Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3      
4
       5              14       15       end
  

Archive 2016 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review

  
 
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #1 · p.4 #1 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


I handhold my 600II most of the time so I would be planning to handhold a 500 almost all the time. That is why I was more interested in this new lens with weight close to the current 500s from CaNikon and not getting a used 500 from last generation which weigh about the same as my 600II. However, the 500s are likely easier to handhold as they aren't as long and bulky as the 600 even if they are similar weights.




Nov 03, 2016 at 12:32 PM
Pixphatic
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #2 · p.4 #2 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review



Looks like they have started shipping the lens as per Brad Hill's blog here :http://www.naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html#500mm_wars_1

......any news/reviews from the forum members.....??



Dec 14, 2016 at 10:30 PM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #3 · p.4 #3 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


PIXPHATIC wrote:
Looks like they have started shipping the lens as per Brad Hill's blog here :http://www.naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html#500mm_wars_1

......any news/reviews from the forum members.....??


I haven't seen anything new on this lens. But thanks for sharing that Brad Hill link. Looks like he will be doing a very interesting back to back with the Nikon FL. That should be very interesting.

Brad is in Canada and that is comparing a $7,800 lens vs a $12,900...what does that extra $5K CDN get you??



Dec 14, 2016 at 10:36 PM
bvphotos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #4 · p.4 #4 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Kenmore Camera is also shipping it in the USA. Very tempting.


Dec 14, 2016 at 11:15 PM
TightLines
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #5 · p.4 #5 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Looking forward to some more reviews of this one.


Dec 16, 2016 at 01:43 PM
Pixphatic
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #6 · p.4 #6 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review



Eagerly waiting for some links/images/threads on & from the 500 f4 Sports.....



Dec 23, 2016 at 09:28 PM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #7 · p.4 #7 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


I haven't heard anything of someone buying this lens. It looks like a good deal compared to the newest versions from Can/Nik but it still is priced similar to the previous versions used so maybe people are leaning that ways. Of course lenses at this price don't fly off the shelf so I guess we will continue to wait.

Brad has done his first comparison update against the formidable Nikon FL, so far there are interesting pluses and negative from both after he looked at build/function.... http://www.naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html#500mm_wars_2



Dec 24, 2016 at 09:16 AM
Pixphatic
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #8 · p.4 #8 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Just gone thru the 1st installment (strictly speaking , 2nd) of the '500mm war', posted by Brad Hill.
Very interesting and lovely read (at least to me).
http://www.naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html#500mm_wars_4

btw from tomorrow onwards (ie 13/01/2017), might get some more of the user reviews, here.




Jan 12, 2017 at 01:18 AM
CritterRacing
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #9 · p.4 #9 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


excellent as always from Mr. Hill. The man puts in the time needed for sure. knowing the sigma is the equal to the nikon makes me feel better. i dont have to buy the sigma lol.


Jan 12, 2017 at 06:47 AM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #10 · p.4 #10 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Mr. Hill's reviews are the best I've ever seen on the internet, only rivaled by Arash's reviews. He brings up all the little points that so many reviewers miss or don't understand.

I'm still not done reading all the detailed differences but the few main points I took away are:

1) Absolute IQ is equal between two widely different priced lenses.

2) 400 2.8 + TC is an equal to the primes for the most part but not upressing the bare 400 (which sort of surprises me as the 400 is Nikon's best lens and its only 100mm difference). I believe Brad's 400 is the newest FL version??

3) Brad should go back and use a calculator for the 400 x 1.4 math....

4) Both lenses need to be stopped down 2/3rds for ultimate IQ....not sure how the Canon 500II is with this but personally I never stop down my 600II and would be miffed if I payed for f/4 and felt I needed to always be at f/5 or f/7.1 with TC. That said, I've never carefull tested my 600II to see how much if any it improves stopping down. Likely when Brad does his next real world shooting tests he will find that stopping down isn't something you really have to do once all the other real world variables start affecting the maximum IQ.



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Christian H
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #11 · p.4 #11 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Odd, my f/4 is fine at f/4 - that being the whole point of such a lens. Doesn't get any sharper by stopping it down. I suspect Mr. Hill has a shit copy.


