500mm blues....

This AM I set into the forest to try and solve my 1Ds hit rate problem. So, Good light and bad light the lens still hunts a bit, judders alot....maybe it is not just the 5D as I thought.
So I sticks on the 100-400 with 1.4 TC....focusses faster, hunts far less, no farking juddering....so back to 500 no TC 1 or 2 in 8 shots look OK, bit of front focus maybe.
Back to 100-400 and Tc....5or6 in 8 shots (not counting motion blur here) are focussed.....DAMN. WTF?

So what would you do? Sell the Siggy for over 2grand, get a 50D and use the 100-400? Sell the Siggy, buy a 400 5.6 (for tripod work) and use a TC...(580mm at f8...damn) Sell the Siggy and 5D and get a 50D and 400 5.6? I am presuming here the prime is better with a TC than the zoom???

Flaming heck...thing is alot of the focussed siggy shots are watery when light is less than supernova, not quite sharp, like they had Noiseninja over them....there I was blaming the 5D focus....

Thing is the Sigma should not work with any TC, even on a 1Ds, but today it did...or not as the case may be. Pins taped or not it was pretty dire.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Anyone else used the Sigma 500 f4.5 and had similar probs? When a shot is nailed it is razor sharp with nice contrast....but 1 in 50 hit rate does not get me the top shots.......

I know its no help but I have had nothing but problems from Sigma lenses and will never be purchasing one in the future. Whatever you do, definitely sell it. I would personally sell it and then save my money for the Canon 500. However, as youre aware, the 50D and 100-400 will give you some pretty good pictures...

Practice your MF skills.

gasrocks wrote in post #7479207
Practice your MF skills.

I have tried MF over past weeks, hit rate is so/so but still those watery results on well focussed images.

AdamLewis wrote in post #7479114
I know its no help but I have had nothing but problems from Sigma lenses and will never be purchasing one in the future. Whatever you do, definitely sell it. I would personally sell it and then save my money for the Canon 500. However, as youre aware, the 50D and 100-400 will give you some pretty good pictures...

At least Adam was honest from the get go.

There's some side by side reviews of this lens and a few users here that swear by it. Heck for 500 f4.5 at 2k, I probably would too.
I'd start by ensuring it's focusing properly on a static object and if it wasn't, I'd send it to Sigma. That's still cheaper than a 500 f4 IS,

NO, it hunts and judders and when you think it has got it....take 10 shots, maybe 1 is focussed the rest are a mile out.....may have to try the repair route, damn postage wont be cheap though

Do you have access to a 50D and/or other long lenses? Think I'd want to narrow down the issues before sending anything in for repair.

Both the 1D and the 5D are having same problem (my inital reaction was 5D AF is pants). 100-400 works fine on both when shooting same subject.

Sorry to hear that......I thought you were happy with the Sigma 500..... You already know what happened in my situation..... Sell it and I am sure there would be buyers. Save up some money and get a 500L F4 IS or even the older 500L F4.5.

TooManyShots wrote in post #7483398
Sorry to hear that......I thought you were happy with the Sigma 500..... You already know what happened in my situation..... Sell it and I am sure there would be buyers. Save up some money and get a 500L F4 IS or even the older 500L F4.5.

The Sigma price increases make that a good option.
I hadn't noticed it so much before as I was shooting in good light and blamed the 5D and taped pins of the TC. Maybe I was asking too much?

Yes, perhaps looking for perfect AF when using a 100-400 with a TC is asking a bit much.

gasrocks wrote in post #7485793
Yes, perhaps looking for perfect AF when using a 100-400 with a TC is asking a bit much.

No, the point is the 500mm plus TC was not perfect....OK in good light...but not perfect. The 1-4 with TC on the 1D is SPOT ON PERFECT and consistently so. This is what tipped the scale for me....no way should that combo be better than an f4.5 lens.

Neilyb wrote in post #7486609
No, the point is the 500mm plus TC was not perfect....OK in good light...but not perfect. The 1-4 with TC on the 1D is SPOT ON PERFECT and consistently so. This is what tipped the scale for me....no way should that combo be better than an f4.5 lens.

that 100-400L just keeps looking better and better, eh ?

ed rader

Actually considering the 400 prime plus TC, but not sure how sharp that combo is wide open.

Damn I love the 1-4 IS... Maybe I should just get closer...

Stop jerking around and save up for the Canon 500...you will not regret it period