Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 any good?

Hi Paul.
Thanks for the tips, had looked at LCE before but had forgotten them, hadn't seen ffordes, useful resources, another source of limited usefulness is CEX, they sometimes have gear at good prices with warranty. Web site is the limiting factor on usefulness IMHO.
I'm fairly certain one of these lenses is going to join my arsenal, the seriously nice glass comment was aimed at 24-70 white! However reading another post it seems that is not a good focal range for crop, I did wonder.

Cheers Graham.
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Decaying Nature close up...

Famateur said:
@Ivan: As a first pass, I tend to agree with others that the images were kinda "blah", like I was looking for the punchline. Then, as I got to looking at the detail of them, it reminded me of times I've been in the deep woods hunting elk and notice things that later in photos just don't look that interesting but still capture the memory. It makes sense that these pictures for you are more documentary and less about images with a "wow" factor. I appreciate that from my own experience.

For example, in the first image, I notice the new life growing up through the dead wood. This image captures the memory (if that's what caught your eye). The second image shows an interesting repeating pattern that would be uncommon and something to catch the eye and want to remember. The last image I actually like aesthetically because it shows a brilliant contrast between the gray, weathered exterior and the rich rust/brown interior of the decaying log. Cool.

Astute point about often benefiting more from advice about a "bad" photo than from praise of a "good" photo. I might just learn more by posting some of my "bad" photos...

@VerySimpleJason: Great idea! What an excellent way to take otherwise ordinary (looking) photos and create art. Maybe I can resurrect some of my own "blah" snapshots. :)

@Sporgon: Brilliant observation. I'll bet in less flat light that these same images would have more impact (although I understand that "impact" is not the OP's intention). Add some depth with more angular light, and these photos would probably shed most of the "blah" initial impression.

@anybody: This thread made me think about interest and closeness. I often hear people say, "If your photos aren't interesting, get closer." (If someone famous said that, forgive my ignorance of the source. :) ) It occurs to me that what makes this true so often (and maybe the primary draw into the world of close-ups and macro photography) is that we walk around every day with most everything at arm's or leg's length (or further). Go in close, and ordinary, everyday things suddenly become interesting. Why? For me, it's because I see things (textures, shapes, colors) that I may have had no idea were even there.

Anyway, fun stuff...and interesting thread (at least to me).

thanks! you have said it very well. Sometimes the 'wow' photos tire quickly and the softer photos outlast them..think of a portrait of a kid or anyone with a huge grin on their face..as a personal image of family or friends it will work and of course never become tiresome...but for the rest of us that don't know the person the photographs where the smile is more gentle or just a straight level gaze are the ones with staying power, the ones that grow on you...and if well done where the character is revealed...
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Canon PowerShot G16 Announced

the G series won't invade into M series aps-c size sensor territory.

it's ironic how us consumers/semi pro's seem to know it all about what canon should do, but canon doesn't seem to care since it sells rebels like starbucks coffee.

it seems like canon just has a metric ton of old tech they need to sell off and will wait until the last moment to make a comeback.

anyway the only thing that caught my eye is the 9.3 FPS, i have no idea how useful the AF system is but that alone would be killer for soccer moms shooting sports.

i'll stick to my OLD kodak Z915 superzoom for point and shoot crap. my 7D still does the real work.
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canon 6d or 7d ?

Apop said:
Hey all, what would you think as a backup camera, the 6d or 7d.
Does anyone know if the GPS in the 6d works on remote locations (gps devices can sometimes struggle getting alocation).

Most reviews I could find were kind of bashing the 6d autofocus performance.
I am only interested in It's center point performance, if it's capable of focussing with decent speed and accuracy and able to track subjects when I keep the point in them.


Any thoughts on the combo's would be much appreciated,

Goal: wildlife
Primary body : 1dmkiv in case of the 6d, or 5dIII in case of the 7d
lenses : 70-200 / 300
tc's : 1.4/2.0

for what you are doing, I'd say go with the 5d3/7d combo. For my purposes the 6d works great (i have the 5d3/6d combo. I can't really speak to the servo mode on the 6d though, for anything that requires tracking like that I use the mk3. both the mk3 and the 6d have a much better servo mode, and if your shooting wildlife that will be handy.

the 1dmk4 --- I have never owned one, but when I was close to enough $$$ for my mk3 I asked about the mk3 vs the 1dmk4..nobody said grab the 1d4...
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60Da

gferdinandsen said:
I am looking at getting a 60Da. Does anyone have experience with it, or even 20Da? According to some reviews on Amazon, it can shoot regular photo's in Daylight, is this true? Thanks

