Sigma 150-600mm DG OS HSM Sport Review

[@lephotography3621]

Great video mate. I went out and bought one. Amazing for air shows in the daylight. Best, Ed

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Glad you like it, it really is a fantastic lens. It may be heavy, but when used to it, it really is a fantastic lens. It might not have as fast as autofocus as some of the more expensive Canon or Nikon brands, but for its price range it's fantastic. Some of my best photographs I captured with this lens.

[@donkeyholmes4581]

nice review Scott. I have owned the contemporary version but have now swapped for the sport for the weather sealing. nice to see a real world photographers view.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Thank you, you won't be disappointed of course, despite the weight of the lens it's well worth it and it's without doubt my favourite lens. In fact I used it for a recent shoot out in Stirling and shot the castle, it's handy for shooting from distance. I can imagine for those who wish to do long period shooting events that requires using it for lengthy period of time they would probably use a gimbal and tripod but for simpler things I haven't had an issue.

[@chasmoonie3403]

Well done Scott. I bought the Contemporary version as a lightweight fair weather lens. I was not disappointed, and although I have prime fixed lenses I use this lens a lot more often than I previously thought I would. The Dynamic OS which is available as customized using the dock is tremendous. When used with a Canon 7D MK2 at 600mm you are at 960mm full frame equivalent and the Dynamic OS reduces camera shake enormously. I have recommended this lens to several photographers. A very impressive lens and a great money saver.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Can't go wrong Chas with the Contemporary lens, to get 150-600mm with a lens that is lighter and for less the price it is a really good lens from the reviews. I know from using the Sports lens what people mean about the weight although I'm not so fussed. And yes I suppose it really depends on the type of stuff you shoot, my main purpose was for out shooting nature. As for the dock, there is a few things on there that are a little confusing but in terms of customising both custom buttons for the lens it's fairly straight forward and really handy, worth the extra for it. I used my Canon 70D which is a cropped sensor, I would imagine that's around same focal length, and yes it's amazing what you get from both the Contemporary and Sports lens for their price, as I say you'd end up paying thousands more for something of a wider aperture etc.

[@a2roland]

Thanks mate!

[@anthonyharriott3869]

thanks for sharing......it would be great to share the f stops you use

[@timcollingwood6158]

Hi nice review Scott well done Regards Tim

[@antontbarrett5062]

Great review Scott, I am getting the lens for Christmas to go with my Canon 5d 111 and look forward to getting out with it.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

You will love the lens, Antont, it's worth it for its money. Bearing in mind you would pay thousands for something with faster autofocus and wider aperture, I can say that for the time I've had using this lens, it's been fantastic and captured many fantastic pictures with it. My graded unit video there are some of the pictures of the red squirrels I captured, it's fantastic. The 5D Mark iii is a terrific camera as that is my own of course and despite its weight, takes fantastic sharp images. Even with a raised ISO of 1200 to 2000 photographing the red squirrels with the 5D Mark iii the quality was fantastic.

[@antontbarrett5062]

Scott CJ McKelvie cheers Bud, wildlife and aircraft are my genre, will let you know how I get on.

[@maxcerruti447]

I'd like to know if you would recommend it for the D500 and what you think of the Nikon 200-500 and Tamron 150-600 G2 compared to the Sigma. Is it so heavy that you can't hold it in your hands? is taking photos freehand so impractical? Thanks!

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Hello, it's very difficult to judge regarding the type of camera body. What I can tell you is I have achieved really professional quality images with the sport Sigma 150-600mm. The weight might be something that might put you off, if so, there's the slightly cheaper contemporary model Sigma has. It's worth researching weight regarding the other lens options similar. In terms of the Sigma 150-600mm it can achieve sharp quality results. In terms of the weight of the Sigma lens, it's not something you could hold up for a lengthy period of time as your arms begin to tire, but you find with wildlife for example, you may use a tripod and gimble or rest using the ground, it really depends on what you'd be using to shoot.

[@jacobl6572]

I heard the Canon 100-400 @ 400 is sharper than the Sigma @ 600 after cropping in! So why consider the bulky much heavier Sigma if you are a Canon owner?

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

True Larry and that is a very good point, I do like the Canon 100-400mm lens, I guess for me the only reason I personally went for the Sigma lens was for the extra focal length for when I'm out shooting anything like nature, always love to have it handy there for that type of thing. The Canon 100-400mm I had looked at reviews and many gave it a good write up.

