Min DOF Photography

In this post I’m going to write down my thoughts and experiences with this lens. I was testing it for around ten days. That’s supposed to be enough to get it all done - but I had 4 more Sigma’s to test at the same time (70 2.8 Macro, 10-20 f4-5.6, 18-200 f3.5-6.3 and 50-150 2.8 - review already posted a few days ago), besides that weather was really bad most of the time, either cloudy or it was raining. So it was a full time job. But I enjoyed it, while it was exhausting walking around with two full photo bags (I had two bodies, since 70 2.8 had Nikon mount).

Ok let’s get to the lens itself. Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC MACRO is in a pretty busy segment. It has a lot of competition, because it’s the type of lens that everybody needs on an APS-C camera. That’s why it was also highly anticipated, after it was announced. It’s a DC (Digital Camera) lens specifically designed for the reduced image circle of today’s APS-C DSLRs where its field of view is equivalent to 27-112mm on classic full frame SLRs. The lens is available in Canon EOS, Nikon and native Sigma mount. I tested it on Canon EOS 400D. The optical construction is made of 15 elements in 12 groups with 2 aspherical and one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) element. The aperture mechanism features 7 aperture blades. The minimal focus distance of 20 cm resulting in a maximum magnification of 1:2.3. The Sigma has no floating elements for close focus correction so don’t expect wonders at extreme close focus settings. The lens extends significantly during zooming reaching its maximum length at 70mm. It measures 82.5 in lenght and 79 in diameter. It weights 455 g. Built quality is good, not like EX class, but better then most (or even all)of kit lenses. It features a standard micro AF motor, which is not that slower than HSM AF motor (it’s surprisingly fast, at least at the center AF point), but it is noisier (but not to the extend to be annoying). Focus accuracy is good too. The front element does not rotate so using a polarizer remains easily possible. Filter size is 72 mm. A petal shaped hood is part of the package.

Sharpness is very good in the 17-50 mm range, when stopped down (1 stop or more) , average at 70 mm (even stopped down, it doesn’t get much batter). The distortions are average, it suffers from barrel distortion at 17mm, it’s quite pronounced. Vignetting is visible also at 17 mm at f2.8. Stopping down 1-2 stops helps to reduce vignetting down to a normal degree (making it hard to spot). I could say the same about CA.

Let’s get to the test shots. Unfortunatelly all the photos were taken at ISO 400 (except for CA test), the light condiotions were really bad (I mentioned it before). I’ve added two crops under each photo. All the shots were taken at 70 mm. As you can see, sharpness is below average. I accidently erased shots taken at 17/24/35/50 mm, they were all better regarding sharpness. Please take this into account because this lens is pretty sharp in 17-50 mm range if stopped down for 1 stop and very sharp if stopped down 2-3 stops.

F4.5, 1/400, ISO 400

F5.6, 1/250, ISO 400

F8, 1/125, ISO 400

All the images below were taken at 17 mm at f2.8-f8(the first sample at f4) from top (f2.8) to the bottom (f8) . Crops show sharpness at various aperture settings, CA is visible on the first crop, on the others you can barely spot it or you even can’t spot it.

In this standard CA test Sigma 17-70 performed excellent. I’ve posted a sample on which CA is most visible, on the other shots I didn’t spot it.

F3.2, 1/640, 23 mm, ISO 100

Macro sample (there’s a watermark with a www.slo-foto.net sign, don’t be alert, I’m the author of the photo as well as author of the text - here’s link to the review in slovenian http://www.slo-foto.net/reviews-120-page3.html )

F5, 1/80, 40 mm, ISO 400

Pros:
-sharpness when stopped down a bit (1 stop or more)
-almost no CA
-price
-built quality (at that price)
-fast AF (for a non HSM lens)
-large aperture (at least at the wide end)
-min. focus distance

Cons:
-sharpness wide open
-vignetting wide open
-sharpness at 70 mm at any aperture

