Sony 300mm f2.8 & TC v Sigma 500mm f5.6 with Jonathan

Love you Chanel!

I would love to se the 200-600mm vs the new 300mm with the 2x teleconverter as well

If I were a Sony user, I would consider jumping ship to Nikon. For the money of a Sony a93, you can nearly get a Nikon Z8 with the super light 600 6.3 and you have 45 megapixel to play with. Even for jpeg only, you have pre capture with 30, 60 to 120 fps all with autofocus. That 300 f2.8 is not for birding, most of the time, it is just too short and it is bloody expensive.

Are you tempted by the 600 f4 Gm ? What did you take on the safari ? Would you recommend the 300gm and 600gm or the 300gm and 200-600 combo for a safari?

How did John transport 20,000 grands worth of gear on an aeroplane ?

For bird in flight, 120 fps is a over kill. Pre capture is fine for them moments that are very hard to capture. I prefer the A1 over the A9III, 30 fps is plenty, and 51mp is a must bird photography, not 24mp.

You have highlighted something fundamental in favour of the Sigma, its portability. That means more desire to go out and take pictures

I thought that water birds were photographed from the water level, but I see that now it is done from the house through the window. It's a waste of time and equipment.

"The slightly cheaper alternative" 🤣 THAT is true, MUCH cheaper !!! I was very close to buy the Sony 300mm 2.8 GM with 1.4x and 2x tele converter, but then I say the announcement og the Sigma 500mm 5.6 DG DN OS Sports, I ordered it and I now have this excellent Lens. So I both saved weight, space and a LOT of money. What I have seen is that the Sony 300mm is very good with 1.4x and may be better than the Sigma 500mm, but the Sony with the 2x is slightly behind the Sigma 500mm. Yes it could be an advantage with the 300mm having an aperture of 2.8, BUT I have the outstanding Sony 135mm 1.8 GM which on my Sony A7RIV Cameras can be cropped so much that it can be compared to a 300mm Lens and still be very sharp ! So get a new or used Sony A7RV, a new or used Sony 135mm and the Sigma 500mm for the same price as the Sony 300mm !!! I do neither need 30 fps nor 15 fps, to me 5 fps is more than enough, I will rather have 61 megapixels ! The Sony A9III is only 25 megapixels and because it is a stacked sensor, it is not as smooth looking images as a BSI-CMOS Camera.

It's so hard to hear so many people say they got into wildlife photography during the "pandemic" which was the one thing that destroyed my wildlife photography! Still always nice to see someone join our ranks especially with such nice gear 😮