Test shots with a new lens

OK, so I got a Sigma 150-500 OS in anticipation of my Alaskan trip which is upcoming. I took it out and went nuts tonight, all the while thinking that I was capturing great images. When I occasionally looked on my LCD monitor, the photos appeared to be OK but I wasn't paying really close attention because I was giggling so much and enjoying shooting that big monster.

First of all, let me admit that I'm not used to such a long lens and I need lots of practice. Secondly, I think I've been reading too much stuff on message boards because I thought I could handhold or shoot from a monopod at 1/100th of a second with this lens. Well, occasionally yes but when I got home and downloaded the photos to my computer, I found that most of them were icky. It's clear that you need a lot of light for this lens and it's clear that I'm going to have to start shooting at slightly higher ISO settings (I was at 100 most of the afternoon/evening). I'll say one thing, it is going to be fun when and if I figure it out.

Here are a couple that don't look too bad.

those came out really good, keep working with it and don't be afraid of bumping the ISO up.

Keep trying, but as a general rule try to match the focal length with the shutter speed - meaning when at 500mm try to be around 1/500 and at 300mm be around 1/300 and so on. Yes if you have good technique you can shoot at slower shutter speeds but one needs practice. Remember when shooting wildlife and its moving too why would you want to be a 1/100, and don't be afraid to up the iso. Sigma is known for having focusing issues (yes I know because I owned one) but that can be corrected if your camera has micro focus adjustment.

Congrats on the new lens. i rented it and took it out to Yellowstone with me a couple weeks ago. It was an excellent Yellowstone lens and I'm sure it will be a great lens for Alaska. I used a monopod almost 100% of the time. I found it helpful for providing some stabilization as well as keeping my arms from getting tired (it's a heavy lens and the support was appreciated). Keeping the shutter speed fast enough to produce a sharp image was a little tricky at first and I found I had to keep my ISO up around 800 to 1600 for most of my shots. But at the end of the day I'd rather have a sharp and noisy image than a blurry image without noise (plus, noise is pretty easy to take care of in post). Enjoy the lens. I liked using a lot. When my rental period was up it was hard for me to let it go. Be sure to post some shots when you get back.

Looks like you are getting the hang of that beast. f8 will get you some razor sharp results but even wide open I had gotten good results. You will want an ISO bump and monopod possibly for lower light times. I loved the OS on the 150-500 but the size convinced me to switch to the 100-400 as my walking wildlife lens. Should be a great companion for you in Alaska.

Thanks everyone. As I said, there's a learning curve, not only because it's my first super long lens but also because I'm still learning photography in general but I did have fun with it and I'm looking forward to using it more. I think the images will be night and day once I bump the ISO up and start using a more reasonable shutter speed, I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Bill
I think I recall you having a 60d
So no mfa.
Try this.
If you want to shoot in manual set your camera to
1/800 th to start
F7.1
ISO auto but set the max to 1600 in the menu.

Then kit bump the SS up or down according to what you're shooting and the light available. The 60d does very well at 1600.

Or use Av mode and set 7.1 and go at it. You could even dial in some exposure compensation to brighten the pics and darken them a bit in post as youll get less noise.

I brought the same lens just the other day too.

jhayesvw wrote in post #14681922
Bill
I think I recall you having a 60d
So no mfa.
Try this.
If you want to shoot in manual set your camera to
1/800 th to start
F7.1
ISO auto but set the max to 1600 in the menu.

Then kit bump the SS up or down according to what you're shooting and the light available. The 60d does very well at 1600.

Or use Av mode and set 7.1 and go at it. You could even dial in some exposure compensation to brighten the pics and darken them a bit in post as youll get less noise.

Yes, it's a 60D and thanks for the specifics, I'll definitely give that a try. I've been shooting some more but mostly around 1000 ISO and 1/640th with apertures in the 6.3-8.0 range. I'll try your suggestion because I'm still not entirely satisfied with the clarity of my pics. Overall I'm happy with the lens because I'm getting better pictures than I would with any of my other lenses, even with a TC but, I'd still like to see better IQ. Here are a few more that I came up with between yesterday and this morning.

OK, I took the advice of jhayesvw and I think I like the results better than what I had been getting. This set of photos is sharp and, they were taken wtih a Kenko 1.4TC as well, so they may have been even a bit more sharp with just the lens.

Any opinions?

Much sharper. When I had the 150-500 I usually shot at f8 and got sharp results so you could come down a stop still. With the fantastic OS your given about 3 stops of leeway so you can run a slower SS with static subjects to get your ISO down.

Those are looking great. Especially with a TC.

Nature Nut wrote in post #14683285
Much sharper. When I had the 150-500 I usually shot at f8 and got sharp results so you could come down a stop still. With the fantastic OS your given about 3 stops of leeway so you can run a slower SS with static subjects to get your ISO down.

You can physically feel that OS working. It obviously helps with that long/heavy lens.

dbricks wrote in post #14683436
Those are looking great. Especially with a TC.

I was really surprised that the IQ was that good with the TC on, now I'm anxious to try it with the TC for deer and bigger stuff too.

My opinion Bill is that your pics are improving and thanks for starting this thread, my 150-500 is on the way so by midweek I'll begin the learning curve as well, also on a 60D. I'll be checking in with your progress later, could save me a lot of time.