Steve, I'm a wildlife and nature photographer. Your gear reviews hold sway with me. The needs for those of us who spend our time out in the woods taking photos of critters without studio lighting and who don't know they are supposed to pose for us are far different than the needs of folks shooting in the studio, weddings or street photographers. Each discipline has slightly different needs and the equipment well suited for one may not be great for another. You and a couple other RUclips channels are wildlife and nature photographer and it's good to see what you all like or dislike about a piece of equipment. Helps the research process. I'm thinking of a 100-400 as a compliment to the 150-600 Sigma I use for most of my tele wildlife work. Sometimes the critters are just not that far out to really need the 600mm and with a torn rotator cuff injury carrying around the heavier lens does sometimes cause some discomfort. A year plus later, do you still have the same thoughts about this Sigma 100-400 Contemporary lens?
@@SteveMattheis Thanks Steve. Just ordered the Sigma. Should be here in a couple days. Now if we can just get something other than clouds and rain here in Kentucky... Appreciate your quick response. Hope you have a great holiday.
I've changed all my lenses to Sigma except for my Canon 17-40 and I'm very happy. The Sigma 150 - 600 is a bit heavy, but fast and sharp focusing along with quality glass convinced me to switch. Oh, and is price-friendly for us middle income folks. Great video. Thank you!
I bought it pretty close to when it was released and I like it as well! Recently I replaced it with the Nikkor 200-500/5.6E though. Way heavier but I have that fixed aperture and it's sharper at the long end.
Thanks for this useful review, Steve. I see you also have the Nikon 200-500mm and would be very interested in your thoughts about how these two lenses compare.
Since getting the Sigma 100-400, I haven't used the 200-500... Everyone's needs are different, but for me the slow autofocus on the 200-500 doesn't track owls in flight well enough. The 100-400 does.
Thanks Steve, that's interesting, I had a similar issue trying to track Puffins, but otherwise I've been very happy with the 200-500, maybe it's time to have a look at the Sigma!
I have both too, and I got the 200-500 first. I can hand-hold the 100-400, the 200-500 is hard to do that. I use the 200-500 to get to 500, often with the 1.4x telephoto, normally on a tripod.
I really like your outdoor shooting videos, but the review adds some nice variety to the channel. It's nice to know that the you have gotten good results from Sigma's Contemporary series of lens. Just goes to show that they are worth looking at in addition to the ART and Sport lines. And I shoot with a Canon so I'm totally happy with the twist direction :) But it's strange they don't have it reversed for the Nikon mount.
Thanks Steve for the video and email advice. I rushed out to get this lens ordered and it has definitely far exceeded my expectations. Sharp throughout the length of the lens and great for run and gun for the wildlife in the marsh. Thanks again!
Hi Steve. Thanks for sharing the video...I'm going to muddy the water a little...Dustin Abbott has run very comprehensive comparison videos between the Tamron and the Sigma 100-400 and after quite extensive tests states he much prefers the Tamron superior focus tracking. After seeing his comments I was sold on the Tamron that is until seeing your previous video where you said you had problems with 3 copies of the Tamron. Totally confused now...
my 17-50 2.8 sigma has that "backwards" zoom ring also , but crispy images so ya , great review , I may have to add this one too the gang , thanks and love your owl vids !!
Thanks Steve you are really on top of your reply’s I’m going to try and start calibrating in the next few days I have 4 lenses to calibrate with the dock thanks again
Good vid Steve. There is a lack of reviews for this lens. I'm a canon shooter so not worried about the twist direction. How is the lens for tracking subjects moving towards you as I've heard this can be an issue for this lens.
The camera body will affect this as well so I can only give you my experience with Nikon D500 and D4s. I have found the tracking to be excellent. Much better than my Nikon 200-500 lens.
I don't know if this is useful to you, but it also does work as a push-pull zoom. Not everybody likes to do that, but at least you won't have to think about which way to turn.
+Lau Bjerno true, and potentially a good solution for some people but as a daily Nikon shooter, my muscle memory is to twist the zoom ring, so doing push pull is just as 'tricky' for my trained brain as the backwards twist. My poor brain...
