Should I get 300 F4 or a 500 F4?

[Reno]

Sorry, please don't mind if hijack this thread somewhat and hopefully, it might be a good reference for TS.

How about using zoom lenses like the sigma 50-500 os and 150-500 os for birding? Comparatively with the oem prime lenses? Weight, IQ, value for money? I have read the reviews for these supertelephoto zoom lenses, just like to see from the point of view of the birding and wildlife veterans. Thank you.

Weight for sigma 50-500 and 150-500 is definitely lighter, however the speed loose out a lot.

I still remember very clearly 3 years ago when we was shooting a particular bird in a very low light condition. We was waiting for it to perch on this particular flower as we notice its feeding behavior and every 2 hours the fellow will come to this particular flower and feed for 2 sec. That time I was still using a zoom lens (Tamron 200-500mm). It took me 6 hours (3 tries) to get a decent shot. One year later I went back with a 500mm F4, under the same low light condition and same feeding patterns, I nailed that bird with only 1 try and i can dump my previous photos. The sharpness and speed is incredible for prime lens.

Birding photography is very different from the rest of the type of photography. Birding photography requires good gears which are react fast, lens used has to be sharp as most of the time the birds are so far away and it is very hard to approach them, 99% of the time the birds are not co-operative and they tend to jump around the place.

 

[sukhoi37]

Coolthought

I did looked at the sigmas and have seen some good shots from them. Their price and weight fits quite well to my requirements. Here was my findings that I decided to go with the F4s

1) Lots of reviews mentioned that the Sigmas quite soft at 500 and the 300 F/4 with 1.4 tc performs better in terms of IQ and focusing.
2) The TC works better with the primes
3) I thought of getting the sigmas first but felt that if i get the nikon 500 f/4, price around 12.5K. For easy computation and trying to justify for the cost let's use 12K. Let say you will be using it for 10 yrs. 12K/10 yrs/12 months. You are paying SGD 100 a month to enjoy your passion in getting a good shot. Everyone's have their own reasons of getting their equipments. This is mine. Hope it make sense. heheh.. I am just trying to make sense to my wallet...hehehe...lol

You should check the latest canon 500mm f4l IS mk2. They use titanium material on the lens that's why it's lighter.

 

[Cowseye]

When u are ready with the kind of money to spend on a 500mm F/4, even the sigmonster 300-800 F/5.6 is not as good. There's a quality baseline placed much higher than what sigma lenses can produced under difficult lighting (except for the 200-500 F/2.8 sigbehemoth of course).

 

[Reno]

When u are ready with the kind of money to spend on a 500mm F/4, even the sigmonster 300-800 F/5.6 is not as good. There's a quality baseline placed much higher than what sigma lenses can produced under difficult lighting (except for the 200-500 F/2.8 sigbehemoth of course).

sigmonster is good as it got the reach... but the weight will kill you...

 

[PeaceL]

What u want I think U already know as $$ seems not an issue here. Now is Nikon 500 or Canon 500, weird?

I saw some pix u posted and u need to practise and shoot a lot more but if u had the passion to keep going, I bet u can do it.

What u need to do now is know some/lots birders/bird-watchers in this community. Learn the fieldcraft on what to do n what u shouldn't when out shooting. Look at good/bad birder photographs and learn from them.

Last but not least, love nature.....

 

[AlexDoLittle]

What u want I think U already know as $$ seems not an issue here. Now is Nikon 500 or Canon 500, weird?

I saw some pix u posted and u need to practise and shoot a lot more but if u had the passion to keep going, I bet u can do it.

What u need to do now is know some/lots birders/bird-watchers in this community. Learn the fieldcraft on what to do n what u shouldn't when out shooting. Look at good/bad birder photographs and learn from them.

Last but not least, love nature.....

Dear PeaceL

Thanks and I have been reading a few nature websites like npss.org.sg too. Yes totally agree with you in the learning curve. No doubt about it.

 

[An drew]

how about the price between this two?

The Canon at USD 10499
Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II USM Lens 5124B002 B&H Photo Video

The Nikon USD 8399
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR II Autofocus Lens - 2172 B&H

Dear Andrew

That is interesting. I did take a look at the Canon 500 F4 too and thought it's weight is 3.87 kg compared to Nikon 500 F4 (3.88 kg).

Sukhoi37
I did checked the price for both and the the difference is about SGD 2K. Not sure if the Canon 500 F4 is the one that was refered by Andrew.

Still exploring as I will eventually get a 2nd body and target at the D800 when it is out (Not sure when). I think this will be a good complement to my D7000 if I still stick with Nikon.

I am referring to the 500 f4 Mark II, which is the new one.
If you are going to spend so much money, you should be open to whatever brands that can best meet your needs. Your main system can still be Nikon.

You should check the latest canon 500mm f4l IS mk2. They use titanium material on the lens that's why it's lighter.

Yes, the titanium one.

 

[An drew]

sigmonster is good as it got the reach... but the weight will kill you...

Agree. I have compared a Sigmonster side by side with a 500 f4. The reach of the Sigmonster is excellent but the 500 f4 would have slightly superior image quality albeit with less reach. But the greatest disadvantage of the sigmonster is the size and weight, I think it is really tough to walk with it. With a 500 f4 I can easily walk for kilometers and even climb Bukit Timah.

 

[sukhoi37]

Agree. I have compared a Sigmonster side by side with a 500 f4. The reach of the Sigmonster is excellent but the 500 f4 would have slightly superior image quality albeit with less reach. But the greatest disadvantage of the sigmonster is the size and weight, I think it is really tough to walk with it. With a 500 f4 I can easily walk for kilometers and even climb Bukit Timah.

how about the AF speed? is sigma motor comparable to nikon one?

