Sigma 120-300mm OS testing

Got mine a few days ago.

Some shots:
1. Sigma 120-300mm at 600mm f5.6 (kenko 2x DG)
2. Canon 500mm at 700mm f5.6 (Canon 1.4x II)
3. Canon 800mm at 5.6

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0mm%20f5.6.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0mm%20f5.6.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...00mm%205.6.jpg


An 100% crop at 300mm f2.8
1st one is unedited
2nd one with some contrast added and a little sharpening

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0mm%20f2.8.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...8%20edited.jpg


1. Sigma 120-300mm at 600mm f8 (kenko 2x DG)
2. Canon 500mm at 700mm f8 (Canon 1.4x II)
3. Canon 800mm at 8

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...600mm%20f8.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...700mm%20f8.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...800mm%20f8.jpg


And 600mm edited

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...8%20edited.jpg


First AF servo sequence. Using a 7D, 6 frames taken in the same second.
Exif data should be intact
Back garden too small to use TC's so all shots are at 120mm
When it stops raining and I can go to a park I will try different focal lengths and teleconverters

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9356.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9357.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9358.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9359.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9360.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...0/IMG_9361.jpg


And crops of all 6 frames.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9356c.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9357c.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9358c.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9359c.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9360c.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig.../IMG_9361c.jpg

Well, your images look good. How about your overall impression of the lens? Are you happy that you bought it? What do you think of the OS? There is no way that I'll be able to afford a Canon 500 at any time in the forseeable future and my Sigma 100-300mm f/4 just doesn't have the IQ that I've come to expect with my Canon 400/5.6. I'd probably be using it at 2X a great deal of the time. The 120-300 is still a pretty sizeable investment!

I'm waiting to see how it performs in real life at 300mm with a 2X.

I still haven't seen any reviews on-line comparing it to the older version.

Thanks for posting!

The lens feels very well engineered and is well balanced.

The AF is quite fast (although not as fast as the AF on the Canon 300mm 2.8) and the focus and zoom rings are very well designed, firm enough but not too difficult to turn.

The OS is the best I tried on a Sigma lens and much better than the OS on most Canon lenses.
It feels very similar to the OS on my 200mm f2 and 800mm f5.6

Quality with the 2x Kenko is very impressive and a friend of mine just sold his Canon 500mm to use the 120-300mm as his main walkabout birding lens due to the zoom capabilities and lower weight.

Well that's a mighty impressive first review (especially since you have the Canon 800 and 500 to compare it with). I'll be VERY interested in seeing your followup real-life images from this lens as, all of a sudden, it looks like I'll be able to consider going to a long focal length after all! Does the 2X TC slow the AF significantly?

I don´t know this version, but I have the old one and I can tell you that at short distances, 3 to 6m even with 1.4x tc (shooting from a hide and with a nice tripod), its as sharp as my canon 600mm IS shooting 6 to 8m. If I shot bigger distances, at bigger distances, the canon clearly wins...

Thanks for the info, Humberto. I had not heard good reviews of the original version of this lens and had been waiting to see if the new version had been improved significantly. I'm glad you've had success with the old one.

If the new one doesn't perform well with a 2X, it doesn't give me much advantage over what I already own.

I had 3 versions of the old lens (1 non-DG and 2 DG ones) and the new one is much sharper, especially with the 2x TC

Michael, is the Sigma compatible with only Sigma TCs or also canon ? Is so, any idea on quality difference in using Sigma 1.4x vs. Canon 1.4x?

I use it successfully with the Canon 1.4x II

Did not use it with the Sigma one but, from previous personal experiences, the Canon and Kenko were sharper than the Sigma teleconverters.

Thanks Michael!

Michael, thanks for sharing.

I'd love to see some bird shots on this lens with a 2x when you have some.

I would consider this if it can perform will at 600mm.

Thanks

From some tests it seems to be performing as well, if not a bit better, as the Canon 300mm IS I had before so it is very promising.

As soon as I manage to take it out for some birding I will post some bird shots.

600mm
f/6.3
ISO 2000

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...53%20forum.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...%20cropped.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...61%20forum.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16187250/Sig...761%20crop.jpg

Nice images! Kenko 2X ?

Thanks :)

Canon 2x II

Thanks for posting these Michael. The detail looks great especially considering ISO 2000.

Were these taken with a 7D on a tripod?

Have you tried any handholding? How is it?

Thanks
Doug

These were taken with the 5D without a full tripod, just leaning it on flat surface which gave some support but had movement that needed to be compensated by the OS.

I find it very easy to handhold, this is the reason I bought it as my other lens is too heavy to use for long hikes..

Great to hear Michael. I would like to rent one for my wife to try out. She really likes the 100-400 zoom but could use more focal length. We both like to be mobile so handholding is prefered.

I've gotten used to handholding the 500 f4 and carring it on a Black Rapid strap. This is too much for my wife. Other option might be the new version of the Canon 300 f2.8 when ever it comes out but there of course is no zoom. That would be lighter than the Sigma which is an advantage.

My wife is using the 120-300 rather her 100-400 and she did not find the extra weight prohibitive