How many UK Butterflies members own a Sigma 150mm?

[it344x]

ME memememe - it arrived yesterday !

wahoo

[Martin]

Hi,

This outfit are selling these lenses on special offer at the moment - follow this link

http://www.hidigital.co.uk/index.asp?fu ... lAod61S2OQ

they are £840

Good luck!

Errrrm...sorry, but that's not right. I have just been using my 100-400 with a 1.4X and it does autofocus.

Martin.

[Gruditch]

Canon say that a lens will not auto fucus with a x1.4 or x2 if it puts the F stop beond F/5.6 And you say yours works, I'm confused.

Gruditch

[twitcher]

I use a (tamron 180mm), but have just acquired the (sigma 70mm) at a bargain price from ebay,
its got good reviews but time will tell.
Shaun.

[Will]

Nikon say the D80 wont work with a mirror lens, it does!

[Denise]

Hi Folks,

If anyone is considering a Canon 100-400 lens, give ebay a look. My brother bought one from a seller in this country and it cost £779. Superb brand new lens with 12 months warranty. The seller is still selling lots of Canon and Nikon lenses including this one.

Denise

[Martin]

Gary,
I've just had another check out the window...f16 - 400mm - autofocus works

Martin.

[Gruditch]

Gruditch

[FISHiEE]

I Have had the sigma 150 for about 3 years or so now (Got it not long after they were announced). Blinding lens even after dropping it off my monopod and breaking it clean in half. Took Sigma a while to get it fixed but it works just as new. As macro lenses go the AF is the best easily and I don't often need to resort to MF. Tried it out against a 180 when I was looking to buy - Jessops were superb and bought in a 150 especially for me to compare the two. For me the 150 won hands down and I don't think I'd really want to swap it for any other macro lens out there as from what I've read none of the others really compare for image quality and sharpness.

As for the AF on the 100-400 with a 1.4x it's possible to get AF by taping over 3 of the pins on the TC to enable AF. It is pretty bad AF though in all but the brightest conditions and the IQ suffers quite badly. I bought the 1.4x especially for this but the results are quite poor so it never really leaves the house now. That is unless you have a 1 series body which will AF at F8 anyway.

I'm not sure about the F16 and AF. Are you sure you're not just setting the aperture on the camera to F16? AF is determined by the lowest possible aperture which will be F8 on the 100-400 with a 1.4x. You'd have to stack a few TC's to get the minimum aperture to be F16!

Also if anyone wants a tip for a macro lens the canon 300F4 + 25mm extension tube turns out some pretty amazing results.

[Martin]

I Have had the sigma 150 for about 3 years or so now (Got it not long after they were announced). Blinding lens even after dropping it off my monopod and breaking it clean in half. Took Sigma a while to get it fixed but it works just as new. As macro lenses go the AF is the best easily and I don't often need to resort to MF. Tried it out against a 180 when I was looking to buy - Jessops were superb and bought in a 150 especially for me to compare the two. For me the 150 won hands down and I don't think I'd really want to swap it for any other macro lens out there as from what I've read none of the others really compare for image quality and sharpness.

As for the AF on the 100-400 with a 1.4x it's possible to get AF by taping over 3 of the pins on the TC to enable AF. It is pretty bad AF though in all but the brightest conditions and the IQ suffers quite badly. I bought the 1.4x especially for this but the results are quite poor so it never really leaves the house now. That is unless you have a 1 series body which will AF at F8 anyway.

I'm not sure about the F16 and AF. Are you sure you're not just setting the aperture on the camera to F16? AF is determined by the lowest possible aperture which will be F8 on the 100-400 with a 1.4x. You'd have to stack a few TC's to get the minimum aperture to be F16!

Also if anyone wants a tip for a macro lens the canon 300F4 + 25mm extension tube turns out some pretty amazing results.

Right...AF on the 100-400 with a 1.4X.

I have again just stuck my 100-400 + 1.4X out the window just for you, FISHiEE (no taping of pins). Shutter Priority - ISO 100, 1/30th gives f16 and 1/15th gives f22, all with no discernable loss of AF speed or ability to lock on (it is nice and sunny though)

from what I've read none of the others really compare for image quality and sharpness

You obviously haven't read about the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro or the Nikon 105VR f2.8 macro.

Martin.

[JKT]

Right...AF on the 100-400 with a 1.4X.

I have again just stuck my 100-400 + 1.4X out the window just for you, FISHiEE (no taping of pins). Shutter Priority - ISO 100, 1/30th gives f16 and 1/15th gives f22, all with no discernable loss of AF speed or ability to lock on (it is nice and sunny though)

Which body? With a 1-series body it should autofocus and with XXD-series it should not. I don't recall the specs for 5D.

from what I've read none of the others really compare for image quality and sharpness

You obviously haven't read about the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro or the Nikon 105VR f2.8 macro.

Had you said Tamron 90/2.8, I would have agreed...

[Martin]

JKD,
Yes, I was using a 1D2N... and I agree, the Tammy is as good as the Sigma

Martin.

