FS7: Sigma 150mm-600mm
- Thread starter Liam Hall
- Start date
I've been using the 150-600 Sports version with a canon mount. Very pleased with the results. Only issue is having to rebalance the camera when zooming.
Jim Boutin
https://vimeo.com/jimboutin
Twitter: @jimboutin
Jim Boutin
https://vimeo.com/jimboutin
Twitter: @jimboutin
Doug Jensen
Carbonite Member
Just curious as to why that would be. Does this lens change length while zooming? And if so, enough to throw the balance off?
Mark Williams
Veteran
Yes, this lens changes length when zooming changing the balance.
Yes, it's too heavy (about 8 lbs) for the lens mount. I use a Zacuto universal baseplate and the 1/4 20 lens support on the Sigma shoe. It's solid with that rigging.
Doug, ya the barrel pushes the front element about 3 1/2 inches when it's zoomed. It unbalances my vinten head.
Here's the rig (hanging out with one of those other brands!)...
Doug, ya the barrel pushes the front element about 3 1/2 inches when it's zoomed. It unbalances my vinten head.
Here's the rig (hanging out with one of those other brands!)...
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steve phillipps
Veteran
Two very different 150-600 lenses there! I'd be interested to know how they compared optically - I've had 3 Canon 150-600s in my time, on Super 16, Digibeta and then Varicam, Phantom and Epic, solid performer and a mainstay in wildlife filming over the last 20 years or so, but I know lens technology moves on and I wouldn't be surprised if the Sigma was better optically. Slower though of course and no constant aperture. I think 600 is still too short for a lot of wildlife myself, but of course it depends on what you're shooting.
Steve
We haven't done a side by side on them yet. It would be interesting to see the comparison. The sigma is pretty sharp even at 600 and performs well with the canon 1.4x. I agree, for some shoots 600 is too short. This was a moose shoot with some close in behavior.
Have you tried the 300-800 sigma, I've heard it's reasonably sharp with constant aperture/internal zoom.
Have you tried the 300-800 sigma, I've heard it's reasonably sharp with constant aperture/internal zoom.
steve phillipps
Veteran
I have had 6 of the Sigma 300-800s! I kept buying them and using them until they sold (so I basically got a free hire!) They are optically excellent, good with a 2x converter when stopped down a stop. Only problem really is the size. Here are 3 of mine on different cameras!
Steve
Steve
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Doug Jensen
Carbonite Member
Here's my F55 with a Canon 200-400 f/4 with buit-in 1.4x extender that I use for wildlife. I've only had this lens for a couple of weeks but its proving to be everything I hoped for and more. Test footage on this thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?338335-Test-footage-with-F55-and-Canon-200-400mm-f-4
With this lens I can cover anything from 200mm to 560 in full 4K without changing lenses or adapters. With the Center Crop feature of the F55 (coming soon for FS7) I've got the equivalent of 200 to 1120mm in one lens with constant f-stop of f/4 or f/5.6 depending if the extender is deployed or not for HD and HFR up to 240 fps.
If anyone is interested in a gently used RED 300mm f/2.8 prime that the Canon replaced, please send me a PM. The RED was my workhorse lens for wildlife and paid of itself many times over.
With this lens I can cover anything from 200mm to 560 in full 4K without changing lenses or adapters. With the Center Crop feature of the F55 (coming soon for FS7) I've got the equivalent of 200 to 1120mm in one lens with constant f-stop of f/4 or f/5.6 depending if the extender is deployed or not for HD and HFR up to 240 fps.
If anyone is interested in a gently used RED 300mm f/2.8 prime that the Canon replaced, please send me a PM. The RED was my workhorse lens for wildlife and paid of itself many times over.
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steve phillipps
Veteran
If you mean me ad the Sigma 300-800, it's a custom-made simple plate that I've had for years and used on Super 16, Phantom, b4 cameras and everything else besides! Very simple for a precision engineer to make and actually cheaper than most off the shelf bars rigs - just not so versatile perhaps.
Steve
I ended up buying a Lanparte lens support with a rubber strap that goes around the lens. I have the Zacuto VCT baseplate with 18" rods under the lens. The biggest issue is of course balance- the extension of the lens and the mid-barrel focus makes it difficult to find a solid spot to rest the lens support. Using the tripod collar isn't possible because it rides too close to my Metabones. Tried it on an event shoot yesterday and was pleased with the lens but still got some shake at 600mm which seems inevitable particularly when irised all the way open...
btw, to clarify its the 150-600 I'm talking about.
btw, to clarify its the 150-600 I'm talking about.
basspig
Veteran
I just took delivery of a Sigma 150-600mm full frame zoom lens this morning. Preliminary testing shows excellent image quality with the FS7. It is a light hog, so on a rainy day around noon, I was 1/96th shutter with f8-f18 depending on how much overcast sky or whether it was ground shots I was exposing for.
Here's normal mode, UHD:
Here's 2K Center Scan mode:
The OIS seems to work pretty well, but AF gets totally confused in a complex environment like wooded areas. Indoors in the studio, I got it to auto focus on a lava lamp across the room, but outdoors it just racks in and out and totally misses the subject.
But for under a grand, this lens will let me get shots of the moon and wildlife that were impossible with smaller lenses.
Here's normal mode, UHD:
Here's 2K Center Scan mode:
The OIS seems to work pretty well, but AF gets totally confused in a complex environment like wooded areas. Indoors in the studio, I got it to auto focus on a lava lamp across the room, but outdoors it just racks in and out and totally misses the subject.
But for under a grand, this lens will let me get shots of the moon and wildlife that were impossible with smaller lenses.
basspig
Veteran
Some additional observations about this Sigma lens:
Autofocus doesn't work in Auto mode. Only Push Auto initiates a focus attempt.
Autofocus only hits the target in a simple environment--complex scenes cause it to rack wildly and give up.
Iris:
Auto iris doesn't work.
Manual iris adjustment is in one stop increments.
Perhaps I've overlooked a camera setup somewhere, but so far I've not been able to make these features work. And the coarseness of the iris settings is a bit too coarse. Unlike the Sony kit lens, which feels analog in that iris control is virtually continuous, this lens has very limited steps for aperture control.
Even so, it's a keeper, because the image quality is quite good for the price and I shoot manually most of the time anyway.
Autofocus doesn't work in Auto mode. Only Push Auto initiates a focus attempt.
Autofocus only hits the target in a simple environment--complex scenes cause it to rack wildly and give up.
Iris:
Auto iris doesn't work.
Manual iris adjustment is in one stop increments.
Perhaps I've overlooked a camera setup somewhere, but so far I've not been able to make these features work. And the coarseness of the iris settings is a bit too coarse. Unlike the Sony kit lens, which feels analog in that iris control is virtually continuous, this lens has very limited steps for aperture control.
Even so, it's a keeper, because the image quality is quite good for the price and I shoot manually most of the time anyway.