 

[AlexDoLittle]

The Canon at USD 10499
Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II USM Lens 5124B002 B&H Photo Video

The Nikon USD 8399
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR II Autofocus Lens - 2172 B&H


I am referring to the 500 f4 Mark II, which is the new one.
If you are going to spend so much money, you should be open to whatever brands that can best meet your needs. Your main system can still be Nikon.



Yes, the titanium one.

The Canon at USD 10499
Canon 500mm f/4L EF IS II USM Lens 5124B002 B&H Photo Video

The Nikon USD 8399
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR II Autofocus Lens - 2172 B&H


I am referring to the 500 f4 Mark II, which is the new one.
If you are going to spend so much money, you should be open to whatever brands that can best meet your needs. Your main system can still be Nikon.



Yes, the titanium one.

Thanks Andrew for providing the price and model details. I am learning this craft and trying to get good shots with any equipments that is available and within my reach out there. Bottom line is that I can get a good shot that I can appreciate and share with friends and families whenever I travel or walk in the park.

I've even looked at the Sony digital binoculars DEV-5 and digiscoping but the quality are never near to a DSLR combo. Well you never know, maybe one day there is a technology breakthrough for everyone can enjoy nature without burning a big hole in their pockets. I feel that the more people appreciate the nature, the more conservation will takes place.

 

[Reno]

how about the AF speed? is sigma motor comparable to nikon one?

Nikon is still faster than Sigma motor but still acceptable. But the handling of the Sigmonster is a lot harder than 500mm. I have not tried the 600mm before...

 

[Reno]

Agree. I have compared a Sigmonster side by side with a 500 f4. The reach of the Sigmonster is excellent but the 500 f4 would have slightly superior image quality albeit with less reach. But the greatest disadvantage of the sigmonster is the size and weight, I think it is really tough to walk with it. With a 500 f4 I can easily walk for kilometers and even climb Bukit Timah.

Not only that, you need a very stable tripod for Sigmonster too, so far only gitzo 5 series is recommended for it...

 

[Reno]

Thanks Andrew for providing the price and model details. I am learning this craft and trying to get good shots with any equipments that is available and within my reach out there. Bottom line is that I can get a good shot that I can appreciate and share with friends and families whenever I travel or walk in the park.

I've even looked at the Sony digital binoculars DEV-5 and digiscoping but the quality are never near to a DSLR combo. Well you never know, maybe one day there is a technology breakthrough for everyone can enjoy nature without burning a big hole in their pockets. I feel that the more people appreciate the nature, the more conservation will takes place.

The learning curve is very different when you switch to longer lens.

Even i find the shooting patterns with 500mm on a 1.5 crop body and a full frame is very different.

 

[An drew]

Not only that, you need a very stable tripod for Sigmonster too, so far only gitzo 5 series is recommended for it...

Yes, so true. The Sigmonster I compared was mounted on a Gitzo Series 5 and gimbal while the 500 f4 was on a Gitzo 2540 (it is stable enough, even monopod is ok). The smallest section of the Gtizo 5560 is bigger than the largest section of the 2540.

I've even looked at the Sony digital binoculars DEV-5 and digiscoping but the quality are never near to a DSLR combo. Well you never know, maybe one day there is a technology breakthrough for everyone can enjoy nature without burning a big hole in their pockets. I feel that the more people appreciate the nature, the more conservation will takes place.

Actually you can get very good shots with digiscoping as Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss and even Nikon has excellent scopes. Despite trying, I was never very good at it but I have seen what others could do. The only thing is that it is much slower and the success rate is lower unless you are very skilled. Of course you can also forget about flight shots. A 500 or 600 f4 is a surer way. I also managed to do quite well with a Nikon 300 f4 plus a 1.7 TC, but if you are serious then a 500, 600 or even 800 (Canon).

 

[lankyal]

Coolthought

I did looked at the sigmas and have seen some good shots from them. Their price and weight fits quite well to my requirements. Here was my findings that I decided to go with the F4s

1) Lots of reviews mentioned that the Sigmas quite soft at 500 and the 300 F/4 with 1.4 tc performs better in terms of IQ and focusing.
2) The TC works better with the primes
3) I thought of getting the sigmas first but felt that if i get the nikon 500 f/4, price around 12.5K. For easy computation and trying to justify for the cost let's use 12K. Let say you will be using it for 10 yrs. 12K/10 yrs/12 months. You are paying SGD 100 a month to enjoy your passion in getting a good shot. Everyone's have their own reasons of getting their equipments. This is mine. Hope it make sense. heheh.. I am just trying to make sense to my wallet...hehehe...lol

Do check out the Sigma 500mm F4.5 as well. I know of people who use this and the images are pretty good. It is priced at around 5.6k at DD electronics.

Sigma 500mm F/4.5 APO Super Telephoto Lens Nikon Camera Lens - DD Electronics PTE LTD

Nikonians Review - SIgma 500mm f/4.5 Lens - Nikonians.org -- Worldwide Home of Nikon Photographers

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Reno]

If you are targeting flight shot, 300mm F2.8 is the way to go... 500mm is a bit heavy.... 600mm can break your arms.... :bsmilie:

 

[lankyal]

600mm can break your arms.... :bsmilie:

and shoulder and back and bank!!!:bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[Cowseye]

If you are targeting flight shot, 300mm F2.8 is the way to go... 500mm is a bit heavy.... 600mm can break your arms.... :bsmilie:

That would probably be the job of a gimbal head..

 

[Reno]

That would probably be the job of a gimbal head..

Flight shot is not easy when on gimbal...

 

[double_a]

Anyone tried the Nikon EDG fieldscope on their camera? What would be the drawbacks besides no auto-focus?