I’ve noticed several people saying that there is a lens made by canon in this focal range I had it too I. Version one this sigma was made to compete with version 2 and after having this lens for several weeks can say sigma is giving canon a run for their money literally at less than half the money it’s as sharp as you said Steve thanks for the review and advice
One more thing after not only watching your review but 4 others on RUclips you gave me confidence to get this lens I’m going out tommorrow if the light is good to see what my results will be I know I’m comparing much higher quality lenses of what I have but I’m kinda like you striving for perfection I sold my version one canon 100/400 to buy the sport 2 plus years ago and never looked back I hope I can figure this new lens out
I saw you got lot of problems with your Tamron 100-400. I'm worried about 3rd party lenses, how does it compare with af fine tune or quality control product problems? Somebody have problem with Tamron but also with Sigma lenses. This Sigma is a safe way to go on Nikon? Don't want to buy also a dock and losing time finetuning the lens on computer and also into camera settings to get sharp and focused image properly. I'm also considering new af-p 70-300 5.6e for my d610 which seems to be sharp and fast.
I liked your review! Listened to somethings other reviewers don´t say. Have you found out about a third party tripod collar for this lens? Thanks for sharing
I did the software update and there is a slight af difference now I just have to do the calibration and can’t because of the weather it’s brutal cold and another snow storm so until it’s warm enough the calibration for me is on hold
Steve I just bought the 100/400 mm sigma contemporary I have the 150/600 sport and the 120/300f2.8 sport I bought the 100/400 mm because it’s light I’m not able to carry the others very far because of my disability I also have the 70/200f2.8 sigma and after shooting with the new lens yesterday I’m reviewing my pictures the light was very cloudy and flat light. Almost dark out I ended up shooting with the 7d2 and used the. Flash I only ended up with a few sharp shots out of 30 shots of a downy woodpecker hand held at 15 ft f7.1 iso 650 while using the flash shutter 1/250 I did a basic test on the lens but never calibrated it or used the dock I have yet and one more thing on the pile sigma just. Offered a software update for the lens to help with af issues any suggestions what I should do
Hey, Steve, great review. So, this lens is not stable enough for video on a tripod, or you tried again some way to work it for video? I would really love to buy it, to reach for wildlife, and I'm doing only video on a crop dslr, and I have a Manfrotto 504. Second thoughts on video-work with this lens?
Hi, I have since bought a tripod collar that has been kind of 'rigged' to work for shooting video on a tripod. It actually works really well, considering it is a 'custom' solution. I found this solution online, googling, so it's not my idea - but here's a link to the collar I bought: a.co/dpunfft I use some gaffer tape to fatten the barrel of the lens, then the collar fits pretty darn well. It's certainly not perfect but definitely allows me to use the lens for video on a tripod now.
Well, it's interesting, I will look into it, because I don't see a more budget friendly and good quality lens than this one. Because of the missing tripod collar I was pondering the 70-300 f/4-5.6 II IS Nano USM, maybe the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens. One more question, when you say that it allows you to use it for video, this means that is fixed enough to make fluid video?
+anu l I've found the OS excellent for still photography. Crappy for video. The USB dock is excellent if you're a geek and willing to put in the time and effort to go through the tuning process. I'm a geek so I did it and it helps for sure.
i got this lens the day before the eclipse so i would have a longer lens to shoot the eclipse. it is now my main lens. i love the sharpness. but i have had problems with AF sometimes it wont AF at all, i have to change the zoom to get it to start AF again. I use it with my 80D for wildlife.
+Adventures with Jerry Hi, I’ve just started having a strange AF issue with the new Nikon D850 where the focus hunts and won’t lock on to the subject, but only with a couple of specific AF points. Once I change The AF point, it locks right on again. Weird, and hopefully fixable with firmware.
Thanks Steve I kinda figured you were going to say that and it makes a lot of sense why have the dock and not use it to get the most out of your gear I’ll do it then reply with my finding .one question before I use the dock did you use the focal or lenscal by spyder to help or just the sigma software and dock ? Thank you for replying
Hello bro..m using this lens with Nikon d500.but my image is not acceptable sharp.can u plz tell me why it is.any suggestion.and in flight the pic is also not sharp.can u tell me why
Hi Steve, sigma released a firmware update for this beast, better AF performance according to their site. Have you tried it yet? planning to buy my own, hopefully it would be compatible on the d7500
Hi Steve I would like to get your take on this. I also watched Dustin Abbott’s review on this lens and he seems to think that this lens isn’t as good for subjects like fast flying birds and the tamrons better. Can I have your experience on this using the sigma?
