Got my Sigma 300-800 DG today ...8-)

[Liquidstone]

My Sigma dealer (JT Photo in Manila, kudos for the great service) called me this afternoon, bearing some good news - my Sigma 300-800 DG just arrived from Japan. This copy is most probably among the first off the DG production line.

Here's how it looks with the 300D:
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It's huge, but not as fearfully heavy as I expected. Here's how the monster stacks up with my other long glass:
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No definitive impression yet on its performance, but here's a snapshot I took outside JT Photo's office just to check if everything is functioning properly.

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Unprocessed 100% crop:
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I'm off to my favorite wetlands before sun up tomorrow to try the monster on water birds. Will post my impressions and a quick test in a couple of days.

Cheerps,

[Mervin]

wow !!!!!!!
what HUGE lens u have there.......... :eek:


:lol:
hahahaha !!!

congras my friend and have fun shooting !!!
oh yeah, please post your pics and feedback on that beautiful lens of yours.

cheers

[Mervin]

an another thing.....what type of tripod head is that ???
:confused:

[ccplim]

Hi Romy,

Congrats for the quick arrival of your new toy. The quality and size of this monster really look impressive.

We are looking forward to seeing some pictures from it :thumb:

[Liquidstone]

an another thing.....what type of tripod head is that ???
:confused:

It's a Manfrotto 3421 gimbal head, a cheapie substitute for the full Wimberly. I've seen some favorable reviews, so I ordered it from B & H. I'll try to check if it works ok, if not I'll bite the bullet and get the W.

Cheerps,

[MountainMan]

Congrates on your new baby... :)
do also let me know more about the Manfrotto Gimbal... me also cannot afford the W version of the good stuff and hence M Gimbal will really top my shopping list if proven good by you. Can u post more photos of it to us?

Looking at your photo, I can see you got loads of bird photos on your wall :)

MM

[MountainMan]

BTW, how much did you pay for your Sigma 300-800, and how much for the Manfrotto Gimbal?

MM

[Liquidstone]

BTW, how much did you pay for your Sigma 300-800, and how much for the Manfrotto Gimbal?

MM

Hi MM,

I got a special deal on the 300-800 DG at just a bit over the US prices of the old 300-800. I'm not sure how the street price will go once the DG monster hit the stores in several weeks.

Got my M gimbal head from B&H at USD 154.95 (about USD 207 including shipping to Manila).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=126663&is=REG

Will post my impression on this gimbal head in a couple of days.

Cheerps,

[Sree]

Impressive looking lens Romy :drool: I always enjoy seeing your photos and now we'll be in for more treats :cool: I wish I had a wall to put up all my photos similar to what you have. Like MM I am also interested to know how the Manfrotto Gimbal performs. I'd probably need a fork-lift to pick-up and carry the 300-800 DG about :lol: :lol:

[Arthur]

Wow! That's one 'BIG MAMA' :eek: :drool: Congrats and have fun shooting with your new toy :)

Cheers

[harlequin]

Good to know that the lens is finally here !

Try wide open, stop down 1 stop, F8 , F11 on the same subject to see how sharp the lens behave.

Did you also order the Sigma 1.4TC ? If so, try that combination too and check out the sharpness.

Guess when we both finally get to shoot together, we definately need to capture a comparison shot between the Nikon 600mm F4 and this Sigma 300-800mm F5.6 lens. :)

[Garion]

Romy,

Congrats on receiving your new toy! What an awesome piece of gear...the size of that thing is really eye-popping... :drool: You can easily fit a Bigma into it (and not long ago I thought the Bigma was already pretty big lol). The test pics looks pretty good...can't wait for you to try it out on some feathers and post the samples here. ;)

BTW, love your wall!! :thumb: Nice piccies. Does your entire room's walls look like that too?

[Liquidstone]

Impressive looking lens Romy :drool: I always enjoy seeing your photos and now we'll be in for more treats :cool: I wish I had a wall to put up all my photos similar to what you have. Like MM I am also interested to know how the Manfrotto Gimbal performs. I'd probably need a fork-lift to pick-up and carry the 300-800 DG about :lol: :lol:

Hi Sree and MM,

Here's a link to a mini-review of the MGH by a guy who owns a Nikon 600 f4, including details of the mounting. So far, in my short use of the head, the guy's impressions are spot on. But I guess the real test on how good the MGH is will be with the quality of pics it allows the Sigma monster to take, and I'll post on that after some field use.

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/manfrotto_393/393_1.html
Cheerps,

[Liquidstone]

Good to know that the lens is finally here !

Try wide open, stop down 1 stop, F8 , F11 on the same subject to see how sharp the lens behave.

Did you also order the Sigma 1.4TC ? If so, try that combination too and check out the sharpness.

Guess when we both finally get to shoot together, we definately need to capture a comparison shot between the Nikon 600mm F4 and this Sigma 300-800mm F5.6 lens. :)

Hi Harlequin,

I'll do the 1 and 2 stop down test in a couple of days.

I already got the 1.4x and 2x Sigma TCs, in addition to a set of Tamrons. Based on thousands of pics taken in the field, and on controlled tests, the Sigmas are just a tad sharper and contrastier, but MF only on my 1.6CF bodies and f/5.6 lenses.

I tried to tape the pins but AF is not so good - always hunting and rarely locking on. The tiny optical advantage of the Sigmas is overturned by the increased accuracy of AF using the Tamrons. MF is just inherently more difficult with the dim viewfinder of my 1.6 CF bodies.

Just my opinion though, mileage may vary.

Cheerps,

[Liquidstone]

Romy,

Congrats on receiving your new toy! What an awesome piece of gear...the size of that thing is really eye-popping... :drool: You can easily fit a Bigma into it (and not long ago I thought the Bigma was already pretty big lol). The test pics looks pretty good...can't wait for you to try it out on some feathers and post the samples here. ;)

BTW, love your wall!! :thumb: Nice piccies. Does your entire room's walls look like that too?

Thanks, Garion. Indeed, the 50-500 should be called a "Babyma" when in the company of the 300-800 monster.

I do print most of the bird pics I like in 8x12s, and hang some of them on my wall.

Cheerps,

[nickmak]

Bigma has met its maker!

Very nice... Hope to see your great photos with this lens! :)

[glennyong]

i almost fainted upon looking at it... omg..... its so big....