Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports

PIXPHATIC wrote in post #17543190
what sort of inconsistencies are you having......?? AF issues, low keeper rate, OS issues..?? can you share some shots ..??

Is the sharpness bang on wide open ....@ 600mm f6.3 as many users have conveyed..??

cheers...!!!

Yes apparently focus issues. Not sure if it is OS related or not.

I'm in contact with sigma and they are asking for un altered jpgs with data intact. Does any one know how to convert a RAW file to do this?

You can convert/save your RAW file into a JPEG either with Photoshop or DPP. With "Unaltered" they probably mean "no past processing and/or sharpening".

At 600mm the opening angle is very narrow and when focusing the slightest movement can make a difference. Also the area covered by your single focal point may be larger than what you see in the viewfinder and it may touch something further away or closer by. The longer you focal length the harder focusing becomes....

In DPP you can check where you focal point was when shooting. If it covers two elements in the scene - one you wanted and one further away or closer - that may explain the focal error.

vk2gwk wrote in post #17543541
You can convert/save your RAW file into a JPEG either with Photoshop or DPP. With "Unaltered" they probably mean "no past processing and/or sharpening".

At 600mm the opening angle is very narrow and when focusing the slightest movement can make a difference. Also the area covered by your single focal point may be larger than what you see in the viewfinder and it may touch something further away or closer by. The longer you focal length the harder focusing becomes....

In DPP you can check where you focal point was when shooting. If it covers two elements in the scene - one you wanted and one further away or closer - that may explain the focal error.

Thanks for the info. Yes I figured out how to make the conversion with the Nikon equivalent of DPP (ViewNX2).

I have the LR focus point add on, and in the NX2 software it shows the focus point. It's very bizzare...when the lens is on, it's great. Then I go thru these "off" periods, and it's torture. Remember I was at 1/2000 SS all day on Sunday. I don't know how you guys with shutter speeds below 1/600 do it.

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #17543511
Yes apparently focus issues. Not sure if it is OS related or not.

I'm in contact with sigma and they are asking for un altered jpgs with data intact. Does any one know how to convert a RAW file to do this?

Lets see what they come up with.....please keep the thread updated.

Cheers.

reading these with interest ,having had the lens longer than most i categorically state that its a long learning curve lens . the two things that helped me most is changing via the USB dock the o.s to dynamic and the a/f to focus point priority .these two moves made hand holding the lens a lot easier

i also use two cameras a canon 70d and a canon 1D3 different levels of cameras but one thing is clear the focus point box in both is totally different and with the 70d with it being larger its possible for you to focus on a birds eye for instance but if a percentage of that box is on open ground behind the bird thats where it will focus ,this leads me to think that a full frame camera such as the 5d3 would have even smaller and more accurate focus points ,something i have not yet been able to test .unfortunately this does seem to be the nature of the beast when using these ultra long lenses .

monopod or tripod or bean bag ? i have all three,my tripod c/f with gimbal head is useful when i'm in one place static for a while i.e waiting for a incoming tide or hanging on owls appearing ,the monopod i am starting to take with me more these days for a as and when needed accessory ,mines fitted with a beike ball head and as such i can leave the monopod attached under the lens and parallel to it this at times acts like a rifle stock to aid in aiming the lens (must do some pics of this ) and finally in my car i have several bean bags from small to extra large for use in hides or the car window ,fence posts ,gates etc ..

hopefully some of the above will help someone coming to terms with this lens ,just give it time any apparent issues are part of the learning curve and sort themselves out eventually and to finish off here a shot from april you gotta love the i/q this lens gives

PIXPHATIC wrote in post #17543819
Lets see what they come up with.....please keep the thread updated.

Cheers.

