Thinking about buying a super telephoto lens

[Hulk]

I'd like to get a super long lens for my Sony AVRII. Anyone have an opinion or experience with a XXX-600mm lens? I'd like to be able to shoot wildlife and maybe the moon.

I was looking at this Sigma 150-600mm lens from B&H which is kind of affordable at $1100.
The Sony 200-600mm lens would be a no brainer if I had $2000 to drop.

 

[jps8460]

I'd like to get a super long lens for my Sony AVRII. Anyone have an opinion or experience with a XXX-600mm lens? I'd like to be able to shoot wildlife and maybe the moon.

I was looking at this Sigma 150-600mm lens from B&H which is kind of affordable at $1100.
The Sony 200-600mm lens would be a no brainer if I had $2000 to drop.

I shot The crap out of the sigma (canon ef) version of the sport (I’m guessing you’re looking at the contemporary) 150-600.

for slow wildlife like bears, deer, and large slow birds it’s a terrific bang for the buck. The autofocus is crazy slow compared to a canon L 600f4 etc. but pretty sharp throughout most of its zoom.

I’m not up to snuff on Sony’s digs, but don’t rule out fast fixed lenses and teleconverters.

 

[jps8460]

Here are some examples of stuff I shot early on with this lens. definitely not my best work, but gives you an idea. Bokeh is a bit mushy and a lot of chromatic aberation (fixable if youre using lightroom etc).

 

[jps8460]

I always rented stuff before purchasing except staple lenses.

 

[benjrblant]

I'd second the rental suggestion. Have you checked out borrowlenses.com?

Personally, I'd go for a fixed lens with a faster f-stop over a zoom, but that's just me.

 

[Hulk]

I'd second the rental suggestion. Have you checked out borrowlenses.com?
Personally, I'd go for a fixed lens with a faster f-stop over a zoom, but that's just me.

Looks like I can rent the Sony 200-600mm lens for $105 locally or on borrowlenses.com. I may do this.

Regarding zoom vs. fixed -- what mm lens would you get? I'm thinking the versatility of being able to go from 200mm all the way to 600mm means I'd be able to tightly frame my subject no matter the distance. The only fixed lens I ever use is an 85mm that I use for portraits. It's amazing, but I use it in much more controlled environments.

 

[benjrblant]

Looks like I can rent the Sony 200-600mm lens for $105 locally or on borrowlenses.com. I may do this.

Regarding zoom vs. fixed -- what mm lens would you get? I'm thinking the versatility of being able to go from 200mm all the way to 600mm means I'd be able to tightly frame my subject no matter the distance. The only fixed lens I ever use is an 85mm that I use for portraits. It's amazing, but I use it in much more controlled environments.

I'd opt for a 400mm f/4 and carry a teleconverter if needed, but this is a personal preference as well. And it's not like I'd be using all 45 megapixels so if it needs some post-production cropping, I'd be alright with that as well. I'll say that I shot a 100-400 f/5.6 for sports and zooming + focusing just took too long. f/5.6 and higher just wouldn't cut it unless there was full sun.
Just some personal preferences, I've really got no clue about what Sony offers but it seems consistent with other lens makers: full-frame glass is expensive.
Rent that 200-600, maybe it's all that and a bag of chips!

 

[jps8460]

Looks like you’re at like 40+ megapixels I’d get use to cropping and some really nice mid range zoom glass (most non-pro lenses probably can’t resolve enough detail to take advantage of that sensor).

If you’re not worried about focus speed. I’d look at a converter and the canon L 400 f5.6. Wicked sharp and cheap. Easily the best fixed super telephoto for the money. Otherwise maybe the Sony 70-200 f4 And a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter if you can still autofocus at f8

 

[jps8460]

Again not certain about compatibility with adapters out there, but canon just released a 600 and 800 f11 for their mirrorless line up. Might be worth looking into...