Good airshow lens?

I have a Sigma 50-500 Bigma

GREAT LENS

A lot of people on Fencecheck have them they are light and have a
great range and do not suck in dust.

....this along with the Tamron SP AF200-500mm is on my wants list, unless I
win the lottery that is!

Cheers

Pete

Hi there Charlie...

I've been a lurker for years, but finally feel like I have something
worthwhile to comment on - and an aviation-related photo to go with
it.

Thanks for the feedback. With all the wonderful imaages posted here, I'm
surprised that the subject of cameras/lems doesn't rear it's head more
often.

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this thread, the Bigma has already tickled
my fancy, albeit at a price that is currently beyond my means. I have a
feeling that something in the 18-200mm or 70-300mm range will be a good
place to start. I really want a good quality jack of all trades lens that
will not often be anywhere else but connected to the camera. Once I've got
the hang of whichever lens I decide to get, I can then look at adding
something bigger.

Out of interest, do you use a monopod of a tripod when shooting using the
Bigma?

Thanks again for the comments...

Pete

Apparently, I need to figure out how to make that image smaller...

Charlie

Here you go.

Peter.D.Evans wrote:
Hi there Charlie...

I've been a lurker for years, but finally feel like I have something
worthwhile to comment on - and an aviation-related photo to go with
it.

Thanks for the feedback. With all the wonderful imaages posted here, I'm
surprised that the subject of cameras/lems doesn't rear it's head more
often.

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this thread, the Bigma has already tickled
my fancy, albeit at a price that is currently beyond my means. I have a
feeling that something in the 18-200mm or 70-300mm range will be a good
place to start. I really want a good quality jack of all trades lens that
will not often be anywhere else but connected to the camera. Once I've got
the hang of whichever lens I decide to get, I can then look at adding
something bigger.

Out of interest, do you use a monopod of a tripod when shooting using the
Bigma?

Thanks again for the comments...

Pete

Believe it or not, I've been using the Bigma hand-held most of the time.
Surprisingly, it's physically smaller than the Sigma 170 - 500 (which
I also mostly hand-held.

For an air show, I don't think a tripod or even monopod would give me
the flexibility to follow a fast-moving aircraft.

That said, I'm in the market for a monopod for nature, long-range
portraits, etc.

I can hardly wait for the next air show...

Charlie

Oviedo wrote:
Apparently, I need to figure out how to make that image smaller...

Charlie

Here you go.



Thanks, bro.

As you can tell, it was pretty misty. I shot this about 7 AM, and the
fog had not completely burned off yet. It was pretty dramatic to see it
live, but I bet the fall foliage looked better from the balloon!

It's hard to beat Vermont in the fall.

Charlie

Hi again Charlie...

Believe it or not, I've been using the Bigma hand-held most of the
time. Surprisingly, it's physically smaller than the Sigma 170 - 500
which also mostly hand-held. For an air show, I don't think a tripod or
even monopod would give me the flexibility to follow a fast-moving
aircraft.

That said, I'm in the market for a monopod for nature, long-range
portraits, etc.

I can hardly wait for the next air show...

Hand-held eh? Wow, you must have arms like Popeye and roack like steadiness
to boot! Of course, it really does boil down to personal experience,
comfort and confidence in your ability to use the combination...

On the spur of the moment tonight I've gone and won an auction for a Sigma
170-500 for £265, so I too am now looking forward to next years airshow
season. All I need now is a good quality general purpose lens to cover 18mm
to 200mm... for static display and general use...

Cheers

Pete

Maple1 wrote in
news:J7JUi.151090$Da.123704@pd7urf1no:

Peter.D.Evans wrote:
Hi all,

Having unsuccessfully tried to use my Panasonic FZ7 and its appalling
shutter lag especially when taking pictures of the flying, I've
bitten the bullet purchased a Nikon D80 body. I would welcome
recommendations for lens that will enable me to make the most of this
camera for taking good clear images of aircraft on display.

Cheers in advance,

Pete


I have a Sigma 50-500 Bigma

GREAT LENS

A lot of people on Fencecheck have them they are light and have a
great range and do not suck in dust.

I have a Bigma, too - it is a great lens, but 'light' isn't the first word
I would use to describe it. Mine has also managed to suck in a little
dust that has settled on the internal elements. Not enough to make any
noticeable effect on images.

Love it, though!

Bob ^,,^

"Peter.D.Evans" orbscure.AT.hotmail.DOT.com wrote in
. 109.144:

Out of interest, do you use a monopod of a tripod when shooting using
the Bigma?

I handhold, but the Minolta Maxxum 7D DSLR I use it on has sensor-based
image stabilization. Even with sensor crop factor making it essentially a
750mm, I get consistently sharper shots than with my old Sigma 500 on 35mm
Maxxum 9xi bodies.

Bob ^,,^

The ability to hand hold the Bigma is inversely proportional to the
length of time I hold it.

The stark lack of Popeye arms is what has me thinking monopod. Still,
I'd like a better solution for air shows.

You'll like that 170 - 500mm. It's a really neat lens, and you'll never
look at a bird, airplane or even the moon again without thinking about
grabbing that lens!

Just remember that bit about beyond infinity focus and have a blast with it!

Charlie