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wow (did I say wow...)

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Shelby Lewis

Guest
Ok... it came. My new a900 and sigma 50/1.4 (takin' a chance I know :D)

All I can say, after shooting for about 5 minutes around the house is WOW. Coming from canon, the improvement in DR, color, and AF accuracy is awesome. Couple of snaps from around my (still needing a good saturday cleaning) house. Nothing but a tad of ec and some contrast adjustments.

ETA: also a bit of USM

holy cow...





focus test on the eyelashes...


gonna love this cam...
 
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dhsimmonds

New member
Nice images, great camera and it looks like a very useful lens indeed. You are going to have fun with this one!
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
Bokeh Sigma 50/1.4

Went out in broad daylight to test the bokeh of the new siggy... in purposefully harsh conditions. I'm impressed with the sharpness wide open as well as the contrast (for the most part).





harsh here... but the background was random and dense leafless twigs under direct sun... so i think it held it's own




shiny foliage under direct sun...




I find it's bokeh "different". Very smooth but still busy at times... it's a strange combination under direct sunlight, but nice in less contrasty conditions. A long time ago, in my nikon d100 days I had a sigma 180/2.8 telephoto that had a similarly "liquid" bokeh. Generally very nice, but sometimes just plain strange.
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
One last one... window light, b/y split-tone... my little girl.

 

fotografz

Well-known member
How is the AF on the Sigma? Can you give it a try in lower light?

Thanks,

=Marc

OH yeah, welcome to the "Sony. The One and Only" group.
 

Lars

Active member
Those are challenging busy backgrounds indeed, the lens seems to handle it well. Were all exposures wide open? I'm really impressed with my Sigma (for Nikon). Streetlights at night wide open is of course another matter, mine needs to be stopped down to about 2.8 to reduce corner sagittal coma to acceptable levels (stopping down also hides most of the out of focus chromatic abberration).

Does the Sony version have HSM motor as well? How does it stand up to a 24 MP sensor? My D700 at 12 MP is not so much of a challenge WRT resolution.
 
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S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
How is the AF on the Sigma? Can you give it a try in lower light?

Thanks,

=Marc

OH yeah, welcome to the "Sony. The One and Only" group.
It seems pretty nice in low light... I am beginning to see that there will be some focus micro-adjust needed. It's more apparent at distance. I think I've got it dialed in and will be trying it during a shoot this evening. It's only apparent @ f/1.4.

I've got it dialed in now I think though, so will keep everyone posted as I put it through its paces.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Hi Shelby
Glad you're pleased. The wonderful thing is that the wow doesn't go away. I'm still getting it 9 months later:)
 
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panyawong

Guest
Hi Shelby;

The minimum depth of field test on your children pictures are wonderful, less so with the bushes out door. The background seem to be a major factor. I guess they called it bokeh. Your pictures make sigma 50/1.4 very tempting as I also heard it has quite even resolution from center to edge. I am also wondering if a Leica or Zeiss 50mm lens be any better. I probably will need to embark in a Leica conversion project myself.

Regards,
Panya
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
Those are challenging busy backgrounds indeed, the lens seems to handle it well. Were all exposures wide open? I'm really impressed with my Sigma (for Nikon). Streetlights at night wide open is of course another matter, mine needs to be stopped down to about 2.8 to reduce corner sagittal coma to acceptable levels (stopping down also hides most of the out of focus chromatic abberration).

Does the Sony version have HSM motor as well? How does it stand up to a 24 MP sensor? My D700 at 12 MP is not so much of a challenge WRT resolution.
Thanks Lars. Almost all these were wide open. I'll have to check the exif, but i think i did stop down to f2 on a few. It is hsm and seems to stand up well to the 24mp. I'll try to get some 100% crops up in a few.

It appears that focus is going to be the big testing ground. Just shooting around the house, I've figured on a +9 or +10 micro-adjustment to get it really where it needs to be... but at f/1.4 I'm just not sure if it's the lens or if we're at the edge of what AF at 24mp can do.

I have to admit that, after coming from canon, it's going to take a lot for me to stop shooting everything in triplicate just to make sure I've got something in focus. The sony AF already seems WAYYYY more consistent.

I'm seeing sharpness and acuity that I've never really seen before. :)
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
100% crop

...from one of the above shots. This was underexposed by almost a stop... (and out of lightroom, which I've seen is not the best raw converter)... not sharpened at all.

Not too bad for a "missed" shot.

50/1.4 wide open, ISO 320:
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
few more and a better 100% crop

had an e-session tonight... here a couple from it as well as a 100% crop... believe these were all at f2. VERY sharp at f/2.



the crop:


 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
you'll like it....this will be your next lens cz 24-70. Sons prom this weekend
used the sony flash for fill with the Leica s-fill soft box.
Wow... sharp and so much contrast. Can't wait for that lens... I need a good normal zoom.

What I REALLY can't wait for, though is the 16-35 and the 135/1.8.

I'm also interested in the STF. fun stuff.
 

peterv

New member
Hi Shelby,

I've been searching for a good 50 mm for the a900, and I'd like to know how you (and of course other members who use this lens) feel about it now that you've used it a couple of months.

Thanks, Peter
 
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Shelby Lewis

Guest
Hi Shelby,

I've been searching for a good 50 mm for the a900, and I'd like to know how you (and of course other members who use this lens) feel about it now that you've used it a couple of months.

Thanks, Peter
Well... I've moved out of Sony and back into canon in order to support the canon-only studio I shoot weddings with :( .. and am slowly trying to move into medium format for my commercial stuff (if some investor money will EVER come in). I'll miss the a900 big time. The 5dmkii files have NOTHING on the a900 at low iso.

Back on topic... I loved the sigma, especially inside of 20'. At long distances it sometimes had hit-or-miss focus. Mostly hit. Not the focus where it consistently just back or front focussed at distance. I think this has more to due with the focal length... in that distance objects are so much smaller than the AF sensor. I found the focus to be fast and very reliable in close quarters (which is where I used it).

And the bokeh/sharpness... wow. Stop down a smidge to f2 and it approaches the zeiss lenses in image quality... just a bit less microcontrast. I'd get one for my 5dmkIIs, but the canon version seems fraught with quality control and focus probs... and I just refuse to play the buy/test/send it back/repeat game.

I think it's a perfect match for the a900 if you get a good one. Definitely a nicer and more dimensional rendering than the sony equivalent, imo.

(Mine's still for sale, BTW, at a great price. :D)
 

peterv

New member
Hi Shelby,

just read your reply wrt the Sigma 50 mm.
Thanks for taking the time. I'm in Europe, so buying from you would be a bit complicated... Hope someone else reading this thread will contact you. Peter
 
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Johannes01

Guest
This is a great job.i'll also say wow when i got a shot like you.
 
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