Sigma 50 - 150 f/2.8 EX DC APO

And the winner is....

In my August 7Th Blog Post " Canon Zoom or Sigma? " I asked my friends and readers to help me decide which one of 7 very different zoom lenses would, should or could give me the most bang for my buck! The contenders were as listed:

• Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-200mm f /2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM ( that's a mouth full!)
• Sigma Zoom Normal -Telephoto 50-150mm f /2.8 EX DC APO HSM
• Sigma Zoom Telephoto 100 - 300mm f /4.0 EX DG IF HSM
• Sigma Zoom Telephoto 80 - 400mm f /4.5 -5.6 EX DG APO OS ( More letters mean more money and more fun! )
• Sigma Telephoto 105mm f /2.8 EX DG Macro
• Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70 -200mm f /2.8L ( No image Stabilization )
  
• Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70 -200mm f /2.8L IS ( Image Stabilization )

Each of these lenses is an exceptional, highly rated and worthwhile piece of glass and none of them would be a bad lens to have in your camera bag, but not all of them would get used frequently enough to warrant me spending the big bucks. My work style is down and dirty and my inclination is to have no more than two lenses in my camera bag at any one time, preferably two zooms, one covering Wide Angle to Medium Telephoto and one Zoom covering Medium Telephoto to Super Telephoto. The long range always getting much less use than the Wide and Medium. I don't make my living shooting Sports or Wildlife, so the Wide to Medium Telephotos get the job done for me quite well. Still, having one super sweet long lens will give you the opportunity to mix it up a little! You never know when you're gonna be asked to shoot some Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Models , so you better be prepared with some big, wide Aperture glass!

My current All - in - one Zoomage is cursed with a Varying Aperture ( F / 3.5 at it's widest ) and loud autofocus, but its sharp and I'll have to say, useful as hell! I haven't used another lens since I bought it, having removed it only a few times in the last two years. I can't even imagine going back to a camera bag filled with prime lenses, switching lenses every time a set- up changes or a subject moves just a little closer to the camera. It has definitely changed my whole way of thinking about Zooms Vs. Primes, especially for the type of shooting that I do. Image quality and Zoom Creep, which used to be a big concern for older Zoom Lenses is hardly an issue with the modern lenses being manufactured today.

Having decided that an f /2.8 fixed Aperture zoom was the way to go, Budget being a big factor but not the main concern, I decided to go with the lens that best covers my daily needs for the long haul.

And the winner is ......

The Sigma Zoom Normal-Telephoto 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS Mfr# 690101 • B&H# SI5015028CAF - $679.00@BHPhoto

I think this one will pretty much cover the range I like for portraiture and product shots. With a wide f / 2.8 fixed Aperture and Internal Focusing it should be a compact and useful lens to have in the bag. According to the reviews I have read, it seems to be a sharp and well put together lens that should give many years of use. My next purchase will be a second lens to cover the 16 - 50mm range!

Hmmmmm?

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Editing......Part 7

Continuing from the 'Editing......Part 6' post on August 5Th:

14) Before you hit the Go Button on your Batch Processing Command, make sure you have created a Destination Folder on your Desktop to receive the newly converted files. This could have been done earlier when you were preparing to edit the files, but if you haven't yet, now is the time.

I'm not exactly sure why, but there is something very satisfying about Batch Commands, both in my Raw Conversion Software and in Photoshop. I think you have to have the experience of doing things the hard way, to really appreciate the magic of pushing a button and watching the computer do it all for you. When given the choice..........Automate!

The time it takes to convert a Raw file to a usable Tiff varies with the particular Raw Conversion Software, your system's available RAM and most importantly the power of your computers Processor. The Bit Depth of your final file is also a factor in the processing time. As I have mentioned earlier, my Raw Conversion Software takes much longer to produce an 8 bit file than it does to convert the same Raw File to 16 Bit. I guess the processor is having to work overtime to decide what color data to toss out. Who knows? The point is to create the best files with the most Color Data. The Photographer who dies with the most Color Data... Wins!

As an example of processing times, a typical Canon CR2 file, 8.02 Megapixel (12 bit Raw) converted to a 16 Bit Tiff in Canon's DPP will take approximately 10 or 11 seconds of computer time. That's about 10 files every 2 minutes, depending on your computers speed. I'm sure the times will vary somewhat in different Processing Software and systems, but that's a good example of the average.

