See the second page of this thread for my updates..

Well a comparison at 500mm anyway. I will warn you that I think I have one of the sharpest 50-500 lenses out there especially at 500mm.

Here is the 50-500 at 500mm hand held wide open 1/1600th



Edited by davekone on Jul 02, 2008 at 06:49 PM GMT

150-500 @ 500mm wide open hand held no OS. I am posting this one because its the best of the batch I took, OS on shots did not show any improvement at 1/1600th

Well dang a shootout and the Bigma wins in my eyes

As you can see above the 50-500 has the edge. I did prints of these crops at 5x7 and you can easily tell the difference at first glance, but I will say that both images would make a fine print hanging on your wall at poster size.

Edited by davekone on Jun 20, 2008 at 05:56 PM GMT

Now an OS test: Both shots at 500mm

1/25th OS ON!


Edited by davekone on Jun 20, 2008 at 06:00 PM GMT

1/25th OS off. This was my best shot out of 5



Edited by davekone on Jun 20, 2008 at 05:55 PM GMT

OS is effective at SLOW shutter speeds, my tests in the 1/125th - 1/400th showed no improvement in my opinion hand held.

Last but not least, the 1st photo on a tri pod 150-500 @ 500mm wide open, mirror lock up and 10 second delay on the shutter. I do not think this is a big improvement over my hand held shot.


Edited by davekone on Jun 20, 2008 at 06:03 PM GMT

I need more time to shoot with the new lens, and I plan on doing that Saturday. I am a bit miffed at the OS performance, but maybe I am having a good evening hand holding 500mm at 1/125th - 1/400th. I'm not sure how many times I'll need to shoot 500mm below 1/125th, or if OS will save me on a day where I'm not so steady.

I also want to add that the shots with the word Price in it was only 10 feet away, so I must do some tests where the subject is further away..

Great build quality, same as the 50-500. The hood is much improved over the 50-500 in terms of how easy it is to take on and off. The lens cap can be removed easily with the hood on, something that is nearly impossible with the 50-500.

When posting comparison shots, instead of the viewer having to scroll between two shots, why not present the two shots like this?:

When posting comparison shots, instead of the viewer having to scroll between two shots, why not present the two shots like this?:

I figured I took the time to do this, they can deal with a little scrolling or load the photos side by side in their favorite image editor.

About a month ago I decided to buy the 50-500 instead of the 150-500. Thanks for validating my purchase decision!!!

Btw, how did the autofocus speeds compare? The HSM on my Bigma gets the job done, but is definitely not nearly as fast as the USM.

So far I haven't been all that impressed with the 150-500 from the shots I have seen popping up. I have always liked the Bigma and was thinking about buying one a short time ago but sticking with Canon

davekone wrote:
When posting comparison shots, instead of the viewer having to scroll between two shots, why not present the two shots like this?:

I figured I took the time to do this, they can deal with a little scrolling or load the photos side by side in their favorite image editor.

I guess you can't keep all people happy all the time. Thanks for the efforts and review.

Silentlight wrote:
Btw, how did the autofocus speeds compare? The HSM on my Bigma gets the job done, but is definitely not nearly as fast as the USM.

I have not had a chance to do fast action photos with it but it seems to be identical in speed. Adequate but not 70-200 USM fast..

tanglefoot47 wrote:
So far I haven't been all that impressed with the 150-500 from the shots I have seen popping up. I have always liked the Bigma and was thinking about buying one a short time ago but sticking with Canon

I wish Canon had an affordable lens that went to 500mm, I'd take a 200-500 Canon if they had it and it performed better. Love the 50-500 for air shows, you get get them on the runway and in the air.

Taken with the 50-500

looks pretty good .

do you have some more ??


eric

Darn you Dave, now I have to get the 50-500...... nice jet pic.

awesome pic, it's like your right there, flying next to the plane.

mfisnc wrote:
looks pretty good .
do you have some more ??
eric

Nice to see some comparisons.
Thanks.

You're right, your copy of the Bigma is pretty darn good!

After shooting with the lens yesterday and a few more tests today I can say that I am consistently getting better shots with OS turned off. This copy is definitely softer in the 400-500mm range versus the 50-500. I can say that below 400mm it is on par with the 50-500.

This copy is going back to Sigma, the OS issue is baffling. I purchased this lens hoping for decent OS performance in the 300mm+ range in less than ideal light. As of the moment it seems to do more damage on than off.

After this one is sent back I will update everyone again. I will also say that my 1st 50-500 was not nearly as good in the 400+ range as my second copy. We will see.

I wouldn't touch the 120-400 or 150-500 until they release the mk II versions. Sigma lately has been releasing lenses that don't live up to expectations like the original 50-150 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 macro and have now replaced them. There have been a lot of issues with the 120-400 and apparently 150-500. I'd be waiting a lot longer before going near them. Shame really as the 150-500 is something I'd like. I wish Canon would get a 150-500 f/4.5-5.6L IS out the door.

BTW is the 150-500 closer to actually being a 500mm than the Bigma which is really more a 465mm?