Sorting out Sigma 150-600mm lenses for an Alaskan Cruise

Our family will be taking an Alaskan cruise next summer and I'll need a big lens to cover the distance to the wildlife. My camera body is D7000. I see lots of chatter about the Sigma 150-600mm lens, including Contemporary vs. Sport but the Sigma web site shows 3 lenses, all 150-600mm and all F5-6.3.
150-600mm Contemporary+ ($1289)
150-600mm Sports + TC1401 ($2,229)
150-600mm DG OS HSM | S ($1,999)

The Sports lens has the best glass and bokeh? What's the third lens, DG OS HSM ??
What other telephoto lenses should I consider?
Finally, I'd also consider renting a big telephoto but my local camera guy discourage that, saying renting for 2 weeks would almost pay for it.

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions.

Kevin

I believe the middle lens is just the 150-600 mm Sport with the 1.4 teleconverter while the bottom entry is the same lens without the teleconverter. I have the 150-600 Contemporary and love it. It works great with my non-sigma 1.4 teleconverter as well. Keep in mind that a teleconverter will increase the minimum aperture to F8.0 on both lenses. My D7200 will autofocus at F8.0 with the center focus spot only. I don't know if your D7000 will autofocus at F8.0, so this is something you need to check out before buying one. Since this lens will give you the equivalent of 900mm on your camera, not sure you really need the teleconverter anyway. From the reviews I have seen, I am not sure the sport model has enough better performance to warrant the additional cost unless you really need the additional ruggedness of the sport lens. If you can try both lenses on your camera, that would be the best way to make a decision.

kdean63 said:

Our family will be taking an Alaskan cruise next summer and I'll need a big lens to cover the distance to the wildlife. My camera body is D7000. I see lots of chatter about the Sigma 150-600mm lens, including Contemporary vs. Sport but the Sigma web site shows 3 lenses, all 150-600mm and all F5-6.3.
150-600mm Contemporary+ ($1289)
150-600mm Sports + TC1401 ($2,229)
150-600mm DG OS HSM | S ($1,999)

The Sports lens has the best glass and bokeh? What's the third lens, DG OS HSM ??
What other telephoto lenses should I consider?
Finally, I'd also consider renting a big telephoto but my local camera guy discourage that, saying renting for 2 weeks would almost pay for it.

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions.

Kevin

Click to expand...

There are, essentially, two different Sigma 150-600mm's. There is the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM C (stands for Contemporary) and the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports.

This link details the differences between the two: The Differences Between Sigma's 150-600mm OS Sports and Contemporary Lenses
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kdean63 said:

our family will be taking an alaskan cruise next summer and i'll need a big lens to cover the distance to the wildlife. My camera body is d7000. I see lots of chatter about the sigma 150-600mm lens, including contemporary vs. Sport but the sigma web site shows 3 lenses, all 150-600mm and all f5-6.3.
150-600mm contemporary+ ($1289)
150-600mm sports + tc1401 ($2,229)
150-600mm dg os hsm | s ($1,999)

the sports lens has the best glass and bokeh? What's the third lens, dg os hsm ??
What other telephoto lenses should i consider?
Finally, i'd also consider renting a big telephoto but my local camera guy discourage that, saying renting for 2 weeks would almost pay for it.

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions.

Kevin

Click to expand...

unless you want a long lens i would rent. I checked prices and for way less than $200 you can rent a nikon or tamron lens for your vacation. I have the tamron lens, i am happy with it. A bunch here have the nikon lens.

I have the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 and I love the lens. I use it on my D7200 and it is very quick to focus and very sharp. The focus speed impressed me. I usually use it to photograph birds on my porch on a tripod. I use auto ISO because of the lighting changes from trees to feeders. It just focuses very quickly regardless. It did take me a while to get used to using a big lens. But I do like it.

My only issue is that it is heavy and, for me, it gets very difficult to handle after a bit. Thankfully I usually have help and I do not take it far do to health issues.

Thanks for the replies, information and links! This forum is great and I appreciate the help. Now I need convince my wife of the value of owning a long telephoto instead of just renting. We'll be gone for two weeks and next year hope to go to Africa, so I'm working to justify buying instead of renting for 3+ weeks. Thanks again!

Kevin