Nikon Z9 with Sigma 500mm F/4 DG OS HSM Sports

I have just come home after quite a ride, and i brought the lens home with me!

I got to test it out under the worst possible conditions you can imagine, in the middle of the pouring rain. I met with the seller at a lake close to his location. We parked next to each other and he found the giant box that the lens came in. We unwrapped it and i got to fumble around with the FTZII adapter and the lens and the camera, while trying not to get everything soaked. In the end it all clicked in places and we went out for a short test round.


The seller was kind enough to hold up a book for me to take a long burst of shots at. No focus shifting.

My first thought was, my god this is not heavy at all! After a while though i started to feel the strain of hand holding the combo, but it was far easier to hand hold then i imagined.

I took pictures of everything, in high speed bursts to try and fiddle out any inconsistencies with the AF. But i found none. Focus was snappy, precise and the lock-on tracking did is job perfectly.

We found a few birds near the water, some ducks, a couple of blackbirds and a gray heron. Conditions were terrible and the ISO was high. But i got off about 800 shots in the short 20 mins i tested the lens.

Coming back to my computer (after paying the man, driving home and drying it all off with towels) i have been going through my images. The super high ISO did nothing good for them, but i am amazed by the sharpness and rendering.

I took images, that i knew was going to suck, because of the distance, the rain, the poor lighting and the high ISO. But to my suprise, even shot under those conditions, i can pixel peep to my heart's content, and the details are just there.


This guy was a long way away in the pouring rain, in bad lighting and image is still pixel peeping sharp! (imported to lightroom, no sharpening, noise reduction or other edits)

It is easy to tell that this is a lens, in an entirely different league than what i am used too. I thought both Nikon 200-500 and Sony 200-600 was reasonably sharp, but they were never close to this kind of optic.

I grabbed a few images in my back yard after i came home.


All 50 shots from the burst i took of this little fella are pin-sharp. No focus issues!


Being behind the tree was not a problem for the AF. Camera picked up the body of the bird, as soon as he stuck his eye out to look at me it latched onto the eye instantly.


Poor conditions, but pin sharp. No focus issues at all.

It is still very early for me, but so far i see no issues whatsoever. This is a true quality piece of glass and i am blown away by the performance with the Z9.

The lens have never been calibrated via the Sigma dock (owner never had one), so it is still in the default "slow" AF mode. I just ordered a dock online, and i will be playing around with it when it lands. will post as soon as i get the chance to get more shots.

I am still amazed, that i could get my hands on such a quality lens for under 25% of the price for a new Nikon FL version. It even comes with the 1.4 TC and a lens coat.

Good times to come!

Lasse p said:

I have just come home after quite a ride, and i brought the lens home with me!

I got to test it out under the worst possible conditions you can imagine, in the middle of the pouring rain. I met with the seller at a lake close to his location. We parked next to each other and he found the giant box that the lens came in. We unwrapped it and i got to fumble around with the FTZII adapter and the lens and the camera, while trying not to get everything soaked. In the end it all clicked in places and we went out for a short test round.


The seller was kind enough to hold up a book for me to take a long burst of shots at. No focus shifting.

My first thought was, my god this is not heavy at all! After a while though i started to feel the strain of hand holding the combo, but it was far easier to hand hold then i imagined.

I took pictures of everything, in high speed bursts to try and fiddle out any inconsistencies with the AF. But i found none. Focus was snappy, precise and the lock-on tracking did is job perfectly.

We found a few birds near the water, some ducks, a couple of blackbirds and a gray heron. Conditions were terrible and the ISO was high. But i got off about 800 shots in the short 20 mins i tested the lens.

Coming back to my computer (after paying the man, driving home and drying it all off with towels) i have been going through my images. The super high ISO did nothing good for them, but i am amazed by the sharpness and rendering.

I took images, that i knew was going to suck, because of the distance, the rain, the poor lighting and the high ISO. But to my suprise, even shot under those conditions, i can pixel peep to my heart's content, and the details are just there.


This guy was a long way away in the pouring rain, in bad lighting and image is still pixel peeping sharp! (imported to lightroom, no sharpening, noise reduction or other edits)

It is easy to tell that this is a lens, in an entirely different league than what i am used too. I thought both Nikon 200-500 and Sony 200-600 was reasonably sharp, but they were never close to this kind of optic.

I grabbed a few images in my back yard after i came home.


All 50 shots from the burst i took of this little fella are pin-sharp. No focus issues!