I have found it to be plenty fast for birds in flight. Clearly not as fast as my fast primes (also big $$$) but I would never expect it to be as fast, given that it's an inexpensive f/6.3 zoom. If it can track an owl flying through a dense forest, it's good enough for me. He tests on Canon bodies so maybe that's part of the puzzle? I tried three copies of the Tamron and they were all very soft at the long end so I gave up on Tamron.
Hi Steve Just subscribed to your channel I have a D5200 camera that I bought from a friend, I’m looking to get all in one lense that covers mostly occasions, family pictures, landscapes, wildlife and someone that I met while hiking suggest two lenses one was sigma 100-400mm, the other one was Tamron 18-400mm, what would you suggest I buy, I take decent pictures but the quality with my starter kit lense isn’t the greatest I mostly shoot deers that I track and find in the wilderness somehow I keep running into them or they keep running into me - Thanks
That's really strange of Sigma to have the zoom direction "wrong" for the Nikon version of this lens. I wonder if any other Sigma lenses for the Nikon have the "wrong" zoom direction?
Hey Steve! I would buy a new lens for my Nikon D7200, but I can‘t decide which one is the best. I am a planespotter and the lens must have a very good sharpness at 400 mm and a fast autofocus. Can you help me which of these lenses is the best for my use? Nikon 80-400 Sigma 100-400 Tamron 100-400 Thanks for your help! Regards!
I’d suggest not getting the Nikon. I use the Sigma. Many people are happy with the Tamron (I wasn’t happy with image quality at 400mm and f/6.3). Also consider Nikon 200-500. Try renting before you buy too...
I am in my way to buy this lens since I never found good 400mm Nikon lens to replace my Canon 400mm lens. I also sold my Tamron 150-600 G2 and the Nikon 200-500 F5.6. I found they were too heavy for travel lenses. I will gone a use it with D7200 to get more rich from the crop factor. My question is did you try the lens with the Sigma 1.4x TC to see if the AF work or not ? Since this is F6.3 lens and will become F9 after installing the TC. So beyond F8 I guess the AF will not work. That's the only issue I see in this lens. Thanks
@@SteveMattheis Thanks. Did you make fine tune adjustment to calibrate your camera with the lens? And if you did how far the lens was out of adjustment? Thanks
Ive used both the Contemporary and Sports the C is pin sharp straight out the box and fairly light the S is the same but is bomb proof totally weather seald but there's a down-side its HEAVY and i do mean Heavy so you need a good monopod "sirui p324sr" if its down to price go for the C
@@mohanbhadriraju1516 Yes it would because depending which camera mount you use on Canon it would be the equivalent of 160-640mm and on Nikon it would be 150-600mm and of course the weight the 100-400mm is VERY Light ideal to carry around .
Push pull gives the same problem, my muscle memory and habit are to twist it in the Nikon direction. Not push or pull. If that makes sense. Either way it slows me down and isn’t ideal.
you didnt comment much on the autofocus performance. From other reviews, it seems that the AF performance is average and that it doesn't track all that well. What had been your experience. AF is critical for a lens like this.
I've found AF tracking to be perfectly acceptable. Better than it's two main Nikon competitors, the Nikon 80-400 AFS VR and the 200-500. The Sigma has been noticeably better than those for AF tracking. Don't expect it to be as good as f/4 and f/2.8 telephoto offerings though, it just isn't realistic. I use Nikon D500 and D4s bodies. The body you're using will make a big difference too.
The sigma is faster and works better for me. I prefer Nikon's continuous AF system over Fuji's for wildlife and birds. There's a new X-T2 firmware coming that's supposed to double AF speed so that could change things... we'll see.
It worked great out of the box with my D500, no adjustments necessary to get nice images. I'm a big geek however, so I did the focus calibration anyways and made a few minor adjustments to make it 'perfect'. It takes quite a bit of effort for sure. But I like it when it's perfect...
Thank you sir. I have the D500 as well. I shoot with the Nik 200-500 with nice results, many handheld, but a smaller lighter lens with close to the same reach would be nice for travel. This lens is on my to-get list. I wonder if Sigma is saving the tripod collar for a sports model of the same lens?
