Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sport or Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM?

Nice! Does the Sigma C support a lot of the same Sigma Dock adjustments as with the Sport edition? Seems like the C is very nearly as good as the Sport optically, and just compromises a bit on the weather sealing. Seems like a tremendous bang-for-the-buck choice.

BTW, For birding, I will either be using these lenses in the 5DS crop mode, or even considering a 7D II for dedicated wildlife body.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17619380
Nice! Does the Sigma C support a lot of the same Sigma Dock adjustments as with the Sport edition? Seems like the C is very nearly as good as the Sport optically, and just compromises a bit on the weather sealing. Seems like a tremendous bang-for-the-buck choice.

BTW, For birding, I will either be using these lenses in the 5DS crop mode, or even considering a 7D II for dedicated wildlife body.

The Sport has better weather sealing, and CA, plus the added weight.

The dock has three settings for either lens slow, medium, and fast for both OS & AF, although they are not called SMF

The lens as default comes AF Standard (Smooth and Fast) / OS Standard (balanced) This would be M
Additionally you have C 1 & 2 which you can set up any way you wish, including limiter.

Didn't know the 5DS had crop mode, looks like Canon is following Nikons moves like in there 800 series camera's...pretty cool
So what would the formula be 1.6 in crop mode like in the 7dII, so you get extra reach

I'm waiting to see what Canon does with the 5DIV, before purchasing a 5DS or S/R

Bianchi wrote in post #17619612
The Sport has better weather sealing, and CA, plus the added weight.

The dock has three settings for either lens slow, medium, and fast for both OS & AF, although they are not called SMF

The lens as default comes AF Standard (Smooth and Fast) / OS Standard (balanced) This would be M
Additionally you have C 1 & 2 which you can set up any way you wish, including limiter.

Didn't know the 5DS had crop mode, looks like Canon is following Nikons moves like in there 800 series camera's...pretty cool
So what would the formula be 1.6 in crop mode like in the 7dII, so you get extra reach

I'm waiting to see what Canon does with the 5DIV, before purchasing a 5DS or S/R

Yeah, actually they're giving you two crop modes: 1.3 and 1.6. The only bummer, though, is shooting in crop mode doesn't help shooting speed at all. I think the D810 gets a little speed boost in crop mode.

That said, I think I still like the notion of a separate dedicated 7D II for wildlife shooting so I'm not wearing out my 5DS shutter with a bunch of wildlife shots.

Thanks much for the info on the Sigma lenses!

Well, the photos here saying that Sigma is sharp enough, and i do prefer to shoot more without TCs, so with Sigma i can go to 600mm bare without any TC, but 100-400 i need 2x not 1.4x to reach 800mm on FF [1DX], so it means even more IQ degrade and AF slower, and with Sigma and 1.4x i can go with 840mm, so still i get 840mm vs. 560mm using 1.4x for both lenses on FF cameras.

Also i want to try this Sigma dock, sounds it give nice option for lenses adjustments, and if i will get that Sigma lens then i buy once and i go with more features or specifications so Sports is all the way, and i thought that the sports version is slightly faster so that they called it Sports version, i don't think it is only about that weather sealed design.

i think either lens are amazing, all depends on what you're after i guess

i have no doubt the 100-400II will have the best iq and af, but to be frank i think my sigma 150-600 sports is plenty sharp wide open and af is dead accurate, not as fast as some of the best lenses out there but imho accuracy it's easily as good as my 24-70II and 70-200II

got this only a while ago, 1/50 shutter speed handheld @600mm

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uBdv​7J

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/v2fS​6r

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/v1uk​zf

basketballfreak6 wrote in post #17619996
i think either lens are amazing, all depends on what you're after i guess

i have no doubt the 100-400II will have the best iq and af, but to be frank i think my sigma 150-600 sports is plenty sharp wide open and af is dead accurate, not as fast as some of the best lenses out there but imho accuracy it's easily as good as my 24-70II and 70-200II

got this only a while ago, 1/50 shutter speed handheld @600mm

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uBdv​7J Scarlett Honeyeater by Tony, on Flickr

plus a couple more on recent outing:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/v2fS​6r Brown Honeyeater by Tony, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/v1uk​zf Double-Barred Finch by Tony, on Flickr

all @600mm wide open on my 5D3

Those are fantastic!

Regarding IQ, the performance I am most interested in is at 600mm (for Sigma Sport) or 560mm (100-400L II + 1.4x). Are you saying that at that focal length "the 100-400II will have the best iq and af"?

Also, do you ever use a 1.4x on your 150-600mm? If so, how does it hold up?

David Arbogast wrote in post #17619380
Nice! Does the Sigma C support a lot of the same Sigma Dock adjustments as with the Sport edition? Seems like the C is very nearly as good as the Sport optically, and just compromises a bit on the weather sealing. Seems like a tremendous bang-for-the-buck choice.

BTW, For birding, I will either be using these lenses in the 5DS crop mode, or even considering a 7D II for dedicated wildlife body.

The Sigma C has exactly the same dock support as the Sport. Optically they are very near, main differences is the Sport is weather sealed and weight is close on 3Kg where as the C weight is just under 2Kg (which was the biggest consideration for me - the C is a comfortable walkabout lens whereas the Sport is too heavy for me to walk far with).

