[edit, this post is bumped (brought to top) every time there is an important update being made on the X3F Quick look plugin. The original post was made back in 2008 and bumped a couple of times since then. Now it's time again!].

Jeff Sickels, the creater of Sigma X3F quicklook plugin has once more shown his skill and released a new update with OS X Lion support! He writes:

An updated build of the X3F Spotlight Importer and Quicklook generator is now released for Lion. See version 1.5.1 on the software link.

Here’s a movie I made a couple of years ago about the plugin.

Just wanted to tease a little bit more with some 120-300 OS shots.. So I’ll skip most of the talk and let you see a couple of shots – most of which is taken with the Sigma SD15 but some that (ducks) comes straight out from the Sigma SD9 ones more. Unable to let go it seems.

You can almost use the 120-300 as a Macro lens. If you stay at around 250mm then you can go fairly close and get some really nice close ups.

Over and out. :) Oh and all images are uploaded at their full size over at my flickr account.

A while ago I was asked to take sample images for Sigma using their new 120-300 OS. So a month ago they sent me a working beta sample which was said to be alright optically but perhaps not perfectly refined in terms of AF and OS. As an owner of the older 120-300 2.8 and knowing it’s ability to really stun and also having heard that the new lens being among the very best that Sigma ever done – let’s just say I was eager to make it sing..

One of the very first things I noticed was that the stabilizing system (OS) that wasn’t optimized worked tremendously well.  Actually much better than any of my other OS lenses – No, wrong, the very first thing I noticed was that’s it was bigger and perhaps a tad heavier than it’ predecessor, and that the tripod mount came to better use when turned to the top – easier to carry the whole package that way and less intrusive while shooting handheld. And handheld is how this gun is supposed to be used.

Now you wonder, how is it? And I’ll tell you – It’s the very best! It’s so sharp, straight ahead from 2.8 – a good example is this shot of a goose (or whatever) that was sleeping in a lake – and I shot it at 269mm at 2.8. That’s wide open.

And if you’re a bokeh fanatic, then you’ll love this lens as the bokeh is truly awesome. It has it’s own life, especially the part of off focus going your way – but it’s really nice!

Or this seagull, taken at 300mm, 2.8 and using the Sigma SD14.

And I know what you’re thinking – this lens is like MADE for the SD1! And I think it’s the ultimate lens both in terms of sharpness and build quality – as it’s also weather protected as the new SD1 body.

I also did another thing – I bought some freash 123A batteries – and a new package of AA’s – this is something I wanted to do for quite some time! The 2002 Sigma SD9 body amazed me ones more and I’ll tell you, if you have it somewhere around or if you’re thinking about getting one – DO IT! It’s like starting to use a different type of film – a film that is just impossible to duplicate using any other camera. The SD9 is, the SD9.

And two more SD9 images.. I have plenty more but will save those for another post in a couple of days. I’m busy as we speak with a little something, the little something is partly the reason to why I haven’t posted anything in weeks. I’ll be back! And this is only the first post of at least two about the 120-300 OS.

Many years ago I saw some fascinating shots over at the Dpreview forum – most of them was taken early in the morning and they all had nature as the main theme. I was blow away by their unique quality – the light, the calm and most shot at a time of the day that I really really have a hard time to achieve.  The early morning.

Felix is an Austrian photographer – and he’s currently using the Sigma SD14 but started out with the good old Sigma SD9 (and one of my old favorites is shown bigger here below) and I bet he’s awaiting the SD1 – or I know he is. Who isn’t? :D

Anyways, he’s now in my photographers tab and will be able to post here about photography in the future and I’m truly looking forward to that!

Back in 2005 when I still lived in China I had the opportunity to meet the Swedish crown Princess Victoria. She came to the Nordic Gallery that I often used as my work place back then. Linn talked to her more than me, I thought her body guards was more fun.

Anyways I was asked to take a group shot – and it really isn’t much to see. I used the SD9 and it was a quick and dirty setup – I wasn’t prepared (no one was) and I more or less asked them to stand as a group and find a spot where they could see my lens with both eyes. :) But it’s a cool memory that comes to life now when preparing for the third trip. Jaij!

