03-16-2012, 08:58 AM
[quote name='Chhobiwala' timestamp='1331864606' post='16758']
Sorry, but 50-500OS would be costing me about $600 extra, way beyond my budget and I am little jittery about buying Sigma lenses as these are reported to be varying widely from copy to copy...
[/quote]
I don’t really have lots of experience with BiF, however I’m a huge fan of aviation shows and obviously trying to optimize my kit for capturing jet fighters, sky divers, etc. From my experience – Sigma works really well, it’s tack sharp up to 400mm and okayish in 400-500mm range (still much better than 80-400 at maximum zoom). Also what I did notice, that screw-driven lenses really suck when you need to capture and track a fast moving object, so Sigma’s HSM shines here. The drawbacks compared with 80-400? It’s much heavier (ok, not as heavy as 200-400, but it *is* heavy), and it has a fugly bokeh. The latter is not an issue for BiF, however something to keep in mind for the ground shots.
BTW, a bit surprised regarding the price difference – in UK and Hong Kong N/80-400 and S/50-500 cost the same.
Sorry, but 50-500OS would be costing me about $600 extra, way beyond my budget and I am little jittery about buying Sigma lenses as these are reported to be varying widely from copy to copy...
[/quote]
I don’t really have lots of experience with BiF, however I’m a huge fan of aviation shows and obviously trying to optimize my kit for capturing jet fighters, sky divers, etc. From my experience – Sigma works really well, it’s tack sharp up to 400mm and okayish in 400-500mm range (still much better than 80-400 at maximum zoom). Also what I did notice, that screw-driven lenses really suck when you need to capture and track a fast moving object, so Sigma’s HSM shines here. The drawbacks compared with 80-400? It’s much heavier (ok, not as heavy as 200-400, but it *is* heavy), and it has a fugly bokeh. The latter is not an issue for BiF, however something to keep in mind for the ground shots.
BTW, a bit surprised regarding the price difference – in UK and Hong Kong N/80-400 and S/50-500 cost the same.