[Gruditch]

I don't think that just because a review or test in a magazine says that "such n such lens came out on top" we should all assume its the best lens for us, and therefore should give us the best results. Getting the lens that suits your style of use is far more important, for instance, some people hate using a mono-pod, therefore they should stay away from the longer and heavier macros. Some people like to excel in field craft and get as close to the butterfly as possible, crawling on hands and knees in some cases. Others could never envisage doing any form of photography without their tripod. I doubt that in a test of all macro lenses, that the Sigma 150mm F/2.8 would come out on top. But for me and the style I use ( mono-pod and greater working distance ) its the best.

Gruditch

[FISHiEE]

Hm... dunno what happened to my earlier post...

The canon 100-400 + 1.4x gives a minimum (or max) aperture of F8 for autofocus purposes regardless of camera settings/conditions. It doesn't adjust settings for the photo (to F16 or whatever) until the shutter button is fully pressed.

On 1 series bodies you can AF at F8 but for all other canon digitals including the 5D it's F5.6 max. Taping the pins on the canon TC stops the body recording the minimum aperture so it continues to focus beyond F5.6. Sopme non-Canon TC's don't have those pins to record the aperture so they don't need to be taped.

I'm not sure why those pins are necessary on the canon. I'm sure they must do something useful?!

As for macro lenses yes it's all about personal shooting habits as much as anything else. I always used to swear by the sigma 70-300 + 1:1 filter for massive working distances and then would tripod mount it and didn't have too many problems. Then I switched to the sigma 150 on a monopod (I know others can shoot with it or even the 180 handheld but I don't get on well like that) I can get sharp shots around 1/100 -1/150 generally and at times under 1/50 will be good.

Then when my 150 broke and I had to resort to the 70-300 again for a few months I realised that actually it was quite terrible. I could never get decent shots on a monopod - the DOF was minute and I had to shoot at about F18 to get something fully in focus and that meant very low shutter speeds. Also the tropod collar on the 150 makes the whole setup way more stable than to mount the camera on the monopod as I had to do with the 70-300. Most shots with that setup were either OOF as the DOF was too shallow with the available light or going for the DOF necessary gave too slow a shutter speed for me to get sharp shots.

I have been tempted to get a canon 100 to play with as that should be handholdable for me however the monopod is so little hindrance that I don't see it beeing much advantage. I guess I won't have to set the leg length, but other than that a monopod is extremely versatile.

You can see comparisons of all the lenses here:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Revi ... &APIComp=0

The Tamron actually doesn't fare too will on this site and it looks like the canon 100 actually does have the edge overe the sigma 150 for sharpness.

[twitcher]

I don't think that just because a review or test in a magazine says that "such n such lens came out on top" we should all assume its the best lens for us, and therefore should give us the best results. Getting the lens that suits your style of use is far more important, for instance, some people hate using a mono-pod, therefore they should stay away from the longer and heavier macros. Some people like to excel in field craft and get as close to the butterfly as possible, crawling on hands and knees in some cases. Others could never envisage doing any form of photography without their tripod. I doubt that in a test of all macro lenses, that the Sigma 150mm F/2.8 would come out on top. But for me and the style I use ( mono-pod and greater working distance ) its the best.

Gruditch
Gruditch

Posts: 223
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 3:30 pm

For what its worth i totally agree, I have now got the smaller (sigma70mm) for the reason i didnt like working from a greater distance with the(180mm tamron)and although you need the patience of a saint trying to get close enough, learning new swear words and getting 1 decent pic makes it worth it
( usually)

[FISHiEE]

Isn't it difficult to kep your shadow etc. out of the shot and off the butterfly even with that lens?

[twitcher]

Short answer is yes,although some days they seem to feel sorry for you and let you get closer,if they are drunk on blackberry juice, time of the day,different species etc.
Thanks, Shaun

[Will]

Whether you use a tripod or a monopod I can thoroughly recommend Manfrotto's 222 Trigger grip ball head both for speed and accuracy. I have been using them for years, and find that they have transformed, in particular, an ordinary cheap monopod into a very usable bit of kit. You would need a small adapter to convert the head from 3/8ths to 1/4 thread for most monopods. Well worth doing.

Will

[FISHiEE]

I use a Manfrotto 234RC head on mine lightly clamped so that it's free but not too free. I can then adjust the angle of the head without moving my finger from the shutter button. I think you would have to for the trigger grip heads? I have considered one of the trigger grips for my tripod though but gonna see how the tilt and pan head that came free with it works forst before I fork out £100 on the trigger head

Incidentally my 679B came with a neat double head thread thingy which means I can fit a head with either thread type on.

[Will]

[quote="FISHiEE"]I use a Manfrotto 234RC head on mine lightly clamped so that it's free but not too free. I can then adjust the angle of the head without moving my finger from the shutter button. I think you would have to for the trigger grip heads? I have considered one of the trigger grips for my tripod though but gonna see how the tilt and pan head that came free with it works forst before I fork out £100 on the trigger head

Incidentally my 679B came with a neat double head thread thingy which means I can fit a head with either thread type on.[/quote


Dont knock it until you have tried it . I have three, all bought when they were a fraction of today's price. One on a 075 Manfrotto, one on a carbon fibre Manfrotto and one on a lightweight Velbon monopod. Works for me, I preset the angle before making my approach have a finger on the shutter release and the other hand on the focussing ring. To fine tune, if necessary, I use the focussing hand. Sounds quite similar to your method. Currently available at £79.99 from Amazon.