Use the extra time you have while your files are running to make yourself a good Cup of Joe and to gather your Analog Recording Device ( Pencil ) and paper. You will need these to help you organize and streamline the work on the newly processed Files. Some of them more than likely from the same set-up and requiring the same basic curves adjustment and manipulation. No matter how fast your computer or editing skills, writing a few things down on a piece of paper will speed up the final work on your images. Remembering my own admonition to not try and re-invent the wheel every time I sit down in front of the computer, I always make a note to group similar images in a editing session. This allows me to run a Curves Adjustment Layer on the first image in a series and to drag it seamlessly to the others from the same session. Every image requires a little TLC, some more than others, but similar images taken at the same time will require a Basic Curves Adjustment that will vary very little. Why not work on one and transfer your settings to all the others from the same set - up. It's as easy as dragging an Adjustment Layer from the first file to any of the others, they only have to be open a the same time and you have instantly performed the same action on each file. Beats the hell out of trying to replicate the same adjustments on ten or twenty individual files!

To be continued...


Special thanks to Bob Johnson at EarthBound Light for his excellent tutorial on Adjustment Layers! Please take the time to check out his wonderful site!


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DP Review Posts 'Beta' 40 D images...

Phil Askey and the good folks over at dpreview.com have posted some sample pics from their Pre-Production Eos 40D provided to them by the Engineers at Canon. The link above will jump you to page seven of the full Camera Review.

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RED ONE! The Future of Digital Cinema Production...

I have been hearing a lot of rumors lately from the Video Production Geeks that I know. Something about the Color Red, Digital Cinema and the end of Video Tape. And that's not all, they're telling me that you cinema guys can throw the motion picture film you've got stored in the freezer straight into the toilet. The be all, end all of Digital Cinema Production has arrived!

The Red One Digital Cine Camera is purportedly the Quantum Leap in straight to Digital, Motion Picture Cameras. Weighing in at under ten pounds and costing just under $20,000 US, the Red One is described as obsolescence proof; the modular design allowing for any future updates to mechanics and electronics. Follow the link above to their site and be prepared to be blown away!

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Canon 40 D High ISO Test Images...

The Japanese Photo Website 'Photo Cafe' has examples of High ISO Captures with the Canon EOS 40 D. The still life images of a flower arrangement are taken at 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 ISO, with and without the Noise Reduction setting. The quality of the files is remarkable by comparison to the High ISO images produced from Professional DSLR's just a few years ago.

Check it out!

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Nikon Announces D-3 12.1 Megapixel...

Nikon broke the news on Wednesday about 2 of its newest Pro DSLRs, the 12.1 Megapixel, Full Frame D3 and the 12.3 Megapixel D300. At an expected retail cost of $5000.00 ( US ) the flagship D3 comes with all the bells and whistles that you might expect from a camera that costs as much as a good used car, with the D300 expected to be more affordable at approx $1,800 ( US ). Sadly, neither of the two cameras are manufactured by Canon, so you might have to buy some electrical tape to cover the Nikon logo on top of the camera!

Here are a few of the Standout Features on the D3:

• 12.05 Million Pixel CMOS Sensor, measuring 23.9mm X 36mm.
• 16mm X 24 mm shooting mode for smaller files ( 5.14 Million Pixels )
• Proprietary Nikon Designed Full Frame Sensor ( Manufactured by? )
• Capable of 9 Frames Per Second burst rate with the full resolution.
• 14 Bit Analog to Digital Capture / Conversion with several choices of Compression Strength.
• Normal ISO Range of 200-6400 in third stop increments or an Extended Range, dipping down to ISO 100 and peaking at an incredible 25, 600 ISO ( What! )
• Improved High ISO image quality ( We'll see! )
• D-Lighting Mode to combat extremes in Highlight and Shadow in an image.

All of this and a free camera strap! Still I don't think it's enough to make me switch back over to the Dark Side. But if you're already there, you might want to sell the D200, D2X, take out a second mortgage and join the 21st Century.

Being a little ( a lot ) more affordable and with a larger Pixel file size, the D300 is by far the Nikon Camera with the most bang for the buck. It features a DX sized sensor and pretty much ( almost ) all the goodies offered on the D3 at nearly 1/3rd the cost. Just think of the lenses you could buy with all that money left over. In fact, you could get yourself a D300, two great Nikon lenses and a Canon EOS 40 D to let folks know that you're serious about photography!

Later...

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