I'm looking at getting a long telephoto zoom lens for my DSLR so I can shoot surfing, SUP and windsurfing. Does anyone know which ones to get and which to avoid?

I have been looking at the Tamron 150-600mm, Sigma 150-600mm and the Canon 100-400mm.

The canon doesn't have the long range of the other 2 and is very pricey.

If anyone has any advice or experience using these lenses, it would be greatly appreciated

Genraly with lenses you get what you pay for.
What is the F stop of the lenses at both ends of the zoom. Important if the lights not great.
What size is your sensor? Most lenses are marked for 35mm sensors, if your camera has a micro four thirds sensor the zoom might be too long to handhold.
Cheap/Bad zooms go soft at the long end of the zoom with focus set to infinity. You can work around this.

Sigma do a 150-600 sports lens. This is a lot better than the contemporary version. I'd go for that. It's about 500 bucks more but the AF is a lot better.

Agree with Saffer. Also are you using a full frame camera ? if you are, then you can crop images a lot better than a crop sensor, although that magnifies the image but 1.4 (1.6x ??) anyway because of the way the sensor works. So a 100mm zoom becomes 140/160mm. I have a Canon 70-300, great lens but with a minimum f stop of 5.6, it's quite slow and needs lots of light which isn't a problem for surf or sailing. my mate has a 70-200 f2.8 (but you can get an f4). bloody expensive but honestly there is little difference in image size between the 200-300 anyway, especially if the image quality is good enough to crop it even slightly. the Sigma 600mm will certainly make a difference and i hear it's a pretty good lens and much cheaper than the Canon. I've had Sigma lens before and they've been good. how often are you going to use it ? i don't use mine much at all now except when on windsurfing trips and i would rather have the Canon 70-200 because its faster and more versatile than the 300. just my opinion from my experience

Theres a place in Alexandria called The Front, you can hire those lenses on a daily or weekend rate. Their rates are quite reasonable, definately try first if your unsure. I have a mate with the sigma and he rates it highly.

I've been using the latest Canon L series 100-400 (with a 1.4x extender) with my 7D MII which has had outstanding results for windsurfing and other action based photography. All my shots are hand held and it's really hard to get a bad shot...Only issue with the 1.4 extender is you lose the 65 point auto focus.

J.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Wave-sailing/Last-Monday-Gerroa?page=1#3

have a look at this site - the digital picture.com

does reviews of all these lens and compares them with similar lenses, - e.g. just part of tamron review

"The Sigma 150-600mm VC Sports Lens is a higher end model than the Contemporary version and features a more-rugged build quality. The Sports lens is modestly larger, considerably heavier and noticeably more expensive than the Tamron G2. As far as sharpness is concerned, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two lenses wide open at 150mm. By 200mm, the Sigma Sports version holds a small sharpness advantage but with a 1/3 stop narrower maximum aperture. After 200mm, the Tamron bests the Sports lens at 300mm but is slightly softer at all the other common focal length we tested. Note that the Sports lens has less pincushion distortion. The Sigma Sports lens tripod ring is non-removable and the Tamron utilizes smaller filters than the Sigma (95mm vs. 105mm).

Those wanting a zoom lens, having a substantial budget and not minding a larger size and heavier weight should also consider the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens. This lens is superior in most regards, but ... it is in a different class. As usual, those not requiring a zoom range have a wide variety of lenses to choose from and the Tamron 150-600 is a nice complement to very long focal length primes such as a 600 f/4".

and a bit older canon review for example ( 2 years or so, new tamron G2 is reviewed since),

"Those willing to venture outside of the Canon lineup will find the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens on the must-compare list. Obvious is that the Tamron shifts the focal length range to a much longer 600mm (with the max aperture sliding to f/6.3 beyond 428mm), but this lens' image quality in the above 500mm range is not so great. Still, 500mm built-in is better than 400mm and the Canon's 100mm is better than the Tamron's 150mm on the wide side. With a wide open aperture, the Canon has better image quality over the entire focal length range, especially at the wide end. By 400mm, the Tamron is nearly equivalent and still performs quite well in the center of the frame at 500mm. The Canon is sharper over most of the image circle at 560mm (with 1.4 extender) than the Tamron is at 600mm.

An AF system, if being relied on, can make a huge difference in image quality and the Canon's AF system is my strong preference. At roughly 1/2 of the price of the Canon, the Tamron has a strong advantage from a budget perspective. The Canon has the max magnification advantage and is smaller/lighter.

Awaiting review (and availability) are a pair of new Sigma lenses: the 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports and Contemporary lenses. While I have only briefly handled these lenses, I can tell you that the Sports model is big, heavy and exceptionally well-built while the contemporary model is a bit lighter and promises to be lighter on the wallet. The Sports model costs nearly as much as the 100-400 L II."

canon more pricey but they hold value well, version II of the 100-400 has been very well received, 200-400 is mega priced

all will work well in sunlight,

but focus the biggest issue IMHO, can't do anything with mis focussed shots

look second hand too...