Sigma 150-600mm test 2

Sigma 150-600mm test 2

Here is Sigma 150-600mm test 2, a sort of wildlife cameraman test.

blue tit calling
blue tit – a confiding subject

Sigma 150-600mm test 2: I used the lens with a Metabones T Smart adaptor and a Sigma 1.4x tele converter on a Panasonic AG AF101. This was a short sharp test. I had just taken delivery of an Ikan baseplate and support rods and was able to use the rig ‘properly’ for the first time.  I stepped outside the door in my sandals where our lawn and shrubs offered endless opportunities for unique wildlife behaviour. My wife fought her way through the undergrowth to bring me a cup of tea. The still frame above is cropped down from a video frame.  The video file was compressed to 720P.  Why? I was in a rush and picked the wrong settings on Sorenson Squeeze.  That is why the video below has been shrunk.

Purely from a crispness point of view it is not half bad. Even filming with bright backgrounds didn’t seem to cause any wobbles such as colour fringing, but you must appreciate that I am not looking at this on broadcast grade monitors. This is an assessment for delivery being DVD or something similar rather than the broadcast chain. When I picked the lens-camera combination up it came as a pleasant surprise. I am hoping there are rucksacks that the whole combination will drop into with minimal setting up. Straight from the bag onto the tripod is the aim. I haven’t yet tried this recording straight from the sensor onto an Atomos device, but that should only improve things.

The video was hacked together literally in less than ten minutes.  Or being politically honest, I hacked the video together in less than ten minutes. The Panasonic has been firmware upgraded to record at 28 mb/sec. The footage was imported into Avid at DN HD 120.  The compression was with Sorenson Squeeze using a YouTube preset for 720p.  I must get rid of that setting as I always seem to use it accidentally.