Pushing the Sigma 70-300 DL Macro to the limit

Decided to try the Sigma 70-300 with my Kenko MC7 x2 TC. I wasn't expecting too much because of the quality of the glass and the fact all these were hand held. I'm a bit hesitant about putting the combination on the tripod I have as the Sigma does not have a tripod collar and it all feels a little heavy to rely on the camera tripod connection. The ones with the higher shutter speeds as you would expect helped the sharpness. The combination gave me autofocus with the Sigma at 70mm but all of these were with it extended to 300mm and I then had to use manual focus presumably because the lens' maximum aperture is then F5.6 rather than F4. On starting the camera it immediately went into the SR menu and I was able to select a focal length of 600mm, though exif data still showed 300mm. If I could work out how to get this combo on a tripod to improve steadiness perhaps results could be more consistently improved. It's all I've got until the DA 300 that I've ordered arrives.

Paul

Blackbird. 1/500th, F5.6, ISO 800, Exp Comp -0.5


Robin. 1/125th, F8.0, ISO 1600,


Blue Tit. 1/180th, F8.0, ISO 800, Exp Comp -0.5


Couldn't get one of these other than on a feeder. They don't hang around. But I think it's a better shot of this bird than the last one I posted.
Goldfinch. 1/350th, F8.0, ISO 1600, Exp Comp -0.5


A bit far away but I've included it out of interest. Must go back and see if I can get a little nearer. Also saw a Kingfisher near the same spot but that is just a pinprick in the frame.
Grebe. 1/350th, F5.6, ISO 800, Exp Comp -0.5


Wood Pigeon. 1/1000th, F8.0, ISO 1600, Exp Comp -0.5


Wood Pigeon. 1/750th, F8.0, ISO 1600, Exp Comp -0.5

[jmc7104]

Nice picks. I notice you shot all photo's with minus comp .5 with your K10. I just bought a K10 and find the same thing fairly true of mine. However I am usually shooting at at least -1 or
-1.5 with mine or they are overexposed. So is this something that is consistant with the K10 or what? When I am using my K100 I usually shoot +-0 to +.5 with same len's. jim

[spyglass]

Good Morning Channeler,

Nice shots for a hand held 300 & 2x Teleconverter combination. I had a similar setup a few years back and had the same concerns as you. I did not want to place too much strain on the camera's threaded tripod mount, or the camera's lens mount. It also put a strain on the tripod and made the tilt feature a real nose diver. I ended up making a plate. The plate attached to the camera's thread mount on one end and offered a support post / brace of the lens on the other. Between these two points (mid point) I created a threaded means for the tripod. This solved all my problems and balanced the camera setup on the tripod (no more tilt nose dive). I sold the plate with the lens and teleconverter. Here is a quick drawing of what it looked like. You could also buy a slide plate and easily modify it.



Again nice work with the "big" weapon setup.

[channeler]

Originally Posted by jmc7104

Nice picks. I notice you shot all photo's with minus comp .5 with your K10. I just bought a K10 and find the same thing fairly true of mine. However I am usually shooting at at least -1 or
-1.5 with mine or they are overexposed. So is this something that is consistant with the K10 or what? When I am using my K100 I usually shoot +-0 to +.5 with same len's. jim

Thanks Jim. Actually with my kit lens on the K10D I have often found it to under expose and I have often bumped the exposure up +0.3 to +0.7, but people seem to have some different experiences. With the x1 and x2 TCs I have been using in combination with the Sigma 70-300 though as you say I am often finding I need to reduce exposure by -0.5. I have only recently updated the firmware to 1.3 and I don't know if that will affect things.

Paul

Originally Posted by spyglass

Good Morning Channeler,

Nice shots for a hand held 300 & 2x Teleconverter combination. I had a similar setup a few years back and had the same concerns as you. I did not want to place too much strain on the camera's threaded tripod mount, or the camera's lens mount. It also put a strain on the tripod and made the tilt feature a real nose diver. I ended up making a plate. The plate attached to the camera's thread mount on one end and offered a support post / brace of the lens on the other. Between these two points (mid point) I created a threaded means for the tripod. This solved all my problems and balanced the camera setup on the tripod (no more tilt nose dive). I sold the plate with the lens and teleconverter. Here is a quick drawing of what it looked like. You could also buy a slide plate and easily modify it.

Again nice work with the "big" weapon setup.

Thanks Spyglass. That arrangement was very inventive of you. I would be tempted to follow your lead on this, but I am hoping to get a DA 300 in the not too distant future so I think I'll just hang on for that. As I have said somewhere else on the forum I am hoping to be able to use it with this shoulder support I have, though I will need to adapt the old mechanical shutter release. May have to go the monopod route in the end.



Paul

[Geekybiker]

Better results that I expected. FWIW you need to add two stops to the f stop that you have reported. With the 2x TC you have a f/8-f/11 lens (which is why you found yourself having to manually focus.)

[channeler]

Thanks Geekybiker. Yes, I know I lose two stops with the 2x TC though I did wonder what the camera would actually report in exif data. I presume that though the lens is say at F8 the actual light reaching the sensor will be 2 stops less. Does this also mean DOF etc will also be as if the lens was set at 2 stops less? Still puzzled why exif data showed 300mm though I was able to select focal length of 600mm.

Paul