?

As I mentioned earlier I have only used these lenses with crop sensor cameras. (Canon 7D II and D500).

Regards

Here is a pic from last weekend - D800 with the Sigma lens that was taken on a tripod with a gimble mount. I've found that works better for *me* than a monopod, although those are OK. I had to crop significantly to get under the 10mb limit.

FWIW, I can do OK with the lens handheld for short periods but the pics are softer.

Dan

A higher shutter speed can help reduce softness. That image also looks like the lens is front focussing a bit, assuming your focus point was on the boy's face (a lot more of the turf in front of him is in focus than behind).

That pic is a crop, there was another kid right in front of him and slightly closer to the camera that was the point of focus. If I remember correctly it was 1/1000 at f14.

I'll check out your suggestions - thanks!

Dan

No problems. another suggestion if you don't mind: I wouldn't be using f/14 unless I was desperate for a huge depth of field. With the high pixel density of the D800, you'll see that f/14 is a bit softer than f/8 or f/11 when cropping heavily

I'm guessing you were in Shutter Priority set at 1/1000? If so, I would be using Aperture Priority with the aperture set at f/8 (or f/11 if not confident that the lens was suitably sharp by f/8) and AutoISO with the minimum shutter speed in the ISO Priority settings at either 1/1000 or in Auto at one or two clicks faster than middle.

This is from the D750 manual but should be the same for your D800

Some shots I took with my 150-600 Sport...I switch between the 80-400 and 150-600. The Sig is definitely much heavier compared to the 80-400 but sometimes the reach is needed. The quality is, imo fantastic....these were all hand held:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/NYy8​Ss

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AG92​aA

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/NsMM​Eo

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/MXff​ur

I have owned both and ended up with the 200-500. One thing you'll want to check from the very beginning is making sure you have as sharp copy wide open at maximum focal length. Both lenses have some copy variation and could leave a bad taste in your mouth if you end up with a bad copy. That being said, I ended up with the 200-500 for a few reasons: faster aperture, significantly less vignetting wide open, much lighter (I can hand hold it significantly longer than the 150-600 S), better image stabilization, and better bokeh. Wide open sharpness is excellent with both lenses, and I think the decision should ultimately come down to whether or not you think you need that extra 100mm, or if you hand hold your lenses for a significant amount of time. I, for one, rarely use a tripod or monopod which made the 200-500 choice a no-brainer for me. I've gotten sharp images hand held down to 1/30 sec. at 500mm with the 200-500, something I would never be able to do with the Sigma given its weight and seemingly lesser image stabilization.

Here are a couple of sample images from the 200-500 from this past weekend:

Beautiful images AvianScott

I use a 150-600C, this was the second copy I got the first being soft. The second one is sharp wide open.

I own the Sigma 150 - 600 c. Samples attached. Won't comment on sharpness vs anything else. I am extremely happy with mine, handhold mine all the time.

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