Jan 12, 2017 at 11:15 AM
Hardcore
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #12 · p.4 #12 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Christian H wrote:
Odd, my f/4 is fine at f/4 - that being the whole point of such a lens. Doesn't get any sharper by stopping it down. I suspect Mr. Hill has a shit copy.


A crap copy of both the nikon and the sigma? I doubt it but possible. I don't know any lens that doesn't get sharper when you stop it down. Both my 200mm F2 and recently sold 300mm F2.8 VRII both get sharper when stopped down.....



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:18 AM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #13 · p.4 #13 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Christian H wrote:
Odd, my f/4 is fine at f/4 - that being the whole point of such a lens. Doesn't get any sharper by stopping it down. I suspect Mr. Hill has a shit copy.


---------------------------------------------

Hardcore wrote:
A crap copy of both the nikon and the sigma? I doubt it but possible. I don't know any lens that doesn't get sharper when you stop it down. Both my 200mm F2 and recently sold 300mm F2.8 VRII both get sharper when stopped down.....


I think when Brad completes his real world test he will find that there isn't much if any difference when stopping down vs wide open. I sure hope not because as you say Christian, this is why we spend so much money on these lenses...we get extra stops and we can use it wide open with stunning IQ.

I know on other technical reviews that the Canon big prime lenses don't show improvement stopped down. I really doubt the newest Nikon does either but I wouldn't be surprised if the Sigma did because the Sigma 150-600 definitely needs 2/3 to 1 stop of stopping down to get the best sharpness (which really limits its usefulness).

It could be possible his Sigma copy is good and his Nikon copy isn't the best out there. I would guess the Sigma variability would be much greater than the Nikon variability. I'm pretty sure Brad will sell the Nikon after the test but if he does find he needs to stop the Nikon down even in real world handheld shooting, he should probably get another copy of the Nikon (and maybe even the Sigma) to retest. I can't see any situation at this point that he will keep the Nikon. Unless the Sigma AF and VR is a lot worse than the Nikon in his upcoming tests of those things....to be continued....



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:29 AM
Thang
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #14 · p.4 #14 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


arbitrage wrote:
4) Both lenses need to be stopped down 2/3rds for ultimate IQ....not sure how the Canon 500II is with this but personally I never stop down my 600II and would be miffed if I payed for f/4 and felt I needed to always be at f/5 or f/7.1 with TC. That said, I've never carefull tested my 600II to see how much if any it improves stopping down. Likely when Brad does his next real world shooting tests he will find that stopping down isn't something you really have to do once all the other real world variables start affecting
...Show more

agreed with you there. The bare 600 IS II and the older 600 f/4G do not need to stop down for the ultimate IQ when used in the field based on what I have experienced.

In addition - "Both lens and TC combinations were quite soft when shot wide open (i.e., at f5.6) but sharpened up somewhat by f6.3 and more by f7.1." This was never an issue with the 600 IS II.



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:39 AM
OwlsEyes
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #15 · p.4 #15 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


I'm with Hardcore on this one.. even the best of the best super-tele's benefit from stopping down by a 1/3 or 2/3 or a stop. I think if you were to do a bench test analysis of your 500mm or 600mm lens, you would find that the edge acuity/micro-contrast would improve.
Just because a lens is improved by stopping down doesn't mean that you will not benefit from using it wide open. The small gains by reducing the aperture may never be realized when photographing something interesting... Clearly, if the difference between getting the shot and missing the shot is 1/3-2/3's of a stop, who cares if it could have been theoretically sharper.

Brad really does a thorough analytical analysis of his lenses, and these small improvements are likely to be observed under these conditions but not noticeable in "real-life" shooting situations.

bruce



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:46 AM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #16 · p.4 #16 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Thang wrote:
agreed with you there. The bare 600 IS II and the older 600 f/4G do not need to stop down for the ultimate IQ when used in the field based on what I have experienced.

In addition - "Both lens and TC combinations were quite soft when shot wide open (i.e., at f5.6) but sharpened up somewhat by f6.3 and more by f7.1." This was never an issue with the 600 IS II.