[@markharris5771]

LARRY L I have the 100-400 II which I use on a full frame either my 5DII or 5DIII, and the Sigma 150-600 which I use on the 7DII. Out of the box the Canon is much sharper, my Sigma had horrendous front focusing. Once the newer drivers are downloaded and you’ve spent an afternoon with the hub then the Sigma wins in my case, but I have heard of people that had to make really drastic adjustments which would be impossible without the hub. My Sigma also hates teleconverters especially the 2x and the Canon works much better with them even the Sigma ones. On balance, they are both decent lenses in the price bracket but you do need to spend the extra £40 and half a day with the Sigma.

[@Stefan1968ful]

Maybe because of the 200mm more??? Quite obvious, ah?

[@frostybe3r]

It's probably because the Canon 100-400 II costs significantly more..? Or maybe it's because the Canon you just suggested doesn't even have IS.

[@MrTambaluslus]

hi Scott, that portrait of an Eagle did you do some editing of that photo? Im interested of buying that lens.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Hi, in terms of the images at the end those were the pictures before I edited them, what I can say is that it is a very sharp lens and for what it's worth although heavy, it certainly gets you great image quality for its price. Sure, it won't be as fast at focusing as one which costs thousands of £'s but it's quick enough, gets you great image quality which is sharp and you can see that from images I captured of the red squirrels shown in a recent video on my HND. What I can say is that with my 5D Mark iii with a higher ISO the image quality still turned out pretty impressive.

[@Tigermoto]

Hi Scott, have you tried using the lens as a push/pull? If so, does it feel easier to hand hold at 600mm when better balanced in your hands due to the push/pull grip being at the end? I'm interested in buying the lens for air shows but pretty much every reviewer (barring Sigma themselves) seem to not mention the fact it's designed to push/pull.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

I have indeed used it to push out to 600mm for quickness and in fact it's a lot easier than the zoom ring itself because of the weight zooming out, plus it's so simple once you've finished to pull back in and in my opinion gives it ease of use and added support. I will say that this is not a lens you would be able to hold for a lengthy period of time handheld, suppose depends how strong you are. So if you're interested in that type of photography etc with the airshows a gimbal would be ideal with a sturdy tripod, something I am going to look into investing in myself. Thanks for bringing that up, but as I say my experience pushing and pulling the lens it's quick and easier.

[@Tigermoto]

Scott CJ McKelvie Thank you very much for your reply. I'll be renting this along with a couple of it's close rivals after the new year to decide which to buy. I can't ignore the image quality I've seen everywhere with this lens, but i couldn't spend the money without trying to handhold it myself. It is only a hobby for me after all. I took 6500 photo's (also known as too many) at the 8 hour flying display at RIAT with my 6D, a battery grip and a borrowed Canon 100-400 L Mk.1 this year and that hurt the day after. So the weight may be an issue. We'll see for sure, but your review was very good and helped. Many thanks.

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

I'm sure you won't be disappointed whichever one you so choose. The contemporary version of this lens does look good and is lighter, that's another thing to take into consideration. You are right though, I think the reason I went for the sport is the fact it's pretty solid in build and knowing Scotland it rains a lot. Even for a hobby it's something you are certainly passionate about and having that type of lens is fantastic for shooting the distant subjects, suppose the only downfall is the aperture but you still get quality images. And thank you!

[@jeffreyarances4187]

Sir i have a Canon EOS 80D Body , and Sigma 150mm-600mm Sport , is it compatible if i use a tele converter old version? the APO TELE CONVERTER 2x DG AF? please rply

[@PIXYBASHER]

Hi there Scott, what camera body are you using, I cant quite see in the vid..?

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Hi, on that occasion I was using my cropped sensor body if I remember right which is my Canon 70D, I tend to switch between that and my full frame which is 5D Mark iii. What I can say is that using it on a cropped sensor you can see how far you can shoot from. I have used it on my full frame 5D Mark iii and has been fantastic with it, in fact used it on the full frame when I went up to Eilean Donan Castle, currently making video on that just now.

[@PIXYBASHER]

I'm thinking about getting this lens but was also thinking about putting it on the 5dmkiii as well. Those images you posted are awesome. I currently use the 7d and sigma 50-500 but fancy a change :-)

[@scottcjmckelviephotography]

Well with this video I'm working on just now of Eilean Donan Castle I'll be sure to get that together soon and get that uploaded. The close shots I shot of the bridge of people crossing I used it on the 5D Mark iii. It's a fantastic lens and even used it in Stirling to shoot Stirling Castle for a few shots as well as the Wallace Monument. I can say this it's fantastic. Sure it has a bit of weight behind it but you kinda get used to it and I could never leave without it, I love the lens.