Hello,
I have a quick question about some of the reviews. For several tested lenses (e.g. Sigma 150-600 Sports and Contemporary, Tamron SP 150-600) an optical quality rating is "not provided at this stage". Is there a particular reason you do not want or can not rate these lenses at this time? It seems the test were done some time ago already and are not work-in-progress anymore.
Guess what kind of lens I consider buying and thanks for your answer.
Regards, Michael
I'll be guessing a a large aperture portrait lens. And the reason the rating is missing ie because the way PZ does the MTF testing (with a simple sharpening step) the 5DS-R results looked rather dismal in corners, so a rating was a bit difficult to give without getting a feel for the high res. sensor with the test conditions.
In my opinion, don't let low-ish corner results from 5DS-R PZ/OL deter you from a specific lens type.
The low corner MTF I do not care about, I still have a relatively old APS-C camera. So in regards to corner resolution and vignetting I am not affected.
I wonder if the Sigma 150-600 Sports is worth the extra money and weight and how the Tamron G1 rates compared to the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, especially since the Tamron G2 version (according to other reviews) seems to be significantly improved.
10-19-2018, 10:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-19-2018, 10:37 PM by Klaus.)
If your photography is centered around wildlife I‘d go the extra mile for the Sports.
Let‘s face it - you will end shooting at the long end and that‘s where the Sports is better than the C.
If the Sports is too much then I‘d probably go with the G2. We haven‘t tested it yet but yes it seems better than the C.
More than anything it is paramount to check the centering of these lenses - see the sticky thread in this forum.
Chief Editor - opticallimits.com
Doing all things Canon, MFT, Sony and Fuji
10-21-2018, 08:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-22-2018, 07:39 AM by JJ_SO.)
MBaehr, in this FL range I would not give too much about optical ratings, or fine differences between the two lenses.
I had the Sigma sports version with additional (longer) foot and went to Tamron G2. Biggest reason was, it's rather tiring to use the Sports without tripod/gimbal. Other differences are little details. Such as lighter lenshood, FL lock at all FLs, the Tamron is cheaper but comes already with an ArcaSwiss type dovetail. I can remove the collar and really use the lens handheld.
No big difference (I see) in optical performance. In optimal conditions the Sports might be better - but very often it's the camera's AF system which makes a differences between a good and an average shot. Very often the light conditions are not that great in Northern Europe. You need fast shutter speed and not too high ISO? Then you need a lot of sunlight to get great results. I just want to damp your expectations - an old APS-C body has an old AF system and a less than state of the art noise performance. If the results are not what you were hoping for, don't blame the lens only.
Knowing that the Sport is probably the sharpest......I bought one....unfortunately it was a dud......it did show me however how poorly balanced and heavy it is....
....bought the G2........if ever I had to choose one lens.....this would be it!
There's plenty from the G2 here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124690178@N08/
One needs to know that dave likes to buy his lenses on grey market. Maybe the "dud" circulated already to other buyers before as well. Mine was pretty good and sharp.
Actually the Sport was official market! .......bought used.....but was unused......couldn't really test it as it was raining....found the next day it was....
........"deee-centeereeed"......the seller refunded me....but we kept in touch........
still under guarantee, the shop sent it to Sigma France.......who could do nothing with it.....off it went to Japan....several months later, repaired, it was sent back to the shop in France.....where it "didn't" arrive........another month went by, until eventually Sigma gave him a new one.....a three months wait!
Ah ha.....grey market!......I think all that I bought (grey market) has run out of guarantee (2 years) I think the D500 and the G2 still has a few months left......will always buy grey!
...... Yeah, doesn't time fly when you're an old fart!.........
.........
Nope.
That also happens to younger farts...
JJ_SO and Dave, thanks for your input. At the moment my thoughts are to postpone the 150-600 a bit and to shop for a newer camera first. Besides getting a supertele 150-600 there are two things that I would like to update from the gear I bought about 9 years back: The EOS 40D and my non-IS Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. Between these two items it appears to me the camera update makes the most sense at the time since the 40D is likely more outdated now than the lens. Also prices for the 80D have started dropping below € 900 (including a Canon Winter cashback) and I found two interesting 2nd hand offerings including an 18-135, one of them having only 430 clicks.
That way I can also wait for the first reviews of the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 Sports to come up and make the decision for the 150-600mm a combination of 70-200mm AND 150-600mm price/performance results. I would rather have these two lenses both to be either Sigma or Tamron, considering that I will probably buy the 70-200 with an 1.4x converter. I know it is likely not a really good idea from an image quality point of view but 600mm x 1.6 crop x 1.4 converter = 1344mm just sounds tempting to play around with. It also saves on one USB dock or tap-in console.
