Sigma 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM OS

 

No, I didn't buy a new lens but I had a chance to test the Sigma 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM OS with optical stabilization (OS). My photography friend Dave Updegraff owns this lens and yesterday we tried to replicate a problem that he had experienced several times before with this lens. The lens sometimes stopped working in very low temperatures, which is very annoying if you are out and like to shoot Bald Eagles or other birds in the winter. Well, we were not able to make this happen at our house even after leaving the lens outside in the cold for about twenty-five minutes. It worked flawless on my Nikon D300s and as well on his D3. Finding out that the lens was often stored in his car near the heat inlet made me believing that we see a problem (ok, we didn't see it yesterday :-)  ) created by heat, moisture and a following temperature shock that makes the lens freeze up. Time will tell, if by putting it to a different place in the car while driving the problem can be solved. I would be very happy to hear that from Dave. If not, well, I'm out of other ideas at the moment.

Dave had also asked me about my opinion regarding the sharpness of his Sigma 50-500. I took quite a few test shots using the same set up that I used during the last few weeks for my own bird photography. This gave me the chance to compare the performance of his lens directly with my previous results. Here are my impressions.

The Sigma 50-500 with the OS feature delivered the same good results if it was mounted on the tripod, using the gimbal head, and the optical stabilization turned off. I had the feeling (not sure) that the lens responded a tad faster to the autofocus than my older lens. Not every image was sharp because birds chew on seeds or move around fast and sometimes there is just not enough time for the autofocus to detect contrasty edges. This is not unusual and I call it pilot error (the pilot being me :-) ). The photo of the House Finch here may serve as a proof for my first statement.

We stepped outside and I made some more clicks, this time handhold, without the aid of a tripod, and the optical stabilization turned on. What a difference to my old lens! Without any preparation or "warm up" I was able to create some sharp images of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, who in great numbers occupy the bird feeders in our yard. Squirrels are not always easy to shoot because of the lack of contrast on their fur (unlike a woodpecker) and I was positively surprised how much the optical stabilization helped here to get the image sharp. To be honest, I wished I had waited a few months longer with my purchase until Sigma introduced the OS feature on the 50-500. I still think it is a great lens for those of us that have a limited budget.

Beside all the lens and camera talk Joan and I have enjoyed the conversation beyond photography with Dave. It was time well spent and now I just hope that we found the cause for the freeze up of the lens.

2012 – Looking back, part 10

 

I have posted several times this fall about our visit in the Rocky Mountains. I still have images that haven't been shown in either of my galleries. Can't resist to show you the American Pika again today because I just watched a documentary about the effects the warming of the earth has on this little critter. It is not easy to get really close to the pika but this photo shows their natural habitat, the boulder-covered hillsides above 8,000 feet altitude.

The other animal is a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. It was on the watch, not far from the trail on a grassy hillside. It almost seemed to pose for us... ;-)

The background in the pika picture has natural lens blur that separates the animal from the background nicely. Not as good as with a fast and much more expensive f/2.8 or f/4 lens, but the Sigma 50-500 f/4-6.3 still delivers a decent result here. The grassy background in the squirrel picture was much more distracting and so I used a blur filter in Photoshop to improve the result in the upper part of the photo. Still not perfect but I believe it is a feasible solution to work around the limitations of this lens.

SIGMA 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, after more than two years

Sometimes I become frustrated if the results of my wildlife photography don't reflect what I saw through the viewfinder. It is always easy to blame the gear, in particular the lens. I can tell you, I had a long learning curve with my "work horse", the SIGMA 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM. I wrote a post about this lens shortly after I bought it more than two years ago. This post is the one that received the most clicks in my blog up today. It tells me that a lot of other photographers consider to buy this lens. Today, several ten thousand clicks later after I bought the lens I believe I have a much better feeling what this lens can do for my photography and where the limits are. I like to share my thoughts with you and if it helps you to make the right decision what lens to buy I will be happy.

First let me remind you, I do not own the Sigma 50-500 with optical stabilization (Sigma calls it "OS"). This feature came out shortly after I bought mine. You probably will have a benefit by having image stabilization, especially if you try to handhold the lens without any other support. Second, I like to mention that my blog is free of advertising and that I don't get a penny for writing good or bad things about Sigma or any other brand. And last my experience with this lens is mainly based on wildlife photography. A sports photographer may have different things to say.

 Here is what I gained during the last couple of years:

- The SIGMA 50-500 is a heavy lens. If you plan to walk around for long periods of time with your camera and this lens attached and if your physical strength is limited, this may not be the right lens for you. There is a reason that it is called "The BIGMA".