+erik perušek I bought the 150-500 a few years ago and sold it after testing because it didn’t perform well enough for me. The 100-400 is better for me in every way.
Hmmm, not really. I like the 100-400 obviously and I use it for hiking a lot. The 150-600 is much bigger and heavier and far less desirable for me for hiking .
Totally depends on what I need. I’ll hike with the 600 f/4 if I need to but it’s a heavy beast so I’ll bring it only if I know something smaller and lighter won’t do the job.
Hello Steve , great video, love ur chanel .Have a question to kind of Any one here who could share your experiences, I'm a hobbyist trying to find my way through photography , I still shoot a rebel T5i ,was undecided where to get this lens or tamron ,after your videos on the tamron I'm decided to go with sigma , eventually I would like to upgrade to the 80D . So the question is how this lens feels just by itself attached to the camera ,let's say in a long hike ,weigh wise and no tripod colar ? I saw this "bracket" on Amazon, have anyone used this Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support ?
Hi. I haven’t used that lens support you mention so I can’t comment on it. As I mentioned in the Sigma review, I’d rather have a tripod collar because it helps balance the rig when carrying on a strap, so I was excited to try the Tamron. Unfortunately the image quality wasn’t wher eI needed it to be but lots of other people are reporting excellent image quality so it might be worth trying the Tamron. Especially if you shoot Canon, there seem to be more ‘excellent’ report of the Tamron on Canon bodies. Good luck!
I got this superb lens as soon as it was released in my country. Love it! Glad I pick this over the much heavier 150-600mm.
Steve, I'm a wildlife and nature photographer. Your gear reviews hold sway with me. The needs for those of us who spend our time out in the woods taking photos of critters without studio lighting and who don't know they are supposed to pose for us are far different than the needs of folks shooting in the studio, weddings or street photographers. Each discipline has slightly different needs and the equipment well suited for one may not be great for another. You and a couple other RUclips channels are wildlife and nature photographer and it's good to see what you all like or dislike about a piece of equipment. Helps the research process. I'm thinking of a 100-400 as a compliment to the 150-600 Sigma I use for most of my tele wildlife work. Sometimes the critters are just not that far out to really need the 600mm and with a torn rotator cuff injury carrying around the heavier lens does sometimes cause some discomfort.
A year plus later, do you still have the same thoughts about this Sigma 100-400 Contemporary lens?
Yep I still love it 👍
@@SteveMattheis Steve, thanks! - Jeff
@@SteveMattheis Thanks Steve. Just ordered the Sigma. Should be here in a couple days. Now if we can just get something other than clouds and rain here in Kentucky... Appreciate your quick response. Hope you have a great holiday.
Thank you for your review. I just got one yesterday.
I would have thought you might include some image examples.
I have this lens on a Nikon D7500 and love it,Would like the 200-500 for more reach.
I've changed all my lenses to Sigma except for my Canon 17-40 and I'm very happy. The Sigma 150 - 600 is a bit heavy, but fast and sharp focusing along with quality glass convinced me to switch. Oh, and is price-friendly for us middle income folks. Great video. Thank you!
Cool, thx for watching!
Hi Steve. Enjoyed the vid. It's a lens I'm considering so I found the review really helpful. Cheers
I bought it pretty close to when it was released and I like it as well!
Recently I replaced it with the Nikkor 200-500/5.6E though. Way heavier but I have that fixed aperture and it's sharper at the long end.
Thanks for this useful review, Steve. I see you also have the Nikon 200-500mm and would be very interested in your thoughts about how these two lenses compare.
Since getting the Sigma 100-400, I haven't used the 200-500... Everyone's needs are different, but for me the slow autofocus on the 200-500 doesn't track owls in flight well enough. The 100-400 does.
Thanks Steve, that's interesting, I had a similar issue trying to track Puffins, but otherwise I've been very happy with the 200-500, maybe it's time to have a look at the Sigma!
I have both too, and I got the 200-500 first. I can hand-hold the 100-400, the 200-500 is hard to do that. I use the 200-500 to get to 500, often with the 1.4x telephoto, normally on a tripod.
I really like your outdoor shooting videos, but the review adds some nice variety to the channel.