Being behind the tree was not a problem for the AF. Camera picked up the body of the bird, as soon as he stuck his eye out to look at me it latched onto the eye instantly.


Poor conditions, but pin sharp. No focus issues at all.

It is still very early for me, but so far i see no issues whatsoever. This is a true quality piece of glass and i am blown away by the performance with the Z9.

The lens have never been calibrated via the Sigma dock (owner never had one), so it is still in the default "slow" AF mode. I just ordered a dock online, and i will be playing around with it when it lands. will post as soon as i get the chance to get more shots.

I am still amazed, that i could get my hands on such a quality lens for under 25% of the price for a new Nikon FL version. It even comes with the 1.4 TC and a lens coat.

Good times to come!

Click to expand...

Congrats - sound like you got an incredible bargain at that sort of price!

Well done for getting any test photos in those conditions. Right now here in north-east England the latest winter storm (Storm "Dudley" the 5th "named" storm this winter), is blowing in from the west - hoping maybe this one won't be so bad.

Frank

Frank

Some more photos, all taken at ISO3200, all tight crops. ISO3200 is a fairly typical setting for the often dull light of winter conditions in the UK although I often have to go higher!

Plus also a few screenshots of NX Studio edits for context.

Here's an image of Blue Tit being edited in NX Studio, showing the FX image sized to fit the screen, NX Studio showing the recorded AF "point", the red box which relates to "Wide-area AF (large)" AF mode that was used for this shot:



Here is the same edit with the image sized at 100% in NX Studio:



Here is the cropped result after further processing in Topaz:



Another example, a Reed Bunting in a bush nearby, NX Studio screen with the FX size image fitted to the screen:



The same edit at 100%:



The result (next image in the sequence actually):



OK - so you want to see proof that there isn't any sign of focus shifting?

Here's a tiled consecutive sequence of tight (1200 pixel wide) crops of 25 of those Reed Bunting shots, these were taken in 3D Tracking mode (and AF also set to "release" mode):











All "tack" sharp on the eye IMO!

I'll open a new post for the Short-eared Owl flight shots.

Frank

Thank you Frank!
Yeah i got it at a pretty decent price. In the UK i guess it would be the equivalent of £2.800. That is for a one year old lens with 12 months warranty left, in mint condition with the 1.4 TC and Lens coat. A used 500mm FL is around £6.800 here, so a bargain if it keeps performing like it did today!

The weather here is also appaling (i live in Denmark), i guess we are getting the leftovers from the storms over the UK. Forecast is rain and heavy winds all week. Hopefully i can get a break to go out and play some more with this new lens.

Nice test with the consecutive shots. I think we can conclude that any issues seen previously with the Sigma 500 F4 on some DSLR cameras is no longer an issue on the Nikon Z9. It works entirely without faults. As an added bonus I think it looks real sleek on the Z9 as well.

I will look out for that owl footage!


PS. i see that you are using NX studios, along with a lot of other Z9 shooters. Any particular reason for that software?

Congrats on getting the lens! You seem to have struck an excellent deal. As you see, with this lens you can use at bare f4 and get a very sharp image. With 1.4x tc, I found f/7.1 is best. Although with the Z9 I am using f/6.3 and getting very sharp results and also helps with DOF with the FX format.

Happy shooting!

Looking forward to trying this on a Z9...in a year and half when they're used available, and, affordable:-D

Sigma needs (for me specifically please) to release a 300 f4 OS Sport and a 300 2.8 OS Sport. Their 500 OS and 180 OS have replaced my Nikon 500G and 200AFD. I do NOT like my 300PF very much (I'm trying...I really am). It's just too light and small for me. On a tripod it's great, but so was my AFS ED-IF...for a lot less $. It does focus faster though... a lot. Point being...Sigma is making some great glass and the aforementioned would get a tryout from me in a heartbeat.

Lasse p said:

Thank you Frank!
Yeah i got it at a pretty decent price. In the UK i guess it would be the equivalent of £2.800. That is for a one year old lens with 12 months warranty left, in mint condition with the 1.4 TC and Lens coat. A used 500mm FL is around £6.800 here, so a bargain if it keeps performing like it did today!

The weather here is also appaling (i live in Denmark), i guess we are getting the leftovers from the storms over the UK. Forecast is rain and heavy winds all week.

Click to expand...

Yeah, there seems to be no letup in the foul weather at the moment - in fact I think it is going to get worse over the next few days at least! The south-west of the UK is potentially facing Hurricane force winds on Friday and up here the forecast is for upto 30cm of snow with high winds causing blizzards and drifting. We'll see if that happens!