- The lens is robust built. It does not have a cheap "plastic feeling". The zoom and focus rings work smooth and have a good resistance for fine tuning. The zoom can be locked at the 50mm focal length but as soon it is unlocked the lens will creep all the way to 500mm if carried vertical. A rubber band (O-ring) over the gap between zoom ring and lens barrel helps to prevent the lens creep.

- The tripod collar is sturdy and much better than on a Nikon 80-400 I had tried before.

- The lens hood sits very stabile and doesn't fall off as seen on other lenses I own.

- The Sigma 50-500 needs a very good support for shooting wildlife. The first few months I mounted it to a KIRK ball head on top of my tripod. I do not recommend this. My results improved tremendously after I started using a gimbal head for the lens. I now use an INDURO GHBA in combination with the KIRK BH3 ball head. A much more expensive gimbal head will be most likely even better. However, the GHBA works well for me and you don't have to break the bank.

- A good and stabile tripod is essential. Don't blame the lens if you work with a set of tripod legs that is not designed for this kind of weight.

- The SIGMA 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM is a slow lens. The maximum aperture of f/6.3 @ 500 mm requires a lot of light in order to maintain a fast shutter speed. If you are new to long lens shooting technique try to make your first thousand clicks in real good light. Try to keep the ISO setting at a low number (100, 200). Good light will allow you to shoot with a fast shutter speed and the low ISO setting prevents you from  dealing with noise. Any noise reduction in post process will reduce sharpness up to some degree. This way you will learn that your lens is capable of making sharp photos.

- If you make your first steps with a long lens, look for animals or subjects with a good contrast. Learning how to focus and how to keep the autofocus sensor on the animal's eye or chest works definitely better on a subject with contrasty edges, like the woodpecker above. Shooting a pair of Sandhill Cranes in the reeds (as posted a few days ago) is much more difficult because of the lack of contrast.

- Watch the background. With f/6.3 @ 500 mm you will not always get the same nicely blurred background like with a Nikkor 400/f2.8 or 500/f4. Shooting with a well chosen background can make a big difference. In general, you may have to do a little more work in post than the people that own the more expensive glass. Face it, that's the price you pay for buying the less expensive lens.

- I personally like to keep the ISO low in order to get as much detail as possible for my wildlife photography. I usually dial in between -0.5 and -1.5EV exposure compensation. This buys me also a faster shutter speed and can make the difference between getting and not getting the shot.

- The SIGMA 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM is a lens that is capable to deliver sharp images. Period. Don't get frustrated just after the first 500 shots. It is essential that you learn all about long lens shooting technique. The best source I know for that is the website of famous wildlife and aviation photographer Moose Peterson. There is a link to his blog on the left hand side under "Blogs I follow". Search for his videos where he teaches everything about using a lens with long focal length. You will not regret!

I hope this will give all of you, who are looking for answers of the question "Is this the right lens for me?" a little help to make your decision. Please drop me a note if this blogpost was helpful or if your experience with the Sigma 50-500 is different from mine.

February 2013: I had a chance to shoot with a newer version of this lens that had the optical stabilization (OS) feature. Please feel free to click HERE if you like to read my thoughts about it.

Nature clicks #50 - Brown-spotted Yellow-wing Dragonfly

Nikon D200, SIGMA 150mm/2.8, 1/750s, f/4, -0.5 EV, ISO 100, tripod

I just realized that this one is already the 50th post filed under "Nature clicks". It is a coincidence that today's image is larger than usual. I just thought that my subject deserves a little more than the 620 pixel I use normally for the long side of the pictures I post here.

Despite the heat I couldn't resist to visit the Green Island Wetlands again today. The water is very low and except for a family of Pied-billed Grebes and a couple Killdeer I did not see any birds. One of my favorite ponds was even drained and I wonder what happened to the Moorhens, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and other species I had found there during the last few months.

I put the long lens away and mounted the SIGMA 150 mm, f/2.8 Macro DG HSM to my camera. This lens has never disappointed me. It is ideal for shooting insects. The 150 mm gives me the extra distance that is sometimes necessary in order not to scare away an animal. The lens produces tack sharp images and if a picture is not sharp I have only to blame myself for.

When I shoot butterflies or other fast moving insects in our yard I handhold the camera with the 150/2.8. There is no way that you can follow one of the swallowtails with their fast movement from flower to flower if the camera sits on a tripod. It is a different story when it comes to Dragon- or Damselflies. They perch quite often on a twig or leaf. Even if they fly around for a little while, Dragonflies return often to the same or a place nearby. All what it needs is a slow and careful approach and of course some patience. Having the camera on a tripod helps definitely in this matter. Manual focus works sometimes better, especially if the insect is almost translucent.

The Brown-spotted Yellow-wing here was my first encounter of this beautiful dragonfly. What you don't see is the sweat dropping from my forehead and running down my back while kneeling in the dust beside the gravel road… But I enjoy it!