Sigma 500mm f4.5

[ArthurSteinberger]

I shoot a Canon 7D with a Sigma 50-500mm. I'm looking to upgrade my lens to a fixed length 500mm. Does the Sigma 500mm f4.5 do a good job capturing birds in flight? Thanks!

[Diane Miller]

I had that lens some years ago. I had purchased it from a friend for a good price but after a couple of years I felt it was worth the extra investment to sell it and go for an IS lens. I got the 300 f/2.8 IS and felt it has been a good choice, as it is extremely sharp with both the 1.4x and 2x TCs and is not difficult to hand-hold when the circumstances warrant. (As they often do for BIF.)

I assume the Sigma I see on the B&H site is stil the old version. For that investment I'd think about alternatives with IS.

But how important is IS?? I'd be interested to see numbers on the shutter speed at which IS is no longer an advantage when hand-holding for BIF, but certainly for the times when I shoot a perched subject hand held, I feel it is an advantage. Even seemingly small advantages can give the extra sharpness at a very fine level that makes an image stand out, and makes it more amenable to cropping.

[John Guastella]

But how important is IS??

One thing to keep in mind about IS is that it stabilizes the image in the viewfinder, which can make it easier to track moving birds. So, even if you're using a high shutter speed -- where image stabilization might not contribute to final image sharpness -- it still is useful.

John

[Gary Kinard]

I've still have that lens. Shot with it for a few years. It is good glass IMO. If on a budget and it is cheap get it. I finally bought the Canon 500 IS lens. I also had the Canon 300 IS at the same time, and never used it over the 500mm Sigma lens. Just me I guess but I found the 300 IS a dog for general birding. I much preferred the native 500mm lens even if a Sigma. At that time I never did and still do not do allot of BIf. If I used that lens for general birding and especially for BIF. I would get a used 1D series camera to use with it.

Not weather sealed so I always had to have it wrapped.
It is smaller than the Canon and much easier to handle.
Mine is in the Pentax mount screw AF. Extremely fast.
I used it on Pentax because of In-body stabilization? IMO not as good as the Canon IS built into the lens.
Have been thinking about taking it out of mothballs and using it with the Pentax K-3. And trying it for BIF.

Gary