Lasse p said:

Hopefully i can get a break to go out and play some more with this new lens.

Nice test with the consecutive shots. I think we can conclude that any issues seen previously with the Sigma 500 F4 on some DSLR cameras is no longer an issue on the Nikon Z9. It works entirely without faults. As an added bonus I think it looks real sleek on the Z9 as well.
I will look out for that owl footage!

Click to expand...

Lasse p said:

PS. i see that you are using NX studios, along with a lot of other Z9 shooters. Any particular reason for that software?

Click to expand...

Not my favourite RAW procesor but basically so far it's the only software I have that can handle the High Efficiency format NEF files which I have been using to save storage space. I want to switch back to using DXO Photolab 5 as soon as possible but so far DXO haven't provided any support for Z9 NEF files. Hopefully that will change soon.

Frank

I am just converting the lossless raws (NEF) to DNG and after PS-ing (CS 6) the best images, delete the dng files. This is what I used to do with my D500.

These were photographed a couple of days ago, mid afternoon in moderately overcast conditions. Sigma 500mm F4 Sport + TC-1401 converter on the Z9, supported on a monopod. Again these are all at ISO3200, processed in NX Studio and Topaz.

The Z9 AF was operating in "Auto Area" mode and (not intentionally) in "release" mode for all these SEO flight shots. Normally I would use either "focus + release" or "focus" mode but the Z9 seems to have done a good job even so. (It's interesting though that Nikon's guide to settings for Pro Sports photographers seems to recommend "release" mode for most scenarios).

First for context (and to give some idea of distance - around 100 metres or so) some screenshots of files in NX Studio compared to exported result.

Here's a sample edit in NX of one of the flight shots out of a long sequence shot at 10FPS, showing the FX size image at "fit to screen" view mode.



Here's a crop of the exported result as direct from NX (without a Topaz stage):



That one is a little soft, perhaps the focus wasn't actually perfect though the noise is partly to blame. Also I should have been in "focus" mode of course. Others are sharper. Check the tiled crops I have shown below.

With Auto Area mode there was no indication of eye tracking occurring in this entire sequence. What I saw (and what was recorded for NX Studio to reproduce) was the "Auto Area" style red boxes drawn differently for every image. Some seem to be on the bird and sometimes seem to be drifted elsewhere - but at all times the camera maintained good to excellent focus on the bird.

Here are 2 examples of screenshots showing the focus points, one accurately on the bird and the other apparently drifted off but both images are in focus:





Maybe that is an example of what Thom Hogan meant when he said that sometimes the camera AF system "lies" about being not in focus when it actually is?

Anyway here is a large set (40 images) of tight crops of the bird in flight arranged, tiled together in rows. These crops are all taken from files further processed for NR and sharpening in Topaz:

















I think there is 1 image out of that set that is a little off, otherwise they are all pretty sharp considering the distance and conditions at the time.

Maybe when the weather improves I might get a chance to get some closer shots in better light (and I'll also be switched to AF "focus" priority mode)

Frank

Wow gents! That's so much more than I could have asked for! So nice to wake up to a tone of posts today. This is the best company for my morning coffee ritual.

Lesse P. well done on the purchase. This glass is truly exotic and whilst there are people that vow against it, this glass performs wanders in the right hands. It also seems that the Z9 has really sorted out any issues this lens might have had on DSLR bodies.

Frank thank you so much for your tests and sequels! That's exactly what I wanted to see. Indeed it seems that release didn't affect result, which is another proof of the system's capabilities and that the glass communicates excellently with the body. At 20 FPS, I would of course have no hesitation to operate in focus mode, and judging from your test results, I don't expect it to even slow down performance.

I am super happy to see that there is no focus shifting between shots in AFC. Frank did your copy had this issue though back in the DSLR days (cause mine does)?

Another question is if there is any focus shifting, between apertures. As I had manually calibrated the lens to be tack sharp at F4 on my D500, I have noticed that the more I close down, the softer it becomes (even at 5.6). Presuming that the sweet spot out of the box (ie uncalibrated) is at 5.6, I would expect only minor (or not at all) focus shifting between apertures. Am I correct in presuming so?

ManosSKG said:

Wow gents! That's so much more than I could have asked for! So nice to wake up to a tone of posts today. This is the best company for my morning coffee ritual.

Lesse P. well done on the purchase. This glass is truly exotic and whilst there are people that vow against it, this glass performs wanders in the right hands. It also seems that the Z9 has really sorted out any issues this lens might have had on DSLR bodies.

