charles_twiss1

Siddharth,

 

For portraits why worry about corner to corner? The EX on the Sigma lens refers to the cosmetic finish only...nothing else. The fast Sigmas are any of the HSM range. I compared a 300 2.8 HSM with a Nikkor AFS and the Sigma was faster. With a 2x converter on the Nikkor slowed down to a 1980's very first af Minolta pace. The Sigma maintained the same speed. The Nikkor has the edge with resolution, sharpness at 2.8 and contrast. But with certain films the contrast (remember high contrast gives the illusion of sharpness) can be put back. The Sigma will be oustanding for portraits and certainly worthy of a place in your bag. The Nikkor I feel is overpriced.

Alternative... visit a dealer with body loaded with film and a freind. Try both by taking portraits. Process film...decide!

I personally have the Sigmas in HSM at 300 2.8, 70-210 2.8 and 180 macro and would'nt swap them for Nikkors. Mail me for pics from them if you wish.

I had the F4, changed to the F100 and now use the F5. There are fors and againsts and only you can really decide. F100 is good with better af area selection than F5. "Silent" film wind on F100 is'nt silent! Theres' no difference. F5 is the same as F4 in this respect... it's silent. F5 and F4 more rugged. I could go on but I would'nt throw money at an old battered F4 when both the F100 and F5 are still better.

Two problems will probably be encountered for flight photography with this lens. Too slow, focul length too short. Go AFS as long a length and fastest aperture you can afford. 600f4?

There is a distinct difference between out of focus, digital softening and soft focus. Out of focus is exactly that. Digital softening is a poor relation compared to soft focus and actually looks out of focus. Don't forget when you soften you remove contrast and can make a picture look poor. You don't say what camera you use. I use hassleblad, Nikon and Fuji digital. I find the nicest result by far is to use the Hassleblad softar on the lenses of all three cameras. Shoot soft focus in camera and save a lot of work later!

The gray card would be more useful for your close up work than landscape. But as already said, your hand is just as good or through the lens metering is fine bearing in mind any reflectance.

On landscape I think it would be useless. There's no point in metering from a card at your feet when different light is on the hill tops. Matrix metering will cope 99% of the time unless you are in snow, brightly light sand etc. Then use the cameras' built in spotmeter if it is down to 1 degree. Even then consider where you aim it.

A good lens will always beat a good filter. Go for a Tamron SP 90mm macro. An early version will need the 1:1 converter as well, the latest AF does'nt. A superb macro lens that should cost no more than $50 second hand mint.

A great camera that will out live you even with a heavy work load. Here in UK we knock nails in with them when we have no work!

All you need do is fix a piece of white plastic to the flash head with an elastic band and let the flash bounce off it. The same as the pull out bounce card on the SB28. If the head of your SB50 won't tilt, mount it on a flash bracket that will allow you to revolve the handle (Sunpak make one). The idea is to get the reflector and head to form a 45 degree angle to the subject.

Forget the flash. NOTHING is better than natural light. It is exactly as you would see things with the naked eye. Flash, no matter how well controlled is always obvious. Sit the subject down and turn one shoulder away from the camera. have the subject turn their head so both eyes are visible. Lower the chin slightly. meter off the face skin tone. Fuji reala is superb film for portraits. It is 100iso but remember, the prints will only be as good as the person who prints them. To light the face bring a reflector in under the chin and note the catchlight in the eyes. you can rest the reflector on the ground and prop up one end, use a dedicated stand, or have someone hold it for you. Forget lighting the hair but pay attention that the hair line is not lost in shadow, (black hair against dark background) and to blur a back ground move subject about 20ft away or use a wide aperture 2.8/f4. Focus on the EYES and make sure they are LIGHT and the portrait will work. Lens about 85 to 135mm but it's not crucial. Overcast light is best or move into shadow area if sunny and you can't shoot any other time. If you MUST use flash then keep it simple. With the SB28 just set it on matrix fill flash and let it go!

Jeremy, the first thing you have to do is get things into perspective.If you spent $50,000 on a lens, it will not make you a photographer! Sigma lenses are good - and bad. Here in the UK they have versions called EX, IF and HSM. These are superb lenses, very fast focussing on AF (depending on your camera, remember a top end pro body will focus faster than a budget price consumer body)and the quality even wide open is superb. The older manual lenses were not so good, so if it were me, or your budget won't stretch to the latest versions, go for the primes. Any zoom will not match a prime but will be as near as damn it for a wedding. (Unless ofcourse the groom is a seasoned pro and will know the difference.)Go for the best you can afford and remember you don't need a Rolls Royce to take a pig to market and you don't need to spend a years' budget on gear to photograph a wedding. A prime 50mm and 28mm for groups will be fine. Concentrate on the images - not the gear you take them with.

I purchased a Nikkor DC lens today (14/6) for the sterling equivelant of $450 and have after a short while using it, got the hang of the defocus control. On digital I could see the results straight away and have to say it is, as everyone claimed, superb. Many thanks for all those who responded.

Has anyone had any experience with the Nikkor 105 or 135 f2 de focus

control lens?

I'm thinking of getting one but can't get much info from dealers

apart fromhow to send the money! Do they actually work and if so how

good is the effect?

The G4500 is a great flashgun. I have used one for years and prefer it over the SB28 as this tends to be too powerful for fill flash and blasts everything to death on matrix fill.

If you shoot at f5.6 on say 200iso, then you fill with f2.8. With a 2x converter on you need two extra stops, so fill at f5.6 etc!