It's nice to know that the you have gotten good results from Sigma's Contemporary series of lens. Just goes to show that they are worth looking at in addition to the ART and Sport lines.
And I shoot with a Canon so I'm totally happy with the twist direction :) But it's strange they don't have it reversed for the Nikon mount.
Thank you. A great review! Honest enough to convince me to buy the Sigma and to subscribe to your channel.
Thank you,this video is helpful to me.I'm considering of buying this lens since the canon 100-400 one costs much more.
Thanks Steve for the video and email advice. I rushed out to get this lens ordered and it has definitely far exceeded my expectations. Sharp throughout the length of the lens and great for run and gun for the wildlife in the marsh. Thanks again!
👍
Hi Steve. Thanks for sharing the video...I'm going to muddy the water a little...Dustin Abbott has run very comprehensive comparison videos between the Tamron and the Sigma 100-400 and after quite extensive tests states he much prefers the Tamron superior focus tracking. After seeing his comments I was sold on the Tamron that is until seeing your previous video where you said you had problems with 3 copies of the Tamron. Totally confused now...
I've watched his reviews, he does a great job. Unfortunately I didn't have the same experience... buy one and try it out, hopefully it works for you!
my 17-50 2.8 sigma has that "backwards" zoom ring also , but crispy images so ya , great review , I may have to add this one too the gang , thanks and love your owl vids !!
thanks for this review!!! you skipped over the technical nonsense and went to the practical applications. much appreciated!
Thanks Steve you are really on top of your reply’s I’m going to try and start calibrating in the next few days I have 4 lenses to calibrate with the dock thanks again
Honestly it’s a real pain to calibrate them well but it’s worth it to have sharp images ...
Good vid Steve. There is a lack of reviews for this lens. I'm a canon shooter so not worried about the twist direction. How is the lens for tracking subjects moving towards you as I've heard this can be an issue for this lens.
The camera body will affect this as well so I can only give you my experience with Nikon D500 and D4s. I have found the tracking to be excellent. Much better than my Nikon 200-500 lens.
I don't know if this is useful to you, but it also does work as a push-pull zoom. Not everybody likes to do that, but at least you won't have to think about which way to turn.
+Lau Bjerno true, and potentially a good solution for some people but as a daily Nikon shooter, my muscle memory is to twist the zoom ring, so doing push pull is just as 'tricky' for my trained brain as the backwards twist. My poor brain...
I’ve noticed several people saying that there is a lens made by canon in this focal range I had it too I. Version one this sigma was made to compete with version 2 and after having this lens for several weeks can say sigma is giving canon a run for their money literally at less than half the money it’s as sharp as you said Steve thanks for the review and advice
One more thing after not only watching your review but 4 others on RUclips you gave me confidence to get this lens I’m going out tommorrow if the light is good to see what my results will be I know I’m comparing much higher quality lenses of what I have but I’m kinda like you striving for perfection I sold my version one canon 100/400 to buy the sport 2 plus years ago and never looked back I hope I can figure this new lens out
I would absolutely do the focus calibration (and the firmware update).
Thanks for sharing, Muscle memory is a real issue for me too. As I grow older I really do want to simplify and keeping to one system makes more sense.
👍
I purchased a Haoge tripod collar and love it. It cost $30.
I saw you got lot of problems with your Tamron 100-400. I'm worried about 3rd party lenses, how does it compare with af fine tune or quality control product problems? Somebody have problem with Tamron but also with Sigma lenses. This Sigma is a safe way to go on Nikon?
Don't want to buy also a dock and losing time finetuning the lens on computer and also into camera settings to get sharp and focused image properly.
I'm also considering new af-p 70-300 5.6e for my d610 which seems to be sharp and fast.
Wish it had a tripod collar. Maybe you don’t need it. I’m looking for a longer lens so I may give this a look.
hello Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens or sigma 100-400mm or sigma 50-500mm which lens do you think is better
I liked your review! Listened to somethings other reviewers don´t say. Have you found out about a third party tripod collar for this lens? Thanks for sharing
I did the software update and there is a slight af difference now I just have to do the calibration and can’t because of the weather it’s brutal cold and another snow storm so until it’s warm enough the calibration for me is on hold
Hi Steve! Is this lens compatible with the Nikon D300s camera? Thanks for your answer in advance!
can you use this lens the Sigma 100-400 with the D3400?
