I am looking at buying the Sigma 170-500 lens for my Elan IIe. Being fairly new at this I want a nice lens and a good value.

My question is: how does this work for nature photography? Also the adds I see for this lens are misleading. The brochure claims a "5 lens group" while the specifications chart indicates 11. Can anyone eplanin this?

-- Tom Kerr (tkerr@sinclair.net), July 07, 2000

Answers

11 elements in 5 groups. Some of the elements are likely cemented together. If you need a long lnes for wildlife, the concensus is that the new Sigma HSM 400mm f5.6 APO macro is better for wildlife phoography than this zoom is.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), July 07, 2000.

I sold mine a long time ago (used it on EOS 5's) - not so much because of poor optical quality, but rather problems with focusing in servo mode. The non-USM focusing motor appears unable to focus in a stepless way. It will overshot, try to correct and overshot again backwards - results no pictures in focus. In my opinion this lens is useless for photographing action. If you must buy a Sigma rather go for the 400 APO with HSM as suggested, or if it must be a long-range zoom the new 50-500 with HSM. The Canon 100-400 L IS may in the long run be a better investment.

-- Nico Smit (nico@anp.co.za), July 08, 2000.

Hi Tom,

What do you think about the Tokina ATX 150-500 f5,6? It's a manuel lens but handling may be faster as with incorrect working AF lenses. Regards, Ralf.

-- Ralf Grambrock (101.51955@germanynet.de), July 10, 2000.

There's a picture in the "Wildlife photographer of the Year" book taken by a kid under 18 with the lens Ralf mentionned, that shows clearly that equipment doesn't make a photographer.

Tom-You might want to consider a Canon 300/4 non-IS with matching 1.4X TC. They sell for relatively cheap and it will sure beat the heck out of the zoom while being more versatile than a 400/5.6. I use the same combo in Nikon mount and I love it. If you must go third party, Sigma makes a 300/4 HSM that focuses to 1:3.

-- Erick Lamontagne (ericklam@globetrotter.net), July 11, 2000.

Tom,

I use this lens on both an Elan IIe and EOS-3. It's F6.3 at the long end so if you're looking to use it for late evening or other 'less than ideal' lighting it could be a problem.

I just ran a test of the lens in 'servo' mode and didn't detect the 'overshoot' focus problem mentioned earlier in this thread. It may be because this is a newer lens (bought just a few months ago) or that my testing was not all the comprehensive (about 5 minutes). I definately DID NOT try tracking birds in flight, just a couple of rabbits in the back yard.

The autofocus is definately slower and louder than the Canon USM lenses.

If Canon made a long zoom (longer than 400mm) I probably would have bought it, but they don't so I have the Sigma.

-- (RTope@yahoo.com), July 16, 2000.

this is for rtope@yahoo.com. how good is this lens optically?

-- mike taylor (mjt11860@aol.com), June 17, 2002.

Mike,

You decide -

-- Dick Tope (rtope@yahoo.com), June 21, 2002.

OK, looks like the HTML isn't working so try doing a 'cut and paste':

http://casualphotos.vze.com/images/zebra2.jpg

-- Dick Tope (rtope@yahoo.com), June 21, 2002.