Only if you use an IR cut filter on your lens. Otherwise, you'll get... well....

http://www.tutorial9.net/downloads/101-absolutely-breathtaking-infrared-photographs/#3


Edit: Another example:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/hoya-uv---ir-cut-filter-review-20088

Scroll down to the washed-out greyscale photo.
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Shipping film

pwp said:
...But for your current dilemma? Just ship it. It will be fine. Alternatively, rent a refrigerated truck...
I loved the refrigerated truck, I want one for me too. ;D Seriously, photographers used film in temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius for a few hours without major problems. The worst would leave him in a black car with closed windows parked in the summer sun, which could reach over 60 degrees celsius.
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6D logical upgrade from 7D?

Janbo Makimbo said:
thgmuffin said:
insanitybeard said:
thgmuffin said:
The best alternative to the 5D3 would be the 6D and 7D!

6D for still imagery, low light af, full frame advantages. Basically the best all rounder.
7D for sports, moving subjects, optical flash, crop factor.

I have considered going this route, the only thing is I would prefer to have all the features in one body (obviously the 5D III does not have a built in flash), I prefer to keep weight and bulk down but it sure is an option!
Not being able to trigger slave flashes is also a pain... :-\ 7D can do it via onboard flash (optically) but 6D can't...

Anyway I still shoot with my T2i (almost identical in terms of image performance to 7D) when I need something lighter and that "extra reach" that APSC gives you. Plus I only own one telephoto lens (55-250).

Good luck...... Canon do not put pop up flashes in any of their FF cameras, I use an ST-E3 to trigger my 600ex-rts and I also have a 550ex and a 580ex ii if I would ever need to do optical off camera flash.

Going to buy a RF603 and a few Yongnuo 560 III! Radio triggering FTW!
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Dead Pixels on Canon T3i/EOS 600D

Hi , i have a canon 600D with a 1year and 2 months , almost 15000 shots .
And today i repair when i take a long exposure for a star trail , a lot of dead pixels shows up
like 7-8 dead pixels , what i do ? i have a extended warranty of 3 years , i go to the shop and i gonna back my money or give me a new body ? new kit ?

Can you help me answer this?

Have a nice day , Alvaromphoto
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50/50 for 50?

infared said:
mrsfotografie said:
We've been here before, but I'll throw the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 into this discussion just for the hell of it. It is my quality 50mm, and it's nice that it shares the 77mm filter thread woth most of my other lenses. For travel I have a 50 mm f/1.8 Mk I. These are my workarounds considering the current offerings of Canon 50's.
I am a fan and own the Sigma 50mm f/1.4....guess we got lucky and got good copies... Love this lens....BUT...it could be that with Sigma's new commitment to the craft we may see an Art series 50mm and if it is anything like the Art 35mm f/1.4...I think I would be all over that!!!!!!!
Canon has a lot..but it just doesn't have it all.

I'm thankful to say that I've an excellent copy ;)
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Best setup for falling stars

CarlTN said:
I meant I wanted to shoot the whole sky with the comet in it, and feature part of the terrestrial view as well.
I see, well, then perhaps a fish-eye would serve you good. But generally, if you choose a very short focal length, the comet will not look as impressive (unless it is very impressive). If you want terrestrial features in the foreground, another strategy is to choose a time when the comet is nearer the horizon, and use a focal length more appropriate for the comet.

CarlTN said:
Incidentally, how well would a 300mm lens work on the Vixen Polarie?
I have no personal experience with it. The Polarie is intended for more wide-angle work, but is rated for 7 Ibs. of load, so it could potentially take a 300/4 for some 30s, if properly polar aligned. A 300/2.8 would probably be too much, including mount head and camera. An Astro-Trac could be the better mobile option, or a dedicated "light" tracking mount like the iOptron ZEQ25GT if mobility was not essential (i.e. no hiking with equipment unless you have plenty of assistents).

At 300mm it would be difficult to get foreground (but could yield spectacular results if you did; compare with full moon pictures showing foreground). You would ideally have the foreground high above you (a mountain or hill) to avoid seeing the comet through too much atmosphere. For a foreground project, I think 35-100mm would be a better trade-off between seeing both the comet and the foreground well enough. But as you say, it depends a lot on the comet.