Hi Steve. Nice video. This sigma 100 400 is sharpen than tamron 100 400 f8 at 400 mm?
Steve I just bought the 100/400 mm sigma contemporary I have the 150/600 sport and the 120/300f2.8 sport I bought the 100/400 mm because it’s light I’m not able to carry the others very far because of my disability I also have the 70/200f2.8 sigma and after shooting with the new lens yesterday I’m reviewing my pictures the light was very cloudy and flat light. Almost dark out I ended up shooting with the 7d2 and used the. Flash I only ended up with a few sharp shots out of 30 shots of a downy woodpecker hand held at 15 ft f7.1 iso 650 while using the flash shutter 1/250 I did a basic test on the lens but never calibrated it or used the dock I have yet and one more thing on the pile sigma just. Offered a software update for the lens to help with af issues any suggestions what I should do
Hey, Steve, great review. So, this lens is not stable enough for video on a tripod, or you tried again some way to work it for video? I would really love to buy it, to reach for wildlife, and I'm doing only video on a crop dslr, and I have a Manfrotto 504. Second thoughts on video-work with this lens?
Hi, I have since bought a tripod collar that has been kind of 'rigged' to work for shooting video on a tripod. It actually works really well, considering it is a 'custom' solution. I found this solution online, googling, so it's not my idea - but here's a link to the collar I bought:
a.co/dpunfft
I use some gaffer tape to fatten the barrel of the lens, then the collar fits pretty darn well. It's certainly not perfect but definitely allows me to use the lens for video on a tripod now.
Well, it's interesting, I will look into it, because I don't see a more budget friendly and good quality lens than this one. Because of the missing tripod collar I was pondering the 70-300 f/4-5.6 II IS Nano USM, maybe the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens. One more question, when you say that it allows you to use it for video, this means that is fixed enough to make fluid video?
Yes, it is very solid. But it doesn’t allow you to easily rotate to take vertical photos (not a problem for shooting video)
Thanks Steve! More wanderings and photographies in nature!
Does this lens work on the Nikon Z6ii ? Thank you
How good is the stabilization? Have read other reviewers finding the OS to be not that effective. Does the tap in console help?
+anu l I've found the OS excellent for still photography. Crappy for video.
The USB dock is excellent if you're a geek and willing to put in the time and effort to go through the tuning process. I'm a geek so I did it and it helps for sure.
Was wondering if you could make a video on how you Af fine-tune this lens, you have a grate RUclips channel love your photos.
I will, one of these days...
i got this lens the day before the eclipse so i would have a longer lens to shoot the eclipse. it is now my main lens. i love the sharpness. but i have had problems with AF sometimes it wont AF at all, i have to change the zoom to get it to start AF again. I use it with my 80D for wildlife.
+Adventures with Jerry Hi, I’ve just started having a strange AF issue with the new Nikon D850 where the focus hunts and won’t lock on to the subject, but only with a couple of specific AF points. Once I change The AF point, it locks right on again. Weird, and hopefully fixable with firmware.
Thanks Steve I kinda figured you were going to say that and it makes a lot of sense why have the dock and not use it to get the most out of your gear I’ll do it then reply with my finding .one question before I use the dock did you use the focal or lenscal by spyder to help or just the sigma software and dock ? Thank you for replying
I use Sigma's software and either a lensalign (a.co/0nVYWzN) or a cheaper alternative on Amazon (a.co/55QrYg9)
You can get a tripod collar for for like 45 bucks on Amazon
Hello bro..m using this lens with Nikon d500.but my image is not acceptable sharp.can u plz tell me why it is.any suggestion.and in flight the pic is also not sharp.can u tell me why
it's great but now I use it on Canon 90 D and the photos are not sharp any more (( they are soft...
I use this lens with a 90D as well, but my images are very sharp. No problem.
As u said its sharp but with my d500 its not sharp. Mainly gain in bif its nit sharp.for a still object its good but moving object its not..
Hi Steve, sigma released a firmware update for this beast, better AF performance according to their site. Have you tried it yet? planning to buy my own, hopefully it would be compatible on the d7500
Yes, I've been using it. Seems to work great but I haven't noticed anything drastic.