Frank thank you so much for your tests and sequels! That's exactly what I wanted to see. Indeed it seems that release didn't affect result, which is another proof of the system's capabilities and that the glass communicates excellently with the body. At 20 FPS, I would of course have no hesitation to operate in focus mode, and judging from your test results, I don't expect it to even slow down performance.

Click to expand...

The Owl sequence I showed there was shot at 10FPS but I could easily have got ot at 20 FPS. I generally don't need 20 FPS!

The AF probably won't slow down much at 20 FPS although if you study the Z9 manual you will see that for "focus + release" priority the first shot in a continuous AFC sequence might (or might not) be a bit slower as the system confirms focus on that first shot. Probably the origin of some comments about "slight lag" from some sources. Also, again according to the Z9 manual, the AF system might (or might not) slow slightly at random due to the AF system taking a bit more time to re-acquire precise focus.

So - and i haven't tested any of this yet - I think in effect sometimes the apparent frame rate might seem to drop a little in those priority modes. It's going to be interesting to see but I expect every scenario will be a little different.

ManosSKG said:

I am super happy to see that there is no focus shifting between shots in AFC. Frank did your copy had this issue though back in the DSLR days (cause mine does)?

Click to expand...

My copy has always been well behaved, ay least once I had carefully fine-focus calibrated it. I have previously shown AFC sequences shot with my D500 that demonstrate this. I don't think focus calibration makes any difference with MILC cameras such as the Z9 though. As a test I removed all the programmed calibration settings in the lens firmware and reset all back to zero via the USB Dock. As expected it made no difference to the behaviour of the lens with the Z9.

ManosSKG said:

Another question is if there is any focus shifting, between apertures. As I had manually calibrated the lens to be tack sharp at F4 on my D500, I have noticed that the more I close down, the softer it becomes (even at 5.6). Presuming that the sweet spot out of the box (ie uncalibrated) is at 5.6, I would expect only minor (or not at all) focus shifting between apertures. Am I correct in presuming so?

Click to expand...

Interesting question. Focus shifting with aperture change is something I did notice a little originally with the bare lens at 500mm with my D500, although curiously is not something I have noticed over the past year. I haven't really tested for this with the Z9 but so far I haven't seen any sign of this occurring - but I will be looking to test for it. Mainly it wouldn't be an issue even if it occurred because for me the lens is so sharp wide open, including with 1.4 converter attached, that I only need to stop down to get extra DOF (although technically stopping down a little does gain even further acuity!

I mean for me this is sharp enough:


Robin, a 1200 pixel wide crop. D500 + Sigma 500mm F4 Sport + TC-1401 converter, at full aperture

That shot was taken hand-held a year ago. I don't really need a Z9 for shots like this!

Frank

FrankG said:

These were photographed a couple of days ago, mid afternoon in moderately overcast conditions. Sigma 500mm F4 Sport + TC-1401 converter on the Z9, supported on a monopod. Again these are all at ISO3200, processed in NX Studio and Topaz.

The Z9 AF was operating in "Auto Area" mode and (not intentionally) in "release" mode for all these SEO flight shots. Normally I would use either "focus + release" or "focus" mode but the Z9 seems to have done a good job even so. (It's interesting though that Nikon's guide to settings for Pro Sports photographers seems to recommend "release" mode for most scenarios).

First for context (and to give some idea of distance - around 100 metres or so) some screenshots of files in NX Studio compared to exported result.

Here's a sample edit in NX of one of the flight shots out of a long sequence shot at 10FPS, showing the FX size image at "fit to screen" view mode.



Here's a crop of the exported result as direct from NX (without a Topaz stage):



That one is a little soft, perhaps the focus wasn't actually perfect though the noise is partly to blame. Also I should have been in "focus" mode of course. Others are sharper. Check the tiled crops I have shown below.

With Auto Area mode there was no indication of eye tracking occurring in this entire sequence. What I saw (and what was recorded for NX Studio to reproduce) was the "Auto Area" style red boxes drawn differently for every image. Some seem to be on the bird and sometimes seem to be drifted elsewhere - but at all times the camera maintained good to excellent focus on the bird.

Here are 2 examples of screenshots showing the focus points, one accurately on the bird and the other apparently drifted off but both images are in focus:





Maybe that is an example of what Thom Hogan meant when he said that sometimes the camera AF system "lies" about being not in focus when it actually is?

