Sigma F4 300-600mm sports lens experience

[KarinK_Photo]

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Hi Guys,

Is there anyone yet with some experience with above mentioned lens? I am strongly thinking of purchasing this beauty for my wildlife photography.

Hope that there are some people using the lens already on this forum.

Love to hear, thanks!

karin

[jaapv]

I do quite a bit of wildlife, mainly in Africa in a multitude of National Parks, and I did consider this lens as it seems to be superb. However for my use it is FAR too heavy and bulky. I am not going to hike in 35ºC and more  carrying an SL2S with this monster and a SL 601 (or S5ii) with a 70-200. 

I prefer to carry just the 150-600 which is nearly as good, and the 70-200. The 60-600 solo might be a usable option as well, but I like the 2.8 aperture of the 70-200 for dawn and dusk and in the night with a spotlight. 

Replacing the 150-600 (60-600) with Sigma's 500, which is as good or better than the 300-600 optically, even with 1.4 extender, and reasonably proportioned, might be a viable option as well.  But you lose the versatility of framing. We don't get to choose our shooting position in many cases.

As an added consideration, the 300-600 would push my carry-on weight for intercontinental flights beyond 12 kg...

[michali]

4 hours ago, KarinK_Photo said:

Hi Guys,

Is there anyone yet with some experience with above mentioned lens? I am strongly thinking of purchasing this beauty for my wildlife photography.

Hope that there are some people using the lens already on this forum.

Love to hear, thanks!

karin

 

Like Jaap above I do a great amount of wildlife photography. I tried the Sigma 300-600mm for a very short time, but found it too limiting on the short end & very heavy.     I also own the Leica VE90-280mm which is OK for wildlife but too short for birding. 

I purchased the Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG DN Sports Lens 2 years ago and have found it to be an exceptional lens, excellent IQ & very sharp, even with the 1.4X TC. It is however a heavy lens (2.5kg) not as heavy as the 300-600mm (4kg).  

The 60-600mm is extremely versatile, it works for an elephant close up in the 60mm to 100mm range, or a small Striped Kingfisher further away @ 600mm. The Leica VE90-280mm getting much less use.  I also carry the Sigma 500m f5.6 as a fixed lens option, also an excellent lens & very light. 

I use these lenses on the SL2-S & SL3

(please click on images for better res.)

Sigma 60-600mm @ 85mm

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Sigma 60-600mm @ 600mm

 

[KarinK_Photo]

Dear Michali and Jaap,

Thanks a lot for your gentle input.

the both of you have made my decision not any easier, though😀. I will be planning a test session with Sigma early September. Eager to learn how the lens suits me or not. The constant F4 is a big plus for me, so we’ll see.

Michali, loved your images and the details provided.

Cheers guys and have a nice Sunday👍🏽

 

12 hours ago, jaapv said:

I do quite a bit of wildlife, mainly in Africa in a multitude of National Parks, and I did consider this lens as it seems to be superb. However for my use it is FAR too heavy and bulky. I am not going to hike in 35ºC and more  carrying an SL2S with this monster and a SL 601 (or S5ii) with a 70-200. 

I prefer to carry just the 150-600 which is nearly as good, and the 70-200. The 60-600 solo might be a usable option as well, but I like the 2.8 aperture of the 70-200 for dawn and dusk and in the night with a spotlight. 

Replacing the 150-600 (60-600) with Sigma's 500, which is as good or better than the 300-600 optically, even with 1.4 extender, and reasonably proportioned, might be a viable option as well.  But you lose the versatility of framing. We don't get to choose our shooting position in many cases.

As an added consideration, the 300-600 would push my carry-on weight for intercontinental flights beyond 12 kg...

lm

[jaapv]

I don't really want to complicate your considerations further, but what is the advantage of f 4.0 though?  With present-day cameras we can just increase ISO or rely on the (very effective with Sigma) OIS,  the DOF at these focal lengths is near-zero at any aperture. At night it does help as I mentioned, but a spotlight won't work beyond the reach of a 200 mm lens anyway. 

BTW, do you have a website?

 

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[KarinK_Photo]

Thanks, I guess, Jaap😂

No, I do not have a website anylonger.