Hi Steve I would like to get your take on this. I also watched Dustin Abbott’s review on this lens and he seems to think that this lens isn’t as good for subjects like fast flying birds and the tamrons better. Can I have your experience on this using the sigma?
I have found it to be plenty fast for birds in flight. Clearly not as fast as my fast primes (also big $$$) but I would never expect it to be as fast, given that it's an inexpensive f/6.3 zoom. If it can track an owl flying through a dense forest, it's good enough for me. He tests on Canon bodies so maybe that's part of the puzzle? I tried three copies of the Tamron and they were all very soft at the long end so I gave up on Tamron.
Hi Steve
Just subscribed to your channel
I have a D5200 camera that I bought from a friend, I’m looking to get all in one lense that covers mostly occasions, family pictures, landscapes, wildlife and someone that I met while hiking suggest two lenses one was sigma 100-400mm, the other one was Tamron 18-400mm, what would you suggest I buy, I take decent pictures but the quality with my starter kit lense isn’t the greatest I mostly shoot deers that I track and find in the wilderness somehow I keep running into them or they keep running into me - Thanks
Eventually I’ll upgrade to a much better camera in the near future once I completely learn DSLRS but for now that’s all I have and can afford
is 400mm enough? or should I just spend 200$ more for a 600mm?
how do you customize your lens great video
Do you still have the Sigma 100-400? If so, have you tried any of the tripod collars on Amazon?
I do. And I have not.
hey Steve, is there a possibility of putting a third party tripod collar on that lens or there's no place for it ? Thanks ✌
Someone makes a collsry for it now but it's not ideal... Check the comments for a link they someone posted recently.
@@SteveMattheis thanks!
That's really strange of Sigma to have the zoom direction "wrong" for the Nikon version of this lens. I wonder if any other Sigma lenses for the Nikon have the "wrong" zoom direction?
+Mac McMillen yep, they all do it
It's the same direction as Canon's
Hey Steve!
I would buy a new lens for my Nikon D7200, but I can‘t decide which one is the best. I am a planespotter and the lens must have a very good sharpness at 400 mm and a fast autofocus. Can you help me which of these lenses is the best for my use?
Nikon 80-400
Sigma 100-400
Tamron 100-400
Thanks for your help!
Regards!
I’d suggest not getting the Nikon. I use the Sigma. Many people are happy with the Tamron (I wasn’t happy with image quality at 400mm and f/6.3). Also consider Nikon 200-500. Try renting before you buy too...
Hows your experience with autofocus on this lens, still and moving subjects?
Great👍
I sold my canon 300m for this lens. Its a Baheast!! luv it. U can see its hood in all my recent videos haha. This video helped me choose thanks.
👍
I am in my way to buy this lens since I never found good 400mm Nikon lens to replace my Canon 400mm lens. I also sold my Tamron 150-600 G2 and the Nikon 200-500 F5.6. I found they were too heavy for travel lenses. I will gone a use it with D7200 to get more rich from the crop factor. My question is did you try the lens with the Sigma 1.4x TC to see if the AF work or not ? Since this is F6.3 lens and will become F9 after installing the TC. So beyond F8 I guess the AF will not work. That's the only issue I see in this lens. Thanks
I did not try with the TC. I would guess the AF and image quality would be unacceptable.
@@SteveMattheis Thanks. Did you make fine tune adjustment to calibrate your camera with the lens? And if you did how far the lens was out of adjustment? Thanks
Do you have any experience with the sigma 150-600mm/ would you recommend it over this lens for wildlife photography?
Ive used both the Contemporary and Sports the C is pin sharp straight out the box and fairly light the S is the same but is bomb proof totally weather seald but there's a down-side its HEAVY and i do mean Heavy so you need a good monopod "sirui p324sr" if its down to price go for the C
@@mohanbhadriraju1516 Yes it would because depending which camera mount you use on Canon it would be the equivalent of 160-640mm and on Nikon it would be 150-600mm and of course the weight the 100-400mm is VERY Light ideal to carry around .
Zoom ring shouldn't be a problem as you can use this lens as a push pull....