Anyway here is a large set (40 images) of tight crops of the bird in flight arranged, tiled together in rows. These crops are all taken from files further processed for NR and sharpening in Topaz:

















I think there is 1 image out of that set that is a little off, otherwise they are all pretty sharp considering the distance and conditions at the time.

Maybe when the weather improves I might get a chance to get some closer shots in better light (and I'll also be switched to AF "focus" priority mode)

Frank

Click to expand...

Awesome images Frank. I am quite amazed you are able to pull this off with a 1.4 teleconverter on. I tried mine out for the first time yesterday (the teleconverter) and it is tough to frame subjects while hand holding at focal lengths like that.

I went out this morning, right before the storm hit the country. I only had a couple of hours of poor weather before it turned into a horror show. Unfortunately the animals did not play along today and while i saw a great deal of subjects, they were all pretty far away except a few smaller birds in the bushes around me.

I ran into this guy and his buddy on the way back from the first location. They came shooting out from nowhere. I managed to capture a couple of in-focus frames of them, but the rest went all over the place, likely my lack of technique.


ISO 10.000, heavy crop. Went through Topaz Denoise.

I am still trying to figure out what focus modes works the best. So far 3D tracking is a given, but i need to pre-focus it with some other mode to make sure i get the target i want.

I tried out Dynamic large today, was not that useful as most of my subjects today were small in the frame and the AF would grab onto distraction in the foreground. My guess it that it grabs whatever is closest into focus. I would eventually nail it, but i had quite a few shots like the one below today.


The image is trash worthy even if it had focused, but i was testing so forgive me for the uninspiring image

3D tracking really works well. I had a few subjects tracked across the the gray sky and across water. It worked out flawless with many precise shots in a long burst, even though the subjects was small in the frame.




The cormorant was tiny in the frame. But it was tracked perfectly against the gray sky.

But it is not without faults. This duck was also tracked flawlessly until it reached a cluttered background, then the AF grabbed on to something in the background.



All in all, i remain impressed with both the camera and the lens. There is still so much yet to learn for me with both. I look forward to better conditions and to giving my teleconverter some more time in the spotlight.


I got the Sigma dock in the mail when i came home from my shoot today. I changed the custom settings of both the AF and the OS on the lens.
I switched the OS into Dynamic mode and wow what a change. It went from OK stabil to completely steady.


I also changed AF to speed mode, and while the lens was fast before.
Now it is even faster. Brilliant tool!
Looking forward to seeing more from you guys and hearing more feedback from my fellow shooters!

Lasse p said:

FrankG said:

These were photographed a couple of days ago, mid afternoon in moderately overcast conditions. Sigma 500mm F4 Sport + TC-1401 converter on the Z9, supported on a monopod. Again these are all at ISO3200, processed in NX Studio and Topaz.

The Z9 AF was operating in "Auto Area" mode and (not intentionally) in "release" mode for all these SEO flight shots. Normally I would use either "focus + release" or "focus" mode but the Z9 seems to have done a good job even so. (It's interesting though that Nikon's guide to settings for Pro Sports photographers seems to recommend "release" mode for most scenarios).

First for context (and to give some idea of distance - around 100 metres or so) some screenshots of files in NX Studio compared to exported result.

Here's a sample edit in NX of one of the flight shots out of a long sequence shot at 10FPS, showing the FX size image at "fit to screen" view mode.



Here's a crop of the exported result as direct from NX (without a Topaz stage):



That one is a little soft, perhaps the focus wasn't actually perfect though the noise is partly to blame. Also I should have been in "focus" mode of course. Others are sharper. Check the tiled crops I have shown below.

With Auto Area mode there was no indication of eye tracking occurring in this entire sequence. What I saw (and what was recorded for NX Studio to reproduce) was the "Auto Area" style red boxes drawn differently for every image. Some seem to be on the bird and sometimes seem to be drifted elsewhere - but at all times the camera maintained good to excellent focus on the bird.

Here are 2 examples of screenshots showing the focus points, one accurately on the bird and the other apparently drifted off but both images are in focus:





Maybe that is an example of what Thom Hogan meant when he said that sometimes the camera AF system "lies" about being not in focus when it actually is?

Anyway here is a large set (40 images) of tight crops of the bird in flight arranged, tiled together in rows. These crops are all taken from files further processed for NR and sharpening in Topaz:

















I think there is 1 image out of that set that is a little off, otherwise they are all pretty sharp considering the distance and conditions at the time.

Maybe when the weather improves I might get a chance to get some closer shots in better light (and I'll also be switched to AF "focus" priority mode)

Frank

Click to expand...

