DA* 300mm f4 (cropped vs Sigma 150-500mm
I was curious to see how well the DA* 300mm will hold up against the Sigma 150-500mm DG OS HSM. Is it better to get the DA* 300mm and crop afterwards or get a 500mm zoom? So for this specific use case, I thought it's ok to compare different focal lengths. Read on to find out!
To keep the playing field fair, I tested both lenses at f8 and the same ISO. In this test, I used the Pentax KP.
First image is the FOV difference between the 300mm and the 500mm.
2nd image is a heavily cropped view of the same images.
Clearly, the DA* 300mm f4 wins.
p.s. I have since sold my Sigma 150-500m as a simply don't see the reason to keep it after this test. The versatility of the zoom is outweighed by the shear size of this lens so out it goes. Also, I know that the Sigma's weak at 500mm so it is a bit unfair but I wouldn't use 400mm as it wouldn't be any sharper once cropped. 🙂
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Great comparison! I had never given thought to telephoto primes, but they are definitely on my radar now.
I love these back to back image comparisons shooting the same scene. Thanks for providing them!
This is particularly relevant to me because I also sold my Sigma 150-500 just a few days ago (in Canon EF mount), and was thinking about whether I should replace it with something similar in Pentax K-Mount. The obvious choice would be the 150-450, but that's more than I can justify spending right now. Maybe I need to consider the 300mm instead.
In defence of the Sigma 150-500, its still hasn't reached "peak sharpness" at 500mm by F8. I found that my copy kept getting sharper at F10+. Obviously not very practical for wildlife photography, but I enjoyed using to shot the moon instead. below is a sample. By stacking lots of frames (from memory this is over 300), you get a very high SNR, and you can aggressively sharpen the image to recover a lot of the lens softness. If only birds held perfectly still for minutes at a time, I could have produced great wildlife images too hahaha
Quote from Eye.n.Eye on July 28, 2021, 12:04 pmI love these back to back image comparisons shooting the same scene. Thanks for providing them!
This is particularly relevant to me because I also sold my Sigma 150-500 just a few days ago (in Canon EF mount), and was thinking about whether I should replace it with something similar in Pentax K-Mount. The obvious choice would be the 150-450, but that's more than I can justify spending right now. Maybe I need to consider the 300mm instead.
In defence of the Sigma 150-500, its still hasn't reached "peak sharpness" at 500mm by F8. I found that my copy kept getting sharper at F10+. Obviously not very practical for wildlife photography, but I enjoyed using to shot the moon instead. below is a sample. By stacking lots of frames (from memory this is over 300), you get a very high SNR, and you can aggressively sharpen the image to recover a lot of the lens softness. If only birds held perfectly still for minutes at a time, I could have produced great wildlife images too hahaha
Stunning moon shot!
From the Pentax wildlife photographers I follow the DA* 300mm with the HD DA 1.4x teleconverter is pretty much the defacto. I don't know if that's because of the price of the 150-450, or just that the 150-450 is newer. The 150-450 does seem to have excellent results.
I don't have the HD DA 1.4x teleconverter but it's on my list now that I am shooting more small song birds and feel like I need more reach.
Quote from Eye.n.Eye on July 28, 2021, 12:04 pmI love these back to back image comparisons shooting the same scene. Thanks for providing them!
This is particularly relevant to me because I also sold my Sigma 150-500 just a few days ago (in Canon EF mount), and was thinking about whether I should replace it with something similar in Pentax K-Mount. The obvious choice would be the 150-450, but that's more than I can justify spending right now. Maybe I need to consider the 300mm instead.
In defence of the Sigma 150-500, its still hasn't reached "peak sharpness" at 500mm by F8. I found that my copy kept getting sharper at F10+. Obviously not very practical for wildlife photography, but I enjoyed using to shot the moon instead. below is a sample. By stacking lots of frames (from memory this is over 300), you get a very high SNR, and you can aggressively sharpen the image to recover a lot of the lens softness. If only birds held perfectly still for minutes at a time, I could have produced great wildlife images too hahaha
I've never seen a moon photo quite like that! Fantastic image