If you haven't already, I would recommend you to look at other's comet pictures from past great comets, to probe the possibilities and get inspiration. Just remember that the last really great comet, comet Hale-Bopp, was in the pre-digital era (1997), so options were more limited then.
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Buying from Hong Kong?

rs said:
sama said:
Just curious to ask if caught for cheating the customs, who will pay the penalty and if the items are seized/confiscated finally, who will be responsible for it ?
On the DigitalRev site, if you add an item to your basket, on the right below the price it says the following:

[quote author="DigitalRev"]
No Import Tax/Duty to Pay:
Any import tax/duty charged will
be billed directly to us.
Which is contradicted by generic (non UK) wording on the Customs section of their Conditions of Sale page:

[quote author="DigitalRev"]
Any additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you, unless an Import Handling Charge is included in the price of the goods.
[/quote]
I've not paid any import duty on the items I've ordered from them.
[/quote]

It's not a contradiction. The answer is right in front of you:

"if you add an item to your basket"

What you've done by adding the item to your basket is invoking the clause from the general disclaimer, "unless an Import Handling Charge is included in the price of the goods"

You're adding an item to your cart, that includes the import handling charge.

I suspect that if you add a different item to your cart that doesn't include the import handling charge, it will not have the "Any import tax/duty charged will be billed directly to us" language.

The generic non-UK wording on the Customs section is the blanket disclaimer, which is superseded by your purchase contract for that one particular item.

Make sense?
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Perseid Meteor Shower Aug. 11-12 2013

Cali_PH said:
Here's a video of two timelapses I shot this weekend. Since the best & brightest streaks were 'off camera' I stopped part way through and tilted my camera up in hopes of catching more, although I didn't succeed. Still, I captured lots of the smaller streaks. Perseids was in the upper left, but we also saw a surprising number of meteors from other directions.

The lower right bump is Half Dome; you can see a couple of people coming down from it at the beginning and someone climb up & walk around on top later.

Done with some top-notch video software...Windows Movie Maker ;)


Not bad!
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Big Sigma Primes [CR2]

CarlTN said:
sagittariansrock said:
mrsfotografie said:
+1 I like the 'new' quality (and will probably get the 35 mm this year), but I think the nomenclature is just plain silly, and amateuristic too. Just like a car manufacturer printing 'Off Road" on a 4x4, 'Street' on a passenger car, 'Town' on something small and compact, just so you wouldn't get the wrong model by mistake ::)

Or, like an expensive line of lens being called "luxury" (L)?

+1, the new nomenclature is not "silly" at all. It is however an obvious marketing ploy...what matters is the product itself. But certainly calling something "art" is not earthshattering. If they had used "turbo", then that would have been silly. Art can certainly be generated from Sigma lenses.

+1 Call me shallow if you will, but it's by far the best looking lens I own (and I own quite a few). Art is the perfect designation.
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Wedding where you can't move

brianleighty said:
zlatko said:
brianleighty said:
Also, I haven't done a site scout yet but if I am super far back, do I rent something longer than the 70-200 I normally rent or just have wider shots instead? Appreciate the advice.
I would use a wide focal length range for some variety, perhaps 24mm to 200mm, or even 16mm to 200mm. As for needing anything longer than a 70-200 -- that depends entirely on the location.
Thanks for the input. I understand it depends on location. Would you say if you can get full body head to feet that that's tight enough or is more needed?
Yes, that would be tight enough for me. I would not rent a longer lens in that situation. This comes down to your own preference: do you really want a tight shot (like upper body only) from the back of the church? Normally, you would have it. But it's not essential in every case, especially when so restricted. And, depending on the camera, cropping can help.
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Dual Pixel AF system - does it buy you anything for still photos

All the previous posts do well to specifically answer your question as to the dual pixel advantages in focusing. However, there are some possibilities that may or may not actually ever be incorporated into later designs, using dual pixels, which could open up a number of options not now available. Somewhat like Fuji in some of their recent sensor designs, Canon could actually use one pixel in each pair for reading highlights and the other for reading shadows, thereby creating a sort of instant HDR exposure, increasing DR by quite a lot. Other arrangements could also be made to use one of each pair to read color information separately and differently from its mate in the same pair, thereby increasing color depth and accuracy. I'm sure that many things that others could think of, would also be possible , but these are some that sound interesting to me. Whether any of this could or will actually happen is another thing entirely. Maybe Canon already has this in mind, maybe not.

Regards,
David
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Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS : Seller's remorse?

I had a relatively good copy of the 24-105 that I just sold a week ago Monday. I replaced it with the 24-70 f/2.8 II on Sunday. So far I am not missing the 24-105 at all, despite it having more reach and IS. it was a great lens, but the 24-70 is something else. The colours it produces and the sharpness are amazing.

Maybe when I see Getitdigitial sell the 24-105 for $649 again I'll pick up another copy in the future.
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