Awesome images Frank. I am quite amazed you are able to pull this off with a 1.4 teleconverter on. I tried mine out for the first time yesterday (the teleconverter) and it is tough to frame subjects while hand holding at focal lengths like that.

Click to expand...

It certainly is! I use a lightweight monopod to assist.

Lasse p said:

I went out this morning, right before the storm hit the country. I only had a couple of hours of poor weather before it turned into a horror show. Unfortunately the animals did not play along today and while i saw a great deal of subjects, they were all pretty far away except a few smaller birds in the bushes around me.

Click to expand...

Storm "Eunice" as the UK Met Office named it. Mainly hit the south of the UK and Ireland over here. A genuine Hurricane for several hours (one gust recorded at a record 122mph apparently). I didn't go out today at all except to capture a few photos in my back garden: got some very close-up shots, hand-held, of a Wood Pigeon using the 2x converter on the 500 and most are very sharp (even the ones at full aperture). I may post some samples later.

Lasse p said:

I ran into this guy and his buddy on the way back from the first location. They came shooting out from nowhere. I managed to capture a couple of in-focus frames of them, but the rest went all over the place, likely my lack of technique.


ISO 10.000, heavy crop. Went through Topaz Denoise.

I am still trying to figure out what focus modes works the best. So far 3D tracking is a given, but i need to pre-focus it with some other mode to make sure i get the target i want.

Click to expand...

Yes that's exactly what I often find. Takes a bit of practice.

Lasse p said:

I tried out Dynamic large today, was not that useful as most of my subjects today were small in the frame and the AF would grab onto distraction in the foreground. My guess it that it grabs whatever is closest into focus. I would eventually nail it, but i had quite a few shots like the one below today.


The image is trash worthy even if it had focused, but i was testing so forgive me for the uninspiring image

Click to expand...

Dynamic, large, medium or small modes don't make use of Subject Recognition at all. So they are more like older "legacy" focus modes in that regard.

I would use Auto Area and then probably switch to Wide Area (large or small) or even 3D tracking for that type of shot. At that sort of range Wide Area should easily pick up and track the eye assuming Subject Recognition is switched on and set to "animal" mode.

I have "Dynamic Small" available via the FN2 button, mainly to use to get initial approximate focus on a bird hidden at the back of twig clutter in a tree (if there is a gap) because I am finding that the Subject recognition modes such as Auto Area, Wide Area and 3D Tracking sometimes cannot "see" a bird if there is too much foreground clutter.

Lasse p said:

3D tracking really works well. I had a few subjects tracked across the the gray sky and across water. It worked out flawless with many precise shots in a long burst, even though the subjects was small in the frame.




The cormorant was tiny in the frame. But it was tracked perfectly against the gray sky.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree it often tracks flawlessly and is very aggressive at staying glued to the eye - if the bird is within range. The reliability of all these AF modes tails off somewhat in very low light. Yesterday I was trying some extreme stuff at just after sunset (with dark cloud to the west making things very dark) and didn't get anything worth having though the camera still pulled off some perfectly focussed shots - there just wasn't anything close worth photographing actually! I tried some shots of a drake Goldeneye that was swimming around at dusk at about 50 metres away. This was to the west lof my position so technically backlit from whatever glow remained in the sky (although there was almost no light) and the AF still picked up the eye and focussed although was also missing accurate focus in about half the shots. In reasonable light it would have scored probably 100% perfect hits on the bird's eye.

Lasse p said:

But it is not without faults. This duck was also tracked flawlessly until it reached a cluttered background, then the AF grabbed on to something in the background.



All in all, i remain impressed with both the camera and the lens. There is still so much yet to learn for me with both. I look forward to better conditions and to giving my teleconverter some more time in the spotlight.

Click to expand...

Most definitely!

Lasse p said:

I got the Sigma dock in the mail when i came home from my shoot today. I changed the custom settings of both the AF and the OS on the lens.
I switched the OS into Dynamic mode and wow what a change. It went from OK stabil to completely steady.

Click to expand...

Yes. See how you find it: I actually use "moderate" view mode much of the time. I haven't revisited the OS Dynamic mode for quite a while and not at all with the Z9. I used to think that although it stabilised the view in the viewfinder that could lead to discrepancy with the actual position of a focus point. Whereas "moderate" view seems accurate. I might give it another try with the Z9.

Lasse p said:

I also changed AF to speed mode, and while the lens was fast before.
Now it is even faster. Brilliant tool!

Click to expand...

