The Sigma 50mm F1.4 in my hands during my hands on test.
Photo taken by Gerhard Joren + Nikon D3.
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Archive for June, 2008
The above shots are wide open - shot at F1.4 and processed this time with my good old favourite - Raw Developer. Not sure why I jump from developer to developer like this. Maybe I’m crazy. The next shot with the flower is more or less wide open, shot at F1.6 - I thought that maybe it would be easier to catch the yellow middle thingi if DOF was a bit wider. hehe. A tenth of a millimetre or so.
The more I shot with this lens the more I realise that it’s more tricky than with the 30mm - DOF being even narrower and it’s sometimes painful to try go find perfect focus. When you got it it’s rewarding but don’t expect it to be a walk in the park - more a walk on the moon. (you do make touchdowns now and then..)
These are also sharpened in Raw Developer a bit more than I normally do - it’s needed as 1.4 is loosing sharpness compared to f1.8 and above. Still it’s quite amazing lens. And getting back to the weight of the lens. the SD14 + battery pack + 50mm 1.4 lens is a very good looking package and well balanced - easy to hand hold! I will soon post a shot of myself with it as soon as Gerhard Joren (who took it) send it to me. Until then enjoy these shots.
Click each for a full resolution version.
Just received the new Sigma 50mm F1.4 and due to heavy sunshine I couldn’t really in a fair way try it wide open - but even if the above shot is taken at F4 the bokeh is amazingly sweet.
I was thinking it would be bigger. a whopping 500g piece of glass could have been heavier. It’s pretty short and very fat somehow - gives a very cool impression - big opening that tell you I’M BRIGHT.
Alright, another shot at F2.5 and a shutter speed of 1/3200s. A friend holding a reflector to even out the light a bit. The widest I could go was F2 - so here goes another shot at F2.
(This one is not perfectly focused, it’s kind of hard at F2 - hard training lays ahead)
I will try hard the coming days to find other things to photograph and hopefully I’ll be back with some nice pics.
Second wedding with SD14 and DP1 hand in hand. Same workflow as before. SPP PC (on Mac) + Aperture. I will link to halfsize images later - but for now you’ll have to do some clicking if you wanna see more details. Btw, We had a great time! :) And the guy helping me with the reflector (best man) he owned an SD14 too - Wow. :D
Lenses used: 12-24, 30mm, 70mm, 70-200 + DP1 (16,5mm)
So you think it’s a hazzle to buy Windows XP and VMware in order to try Sigma Photo Pro 2.5 on your Mac? Well, try Crossover! - some sort of vierd software that makes it possible to run windows software without the need of windows - in OS X! 30 days free trial Recommended to watch in high quality.
I got lots of mail lately regarding my strange choice of running PC version of SPP rather then the native SPP 3.2 on my Mac. Well, as you will see in this video there is a good reason for me to do this. Watch this video in better quality.
Hopefully some smart guys at Sigma can fix this in the next edition of the Mac version of SPP, maybe release some open source? :D.
And Yes, I’m aware that I say “These are SD pictures..” when it’s DP1 images. I do correct myself without really knowing. :P Forgive me.
Another wedding session, and I’m happy to announce that DP1 is a great b camera! :D Linn had hers with her all the time (she assist me) and she took quite a few really nice shots. I used mine as well and I got more keepers from the DP1 (compared to amount of shots taken) than with the SD14. More time to think? I think one or two of Linns are among these too.
My workflow has slightly changed and looks like the following. I make the basic adjustments from SD14 and DP1 RAW in SPP 2.5 Windows. After adjustments are done I import all into a new project in Apple Aperture.
In Aperture I use the new plugin called Viveza to further adjust certain spots - add light to face or simply to enhance black and white images. I also use Aperture to dodge and burn, crop and straighten, add vignetting and my little watermark. I don’t apply vignetting to all but to many shots. So don’t judge lenses because of my images. hehe..
During all this I also add stars to my favorites, this I later use when publishing to the couple and the very best here on my website. I ended up with 44 images in this post and 133 to the couple, I started with about 300 from SPP and around 700 in total from field..
The two above shots are DP1
DP1
There is all in all 44 images in this post. Click each image to view the full size image. Remember that this is copyrighted material.
Continue reading ‘Daniel & Maria | Wedding with SD14 and DP1′
About a week ago I received the much awaited (at least by me) close up lens made by Sigma. I must say that I was happily surprised about the little leather box that came with the lens! Soooo retro and beautifully crafted! WELL DONE SIGMA! Now, is the lens as good as the box it came in? :D
I’ve read numerous threads over at dpreview on different solutions and I’ve seen magnificent macro shots with all sorts of filters - some good, some not so good. Now, when the Sigma AML-1 was announced I was a bit surprised on the closest distance which is 20cm - not very Macro on a 28mm lens is it?! :D and in order to show you just how close 20cm is and what it feels like - I made this little video. If you watch it on Youtube then you can see it in higher resolution. Embedded is low res.
The lens is very bright - not sure you loose any light. Can’t really see any difference in shutter speeds and the lens says nothing about it. You can’t focus to infinity with it on - but it’s made for closeups so it’s not really a problem. OOF becomes BEAUTIFUL! Especially welcome when you’re making movies. Along with the extremely sharp lens and sensor it becomes almost unreal. Take a look at the shot of Linn, click it and the full version will load. It’s so so detailed. If the DP1 only had MORE resolution when making movies!! :D
The AML-1 as a slight negative distortion in corners - The opposite to the type of distortion we’re used to with normal lenses. But it’s not noticeable in day to day images. The picture below shows the effect, look at the window and you’ll understand what I mean.
Conclusion. I should have had TWO lenses or even three and stacked them, that would probably give very nice macros. Right now you don’t get close enough for that type of photography with only one lens. For movies and portraits such as the ones above it’s a wonderful solution and gives you new views - plus that the extreme OOF is perfect for videos.
Btw, the lens / filter itself is very very well made and NO CA can be found. At least not in any of my photos so far. Contrast and sharpnes are really top notch.
Went out with family and friends yesterday late evening and played in a nearby lake called Hultasjön.
The 120-300 is wonderful to work with. So fast and easy to handhold. It’s very well balanced together with the SD14 body.
Most shot at ISO400 and ISO800. Manual mode. Directly from SPP3.2 mac. I must say it’s tricky with sunset in background like this, not sure where to put the WB - it looks good in many different ways. :) click to view as 1500×1000px. I realized now that the black and white shots has a bluish tint. (except one) My fault. :)
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