The blackbird above must have been channeling my feelings this morning. Over the last several weeks, my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens that I use for almost all my birding outings was increasingly acting up. The lens’ zoom function was locking up intermittently, limiting my shooting to a narrow band of 400 mm to 500 mm, for example.
I pointed the camera and lens up, down and all around, hoping to shake loose whatever was impeding the zoom mechanism. Maddeningly, the problem was sporadic — I’d have full range for part of an outing, only to have the zoom seize up halfway through.
On Tuesday morning, the zoom was stuck again as I was walking the center trail at the Pole Farm. All of a sudden, my haze filter fell to the ground. As I picked it up, I said aloud, “Maybe this will help.”
Amazingly, I tried the zoom and it became unstuck, giving me full range once more.
Yesterday, when the lens locked up again, I decided I could no longer put off taking it into a camera shop for repair. I hope to get the lens back within a week or two. Meantime, I’ll be using my old Canon 150-300 and hoping the birds come a little closer.
Here are a few of the last shots I took with the Sigma — the red-winged blackbird topping the post, and an American tree sparrow. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 
Ugh. That’s so frustrating. My Canon 70-200 seems to be losing focus in lower light conditions (i.e. when I shoot concerts at The Stone Pony). But, other times it’s great. I’m going to see if I can re-calibrate it myself but I, too, may need to get it serviced. Baseball season is coming and I’ll need it for action shots! Good luck, and I hope the fix isn’t too expensive.
LikeLike
Thanks. I hope to have it back for baseball myself. Princeton’s home opener is two weeks from today. Good luck with your lens.
LikeLike