Canon 100-400 vs Sigma 50-500 (Bigma)

A friend of mine is going to South Africa and is visiting a few wild animal parks. I sold her my old 20D and a Tamron 18-200 lens which is perfect for her. She wanted a dSLR camera to use on automatic although we both took beginning photography together 5 years ago. She never did much with it and I am all about learning and doing as much in the photographic realm as possible. She was the one in class who forgot to put film in the camera, so that tells you something.

So the long lens subject came up - did I have one and could she borrow it. I looked into renting one for her (she is also my accounting client and I do a lot of those little things for her too). Not an inexpensive proposition and you don't really know what you are getting with a rental.

So she offers me a "partnership" - we split the cost and she will take it with her to use for a few weeks and it's mine. How can I refuse that? She is very responsible so that isn't an issue.

Most of my lenses are Canon lenses - I have one Sigma. Several people suggested the Sigma 50-500 over the Canon 100-400. I have the 5D. I also have a tele-extender 2x

Just wondering what your thought might be. If I get the Canon, I want to order it right away before the rebates expire since I bought a 24-105 and the 580ex Flash so I get a double rebate.

I have both lenses. Output from both is equal in my opinion. Pluses for the 100-400 are IS, max auto focus aperature is 5.6 so a 1.4 TC can be used on a Canon 1 series camera but not on a 20D The 100-400 is lighter and with IS could be used without a tripod because of the IS. The 50-500 has greater reach but the max auto focus at 500mm is 6.3 and it will not auto focus on a 20D at 500mm. You can purchase a Tamron 1.4 and possible get the 50-500 to focus further because Canon cameras do not read Tamron TCs. 50-500 does not have IS.

Personally, I use Canon 500 with Canon 1.4 and the output far surpasses both of the lenses you are considering.

the sigma weighs 1 lb more than the canon, 4lbs v. 3 lbs, so that's worth considering both for the transporting over there, the hauling around while there, and in use on the camera. the sigma has the extra speed and the longer reach so that's the trade-off. another plus for the canon is the IS. 500mm is a long length to handhold for *really* sharp pictures. unless your friend is a serious photographer (and forgetting film in the camera suggests to me that she is not!) the lighter lens with IS would be more useful and less intimidating.
and like Bev, for 500mm i go with a canon

Thank you both

For me, I would be happy with the 400 - I have the 70-200 and just today wish I had a bit longer. I have th 75-300 but I find it too soft. Yes, my friend is not all that serious. She is obviously a great friend or I would not share my gear with her - but she is responsible. I gave her a gift of a tripod when we took beginning photography and it's still in the original box, so I am sure it will not be going so it will need to be able to be hand held.

We have a Hawk and babies in the tree in front of the house and the 200 just was too short. Rare that a bird would be my subject, but, you still need the right tools for the job. I hhope hey'll be there a few more days until I can get to my favorite camera store.

Bev Sampson said:

...The 50-500 has greater reach but the max auto focus at 500mm is 6.3 and it will not auto focus on a 20D at 500mm.....

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Actually that is only partly correct. Although at 500mm the aperature is 6.3, the lens tricks the camera to beleive it is 5.6 and autofocus still works on a 20/30D.

As far as the original question, I would personally go for the Canon 100-400 even though I personally own (and love!) the Sigma. The main reason is the IS. If she will be on a safari and shooting from a truck, the IS will be a thousand more times useful than an extra 100m reach. It also enables you to use it sans tripod. The difference in weight is also something to consider. I cannot/do not use my sigma without a tripod. I would not hesitate to use the Canon hand-held.

Both lenses can produce beautiful images in the right conditions and using the right techniques. Overall, I would consider the Sigma a more specialized lens and the Canon a more versatile lens.

Just my thoughts.....

Cheers,
Dave

DLibrach said:

Actually that is only partly correct. Although at 500mm the aperature is 6.3, the lens tricks the camera to beleive it is 5.6 and autofocus still works on a 20/30D.

Cheers,
Dave

Click to expand...

How accrate will the autofocus be at f6.3? I would assume that autofocusing would be questionable at 6.3 because of the decreased amount of light getting to the autofocus sensor!

Am I wrong?