Back in China I didn’t use WordPress at first but another blog tool named LiveJournal. Now, I couldn’t back then import my old entries into wordpress so I skipped it. Today I was googling my own name (do that sometimes to make sure that noone writes any bad stuff). I found my old LiveJournal, alive!

I logged in and found an Export option and then went inside wordpress and found a nice import dialog. haha. Now everything is here! :D I found some good old photos taken with my SD9/10 that I almost forgot about.. Some really nice ones. :) (like the one to the left)

If you wanna read and see (I wrote a bit different in those days) go to 2005/June 2005/july 2005/august 2005/september and 2005/october.

I also recreated my old flickr account. Now I’m going to use that a little bit more too.. hmm

Yesterday I went to a place not very far from home (about an hour drive) to find pictures with a nice oceanic touch. When you look at these images, remember this: They’re all taken with the SD9, all hand held and all given very little time in lightroom. And no time in photoshop. I can clearly see that there is way to many dirt spots from my 12-24 but I just don’t care right now. Enjoy them as they are! :D

Camera: Sigma SD9
Lenses: Sigma 30mm EX, 12-24 EX and 70-200 EX.

Alright, any comments?

His name is unknown to me. I went to him to see how he, as the last known man making baskets using one local very old method. I thought that maybe I could catch a little something onto my black and white CF card uing my SD9 (I think) and for lens I used my 30mm. There are a few other people cought as well. (Like Mom, dad and Linn.. beware)

Yesterday I had a photo session with some friends of mine. Here’s some of them. I used SPP and Lightroom. Enjoy!

Link broken, take a look here for some of them: http://www.pbase.com/rytterfalk/minority

[Edit 11/7 2007: I found link to flickr broken. Here's some of them still on my pbase account: http://www.pbase.com/rytterfalk/minority

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I’m not sure how to describe the extreme detail-richness that the foveon sensor gives, but here are two day to day examples. The eye picture is not only very detailed but also exposure compensated in the RAW converted + 2 step. Thanks to wide dynamic range the photograph is still use full and everything is there! \
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Camera: Sigma SD10, Lens: 24-60EX | Observe! The cropped version is NOT 100% in this web view. There is more!\

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In fall of 2003 a group of women meet here in Kunming. The group consisted of chinese and Scandinavian women and a leader from England. They where artists, dancers, writers etc and they worked together with sugar and salt. Two weeks in China and two weeks in Sweden.

Finally the book about all this is done and ready to ship. I where the only outsider in this project I filmed and took photographs of everything they did. Camera used was a Sigma SD9. Main lenses: Sigma 50mm EX and Sigma 15-30EX. The final book now contains about 220 selected photographs from China and Sweden. Accompanied with a text in English and Chinese about the project.

I made the book using Indesign CS, used swedish ecologic paper, Munken, 220g. Cover 300g. Size 26x21cm. Printed here in Kunming/China.\

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distances\
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It\’d5s strange how the feel for a distance changes here compared to Sweden. This might be easier for a swed to understand But I’ll give it a try and give you an example. \
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Right now I’m sitting on a bus going home from a town down south of Kunming. Wen Shang is its name. The trip I\’d5m doing is going to take about 6h and I feel that I\’d5m soon in Kunming. This feeling is quite strange. In Sweden going from Malmo ( a town south in Sweden) and Goteborg (a town more north) would take about 4h on a bus, a trip that I, back then would call a long trip. I wouldn’t say; I\’d5m soon in Goteborg, not even when it was half way.\
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I wonder if size in this case matters?! If the size of China somehow changes my mind about distances and that maybe I would go back to normal thinking when returning to Sweden. \
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I remember when I went to Shangri la and after 12 hours in a sleeping bus came home and asking some friends if they been there, and when their answer where no my direct reply where; Why? It\’d5s so close!\
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But I\’d5m happy that my thinking is as it is as long as I am where I am. Reflections?\
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Camera: Sigma SD9 | Lens: Sigma 12-24EX\
Dpreview entry\