[stoppingdown]

It will be used on a Sony a6000 (later the a6300) in Canon mount via the latest Sigma adapter.

 

Do anybody have any personal impression to share? For what is available on the internet, I think I've read everything...

 

I'm going to have some lent money back and it has been one year since when I bought the latest lens :-) Furthermore I have a discount code valid for a couple of weeks only... So it would make sense to anticipate the buy even though the Sigma adapter is not available yet.

 

Thanks.

[davidmanze]

  I've no experience with Sony's A6000/6300 and the appropriate adapters, but I could see a limited performance with regards to auto focus.........both lenses are very capable fast focusing lenses, but with contrast detect AF via an adapter and an aperture of F6.3 at the long end?......that's one tough call on mirror-less.

   Personally I wouldn't use either of these lenses on anything other than a DSLR body, here the balance would be better and PDAF will give you full performance and the ability to track subjects and shoot BIF and moving creatures that the Sony probably won't achieve!

 Maybe posting the same question on DPreview's Sony forum would be appropriate.......be prepared for a rethink!

 

P.S. I'm shooting the Tamron 150-600mm on the D750/D7100. 

[JJ_SO]

The sports version has it's strengths in being robust, weather sealed, dust sealed. And bloody heavy. Without tripod it's challenging to hand-hold it. Are you sure you need a zoom? I've no idea how fast it will AF, but what I saw from other Canon lenses in front of Sony cameras, I wouldn't be afraid - even if it's bit slower, what good is speed for if AF is typically phase detection limited and although possibly faster, less precise?

 

Buying a lens now and the adapter much later means, you have to wait possibly for quite a while - the difference between Sigma's introduction dates and delivery dates can be considerably long. I waited 8 months form introduction to delivery of the Sports version.

[davidmanze]

The sports version has it's strengths in being robust, weather sealed, dust sealed. And bloody heavy. Without tripod it's challenging to hand-hold it. Are you sure you need a zoom? I've no idea how fast it will AF, but what I saw from other Canon lenses in front of Sony cameras, I wouldn't be afraid - even if it's bit slower, what good is speed for if AF is typically phase detection limited and although possibly faster, less precise?

 

Buying a lens now and the adapter much later means, you have to wait possibly for quite a while - the difference between Sigma's introduction dates and delivery dates can be considerably long. I waited 8 months form introduction to delivery of the Sports version.

  Most Canon lenses I have seen on mirror-less using adapters are F2.8...70-200mm.... not "F5-6.3" 150-600mm.... that's a massive difference!...... I have nothing against the principle per se.........and it's not just a question of speed... if it hunts back and forth taking a few seconds and maybe not locking on .........then what?

 

     More info from others users must be sought, or otherwise try renting  them out........the project is only viable if it works!  

 

    Perhaps JoJu you could try out your Sigma sports on the Fuji to see if it's a goer!

[JJ_SO]

I already did - but my adapter is only manually  . The core of stopping down's project is the new and first fully AF-everymode Adapter from Sigma - which is not available yet. Also, the Sony's AF is a different story than Fuji's dated and updated AF.

 

Continuous AF on the Fuji with a native lens is a nightmare in low light. it just can't lock on and I think, everything from processor to AF-drive is too slow and trying to get a precision which you can't get from moving subjects.

 

Oh, and another thing: Brightcolors already mentioned something about "fake sensitivity" of the AF-module, I recall very vague - please correct me, BC. I don't know about that. But from f/5.6 we could use only 15 from 51 AF points and although the camera recognizes the aperture - it has no consequences. I'd expect it to switch to the possible AF points, instead of that you can use all of them and spray and pray... Maybe it needs them for AF-tracking in 3D continuous mode, which works fine on fast enough lenses.

 

Anyway, with the Sigma you come quickly to conditions when it doesn't matter anymore if you have a "fast" PDAF or "slow" CDAF, because it's very probable you miss a bird in flight. Good news: You don't need to get up so early... 

 

So, I also look with some interest on "how does it Sony?" but at the moment not many can tell. 

[davidmanze]

Appropriate video for this thread........... The Camera Store's review of the Sony A6300:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4f2drPwZvo

 

  Quite a few answers to Sony's latest AF improvements on this new body...........looks very good indeed!

[stoppingdown]

Just to clarify: I've already decided to buy a 150-600mm and its primary duty will be landscapes and semi-stationary subjects. I had already read reviews about the a6000 and the Tamron tele and it is ok for my needs. Clearly: the faster AF the better, but it's not the primary feature for me.

 

The doubts were about which mount and adapter to use, and whether it made sense to wait for Tamron (or others) to come out with a native E-mount. The announcements of the Sigma adapter changed things because it makes it clear that Sigma isn't going to make native E-mount teles (see the discussion of the previous days). 

 

At this point the best solution looks like the Sigma + their adapter. Since they offer two 150-600mm I'd just like to understand whether the Sport version is worth while the extra cost and weight. 

[davidmanze]

Just to clarify: I've already decided to buy a 150-600mm and its primary duty will be landscapes and semi-stationary subjects. I had already read reviews about the a6000 and the Tamron tele and it is ok for my needs. Clearly: the faster AF the better, but it's not the primary feature for me.

 

The doubts were about which mount and adapter to use, and whether it made sense to wait for Tamron (or others) to come out with a native E-mount. The announcements of the Sigma adapter changed things because it makes it clear that Sigma isn't going to make native E-mount teles (see the discussion of the previous days). 

 

At this point the best solution looks like the Sigma + their adapter. Since they offer two 150-600mm I'd just like to understand whether the Sport version is worth while the extra cost and weight. 

Have you a link for the review of the A6000 and the Tamron? I would mind seeing it!

[JJ_SO]

At this point the best solution looks like the Sigma + their adapter. Since they offer two 150-600mm I'd just like to understand whether the Sport version is worth while the extra cost and weight. 

 

It's difficult to answer, I never compared the contemporary to the sports version. The lens hood alone is 290 grams an it appears as it can take some serious bumps It's more than stable enough to rest the lens and camera on it when pointing it downwards. Like the whole lens more or less cries "put water and dust on me, use me in sand and rain".

 

I just put it out of the box again and pointed it at some things closeby. I think I keep it - actually there are some Sports on sale, maybe from guys like me who just gave up too early on learning how to use it. Also, I got two requests of even lower price and I must say, I'm done with people only looking on the price. 1800.- CHF for lens, 1.4× converter, tripod foot and Benro Gimbal is 800 less than I paid for it. If that's not cheap enough, I'm not willing to sell an adjusted lens for less.

 

Another thing you might consider, if landscape is primary: ø 105 mm for the filter thread vs. ø 95 mm can save you some bucks for polarizers.

 

I'm not sure if I would go for Sports again. If you don't have regular sandstorms or monsoon rain in Italy, I'd save 1 kg if I were you. Also, you can remove the tripod foot on the contemporary version, which makes the whole thing even lighter. I can't, instead I got a very long foot to balance it on the gimbal head - and when zooming you need to balance again. Except sealing and tube for rough environments, the Sports version has not much to offer as a difference. Sigma itself doesn't state it very clearly.

[stoppingdown]

"Have you a link for the review of the A6000 and the Tamron? I would mind seeing it!"

 

 

E.g.: http://garyhartblog.com/2015/11/03/big-moon/

 

If you search through Gary's blog there are other posts about that combo.