Yes, that really worried me, I can never tell the difference of a 600 vs 840 shot with the 600II and sounds like you have found the same even with the older 600 G and your previous 600II.

Have a look at the detailed field maps from DXOMark for the 600II....there is no difference what so ever stopping down. Absolutely nothing you would notice in real world shooting. https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Canon/Canon-EF-600mm-F4L-IS-II-USM-mounted-on-Canon-EOS-5DS-R---Measurements__1009

DXO hasnt tested the new 500 and 600 FL E lenses. But I did notice that their test does show the 400 2.8 FL E improves at f/5.6 over f/4 and f/4 over f/2.8. You need to click back and forth on the 2,8 and 4 and the 4.0 is a darker green. If you look at the graphs for profiles the Nikon 2.8 FL improves a bit more at 5.6 as well. The 600II from Canon shows no colour difference clicking back and forth. So maybe Canon does have an advantage here. However, the Nikon is rated at a slightly higher P-Mp 36 vs 32 so the Nikon might just be that much sharper to begin with compared to the Canon. The Canon 400 2.8 II is 38 score in P-Mp but I can't find the detailed measurements for that lens on DXO??

When looking at DXO measurements click on Sharpness and then look at Field Map and/or Profiles

Edited on Jan 12, 2017 at 12:34 PM · View previous versions



Jan 12, 2017 at 11:56 AM
Christian H
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #17 · p.4 #17 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


If a lens didn't deliver wide open I'd return it. With my f/4 500 there's no difference, fortunately.


Jan 12, 2017 at 12:06 PM
Hardcore
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #18 · p.4 #18 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Just because a lens get's sharper stopped down slightly does not mean it won't deliver wide open. In fact it could be sharper than the old version by a large margin wide open but benefits by stopping down slightly to get even more sharpness.

A lens that stays at the same sharpness throughout the aperture range does not mean it is a better lens imo.



Jan 12, 2017 at 12:55 PM
arbitrage
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.4 #19 · p.4 #19 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


Hardcore wrote:
Just because a lens get's sharper stopped down slightly does not mean it won't deliver wide open. In fact it could be sharper than the old version by a large margin wide open but benefits by stopping down slightly to get even more sharpness.

A lens that stays at the same sharpness throughout the aperture range does not mean it is a better lens imo.


Yes, exactly what I said above because the 400 FL E is sharper than the Canon 600II anyways (both DXO and LenScore show this in testing). So you are right, the 400 FL is actually a sharper lens....Nikon's sharpest for that matter.

LenScore has the best tests as they use a 200MP sensor to test.

http://www.lenscore.org/

The 500 FL E is Nikon's worst performer out of the new FL lenses (400, 500, 600, 800) and is exactly equal to the Canon 600II anyways on lenscore. The 500 FL E according to lenscore is not as sharp as other current gen superteles although it is shown to be better than the Canon 500II.

Between the Canon 400 and the Nikon 600 the lenses are very similar. The Nikon 400 FL and to some degree the Nikon 600 FL take it up a notch that might be noticeable in the real world.

All these tests have to be taken with a grain of salt as there are some big discrepancy's between DXO and Lenscore measurements....the biggest is the Canon 300 2.8 IS II that DXO says is the sharpest lens Canon makes and Lenscore has it ranked very low compared to the other big primes.



Jan 12, 2017 at 01:24 PM
Thang
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #20 · p.4 #20 · Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport Review


another site I found useful is The Digital Picture by Bryan Carnathan

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=748&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=654&CameraComp=614&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

He compares these lenses at various f/stops with and without TCs. However, he is a primarily a Canon shooter and therefore, doesn't have the latest Nikon FL supertele in his database yet.

I use TCs extensively in my shooting. While at bare between the Nikon 600G and Canon 600 II, there is no discernable differences in the field. But once a 1.4 or 2 tc is attached, it seems the Nikon starts to fall behind noticeably. Brad Hill's comment above regarding TCs on both the latest Sigma/Nikon 500 is important to me.






Jan 12, 2017 at 01:38 PM
1       2       3      
4
       5              14       15       end




FM Forums | Canon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1       2       3      
4
       5              14       15       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.