Richard

Richard McNeil said:

How accrate will the autofocus be at f6.3? I would assume that autofocusing would be questionable at 6.3 because of the decreased amount of light getting to the autofocus sensor!

Am I wrong?

Richard

Click to expand...

Actually, it is quite acurate and I have not noticed an difference in auto focus speed. These for example were all taken wide open (6.3 tecnically, but the body/exif info indicates 5.6) at 500mm:









The top two were in AI Servo while the bottom two were on 'one shot'. There is a difference in sharpness between the two but I think that is more a product of the limitations of the servo mode on a 20D as opposed to the speed/acuracy of focusing at 6.3. As long as the lens indicates what the maximum aperature is (which in this case it thinks it is 5.6), the camera does not care what aperature is actually used. For example, my 135L 2.0 focus just as fast at f2.0 as it does f16. My understanding is that it will still used the maximum apperature in order to focus.

More images can be found here: http://dlphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/2406489/1/126123204#126123204. If you hover over the image, you should be able to pull up an "info" button on the bottom that will let you see the exif info. You will notice that all the wide open shots at 500mm will indicate an f-stop of 5.6.


Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Dave

Great post Dave and fine raptors!

The Digital rebels do need wide aperture equal ti f 2.8 in order to use the cnetral cross focus point. So here, at least, focus does depend on aperture.

However, is it merely speed of foucs or accuracy of focus. The central point is supposed to be the most highly accurate. Not that one can hand carry any thing more than a 300 2.8, but it's just something to be aware of in choosing a camera body to go with a safari lens. In practice, a 1DII camera will focus better than a 5D or les.

Asher

The 100-400

I ordered my 100-400 today. I am hoping the baby Hawks are still in the nest with their watchful parent when my new lens arrives this week. Usually I buy locally, but the price difference for sending for it was over $175 after shipping and sales tax. My friend will be happy with the hand holding factor. I will report back with my baby hawks as soon as I have the lens in hand! (yes, that is a double meaning here!)

Congrats!!! I think you'll find that you made a great decision and hope you enjoy your new toy.

Cheers,
Dave

Thanks, David

Love that part of the world you are in!

DLibrach said:

...As long as the lens indicates what the maximum aperature is (which in this case it thinks it is 5.6), the camera does not care what aperature is actually used. For example, my 135L 2.0 focus just as fast at f2.0 as it does f16. My understanding is that it will still used the maximum apperature in order to focus...

Click to expand...

Dave, this is not quite accurate....

In the case on the 50-500 "faking" the camera to believe the max. aperture is really 5.6, the max. aperature is still really 6.3. The reason canon shuts off AF at 5.6 (on non-1 series) is that the AF capability starts to diminish due to the reduced diameter of the incoming light beam.

Actually 6.3 is not that large a difference so the AF works without any noticable decrease in function. A 100-400 at 400mm has a max. aperture of 5.6. I have used this lens with 1.4x and 2.0x TCs, which would change the max. aperature to 8.0 and 11.0, respectively, and the 5D will not AF. With the contacts taped, the lens reports 5.6 and the 5D will try to AF. With the 1.4x AF does work, albeit a little slower and with occasional searching. At 2.0x, it tries to AF, but the results (almost constant searching) are unacceptable.

Conclusion: The camera does "care" what aperture is actually used...at least as far as it's ability to have (wide) enough light to AF properly.

In the case of the example you used on the 135 2.0. The key thing is the max. aperture is 2.0...irrespective of the "shooting" aperture you choose...in your example f/16. It will still use 2.0 max. aperture to do the AF, then shut down to f/16 for the shot....and, because the max. was 2.8 or larger, the AF will be high presion on the center AF point. If, however, you used a 2.0x TC, the max. aperture would change to f/4.0 (2 stops). Now, the lens would still AF, but high precision would not be used (non-1series) as the f-stop was slower than 2.8. Even if you taped the pins to have it report f/2.0, the high precision would still not work as the light beam would not be wide enough to enable it to work properly.

John

Any thoughts on prime vs. zoom

I am also looking at Canon lenses in this same range. I am trying to decide between the 100-400 and 400 f5.6. Any thoughts on whether the zoom or prime is better for general photography, (primarily landscape, people, street), and occasionally widelife?

From what I have read, the prime is sharper, but the zoom has IS and is more versatile.