Advice wanted on long telephoto lens

[Pink Dragonfly]

Hi guys!

My beercan is too short!!! At least for some purposes.... Dragonflies and birds in particular

With my budget, I've narrowed it down to the Tamron 200-500mm and the Sigma 150-500mm. The Tamron here in Denmark is a little more pricey but it's 700g lighter....and I'm not much of a tripod kind of gal

Anybody got any experience/knowledge of these lenses?

Mette

[scott-devon]

Mette, I use the Sigma 50-500 and I'm very happy with it. However it definitely isn't a lightweight and I've found a tripod or at least a monopod to be an absolute necessity with it. Also, I shoot in manual focus with it. The autofocus tends to hunt on it, unless it's my Pentax doing that...

[DennisT]

I responded to this under the sony forum - check it out. I dont have trouble with the weight of the 50 500 but then I'm a big strong lad!! Also no focus hunting if shooting birds or other wildlife using the spot focus switch on Sony A700/900 to get quickly from wide to spot (centre button of toggle switch). Hunting normally happens when there is a lot of peripheral interferance (bushes or grass in the foreground or around the subject) or if the subject is small compared to the background. I find using spot focus usually sorts this out especially where depth of field is shallow.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, Scott and Dennis! I've heard that 150-500mm is supposed be better than 50-500mm? Hmm...I was also hoping to hear from someone with Tamron experience!

Dennis, I think I need to read my manual :blush2: I just tend to use local focus using the centre spot most of the times. But I've really struggled to get my Beercan to work on BIF's.

Mette

[DennisT]

Yes Mette bif are a different matter. I always use wide focus for this as most often there is less interference around after it takes off or is already in flight. With the 50 - 500 I let it focus at about 200mm then zoom in as I follow the flight- and it adjusts quickly and accurately. Of course if I loose the target and the camera then has no focus she stops firing. This happens a lot and can be a real pain but then thats BIF photography. You will, in my opinion, never regret going with the big zoom if the make is decent or whatever the weight - it will serve you well indeed if outdoor, birds and wildlife are your thing.
Cheers