Sigma 50-500 mm f/4-6.3 EX APO Lens

Blair · Jan 20, 2007

Does anyone have any experience with this lens? It seems to be getting good reviews.......

thebeginning · Jan 20, 2007

ahhhh the notorious bigma. a great lens i've heard!

check www.fredmiranda.com/reviews for a ton of user reviews.

Sw1tchFX · Jan 20, 2007

I know someone who has it and he loves it.

Jeff Canes · Jan 20, 2007

seem a f4-6.3 would require a lot of light

thebeginning · Jan 20, 2007

Jeff Canes said:
seem a f4-6.3 would require a lot of light

yep, but not comparitively. the 500mm f4L requires alot of light too, when compared to a 200mm 1.8L...but then again the 500 f4L is like $5k...

Orgnoi1 · Jan 21, 2007

I have one and it is my most used lens for railroad photography in the field. It actually replaced my 100-400L as it was a ton cheaper... for a lens that has 50mm more on the short end and 100mm more on top. Picture wise they were completely comparable so it was a no-brainer to sell the Canon. Now of course this lens is no 500L (which I use for wildlife) but in a crunch situation it can hold its own if you consider the difference between the $5400 I paid for my 500L and the $750 I paid for my Bigma.

Here are a couple examples @ 500mm...

Sw1tchFX · Jan 21, 2007

The only real problem that I can think of is IQ at the extremes and shutter speeds at 500mm. you'd have to have 1000th of a second at f/6.3 and 500mm to get a reasonably sharp image. It needs VR if you're going to hand hold.

Orgnoi1 · Jan 21, 2007

Sw1tchFX said:
The only real problem that I can think of is IQ at the extremes and shutter speeds at 500mm. you'd have to have 1000th of a second at f/6.3 and 500mm to get a reasonably sharp image. It needs VR if you're going to hand hold.

Thats kinda a blanket statement... both of the shots above were WAY less than 1/1000 and were both hand held... if you practice your shooting and long lens technique the 1/focal length rule really doesnt apply much...

Sw1tchFX · Jan 21, 2007

Orgnoi1 said:
Thats kinda a blanket statement... both of the shots above were WAY less than 1/1000 and were both hand held... if you practice your shooting and long lens technique the 1/focal length rule really doesnt apply much...

I can see that, I have really shaky hands, so for me to hand hold a lens like that, i'd have to down ibuprofen like it was candy.

Orgnoi1 · Jan 21, 2007

If you have shaky hands... I have an article posted on my site (taken from a shooting site) that may help you out...

Heres the link:
http://www.northeastfoto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6251

You will notice a significant difference right away....

Sw1tchFX · Jan 21, 2007

You're right, it does help and I even wrap my strap around my arms.

nakedyak · Jan 21, 2007

i love reading reviews of the Bigma. Great railroad shots!

Blair · Jan 22, 2007

Thanks everyone!
I liked the price so wanted to find out if it was a good lens. I believe I will get it. I need a good lens for wildlife. LOL.....Think I'll get a good tripod also.....