Buying a new camera lens can be a
bewildering affair, there are so many makes, models and types, do you want
macro, prime or telephoto. The last lens I bought was a grey series Canon EF 100-400
mm F4.5-5.6 l IS USM lens. It was a gamble, this is an expensive (to me) lens, and
I chanced my arm on a damaged lens from eBay. My gamble was that I could get a
cheap repair to the autofocus motor. The gamble paid off and paired with a 1.4x
teleconverter became my everyday lens and helped me to get some amazing shots.
Following a small pay rise I
wondered about perhaps investing in something new. I started by checking out my
go to online store - WEX - and explored the canon lenses available there. Even
with a little more money there did not seem to be a better lens out there for a
reasonable price that I could afford and so I put the idea from my mind.
Of course, Googles AI had spotted my interest and started to flood my Facebook, Instagram and YouTube feeds with possible lens to buy. I like to think that I am wise to their ad games and do not fall for them, but I know the truth and my curiosity got the better of me and I started clicking links. Thats half googles job done, halfway to a sale. I was weak and succumbed.
One particular lens caught my
attention - the Sigma 150-600 mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary black lens. Once
I started looking it seemed to crop up everywhere (good old google AI). Now, I’m
not a complete chump and so I started my own research. I found that Amazon sold
the model for a cheaper price than most, but price alone wasn’t enough, was
this lens worth the investment. I started to devour online reviews and watched
a slew of YouTube videos - one in particular was very informative. It swung me
round to purchasing, despite this I still waited 24 hours before making the
purchase.
One particular lens caught my
attention - the Sigma 150-600 mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary black lens. Once
I started looking it seemed to crop up everywhere (good old google AI). Now, I’m
not a complete chump and so I started my own research. I found that Amazon sold
the model for a cheaper price than most, but price alone wasn’t enough, was
this lens worth the investment. I started to devour online reviews and watched
a slew of YouTube videos - one in particular was very informative. It swung me
round to purchasing, despite this I still waited 24 hours before making the
purchase.
With next day delivery I very soon had it with
me and I was excitedly unboxing it. The lens comes well protected with shoulder
straps and lens bag. The construction, although plastic seems robust. First impressions
were good but how would it perform in the field. Weight was the most worrying
aspect to me. I almost exclusively shoot from the hand. My style of wildlife
watching and photography is mostly casual. I am usually out birding or wildlife
watching and the camera is there to document this. I very rarely go out with
the aim of taking a photo of a particular subject. In essence I’m too lazy and
distracted to sit for hours for one shot, too many other interesting birds and
animals catch me off sending me off down another rabbit hole, sometimes
literally. In essence I am an opportunist. Trudging about carrying a zoom lens
camera, binoculars, note pad, bird seed, drink and chocolate bar means weight
is an issue. My canon lens weighed 1380g and this new lens was 1927g.
I was pleasantly surprised. The
lens is heavier than most, despite its plastic casing it does have some hefty
glass in it but out in the field it did not feel appreciably heavier. I noticed
it slightly when poised, braced on one knee waiting for a Blue Tit to come back
to its nest box. My arms fatigued fractionally faster than normal but that
could just be age creeping up on me.
What about the image quality?
Before going out I watched a few more videos regarding suitable settings. I increased
the shutter speed (I always shoot with shutter priority) to 1/1000 and to
compensate with the loss of light upped the ISO level to 6400. My Camera is a
Canon 90D and its CMOS APS-C sensor x1.6 multiplier factor means that in real
terms the zoom lens is actually 240mm to 960mm. I experimented with this
magnification of the zoom. A Whitethroat was bobbing about in the hedgerow a
little too quickly for my liking and refused to pose properly but the two shots
below illustrate the two extents of the lens.
 |
| Whitethroat on a bush 150 mm (effective 240mm) |
 |
| Same Whitethroat at 600mm (effective 960mm) As for quality, I was impressed, the images were crisp and sharp, better than my old lens. Some reviews described problematic issues with the autofocus, it would often lose lock and then be searching too much in the view. I found no issues; I shoot with a single point of focus and had no issues whatsoever other than the normal issues of a windy day pushing leaves and branches across the view. The optical stabilising was excellent, I have used Sigma OS before, and this is just as good. focus is fast and whisper silent. I do think I need a little more time with the lens but on day one I was very pleased. The only downside was something that was not the lenses’ fault but my own. It goes back to an ongoing problem I have, Looking after lens caps. I seem incapable of keeping hold of them. I even took special care to keep hold of this one and reattach it when finished but I still managed to lose it. The following images were taken today. I only edit my images slightly - I adjust the levels, add a little contrast and sharpen if required using a high pass filter.     I will continue to work with this lens to see how it performs and update you if anything changes. Full details of the lenses specifications are: I bought the lens from Amazon The lenses official page is at Sigma |
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