Canon Zoom or Sigma ?

After a careful examination of my Google Analytics Data, it comes to my attention that there is a strong correlation between high page views and the word Canon, Canon Camera, Canon lens etc... used in the Blog Post Title. This leaves me with no other choice but to include those three words in various ways in every Blog Title. How about these ideas as Blog Post Banners.

• Happy Birthday to me... and Canon Camera
• 10 things every Photographer should know... about Canon Lenses
• Software to improve workflow...with your Canon Camera
• 15 Photographers killed in tragic tour bus accident...all Canon shooters
• Tokina's latest super zoom... it's not a Canon!

or how about the Ultimate Blog Post Title :

• Canon Releases New Canon Camera with Canon Lens...it's a Canon!

Take that you evil Googlebots!

Now to the real subject of this post as described in the title " Canon Zoom Or Sigma?"

I really and truly intended to discuss my dilemma over picking a zoom lens for my new 12 mega pixel Canon 40D ( That one alone should guarantee at least 1000 page hits tomorrow morning! ) but the whole Google Analytics thing really got me thinking...about Canon Cameras and Canon Lenses, especially the Canon Zooms!

Now that I have assured myself a page in Photo Blog Page Hit History I can ask my friends and readers to help me with a decision on my next big lens purchase. Canon or Sigma? To IS or not to IS?

Here are the contenders:

1. Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS / No IS ( Image Stabilization ) $889.00@B&H Photo
2. Sigma Zoom Normal-Telephoto 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS /No IS $679.00@B&H Photo
3. Sigma Zoom Telephoto 100-300mm f/4 EX DG IF HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS
4. Sigma Zoom Telephoto 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS Price: $ 999.00@B&H Photo
   
5. Sigma Telephoto 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS
   No IS /USA Price: $ 399.00@B&H Photo
6. Sigma Zoom Telephoto 120-300mm f/2.8 EX APO DG IF HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS Price: $ 2,699.00
7. Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Autofocus Lens / No IS
   USA Price: $ 1,140.00@B&H Photo
8. Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Image Stabilizer USM Autofocus Lens
   USA Price: $ 1,699.00@B&H Photo (SHA-WING!!)

*Cost is a consideration, f2.8 is the Maximum Aperture of choice and I love Sigma Zoom lenses for the cost versus usefulness factor. But you can't beat a Canon.

All donations will be accepted... comments or cash!

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Boy I Wish I Looked That Good!

Well...maybe you do.

Here are a few quick links to some Super Bogus, heavily retouched and manipulated Glamour Photos appearing at a newsstand near you. It should really make you doubt whether there is any reality at all in those oh - so - perfect Celebrity Portraits that grace the covers of the Supermarket Tabloids. I lump the Glamour, Vogues and Men's magazines in the same pile.

1. Swedish site : Ministry of Health and Social affairs
2. Digital Pablo: www.digitalpablo.com/portfolio
   

I guess it shouldn't come as such a shock to see so much unreality in the publishing world. Truthfully, I do the same thing every day to my assignment photos before delivery of any job. Yellowing teeth and tired red eyes never make it back to the client on the final disk. I wouldn't even think of sending out an image without a few wrinkles carefully erased or blemishes wiped away like Magic Zit Creme. And I generally don't make it a policy to enhance cleavage, but I've done it before and I'm sure I will be asked to do it again. Also, my clients aren't celebrities or models........but maybe they could be?

Later...

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Editing......Part 6

Continued from the 'Editing......Part 5' post on July 2nd:

12A) So you have your images tweaked, organized and ready to process with your chosen Raw Processing Software. It's time to send them on a trip down Conversion Lane to their final destination... Tiff Town! With so many choices available for processing each image, it's best to test your process settings on an average file with a good histogram and plenty of shadow and highlight. You won't be sorry that you took the extra time to choose a file to test process. Tweaking the software settings on one image to fine tune the final output will save you a lot of Photoshop time on the bulk of your files. It's also a great way to catch your mistakes ( over sharpening, Blown out highlights, too much color noise reduction, shadow noise etc... ) before the settings are applied globally to hundreds of files.

Because the Conversion Process is Non Destructive, you don't have to worry about permanently altering the Raw files when converting to Tiff. If your converted files look terrible, you can go back to the raw files, change your processing parameters and start all over again. Eventually you will discover a basic range of Color, Tone, Contrast and Noise Reduction that will get the job done on 95 percent of your images. Nevertheless, there will always be a few pictures that require special attention in the conversion process. Testing one average image from each shooting session / Job will keep you from waisting a lot of time.

Most Conversion Software will give you the option to process individual files ( Slow ) or the better option to Batch Process dozens or even hundreds of files with your preference for file naming, color bit depth ( 8, 16 and eventually 24 bit) and extension ( Tiff, Jpeg etc... ). When you are choosing to process for 8 bit color over the larger 16 bit file, it's important to remember that you are tossing out data that you may need later during the retouching and manipulation phase. And with some Raw Conversion Programs, the process time may be longer for 8 bit conversion than the larger 16 bit file. I can only assume that the software has to work harder to choose what data to throw out to create the lower bit depth.


To be continued

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Cable Down For 5 Days!

After an entire week of non- stop Grip and Grin PR photography, I have come home to a house without cable TV or Internet. Some joker cut my cable line in three neat pieces? Who knows why or how. Maybe the secret police employed by Canon Camera Inc are sending me a message. No more jokes about the Mark III! or Else! More likely one of the landscapers got a little careless with the sidewalk edger.

At this very moment I am stealing Bandwidth from some unsuspecting neighbor. I know it sounds bad but my time on his network will be brief and my desire to post on the blog is overwhelming.

Short re-cap of the week.

• 1000 + pictures taken
• 9+ gigs of CF storage used. (1/2 the job)
• Steve ( it was his client ) shot 9-11 Gigs on his end.
• 15 free gourmet meals
• 10-15 cups of Java ( actually less than usual)
• 4.5 hours of actual sleep a night ( an average for the week )
• 750 embarrassing and cheesy things said to complete strangers to illicit a freakin smile!

etc...

Tomorrow starts my vacation. I will be posting daily and adding more goofy beach pics to the Melissa's Goofy Summer Pics link on the right sidebar. Check it out daily!

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More Rumors About The 40D?

More rumors abound about the upcoming release of the New Canon 40D. I can't really tell if the Camera Enthusiast's are spreading the same rehashed news ( myself included ) or if there is any real new info to be had. But, as they say, where there is smoke there's usually fire and there is a whole lot of smoke. Most of it is probably being blown up our behinds!

Rumor List: 10.1 -12 Mega Pixel, Digic II ( 80% ) or Digic III ( Just a few people have said this! ), 2.5 inch LCD, 5 -7 Frame per sec ( who cares ) etc...

I can't imagine spending any more on a camera with those specs than I would for a new rebel XTI!
Give me a full frame 12 Mega Pixel with a 3 inch LCD and I'll be happy for a few more years.

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5 Days Of PR Shooting

I'll be hitting the sack earlier than usual tonight. Tomorrow begins a five day PR shoot for a Consulting Company at Convention locations in Raleigh and Durham. Run-and-Gun will be the order of the day, with most of the photography being photo-journalistic in nature. Our lighting weapon of choice will be the Canon Speedlite 580 Ex and more Canon 580's if needed. I spent a couple of hours making a killer accessory reflector for the strobe out of some old White cardboard.
I think the Strobist would be proud!

After Friday.............Vacation! But I'll be taking my Desktop and 20 inch Dell Monitor just in case!

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