I post my images on FB (Karin KPhoto) and insta @KarinK_Photo

Edited August 24 by KarinK_Photo

[KarinK_Photo]

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12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I don't really want to complicate your considerations further, but what is the advantage of f 4.0 though?  With present-day cameras we can just increase ISO or rely on the (very effective with Sigma) OIS,  the DOF at these focal lengths is near-zero at any aperture. At night it does help as I mentioned, but a spotlight won't work beyond the reach of a 200 mm lens anyway. 

BTW, do you have a website?

 

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[KarinK_Photo]

Ps lovely images indeed!!

Which lens did you use if I may ask?

[jaapv]

150-600 Sigma on SL 601  for the Cheetah. I have to look the Rhino up, it might have been the 70-200 onPanasonic S5ii. 

This is the 150-600 again:

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[jaapv]

The Cheetah was taken at Mike's (Michali's) place (Zuka, South Africa), the Rhino in Liwonde NP, Malawi and the others in Majete Game Reserve, Malawi. 

[KarinK_Photo]

Stunning, Jaap!!

[Danno_photoguy]

As I live in Florida, I thought I would give bird photography a go.  I went out with my SL3 and the Sigma 300-600 f4 to see what I could do.  All of the people shooting near me had Sony cameras and some with 600 f4 primes.  As a novice I am not sure how helpful my experience is, but this is what occurred from my perspective.

1) I was limited to 5 frames per sec, but was still able to get some good action shots.  The Sony cameras near me sounded like machine guns next my semi-automatic, and I am sure they got a lot better action, but this lens can deliver results with the SL3.  Over the course of a day and a half, I captured 19,445 images.  The camera did lock up twice and I had to remove the two batteries (one in camera and one in the extra grip) to get it back.  The memory card often placed the files in 5 to 6 different file folders on the CF express cards (SanDisk 512GB Extreme Pro) without me asking it to, but it did not do this with the SanDisk 512GB Extreme Pro SD card I was using at the same time.  Not sure what this was about. 

2) I used the animal tracking and it worked about 80% of the time.  As I was always shooting at f4, the depth of field was fairly narrow.  It found something to focus on about 98% of the time.  Only a few times when I had to zoom out to 300mm (because I was at 600mm most of the time) to get the focus to find something.  

3) I did not hand hold it, used a tripod with a RRS gimbal head.  Did not find it difficult to shoot for 2 to 3 hours at a time.  I'm 68, but I did not find it hard to use. I just left it mounted on the tripod and moved along the shore with it.

As I said, I am a novice at this and normally I am a medium to large format film photographer,  so not the best one to give you much useful information.  As I enjoy this form so much, I just wanted to off these basic observations none the less.

 

 

 

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[Danno_photoguy]

BTW, in the image I attached (which has no post processing except a bit of crop I think) my focus was on the left bird.  The right bird is a bit out of focus.  The image was at 1/6000 at f4 with ISO 1000.  Focal length was 300mm.

[KarinK_Photo]

Hi Danno,

Thanks a lot for sharing!

I purchased this beast of a lens as well and…my photography has significantly improved. The SL3 combi is absolutely perfect and provides crisp and very sharp photos.

Fantastic image you just shared. Great to meet a bird-/wildlife lover on this forum 😀. I shot this hare, buzzard chase recently, a shot I could only dream of with the Leica 100-400 mil

Do you have a Instagram or Facebook page? Maybe we could stay in touch?

Have a good day👍🏽

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[helged]

13 hours ago, Danno_photoguy said:

As I live in Florida, I thought I would give bird photography a go.  I went out with my SL3 and the Sigma 300-600 f4 to see what I could do.  All of the people shooting near me had Sony cameras and some with 600 f4 primes.  As a novice I am not sure how helpful my experience is, but this is what occurred from my perspective.

1) I was limited to 5 frames per sec, but was still able to get some good action shots.  The Sony cameras near me sounded like machine guns next my semi-automatic, and I am sure they got a lot better action, but this lens can deliver results with the SL3.  Over the course of a day and a half, I captured 19,445 images.  The camera did lock up twice and I had to remove the two batteries (one in camera and one in the extra grip) to get it back.  The memory card often placed the files in 5 to 6 different file folders on the CF express cards (SanDisk 512GB Extreme Pro) without me asking it to, but it did not do this with the SanDisk 512GB Extreme Pro SD card I was using at the same time.  Not sure what this was about. 