This is a valid question, that might be going through your mind. Ofcourse, I’m a photographer, I can’t do nothing without my equipment. Ok, let’s start with what I own:
-Canon EOS 350D body
-Canon EF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 (kit lens)-I use it only when it’s necessary, on events, where you need a wideangle zoom lens
-Canon EF 75-300 USM - I’m not using it anymore, it’s a “dust collector”. I went to the ZOO in the spring a few times, but I almost exclusively used Canon EF 85 1.8 for taking photos of big cats. Quality of the 85 is just so much better, you can do Min Dof portraits with it and most importantly, you really get in touch with these majestic creatures (1 or 1,5 away is really close;))
-Canon EF 50 1.8 - I use it only when, 85 1.8 is too long. Not that it’s not good, I used it all the time for portraits etc, untill I bought the 85 1.8. Which is so much better regarding sharpness wide open (from f2.8 there’s not a lot of a difference, they’re both very sharp, 85 is a bit better), colours and contrast is much better and AF is better with 85 1.8 (faster, silent, doesn’t miss and works excellent in low light conditions). But 50 1.8 is still by far the best value lens out of all, not just Canon’s. It cost around 80 euros, for that money I don’t think you can even get a lens. And this one is sharper then 99% of the zooms, I don’t then there is a zoom that can beat it in sharpness, it can only get equal (at least in the range I use it mostly, that is f2.8-f3.5).
-Canon EF 85 1.8 - Now that’s a gem! It’s on my camera 90% of the time. I use it whenever it’s possible. Sharp, fast and has nice saturated colours (those things are most important to me). Built is very good too, not like an L class, but as good as it gets for a non L lens (and built is not that important to me, since I’m not a reporter). It’s size and weight are perfect for handling, filter size is 58 mm (they’re cheap). I used it on FF a few times, it performes well, no visible sharpness drop on the borders etc.
-battery grip BG-E3
-Canon EX 430 flash unit

Now let’s get to the equipment that I use, but not own. I wanted to dedicate a few posts just to describe the cameras that I use, but I won’t bore you with that (i’m gonna keep it short). The second reason for not doing so is, that I want to use the photos with them for other posts (about models, friends etc), I don’t want to post the same photo twice. So let’s get to the cameras that I used. It’s really the complete Canon DSLR lineup from EOS 10D on (over 3,5 years old, so it was on the shelves before I even begain doing what I do). I didn’t take many photos with it, just tested a couple of lenses on it. There’s really nothing much to say about it, it’s pretty old (ofcourse it still can make excellent photos, the photographer is usually more important then equipment anyway). Body design is my favourite, if it has a battery grip on, it’s almost perfect, better than Canon’s 1 pro series (they’re too heavy). And better then it’s successors, 20&30D. I used Canon 1D for about ten days, had a session with it and did some testing. Body is the same as all the newer models (1D mkII and 1D mkII N). When you look at the picture, it’s obvious that the sensor is way out of date, the dynamic range is not even close to newer models (I compared it with my 350D at that time), noise is also higher. AF speed and built are ofcourse pro grade, but I don’t need fast AF since I do portrait photograhy, so that’s not a big plus for me. I’d never change it for my 350D (if I’d have to keep it) although it’s still worth more. Then I tested it’s succesor 1D mkII. The same body and AF, but a new sensor - it makes a whole lot of difference. Not just because the pixel count is doubled (8 mpix), but more importantly (for me) it had much better dynamic range and lower noise. Controls, battery and everything else is the same, I also tested it as 1D. 5D is the next worth mentioning, it was the first affordable (Ok I’m not super about that) Full frame DSLR. The body is sligtly better then 20D’s (30D wasn’t available at that time), controls are the same. Image quality is excellent (Canon users are used to that) and it still has the lower noise levels of ALL DLSRs on the market. ISO 1600 is just awesome, comparable to ISO 800 on 350D (and 350D is a good performer regarding noise). Ufff, you’re probably bored by now if you’re still reading (I really intended, to keep it shorter). The next was the top of the line 1 Ds mkII, not much too say excepet that it’s a beast. 17 mpix, pro body and AF (same as 1D’s). But I’d still go for 5D, which is worse if you look at the specifications, but its lighter, not that bulky, controls are easier to use (on 1 series you always have to hold a button and scroll the wheel, or push 3 instead of 2 on 5D or 10/20/30D). This finger gymnastics really bother me, it means slower, instead of faster control, which pro’s need (series 1 is made for pros). Pros will object to that, saying the controls are excellent once you get to used to it (I did and I still don’t like ‘em), that you can’t erase anything by mistake etc. The last from the Canon line is the 300D, which is pretty old, but can still produce great pics. Dynamic range is a bit better on 350/400D, noise is a bit higher on 300D, 6 mpix is still enough if you don’t crop (too much, it depends on the size of the print). What really bothers me is the slow processing.

I did make a few shots with Nikon (D70, D2X, D200) and Olympus DSLR Cameras (E-1, E-330, E-500), but not enough to give a constructive opinion. Out of these I’d point out Nikon D70 which is still a nice camera to use (although it already has 2 successors) and D200 with it’s big viewfinder, good low light focusing and it felt great in my hand.

But I really think that a good lens effects the quality of the photo, the end result, much more than the body. At least if your’re shooting portraits etc, more or less static objects, where’s no need for fast AF.

I won’t write about which lenses I using in this post, I’ll put interesting ones (and those that I have long enought to do a complete test) in new posts. You can already read a review of Sigma 50-150 2.8 EX.