Yes and that fast mode really makes a noticeable difference with the 2x converter fitted.


Looking forward to seeing more from you guys and hearing more feedback from my fellow shooters!

Excellent. I also look forward to seeing some more of yours.!

Frank

Hue_Nature said:

......I was trying to photograph the Bluebird in flight, and I failed. Not because the Z9, but I could not hold the combo long enough to get a decent shot.

Click to expand...

Hue_Nature said:

I previously never tried to photograph small birds in flight knowing my D500 cannot cope up, but the Z9 can. I just need more practice or buy a lighter lens.

Click to expand...

Interesting reading this. I had the lesser D7500 and it was decent for BIF...but my Z 50 seems slightly better...and this shooting Tree/Barn Swallows in flight!

(Your Z9 should be miles ahead doing this!)

Here's a few examples:













These with the lowly Z 50 and Z 50-250mm kit lens.

Expecting better results with my newly acquired Sigma 100-400mm.

Wonder if the TC1401 would work well with this lens?

Thanks

ANAYV

Lasse p said:

I have just come home after quite a ride, and i brought the lens home with me!

I got to test it out under the worst possible conditions you can imagine, in the middle of the pouring rain. I met with the seller at a lake close to his location. We parked next to each other and he found the giant box that the lens came in. We unwrapped it and i got to fumble around with the FTZII adapter and the lens and the camera, while trying not to get everything soaked. In the end it all clicked in places and we went out for a short test round.


The seller was kind enough to hold up a book for me to take a long burst of shots at. No focus shifting.

My first thought was, my god this is not heavy at all! After a while though i started to feel the strain of hand holding the combo, but it was far easier to hand hold then i imagined.

I took pictures of everything, in high speed bursts to try and fiddle out any inconsistencies with the AF. But i found none. Focus was snappy, precise and the lock-on tracking did is job perfectly.

We found a few birds near the water, some ducks, a couple of blackbirds and a gray heron. Conditions were terrible and the ISO was high. But i got off about 800 shots in the short 20 mins i tested the lens.

Coming back to my computer (after paying the man, driving home and drying it all off with towels) i have been going through my images. The super high ISO did nothing good for them, but i am amazed by the sharpness and rendering.

I took images, that i knew was going to suck, because of the distance, the rain, the poor lighting and the high ISO. But to my suprise, even shot under those conditions, i can pixel peep to my heart's content, and the details are just there.


This guy was a long way away in the pouring rain, in bad lighting and image is still pixel peeping sharp! (imported to lightroom, no sharpening, noise reduction or other edits)

It is easy to tell that this is a lens, in an entirely different league than what i am used too. I thought both Nikon 200-500 and Sony 200-600 was reasonably sharp, but they were never close to this kind of optic.

I grabbed a few images in my back yard after i came home.


All 50 shots from the burst i took of this little fella are pin-sharp. No focus issues!


Being behind the tree was not a problem for the AF. Camera picked up the body of the bird, as soon as he stuck his eye out to look at me it latched onto the eye instantly.


Poor conditions, but pin sharp. No focus issues at all.

It is still very early for me, but so far i see no issues whatsoever. This is a true quality piece of glass and i am blown away by the performance with the Z9.

The lens have never been calibrated via the Sigma dock (owner never had one), so it is still in the default "slow" AF mode. I just ordered a dock online, and i will be playing around with it when it lands. will post as soon as i get the chance to get more shots.

I am still amazed, that i could get my hands on such a quality lens for under 25% of the price for a new Nikon FL version. It even comes with the 1.4 TC and a lens coat.

Good times to come!

Click to expand...

Congrats on your new system!

I must say that these are not really ' super high' ISO...not for newer generation cameras, anyway.

I consider ISO 3200 low, for my APS-C Z 50. That's also because , at times I need way more higher ISO...and also shoot RAW and use DXO PL4.

So I can crop a decent amount, say at ISO 16,000 and still have good details:




ISO 16,000 cropped quite a bit

The original has all of the squirrel in center of image (this was more a test than anything)

Should be better with your Z9...for sure better if you shoot RAW ( I think most everyone would, with a Flagship camera

Now I am looking into this Sigma 500 F4...since I didn't know it existed , until this thread...so thanks to all here!

ANAYV

FrankG said:

Some more photos, all taken at ISO3200, all tight crops. ISO3200 is a fairly typical setting for the often dull light of winter conditions in the UK although I often have to go higher!

Plus also a few screenshots of NX Studio edits for context.