2) I used the animal tracking and it worked about 80% of the time.  As I was always shooting at f4, the depth of field was fairly narrow.  It found something to focus on about 98% of the time.  Only a few times when I had to zoom out to 300mm (because I was at 600mm most of the time) to get the focus to find something.  

3) I did not hand hold it, used a tripod with a RRS gimbal head.  Did not find it difficult to shoot for 2 to 3 hours at a time.  I'm 68, but I did not find it hard to use. I just left it mounted on the tripod and moved along the shore with it.

As I said, I am a novice at this and normally I am a medium to large format film photographer,  so not the best one to give you much useful information.  As I enjoy this form so much, I just wanted to off these basic observations none the less.

 

 

 

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Thanks for the image and sharing your experience! The Sigma 300-600 is an interesting lens, indeed...

It looks like you are using the electronic shutter on SL3. The sensor readout speed on SL3 is so slow that movement tends to be deformed/smeared out. For action-type of shooting with SL3, the mechanical shutter works fine (as with all mechanical shutters), the electronic shutter not. Regarding the L-mount cameras available as of today, only Lumix S1 ii has a sensor readout speed that is in the OK-ish regime for action shooting with the electronic shutter.

Overview of sensor readout speeds here: https://horshack-dpreview.github.io/RollingShutter/ (sort on readout speed in ms; S1 ii has a readout speed of 14 ms; SL3 is way slower, possibly in the 30-50 ms range, possibly slower). I did a comparison with flying birds captured with the electronic shutter on Canon R5 (16 ms) and Leica SL2 (38 ms) some time back. R5 was ok-ish, SL2 not. 

The above depends on the eyes that see; I belong to this that are somewhat allergic to rolling shutter issues. I just wanted to point it out if this isn't known; pardon if it is...

Edited November 14 by helged

[KarinK_Photo]

Thanks very much for your contribution, Helged.

For me personally, I have no problems with the fps’s of the SL3 and shoot happily along😀

However, I’m told that Sony is limiting the fps of 3rd party lenses. Electronic shutter mode provides a slower output indeed, so cheers for remembering us. A very useful tip, I reckon.

Bye for now!

[helged]

18 minutes ago, KarinK_Photo said:

Thanks very much for your contribution, Helged.

For me personally, I have no problems with the fps’s of the SL3 and shoot happily along😀

However, I’m told that Sony is limiting the fps of 3rd party lenses. Electronic shutter mode provides a slower output indeed, so cheers for remembering us. A very useful tip, I reckon.

Bye for now!

The sensor readout speed is quite different from fps. For en explanation of the rolling shutter issue, see eg https://smallsensorphotography.com/working-around-rolling-shutter, or 

 

[Danno_photoguy]

4 hours ago, KarinK_Photo said:

Do you have a Instagram or Facebook page?

THANKS KarinK_Photo.  I am not very active on social media post retirement.  Still very new to Bird photography, but plan to explore more.

[Danno_photoguy]

2 hours ago, KarinK_Photo said:

Electronic shutter mode provides a slower output indeed

Before getting the 300-600, all the reviews that i read talked about the need to use the electronic shutter with this lens on the SL3 due to shutter vibration.  That is what I did.  I have a lot of images to still review, but I am still not sure what is best for 'birds in flight' photography with this camera/lens combination.  

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Hallo,

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[helged]

1 hour ago, Danno_photoguy said:

Before getting the 300-600, all the reviews that i read talked about the need to use the electronic shutter with this lens on the SL3 due to shutter vibration.  That is what I did.  I have a lot of images to still review, but I am still not sure what is best for 'birds in flight' photography with this camera/lens combination.  

For all types of photo where the subject doesn't move too quickly, use the electronic shutter. To freeze fast movements, the mechanical shutter has to be used in order to eliminate smearing/deformation artifacts. On bodies with fast readout speeds (15 ms or less), the electronic shutter can be used in most cases.

It's a pity that the sensor readout speed of the SL3 is so slow; it is an otherwise very capable camera.