Push pull gives the same problem, my muscle memory and habit are to twist it in the Nikon direction. Not push or pull. If that makes sense. Either way it slows me down and isn’t ideal.
you didnt comment much on the autofocus performance. From other reviews, it seems that the AF performance is average and that it doesn't track all that well. What had been your experience. AF is critical for a lens like this.
I've found AF tracking to be perfectly acceptable. Better than it's two main Nikon competitors, the Nikon 80-400 AFS VR and the 200-500. The Sigma has been noticeably better than those for AF tracking. Don't expect it to be as good as f/4 and f/2.8 telephoto offerings though, it just isn't realistic. I use Nikon D500 and D4s bodies. The body you're using will make a big difference too.
How does it compare to the Fuji 100-400 AF?
The sigma is faster and works better for me. I prefer Nikon's continuous AF system over Fuji's for wildlife and birds. There's a new X-T2 firmware coming that's supposed to double AF speed so that could change things... we'll see.
Apparently tweaking the autofocus using the sigma USB dock improves the AF performance.
Good review - hint, this lens is push pull, on hood they made it so you can put finger and push pull to zoom ;)
True but that push pull motion still requires new habit and muscle memory
I love this lens !! So much!!
😉😁
👍
You can buy a third party tripod collar from Amazon.
Does it have a panning mode? Motorsports lens?
Yes it does. I would think yes. If it can track a flying owl in the forest, it should do well on fast cars.
Thanks
I have the same pick with my 150 - 600mm Sigma , I have to think backward Zoom.
Did you have to fine tune the focus on the Sigma dock?
It worked great out of the box with my D500, no adjustments necessary to get nice images. I'm a big geek however, so I did the focus calibration anyways and made a few minor adjustments to make it 'perfect'. It takes quite a bit of effort for sure. But I like it when it's perfect...
Thank you sir. I have the D500 as well. I shoot with the Nik 200-500 with nice results, many handheld, but a smaller lighter lens with close to the same reach would be nice for travel. This lens is on my to-get list. I wonder if Sigma is saving the tripod collar for a sports model of the same lens?
Steve, do some test with sigma 150-500 i'm kinda curious about how he will deal with you :))))
+erik perušek I bought the 150-500 a few years ago and sold it after testing because it didn’t perform well enough for me. The 100-400 is better for me in every way.
Cant decide between this and sigma 150-600mm, any advice? I have canon 7dmark2 thanks.
Hmmm, not really. I like the 100-400 obviously and I use it for hiking a lot. The 150-600 is much bigger and heavier and far less desirable for me for hiking .
Cheers for quick reply. Would that be your main dislike of 150-600? Out of intrest what would be biggest lens you carry for hikes? 400 yeah?
Totally depends on what I need. I’ll hike with the 600 f/4 if I need to but it’s a heavy beast so I’ll bring it only if I know something smaller and lighter won’t do the job.
Hello Steve , great video, love ur chanel .Have a question to kind of Any one here who could share your experiences, I'm a hobbyist trying to find my way through photography , I still shoot a rebel T5i ,was undecided where to get this lens or tamron ,after your videos on the tamron I'm decided to go with sigma , eventually I would like to upgrade to the 80D . So the question is how this lens feels just by itself attached to the camera ,let's say in a long hike ,weigh wise and no tripod colar ? I saw this "bracket" on Amazon, have anyone used this Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support ?
Hi. I haven’t used that lens support you mention so I can’t comment on it. As I mentioned in the Sigma review, I’d rather have a tripod collar because it helps balance the rig when carrying on a strap, so I was excited to try the Tamron. Unfortunately the image quality wasn’t wher eI needed it to be but lots of other people are reporting excellent image quality so it might be worth trying the Tamron. Especially if you shoot Canon, there seem to be more ‘excellent’ report of the Tamron on Canon bodies. Good luck!
Steve Mattheis
Thank you ! I very much appreciate your reply . Keep up the excellent job !
Thanx for cutting all bull s... and get to the point!
Any comments on the Tamron 150-600 G2?
I tried it, wanted to love it. But I found image quality too inconsistent to keep it.
bought the tamron
cool
Muscle memory..This lens can used as a push pull..
But my muscle memory is to twist in the Nikon direction...
Are you going to check out the Tamron version?
+Jesse H absolutely. Looking forward to it because of the tripod collar and the zoom twist direction...
Yeah but the lens focus is great for us Canon users
So true