In this post I’m presenting you my magazine covers. There aren’t many since I’ve began submitting my photos to Ona and Polet magazines at the beginning of last summer. And because other magazines in Slovenia don’t buy photographs for magazine covers from freelance photographers (they all employ their own). Anyway, I hope there will be many more in the future.

Click on the image to enlarge

Besides model photography, I also take photos of big cats from time to time. The last time I was at the ZOO was in march 2006. The following photos were all taken during the end of last winter. All the photos were taken with Canon 350D and Canon EF 85 1.8 (except of the tiger in the rain, which was taken with Canon EF 75-300 USM).

I’ll start with the King:

What you can see in the photo above, is the predator’s look. I lurred him right up to the fence, about a meter away, so that I could frame him just right with the 85 mm lens and also to get this predator look on his face (which he doesn’t have if you’re not within his reach)

A min dof lion portrait

Brush with freedom

Damn rain

Min dof portrait of a phlegmatic leopard

Just a min dof portrait

Miss ZOO Ljubljana

Whatcha lookin’ at?!?

Over two month ago I tested this lens. It was very promising, specifitaions were intriguing. First impressions were really good. It was very well built, standard for Sigma’s EX (excellence) class. The Sigma is a DC (Digital Camera) lens specifically designed for the reduced image circle of today’s APS-C DSLRs where its field of view is equivalent to 80-240mm (I tested it with Canon 400D) on classic full frame SLRs. That’s why it’s quite a compact and light lens (770g). It has a constant f2.8 aperture (throughout the zoom range). Aperture has 9 diaphragm blades (which also contribute to a great bokeh). The HSM drive, Sigma’s ultrasonic AF drive variant, is very fast and provides full time manual focus control. The zoom ring is quite “hard to turn” but it runs pretty smooth (no “jamming” etc), the manual focus ring is excellent. I guess I’m used to Canon’s zoom rings, but this is normal for Sigma lenses (I’ve tested quite a few) Please note that the HSM drive is only available for Sigma, Canon and Nikon mounts. Minolta and Pentax users have to live with a standard micro motor which is surely somewhat slower. The lens does not extend during zooming and the front element remains in place so using a polarizer is no problem. Minimum focus distance is 100 cm, filter size is 67 mm.

Below you have the test samples. Unfortunately I hadn’t had luck with the weather so most of the photos were taken at ISO 400 in the f2.8-f4 range (which will probably interest you the most anyway). 100% crops are ofcourse not postprocessed, resized images are sharpened (usually USM 50/1/4).

F2.8, 1/125, 77mm, ISO 400

F2.8, 1/250, 83mm, ISO 100

Below are two standard CA test shots. On the first simple ther’s (almost) no visible CA, however on the second it’s quite pronounced (please enlarge the photo by clicking on it).

Conclusion:
The lens is not as good as one would think when looking at specifications. Sharpness is very good from f4 above, especially towards the long end (100mm and more). CA can be pretty bad at f2.8. AF is fast and quiet, but this lens had a slihgt frontfocus issues. This is a serious issue with Sigma lenses, since 3 out of 8 lenses that i tested in the last 2 months had this issues. 5 of them were EX class, 3 of them had front focus issues, one of them a severe one (300 2.8). So it looks like, that you must have a lucky hand to pick one an EX (excellence) class Sigma lens, that focuses correctly. I suggest you try it before purchasing it.

Pros:
-sharpness at f4-f8
-fast and silnet AF
-price
-nice supplementation of the kit lens (which usually range from 17/18 to 50/55mm)

Cons:
-CA in some cases
-front focus of the tested lens
-sharpness at f2.8

Friday the 13th in January was a lucky day for me. That was the day that I rented a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM fixed medium telephoto lens. With which one gets a more natural angle of view and perspective. These lenses will provide you with the image closest to how your eye perceives the subject and they are excellent for portraits and for giving images natural depth of field. I was testing it during the weekend and I immediately fell in love. This lens was so much sharper than all the lenses I have tried untill that day (and until today and I’ve tested or at least had a few shots with, at least 30, the only one that beat this lens was Canon’s EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM). It has a great bokeh, DOF control and accurate&fast AF system (which is crucial if you do min DOF photography). I did some testing on my friends, I’ll post the results. Both photos are taken at f1.8 (aperture wide open). After the weekend was over, I didn’t return the lens to the store, I came back and payed for it without hesistation (and it wasn’t cheap, but it was sooo good that I couldn’t help myself).

This is just a test image: 100% crop, f1.8, ISO 200 (ofcourse no sharpening added)

From now on you’ll be privileged to be the first to see my photos
online;). I’ll start with some history (with this and the next few
posts). This session dates back to January 9th 2006. The girl on the photos is my friend Tisa,
that was the second session that we had. We’ve had a few more later on
this year, and she got better form session to session. I could say we
both got better, working together as a team. Enough of the talking,
let’s get to the photos…