Which lens?

bwana said:
If you're having a problem with flaring then take it off. You dont really need it anyway.
Click to expand...

Do you mean the flare is caused by the filter, not the lens?

Some feedback on the Sigma.... I haven't really taken any nice pictures with it yet, but a few things are worth mentioning. It's pretty sharp, more than I expected for the money. Also fairly light. It feels solid enough, not plasticky despite being made of plastic, mostly. Some things annoy me though:
- Focus drive feels course, and when you focus on something too close, it will keep trying to focus closer, causing some mechanical noise (which sounds like something stripping to me)
- to manually focus, you have to switch off AF (maybe I'm just spoiled with the L)
- Macro is via a switch, only available between 200mm and 300mm. While it can be engaged with the lens on the camera, I have to physically remove the lens before I can disengage it. Just switching of the camera isn't enough.

I guess that's what you get for buying the cheaper lens.
 
koffiejunkie said:
Do you mean the flare is caused by the filter, not the lens?
Click to expand...
I usually look at the filter first - it's another piece of glass that's not supposed to be there.

I'm sure you'll get used to the lens and its quirks soon. :D
 
1. The Sigma 10-20 is worth every cent:

262191832_qdbCL-M.jpg


All pics in this gallery taken with it, mainly in the rain (gallery still being built).

2. Throw filters away, they definitely influence the pics, especially with cheaper lenses.

3. The Sigma 18-50 2.8 is a good lens, the Sigma 18-50 3.5-5.6 is a horrible lens.

4. The kit lens is totally underrated (but throw the filter away).
 
BigAl-sa said:
1. The Sigma 10-20 is worth every cent:

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/photos/262191832_qdbCL-M.jpg

All pics in this gallery taken with it, mainly in the rain (gallery still being built).

2. Throw filters away, they definitely influence the pics, especially with cheaper lenses.

3. The Sigma 18-50 2.8 is a good lens, the Sigma 18-50 3.5-5.6 is a horrible lens.

4. The kit lens is totally underrated (but throw the filter away).
Click to expand...
/off topic
Smugmug - how are they? They look a bit expensive to me - do they have a free account like flickr?
/On topic
I agree about the filters - unless you're trying to protect the glass from the elements then there's no need imo for a clear one just for the sake of 'protecting the lens'
 
bwana said:
/off topic
Smugmug - how are they? They look a bit expensive to me - do they have a free account like flickr?
/On topic
Click to expand...
[OT]Costs $39 pa for unlimited storage for a standard account (which I have). They don't have a free account, but the way they handle the pics is way better than flickr.[/OT]
 
BigAl-sa said:
[OT]Costs $39 pa for unlimited storage for a standard account (which I have). They don't have a free account, but the way they handle the pics is way better than flickr.[/OT]
Click to expand...
Pity - I've got 1100 photos up on my paid flickr account so moving would be a major hassle - and the expense! :eek:

Then again - if M$oft buys Yahoo I'll consider it.
 
BigAl-sa said:
1. The Sigma 10-20 is worth every cent:

2. Throw filters away, they definitely influence the pics, especially with cheaper lenses.

3. The Sigma 18-50 2.8 is a good lens, the Sigma 18-50 3.5-5.6 is a horrible lens.
Click to expand...

The filter is on a pretty expensive lens, but OK, I'm convinced: the filter goes :)

Thanks for the feedback on the three Sigmas. I happen to page through this month's Photo Plus Magazone (Canon edition) just now. They had a group test of wide zooms, and the Sigma was the favourite. Not a very scientific review, but at least it's more votes for the same lens.
 
bwana said:
Pity - I've got 1100 photos up on my paid flickr account so moving would be a major hassle - and the expense! :eek:

Then again - if M$oft buys Yahoo I'll consider it.
Click to expand...
Moving is not too much of a problem, one of the clever okes on Smugmug wrote a piece of software called smugglr to do just that - and you can get a 50% discount if you're a paid up flickr member ;)
 
bwana said:
Stick with Aperture - the levelling is just as good, if not better, than PS. You can also stamp it across to any other shot that might need it.
Click to expand...

OK, I spent some time playing with it. The auto levelling, at least on these particular photos, doesn't come close to what Photoshop does in one click. But I'll accept that this might simply be down to the content of these particular photos.

I did find that I could do the same by adjusting the levels manually. It takes a while to get it right, but it looks just as good.
 
BigAl-sa said:
Moving is not too much of a problem, one of the clever okes on Smugmug wrote a piece of software called smugglr to do just that - and you can get a 50% discount if you're a paid up flickr member ;)
Click to expand...
Does it run locally or is it 100% remote?

koffiejunkie said:
OK, I spent some time playing with it. The auto levelling, at least on these particular photos, doesn't come close to what Photoshop does in one click. But I'll accept that this might simply be down to the content of these particular photos.

I did find that I could do the same by adjusting the levels manually. It takes a while to get it right, but it looks just as good.
Click to expand...
Are you use the Combined, Separate, or both Auto Levelling?

Manual levelling can often bring about better results even in PS but as you've realised once you open it up in PS your 10mb file goes to 40 - start running it though heavy hitting filters and it's level after 40mb level! :eek:
 
bwana said:
Are you use the Combined, Separate, or both Auto Levelling?
Click to expand...

Either and both. But I find that when clicking on both, the second one undoes the first one. So If I co combined, and then adjust the RGB and Luminance myself - basically just move the white and black points to the edges of the histogram - I get more or less the same result as in PS.
 
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