New glass on the way... Sigma 120-400 DG OS APO

Ordered a new telephoto zoom lens today from B&H.

Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS

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Serious looking lens there Tim. Check the link though. It keeps taking me to a "start new topic" window

 

Wow that was a quick decision Tim!

Here's the lens at their USA site:

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses ... avigator=3
[me=Roger]is waiting for the 150-500 OS to test[/me]

 

OOPS! fixed it.

 

the only testing procedure that i need is: do the photos look good? i am not one of these guys who shoot balls of aluminum foil and rulers... if the picture looks good, its a good lens.

 

But, brick walls would look so good in your gallery and would add some depth to your work :

 

Nice Tim...looks like you'll be joining the Spy Brigade - now you can shoot stuff so far away they don't even know they're being shot. Works great with wildlife, street candids, and those distant things that you'd otherwise miss. Lots of fun!

Dan...not that my test is anything official - but in testing and comparing the 150-500 Sigma and the 200-500 Tamron, I felt like the Tamron had an edge in sharpness, especially wide-open, and in color. The 50-500 Sigma seems a touch better than their 150-500...I considered that one too, but the Tamron was lighter and more portable (Comaratively, of course...it's still a tank!). I've a feeling the shorter the telephoto range, the better they seem to be able to get the optics right throughout the range - the 50-500 is a bit of an exception, but is so huge and heavy...otherwise, the 120-400 Sigma doesn't have to cover as much range, and therefore seems to be a bit better tuned throughout the range. I found the same to be true of the Tamron 200-500. And since when you use such a large, heavy telephoto lens, you're unlikely to keep it on while shooting 50mm or 100mm...why worry about covering that wide range?

Tim...looking forward to seeing some samples from that lens!

 

update... B&H informed me that the lens shipped today and is due tomorrow. those guys are great!

 

Justin, where did you get the 150-500 to test? It's my understanding that it isn't out in the states yet. The 170-500 is the old version and doesn't have OS for those sensor-shifting impaired.

 

I think Tim is going to enjoy that lens at WDW because he'll now be able to shoot things (i.e Wishes) from locations outside the park and people (except the uber-geek) will wonder where he was standing in the park to get such great shots

 

Roger...sorry, you're perfectly correct! It was indeed the 170-500 I tested. Quite sorry - my mistake. I had been digging and digging for a big telephoto when I got my DSLR, and tried out the 170-500, the 50-500, and the Tamron 200-500 - and even thought about some of the 200 or 300mm lenses with a 2x converter...but in the end the 200-500 suited me well. I will be curious to hear how the 150-500 does compared to the 170-500...sometimes a little tweak can make all the difference in a lens (the earlier Sony 18-200 lens was not well reviewed, while the revised 18-250 seems to be a smashing success as a great, cheap all-round lens - it's just a revision of the first with a bit more range, but they tuned it up and tightened it up, and it both feels and shoots like a better lens). The 170-500 felt a bit soft at full tele, seemed a bit wobbly or loose when zooming, and the colors felt a tad dulled down...notable even against the 50-500 Bigma which seemed much sharper and delivered better colors. The Tamron and the Bigma were a near-draw for me - with the Tamron IMHO edging out the sharpness and detail when wide-open compared to the Bigma, which seemed to want to stop down a bit more...and in size and price too!

Anyway...sorry for the confusion.

 

No problem Justin! Their whole line has been confusing me lately since the 80-400 OS was actually a viable competitor to Nikon's 80-400 VR I, esp since the Nikon is still using a screw drive AF. But then they pulled the 80-400 from the market in favor of Tim's lens, which was announced at the same time as the new 150-500 OS. But it still also baffles me that they can do something rather well with a 50-500 zoom but can't do better with a lower range zoom i.e. 170-500. Now OS is just icing on the cake, but isn't a concern for Sony/Olympus users.

 

already talked to HW about it. consider it done.

 

That will be a fun lens. bump your iso up to 400 or 800 and you can hand hold just about every shot!
Get ready to talk to everyone else around you! These big lenses draw a lot of attention!

 

Yes they are. I actually just got my replacement Apple keyboard (free shipping! reason: kid poured bubble solution on it) from them along with the FW reader, and it was very short delivery time. Little surprised Adorama didn't have the keyboard, but still.

 

that's why i only order from them. minor bummer but the lens did not come today; hopefully tomorrow.