Here's an image of Blue Tit being edited in NX Studio, showing the FX image sized to fit the screen, NX Studio showing the recorded AF "point", the red box which relates to "Wide-area AF (large)" AF mode that was used for this shot:



Here is the same edit with the image sized at 100% in NX Studio:



Here is the cropped result after further processing in Topaz:



Another example, a Reed Bunting in a bush nearby, NX Studio screen with the FX size image fitted to the screen:



The same edit at 100%:



The result (next image in the sequence actually):



OK - so you want to see proof that there isn't any sign of focus shifting?

Here's a tiled consecutive sequence of tight (1200 pixel wide) crops of 25 of those Reed Bunting shots, these were taken in 3D Tracking mode (and AF also set to "release" mode):











All "tack" sharp on the eye IMO!

I'll open a new post for the Short-eared Owl flight shots.

Frank

Click to expand...

Your getting excellent results Frank!!

Z 9 does good in your hands

Thats a lot of cropping ability!

Plenty of details, too.

Z 9 is too big/heavy for me...and more $$ than I'd want to spend for a hobby...but this Sigma 500 F4 seems very interesting, and now will find out about it.

My biggest reaching lens is the Sigma 100-400 C.

Hoping the 300F4 isn't way heavier

ANAYV

ANAYV said:

FrankG said:

Some more photos, all taken at ISO3200, all tight crops. ISO3200 is a fairly typical setting for the often dull light of winter conditions in the UK although I often have to go higher!

Plus also a few screenshots of NX Studio edits for context.

Here's an image of Blue Tit being edited in NX Studio, showing the FX image sized to fit the screen, NX Studio showing the recorded AF "point", the red box which relates to "Wide-area AF (large)" AF mode that was used for this shot:



Here is the same edit with the image sized at 100% in NX Studio:



Here is the cropped result after further processing in Topaz:



Another example, a Reed Bunting in a bush nearby, NX Studio screen with the FX size image fitted to the screen:



The same edit at 100%:



The result (next image in the sequence actually):



OK - so you want to see proof that there isn't any sign of focus shifting?

Here's a tiled consecutive sequence of tight (1200 pixel wide) crops of 25 of those Reed Bunting shots, these were taken in 3D Tracking mode (and AF also set to "release" mode):











All "tack" sharp on the eye IMO!

I'll open a new post for the Short-eared Owl flight shots.

Frank

Click to expand...

Your getting excellent results Frank!!

Z 9 does good in your hands

Click to expand...

Thanks.

ANAYV said:

Thats a lot of cropping ability!

Plenty of details, too.

Z 9 is too big/heavy for me...and more $$ than I'd want to spend for a hobby...but this Sigma 500 F4 seems very interesting, and now will find out about it.

My biggest reaching lens is the Sigma 100-400 C.

Hoping the 300F4 isn't way heavier

Click to expand...

If you mean the 300mm F4 PF lens then no - that's very small and light.

If you mean the Sigma 500mm F Sport, well that weighs in at 3.3Kg. That's lightweight by older 500mm F4 standards but still could be considered quite heavy! It is well balanced (not front heavy) and so can be hand-held for short periods but I mainly use it supported on a monopod. With a 2x converter attached it's better to use it with a tripod.

Frank

Hi to all! Does anyone know if IBIS works with Sigma's OS? I know that in F mount OEM native VR lenses, IBIS is offering +1 axis of stabilization. Does this +1 extra axis works with the Sigma's OS system or not? If you do not know, have you seen increased OS performance with IBIS on or not?

Anyone been out shooting lately?

The weather has been dreadful here for the entire week. I am looking forward to the weekend which hopefully will allow me to get out and shoot some more

ManosSKG said:

Hi to all! Does anyone know if IBIS works with Sigma's OS? I know that in F mount OEM native VR lenses, IBIS is offering +1 axis of stabilization. Does this +1 extra axis works with the Sigma's OS system or not? If you do not know, have you seen increased OS performance with IBIS on or not?

Click to expand...

I have no definitive information on that one way or the other. It's probable that it works as well as any other adapted 500mm lens (eg the Nikon 500mm FL E) - and that is probably almost no effect.

Nikon seem to regard IBIS as effective for lenses upto a focal length of about 120mm but not much beyond that. I don't really expect IBIS to do much for a 500mm lens - the lens VR does probably 99% of the work. It occurs to me that I could try my old 500mm F4 P lens (manual focus, no VR) and see if IBIS can be activated and if it does anything useful for that focal length - but I would not expect much. I'll probably give that a try just for fun!

Frank