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canon 5d mark 4 and sigma 150-600
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Steven Blackwood
Senior Member
No experience but you will lose AF with the 2x TC. Also, not sure if you will be able to use a Canon TC with the Sigma. I was unable to use a Canon 2x TC on the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 VC G2, so had to buy a Tamron TC.
Turnanewleaf
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It's a great lens. I used with my 5d3 and 1dx2 worth great success. I have the original version so I can't comment on the new G2 lens that has TC'S available.
GriffinClubMerv
Well-known member
I have shot the 5D Mk 4 with the Sigma 50-500mm, the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary, original Tamron 150-600mm and the Tamron 150-600mm G2. I settled on the G2 and have been very happy with the results.
Works better than on the 5dmkiii possibly due to the better af of the iv. It will work with the 1.4x converter but is slow and difficult to hand hold.
thefalloftroy
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I have both - the 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary. Honestly, it's a great combination for telephoto. I don't really need to talk about the camera (we all know the 5D4 is a beast) but the lens is truly excellent. I've gotten some incredible birds in flight shots using this pair.
In terms of the teleconverter, though, I wouldn't recommend it. I have the Sigma 1.4x TC and frankly it's simply not worth having because of how it limits the autofocus and available aperture. I wrote quite an in-depth review for the 1.4x TC on Amazon, which I've copied below:
The Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens is a variable aperture lens, which means that your widest available aperture depends on the focal length you're at. In the case of this particular lens (without the TC attached) it's widest apertures vary from f/5 at the wide end (150mm) to f/5.6 in the middle (180-300mm) to f/6.3 at the long end (400-600mm). However, when the Sigma TC is attached, you lose several stops of light, which turns your variable apertures into f/7.1 at the wide end (150-180mm) to f/8 in the middle (200-400mm) to f/9 at the long end (500-600mm). In other words, if you're using this TC to extend your 600mm focal length to 840mm, your widest available aperture at that length is f/9...which is, simply put, not ideal. In some situations and for some subjects, shooting at f/9 may be totally reasonable and may produce wonderful results. But if you're trying to capture something in motion without any motion blur, or unless you're shooting outside on bright sunny day, then you're going to need to crank your ISO insanely high to be able to use a quick enough shutter speed, which may result in a noisey/grainy image.
The other major drawback to this Sigma teleconverter is that the autofocus only works consistently up to f/8. I cannot emphasize enough how much of an intrinsic pain/problem this is, especially when paired with the limited variable apertures and lost stops of light that I explained above. Essentially, you will only be able to consistently autofocus up to 400mm - which, with the magnification factor of the TC, is about 560mm...which is still shorter than the 600mm focal length that this lens can reach by itself without the TC attached (not to mention you can use f/6.3 at 600mm without the TC attached). If you're shooting at any focal length at the long end (between 400-600mm) with the TC attached, the autofocus becomes extremely inconsistent and requires a very high-contrast area in the frame in order to achieve focus lock. On top of this, even when the autofocus DOES work (at any aperture) it is significantly slower than the lens' normal AF speed. If I had to guess, I would say that the TC AF speed is at least 50% slower (if not more) than the AF speed without the TC attached. So don't expect to capture birds in flight with this thing...you could probably capture a bird sitting in a tree or sitting on top of the water no problem, but it would be extremely difficult to focus on anything moving quickly due to the very slow AF through the TC.
In my opinion, the limitations with both the aperture and autofocus when the TC is attached almost completely negate its usefulness. The extra focal length it offers becomes irrelevant when you can't lock focus or use a wide enough aperture to get a sharp photo. Perhaps Sigma will release a firmware update in the future for either the TC or the lens (or both) that will make the autofocus more consistent beyond f/8, but until then, I really can't recommend this TC, at least not for use with the 150-600mm Contemporary lens.
In terms of the teleconverter, though, I wouldn't recommend it. I have the Sigma 1.4x TC and frankly it's simply not worth having because of how it limits the autofocus and available aperture. I wrote quite an in-depth review for the 1.4x TC on Amazon, which I've copied below:
The Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens is a variable aperture lens, which means that your widest available aperture depends on the focal length you're at. In the case of this particular lens (without the TC attached) it's widest apertures vary from f/5 at the wide end (150mm) to f/5.6 in the middle (180-300mm) to f/6.3 at the long end (400-600mm). However, when the Sigma TC is attached, you lose several stops of light, which turns your variable apertures into f/7.1 at the wide end (150-180mm) to f/8 in the middle (200-400mm) to f/9 at the long end (500-600mm). In other words, if you're using this TC to extend your 600mm focal length to 840mm, your widest available aperture at that length is f/9...which is, simply put, not ideal. In some situations and for some subjects, shooting at f/9 may be totally reasonable and may produce wonderful results. But if you're trying to capture something in motion without any motion blur, or unless you're shooting outside on bright sunny day, then you're going to need to crank your ISO insanely high to be able to use a quick enough shutter speed, which may result in a noisey/grainy image.
The other major drawback to this Sigma teleconverter is that the autofocus only works consistently up to f/8. I cannot emphasize enough how much of an intrinsic pain/problem this is, especially when paired with the limited variable apertures and lost stops of light that I explained above. Essentially, you will only be able to consistently autofocus up to 400mm - which, with the magnification factor of the TC, is about 560mm...which is still shorter than the 600mm focal length that this lens can reach by itself without the TC attached (not to mention you can use f/6.3 at 600mm without the TC attached). If you're shooting at any focal length at the long end (between 400-600mm) with the TC attached, the autofocus becomes extremely inconsistent and requires a very high-contrast area in the frame in order to achieve focus lock. On top of this, even when the autofocus DOES work (at any aperture) it is significantly slower than the lens' normal AF speed. If I had to guess, I would say that the TC AF speed is at least 50% slower (if not more) than the AF speed without the TC attached. So don't expect to capture birds in flight with this thing...you could probably capture a bird sitting in a tree or sitting on top of the water no problem, but it would be extremely difficult to focus on anything moving quickly due to the very slow AF through the TC.
In my opinion, the limitations with both the aperture and autofocus when the TC is attached almost completely negate its usefulness. The extra focal length it offers becomes irrelevant when you can't lock focus or use a wide enough aperture to get a sharp photo. Perhaps Sigma will release a firmware update in the future for either the TC or the lens (or both) that will make the autofocus more consistent beyond f/8, but until then, I really can't recommend this TC, at least not for use with the 150-600mm Contemporary lens.
GriffinClubMerv
Well-known member
The fact of the matter is all of the affordable supertelephotos, especially with regard to the addition of a teleconverter, are an attempt to cheat against the $10,000± fast aperture glass used by professional/high-level wildlife photographers. You can do it, but you'll need to work harder, endure greater frustration and wait longer for the perfect intersection of equipment and opportunity. Have at it if you like, but the aggravating factors have more to do with the limitations of one's wallet, as opposed to the quality/integrity of the lens manufacturer.
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