articles/Equipment/big-sig-page2

Big it up with SIGMA - part 2 of 1 2

by Mike McNamee Published

The lens easily out-performed your shaky editor and all defective shots were the result of shake or poor focus control. The Sigma slams into focus very smoothly, the problem comes when the subject moves. In overcast sunlight there was no evidence at all of chromatic fringing and just a slight amount at the highlight-to-shadow boundaries. Our test camera was the Nikon D200.

Overall we loved this lens, it is superbly built and, once you develop your craft, it is a smooth operator as well. If you need the length it is one you have to consider. Your other option is the 300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter, which would give you 420mm at f4.0. From Sigma, the cost for this combination is £1,000 less than the 500mm, along with extra versatility - quite a difficult choice to mull over!

IMAGES: The batsman is playing forward defensive with a stationary front leg. The magnified crop of the large image on the right shows every stitch in the pads. Great care is needed when examining the quality of images from these long lenses, even atmospheric haze has a profound effect. The cameraman is usually the weakest link in the chain.

Sigma 500mm f4.5 shot at 1/800 f4.5 and 400ISO Nikon D200.

• Big it up with SIGMA page 1
  
• Big it up with SIGMA page 2
  

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