Photography tips – Sigma 150-600mm v Nikon 500mm

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The Practical Photography team compare Sigma’s 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | S and Nikon’s 500mm f/4 VR at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire to see which type of lens is best suited to your needs.

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23 Comments
  1. Ryan Watts says

    Really good video, very informative

  2. Six Roldan says

    Never would I ever purposely take a dedicated lens to shoot wildlife or anything as dynamic as that. Even for a sporting event when you know you can't just walk into the pitch would I take that lens.

  3. Darren Lester says

    LOL you are in a wildlife park you could wear an orange jumpsuit and you could get close to the dear they are use to people being around try it in the wild and then say it doesn't matter about wearing a bright red shirt

  4. Andy Orr says

    Ouch, hanging a 500' off the lens mount. Not a good idea at all. 08:48

  5. Stefan1968ful says

    Nice video but the deers are used to humans, that’s very clear. Nothing speaks against that as the purpose of the video was a comparison between these two great lenses. I am using both the Sigma 500mm f/4 and Sigma 150-609mm f/5.0-6.3 Sport on my Canon 1DX Mark II. Any preference? Well, depends on. When I have not much room to move, e.g. when being on a ship for wild eagles, then I prefer the Sigma 150-600mm. The Sigma 150-600mm is Slow but cranking up the ISO is not really much of an issue with the Canon 1DX Mark II. But when having the space to move around or also when being in a hide and I want to have the absolute perfection on sharpness and bokeh, the Sigma 500mm f/4 is the way to go fo me. Speaking about that, on my next trip to Malaysia for hunting the hornbills there I will take the Sigma 500mm f/4 with me as I will have space to move and I want this time the best of the best.

  6. springerspanielful says

    These deer are fallow,the proper term is buck not stag in terms of the males,stag is used in the case of red or sika deer.

  7. FlyersNation98 says

    "don't' worry about what you're wearing…" LOL Ok fine you're in a park where animals are used to human presence but don't say this as it is the same in real nature. You wouldn't last a minute in forest trying to find deers with your big red shirt….Camouflage is so important in wildlife photography.

  8. NV Creators says

    Hi folks,
    Its been nice to see your video on wildlife photography with a review of Sigma 150-600 mm. Nice wok. This video was not only a review about a lens, but it also teaches some valid points about wildlife photography. Thanks guys. Keep it up.

  9. Vic Stokes Photographer says

    I wear camouflage gear when shooting wildlife if you want great results this is a must. I own a Nikon D610 and was interested in this lens so thank you for the review. They are not wild dear go to wicklow Ireland were wild animals are not hand fed by people.

  10. solomon bizzo says

    You talk about good technique? Yet you dangle that lens & lift it without holding the lens! 8.55)thats a good way to destroy your lens mount…

  11. solomon bizzo says

    I have the Nikon 200-500. I have owned the Sigma, & could only describe it as shit.
    You cant compare these two lenses. Compare it to the Tamron or Nikon 200-500

  12. Gerard Ferry says

    another one, another two more like, i blame food additives

  13. Akshay S Pulimootil says

    Can u suggest an affordable n good backpack which can fit the sigma 150-600mm lens.
    Is the LOWEPRO FASTPACK BP250 AW II a good option?

  14. Jan Willem says

    As a professional wildlife photographer, I may be spoilt with regard to gear. That said, I had a sigma 150-600 sports on loan for a while. I shot it on D4 and D500 bodies. I only ever took it on one assignment and even though it was cumbersome, I took my nikon 500mm as well. The summary? I am thankful I did! The sigma is a beast, it weighs as much as the nikon and unless conditions are optimal image quality is nowhere near comparable. You lose critical stops, you lug as much weight and the focus motor is a let-down too. During the few weeks of shooting, I was joined by a ranger as we were well off the beaten path. Reviewing images on various occasions showed the sigma just failed to nail focus, nothing to do with calibration, the lens was just not up to more challenging and low light conditions. This led to me coining the term "sigma moment". A sigma moment is a situation in which the nikon prime delivered and in which there was no reason for the sigma lens not to nail focus and render great images, but in which I got back with a large percentage of images that were either unsharp, lacked contrast and clarity or were otherwise useless. I can see the use for a versatile lens like a 150-600 and appreciate that when you're paying for the glass yourself or create images as a hobby, the price difference does not justify the latest nikon primes. That said, I would have an old 500mm afs over the sigma anytime! If you really want a zoom, go with the contemporary version or a tamron or the nikon 200-500mm. All of them have similar image quality to the sports with the added benefit of being much lighter. Anyway, just my two cents. (and yes, it is possible to create wonderful images with the 150-600 sports, I do not deny that).

  15. Alex Abadi says

    Digital make cropping so easy that zoom lenses don't really add versatility anymore.
    Primes lenses give you more sharpness and more light.

  16. sokfat chuoy says

    Where’s this place ? Look beautiful, name it please

  17. Red & White says

    seriously comparing a sigma lense to a nikon????? haha i use a nikon 200-500mm and a friend of mine uses the 150-600 sigma.. the images shot on the same camera resulted in the sigma images being very soft and a bit blurry when cropped.. i coudnt use any of the images from the sigma.. i still use the 200-500mm nikon.. sigma lenses are a budget lense.. you get what you pay for

  18. Malcolm Woods says

    Nice review. Thank you for sharing.
    REPLY

  19. Carlos Thomas says

    They look like elk to me, not deer. What a great place  to do wildlife photography, so peaceful.  Thanks

  20. AoToGo says

    A 500mm f4 mounted on a mickey mouse tripod, these guys know very little about photography!

  21. beavertown2006 says

    The last pic with the deer head is the winner.

  22. AoToGo says

    Totally unsuitable ball head, I do wonder do you guys actually know what you're doing. This could have been a really helpful video, instead it's very amateur with photographers who obviously have very limited experience shooting this type of scenario. If it's of any interest I don't buy your magazine, it is just a glorified advertising medium, the people who work for the magazine obviously have very limited experience in photography.The whole video was embarassing to watch, sorry.

  23. Daniel Brockner says

    well using a 10.000€ kid on a 120€ tripod sucks 😀

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