It finally happened. I finally picked up the Sigma 500mm ultra-telephoto zoom by Nikon. For a year and a half I've been drooling over this lens. I would go into the store, ask to see it, then put it back. Waiting till I was able to get it...saving,scrimping, hoping.And then income tax refund rolled around......enough for the lens, and enough to pay some bills, and enough to save. Yay. Worth the wait.And I even got a store discount. Double yay!
Sigma APO 150-500mm F5-6.4
It's about as big as Bunny. As you can see from the photograph. It is impressive. A lens that can't be ignored. It is heavy...but not overly heavy. It needs a tripod . Something I need to get this weekend. I have a tripod, but it has a different mount. The Sigma is a twist in mount. But it is not too hard to hold for short periods of time. Wouldn't hold it for an hour. Definitely need a tripod for long hauls.This lens is not available , however, for Sony or Pentax cameras.
Does great close ups . Bunny was the most availabe at the immediate moment so she is my model here. Easy to focus manually. I'm not big on autofocus, but it's just fine as well.The optical stabilization compensates for camera shake at times.
Tried it outside from our hill towards Mt. Washington. This is the 150 mm......... have a good look at the centre portion of the mountain.....the hyper sonic motor in the lens is extremely quiet. Can't hear it at all.
And here it is in 500mm. You can see the trees. That is soooo exciting.
This is Lionwillow ( I believe), which has small, tiny flowerets. At 500 mm they look huge.
In the store, I tried out the lens on the spur of the moment. On Dale. Had her stand way back in the TV section. I stayed back at the photo desk. Can't tell you how far away that was. But far enough. With overhead lighting....took a great photo. Was easy to figure out. Very clean.No ghosting of images.
On the way home, stopped by the Pier, pulled the lens out of its box. I just could not help myself to try it on the marina. The lens comes with a huge handle, that you can balance on anything, or twist into a tripod. I balanced it on a picknik table just to try it out. Awkward. I would recommend a tripod, or hand held.
Back at home, took a shot at Pasque flowers way up on the last terrace, from inside the house, to see how the light would be. No weird fluctuations. Good colours.
In the rain. You can see the raindrops. This tree was taken from my front window, down and at the edge of the cul de sac.Focus is on the left portion.
And of course, Smokey. He posed ever so nicely, ouside the office window, on the fence near the stone wall. Click CLick. Quick and easy.
Really happy with the Sigma. Probably one of the more affordable high end lenses out there. I don't think I can put it down......
No comments:
Post a Comment