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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2010-02-23
Still and video shooting with the Sigmonster
Jack Howard tests Sigma's Supertelephoto 300-800mm f/5.6: a unique lens for both still and video shooters.
By Jack Howard, Adorama Camera
A few years back I had the chance to shoot baseball and wildlife with the legendary Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO IF HSM Digital AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens, better known as the "Sigmonster." This was back in the simpler days of 2007, when SLRs only shot still frames. I jumped at the chance to give the "Sigmonster" an updated field test, now that most SLRs are convergence devices, capturing both still frames and HD video.
Mason Resnick, Adorama Learning Center Editor, and I recently took the "Sigmonster" to the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, NJ to shoot stills and video. As it was a weekday, with temperatures peaking at about 25º, we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves, which gave us time to focus our supertelephoto sights on cold-loving creatures including bison, elk, wolves and penguins. The Sigmonster was mounted to an 18.0MP Canon EOS 7D. The 7D has an APS-C (1.6x factor) sensor, so the effective focal range with this combination is 480-1280mm.
At just under thirteen pounds, the "Sigmonster" in the same weight class as a 400mm f/2.8, but at about 21 inches (without lenshood), a closer size and weight comparison is Canon's EF 600mm f/4L IS USM (http://www.adorama.com/CA6004ISU.html). To maximize shooting with, instead of wrestling with, the Sigmonster, a solid tripod and head are strongly recommended.
In the field, the lens is very responsive, zoom feels well damped, as does the manual focus ring. It is a little tough to zoom all the way from focal range extremes in one fluid motion, due to the large size of everything with this lens. Nonetheless, it is best in class in this regard, because it is a class of one. You can see what I mean as I zoom from 300 to 800mm on the penguin in the video (http://vimeo.com/8829670). HSM-driven Autofocus is quick and responsive, but because there's no limiter settings, if it misses a low contrast target it does have to rack all the way through the focal range to re-capture focus, which can affect overall.
Jack Howard with the Sigmonster at the zoo.
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That f/5.6 maximum aperture may be a touch slow at 300mm, but let's face it, no one is looking at this lens for its widest setting. It's that 800mm f/5.6 reach that is the real selling point of this lens. And that is a lot of reach and versatility, particularly for SLR-based video. And considering the advances in high ISO performance in the past few product cycles, cranking up the ISO to 1600, 3200 and beyond to grab sharp frames at high shutter speeds doesn't necessarily compromise image quality in nearly the same way this would have say five–or even three–years ago.
Interested in the Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO IF HSM Digital AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens in Canon, Nikon, and other mounts? Reach out to Jeff Snyder, Adorama Pro Sale rep. Jeff can be reached via Email jsnyder@adorama.com, or phone 1-800-223-2500 X2435.
(Jack Howard, Director of New and Social Media for Adorama Camera, hosts the TechTock Podcast and co-hosts the Ask Adorama podcast, along with writing for the TechTock blog, creating screencasting tutorials and other videos. He is also author of Practical HDRI, High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers (http://www.sportsshooter.com/education/book_profile.html?id=745), and is working on the final touches for the 2nd Edition, due out late spring/early summer 2010.)
Related Links:
Video of Jack Howard testing the Sigmonster
Jack's member page
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