David Arbogast wrote in post #17620002
af"?

Also, do you ever use a 1.4x on your 150-600mm? If so, how does it hold up?

David here are some samples of the Sigma 150-600 C taken with a 1.4x tc all at the full 840mm to give you an idea of the IQ.

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …%201200px_zpsli​iloa65.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …1%20840mm_zps1q​0pqke7.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …t%20840mm_zpsch​0z7gno.jpg

David Arbogast wrote in post #17620002
Those are fantastic!

Regarding IQ, the performance I am most interested in is at 600mm (for Sigma Sport) or 560mm (100-400L II + 1.4x). Are you saying that at that focal length "the 100-400II will have the best iq and af"?

Also, do you ever use a 1.4x on your 150-600mm? If so, how does it hold up?

hey David, not sure about the 100-400II since i never directly compared to one, bare lens i'd imagine the 100-400II to come ahead but with TC attached i really have no idea! all i know is that i am very happy with the IQ i am getting with the sigma sports @600mm and as i said the af while not the fastest is uncannily accurate (and 0 adjustment as well, came perfect out of box for me)

i actually purchased the TC-1401 as well but have gotten little use so far, i need to send it to sigma for calibration as it back focuses badly for some reason when attached to the lens, lens will af tho with single point in the middle but ability to grab focus does suffer as expected, otherwise with TC-1401 IQ actually holds up very well even at 600mm, if you look on my flickr page should find a comparison i did not far down my photostream (edit: just realised it was testing with my old kenko 1.4x not my new sigma tc haha)

almost forgot to mention when you attach the TC to the lens and attach to the sigma dock it actually creates a whole separate lens profile so you can actually make adjustments to the TC + lens combo without worrying it affecting bare lens which i thought was very good foresight by sigma, it's just that it back focuses that badly with TC attached i rather get sigma to calibrate it properly, just been lazy sending it in

Roy C wrote in post #17620021
David here are some samples of the Sigma 150-600 C taken with a 1.4x tc all at the full 840mm to give you an idea of the IQ.

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …%201200px_zpsli​iloa65.jpg on photobucket

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …1%20840mm_zps1q​0pqke7.jpg on photobucket

IMAGE LINK: http://i130.photobucke​t.com …t%20840mm_zpsch​0z7gno.jpg on photobucket

Roy do you have issues with TC + lens combo having focusing issues?

basketballfreak6 wrote in post #17620096
... and as i said the af while not the fastest ...

This was the primary factor in my decision. While I did not have hand-on experience with the Sigma, I did find comments like this prior to making my decision. In the meantime, my brother visited and brought his 100-400mm II and I was able to play with it for one full morning. In various birding scenarios, the lens simply snapped into focus. That sold me.

ldn323 wrote in post #17620220
This was the primary factor in my decision. While I did not have hand-on experience with the Sigma, I did find comments like this prior to making my decision. In the meantime, my brother visited and brought his 100-400mm II and I was able to play with it for one full morning. In various birding scenarios, the lens simply snapped into focus. That sold me.

oh don't get me wrong, when i said it's not the fastest i am comparing it to my 24-70II and 70-200II which is not a fair comparison to begin with, it's snappy enough especially for a lens like this, but more importantly again it's very, very accurate

i was trying to decide between the 100-400II and the sigma 150-600 sports myself, but in the end i valued the extra 200mm reach more and i picked up my sigma for a crazy good price new ($1700 aud) would've had to spend almost 1k extra to get the 100-400II

basketballfreak6 wrote in post #17620231
... comparing it to my 24-70II and 70-200II which is not a fair comparison to begin with, ... would've had to spend almost 1k extra to get the 100-400II

Yes, I also have the 70-200 II and use it as the yardstick when I consider the 100-400 II.

Almost 1K extra to get the 100-400 II !!! Wow, that's crazy. In the US I believe these two lenses are very close in price. If I had to spend ~ 1K extra, I would also go with the Sigma S instead.

ldn323 wrote in post #17620240
Yes, I also have the 70-200 II and use it as the yardstick when I consider the 100-400 II.

Almost 1K extra to get the 100-400 II !!! Wow, that's crazy. In the US I believe these two lenses are very close in price. If I had to spend ~ 1K extra, I would also go with the Sigma S instead.

yea sigma lenses are cheap in australia for some reason, i picked up my 150-600 during sale (10% off $1899), i remember the 100-400II released here at ~$2700

now price difference not as bad tho, ~$400 difference (the sigma went up $300 since release lol)

David Arbogast wrote in post #17619882
Yeah, actually they're giving you two crop modes: 1.3 and 1.6. The only bummer, though, is shooting in crop mode doesn't help shooting speed at all. I think the D810 gets a little speed boost in crop mode.

That said, I think I still like the notion of a separate dedicated 7D II for wildlife shooting so I'm not wearing out my 5DS shutter with a bunch of wildlife shots.

Thanks much for the info on the Sigma lenses!

David, that too would be and is my choice to have a crop for sports, action, wildlife and FF for Landscape etc, etc.