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Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 1000 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/13, ISO 1400 — full exif
Initial Test at 1,000 mm
Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS + Sigma 2.0X Teleconverter
I've been busy busy busy with Lightroom plugin stuff and so haven't gotten much time to play with my new Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm superzoom, but I wanted to post a few samples taken with the Sigma APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG attached, turning the Bigma into a 100-1,000mm f/9-f/13 zoom.
These aren't from a proper test... I just set the camera+teleconverter+lens's substantial mass on a table and pointed it out the open window, turned the lens' optical stabilization off, and fired off some shots....
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 1000 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/13, ISO 1600 — full exif
1000mm wide open at f/13
a fair bit mushy
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 1000 mm — 1/125 sec, f/64, ISO 4000 — full exif
1000mm at f/64
extremely mushy, but what do you expect at f/64?
The viewfinder was surprisingly bright for f/9, though the out-of-focus areas had all kinds of annoying chromatic aberration when viewed through the viewfinder.... but not, thankfully, in the photos themselves.
A Nikon D700 does not autofocus a lens whose maximum aperture is smaller than f/5.6, so with the teleconverter it turns into a manual-focus only lens.
Still, I took the opportunity for some guy crossing the little bridge I can see from my window (seen at 200mm in the first shot of this post) to try an optical-stabilization-assisted on-the-fly shot, and all things considered, it came out okay...
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 1000 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/13, ISO 2500 — full exif
Test Subject
As a bonus, the teleconverter turns the lens into an almost true macro, at 0.64× magnification. I'll have to give that a try soon.
Nikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 500 mm — 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — full exif
Straight Up 500mm
for comparison
( seems a bit fuzzy to me... maybe it's the subject? )
If I get up on the roof of my building and wave, maybe can you see me from your roof with that lens.
I’ve been holding my breath waiting for reviews of this beast and appreciate your series. There is no way I can afford a Canon 500mm f/4 and I want a lens to use with my 7D for birding. How accurate and fast have you found the AF? Have you tried any birds-in-flight?
Any attempt by me of BIF would fail, and it wouldn’t be the lens to blame. AF seems okay, but I haven’t tested it a lot, but even at f/5.6, depth of field at 500mm is pretty thin, so I’m not sure you’d want to use AF anyway. —Jeffrey