Will do.

the black fox wrote in post #17544089
reading these with interest ,having had the lens longer than most i categorically state that its a long learning curve lens . the two things that helped me most is changing via the USB dock the o.s to dynamic and the a/f to focus point priority .these two moves made hand holding the lens a lot easier

i also use two cameras a canon 70d and a canon 1D3 different levels of cameras but one thing is clear the focus point box in both is totally different and with the 70d with it being larger its possible for you to focus on a birds eye for instance but if a percentage of that box is on open ground behind the bird thats where it will focus ,this leads me to think that a full frame camera such as the 5d3 would have even smaller and more accurate focus points ,something i have not yet been able to test .unfortunately this does seem to be the nature of the beast when using these ultra long lenses .

monopod or tripod or bean bag ? i have all three,my tripod c/f with gimbal head is useful when i'm in one place static for a while i.e waiting for a incoming tide or hanging on owls appearing ,the monopod i am starting to take with me more these days for a as and when needed accessory ,mines fitted with a beike ball head and as such i can leave the monopod attached under the lens and parallel to it this at times acts like a rifle stock to aid in aiming the lens (must do some pics of this ) and finally in my car i have several bean bags from small to extra large for use in hides or the car window ,fence posts ,gates etc ..

hopefully some of the above will help someone coming to terms with this lens ,just give it time any apparent issues are part of the learning curve and sort themselves out eventually and to finish off here a shot from april you gotta love the i/q this lens gives

Yes I moved the OS to Dynamic and the AF as you described. Honestly I don't see a difference.

Out of the box I had great success - 95%. As time is moving on the lens, or I, become less and less consistent. I sent several shots to Sigma last night. I'll wait to hear their analysis.

a good one from sunday:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ss1d​bG

hmmmmmm o.k two shots both hand held (elbows resting on a bench )

the nuthatch is 1/800th sec ,

but the dove is a INCREDIBLE 1/250th sec perhaps you do have a faulty lens .its the only conclusion i can now come up with especially if the changes don't work ,can you actually hear the o.s winding up ,you should its not loud back perceptible .

the black fox wrote in post #17544728
hmmmmmm o.k two shots both hand held (elbows resting on a bench )

the nuthatch is 1/800th sec ,

but the dove is a INCREDIBLE 1/250th sec perhaps you do have a faulty lens .its the only conclusion i can now come up with especially if the changes don't work ,can you actually hear the o.s winding up ,you should its not loud back perceptible .

Like i said. I think something is very inconsistent with my copy of the lens. Probably a focusing issue in conjunction with an OS issue. We'll see what Sigma says after they look at the shots I sent.
an example of inconsistent.

f8 / iso 1250 / SS 1/2000

Wow.. this is terrible ptcanon..

Here's mine.. 100% crop..

Vladdo wrote in post #17545205
Wow.. this is terrible ptcanon..

Here's mine.. 100% crop..

Hosted photo: posted by Vladdo in
./showthread.php?p=175​45205&i=i236448946
forum: Lens Sample Photo Archive

Yes. When it's terrible it's REALLY terrible. Fortunately Ive seen results from the lens that are equally good. So I'm not going to bail on the lens. I posted that 100% crop to show what I'm talking about when I say focus issues. I'm hoping the contact at Sigma sees the same thing you and everyone else can see and offers a solution. I don't think this is a matter of "practice".

As I said before ,can you hear the o.s spooling up ,it's fairly quiet but audible if you listen carefully ,the reason I ask is I have heard of one so far that didn't work ,probably damaged in transit

heres one that seems to have gone down well on flickr 47 faves overnight

the black fox wrote in post #17545471
As I said before ,can you hear the o.s spooling up ,it's fairly quiet but audible if you listen carefully ,the reason I ask is I have heard of one so far that didn't work ,probably damaged in transit

I can hear the OS when it's quiet. I can 't hear it when I'm in OS 2 while panning.

that does seem to be a problem paul ,i have just put mine by my ear in OS.2 touched the shutter while panning and you can most definetly hear it spooling up .i would just try doing it like that for a test its only a faint (to my old ears anyway) whirring noise ,if yours is silent then thats where the problem lies and i would get straight on to either your retailer or the main sigma centre for where you live .personally i would push for a complete replacement as you can't have had it long .