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Written by Stuart Dennison
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:31 |
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 The original 17-70 F2.8-4.5, launched in 2006, was one of Sigma's classic lenses. Offering a usable near 28mm equivalent field of view for most systems and extending to an equivalent of 105mm it offered one of the most efficient ranges for the growing digital market. Adding to that, a close focus capability which allowed it to focus down to the front element (magnification ratio of 1:2.3) gave an added versatility.
In 2009 the lens was updated with a faster 70mm end and optical stabilisation - have Sigma messed with a perfect recipe, or improved on one of their greatest lenses?
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 07 July 2010 19:08 |
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Here it is - the DSLR every Sigma enthusiast has been waiting for since the first announcements. Externally a very similar camera to the SD14, the SD15 represents a major overhaul of Sigma's digital SLR system and even at first glance, can be seen to be a substantial upgrade in many ways. This review is a quick introduction to the hardware and some of the more obvious new features of the system, and should answer many of the questions Sigma users have been asking whilst addressing some of the requests from the SD14.
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Written by Stuart Dennison
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Tuesday, 11 May 2010 09:36 |
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 Andy Stansfield's guide to Sigma lenses - produced with the assistance of Sigma UK - provides a quick and easy reference point for any photographer considering Sigma's current range. Covering 46 lenses (with a couple of discontinued models of interest), this 240 page book has detailed reviews, MTF charts and examples with high-quality colour reproduction, along with some basic photography tips and technique.
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Written by Stuart Dennison
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 01:00 |
 The DP family of compact, large sensor camera continues to evolve with the DP2s offering refinements in response to customer feedback. With much of the DP2s unchanged from the DP2, this review covers a revisting of the DP series in the context of 2010, and the new features and capabilities of the DP2s model.
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Written by David Kilpatrick
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Wednesday, 12 August 2009 00:00 |
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{mosimage width=125}Sigma's new 18-250 F3.5-6.3 DC OS represents one of the best value kit lenses on the market today - with stabilisation, strong performance throughout the zoom range, and a low RRP (as always, search retailers for the best prices these days, but beware of grey importers). David Kilpatrick reviewed the lens for the Sony user group and has provided the review for us - with the lens tested on both sony and Canon equipment. Read below for his in-depth review and conclusions. |
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Written by David Kilpatrick
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Tuesday, 09 June 2009 09:34 |
 Sigma’s now legendary 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM has caused a revival of interest in the 50mm standard lens, and in so-called ‘prime’ lenses generally. Prime is a misuse of an optical term, but you can’t avoid it now and it’s neater than writing ‘fixed focal length’ every time. We now talk casually about prime lenses opposed to zoom lenses, and that is not the correct term as many modern zooms are actually varifocals, meaning they need a focusing adjustment if you change the focal length, which a true zoom does not.
So, let’s just say prime for fixed focal length and zoom for anything with a variable focal length, and forget the pedantry. Almost any well-made prime, even of a simple construction, can give better contrast, resolution, even illumination and straight geometry than a zoom. When you move up to 24 megapixels and full frame lenses like 24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.7, 85mm f/1.8 or 135mm f/2.8 get very interesting. They are small, light and focus accurately with a bright viewfinder image. To buy a zoom which matches their typical quality, at any given focal length, may cost three times as much or more.
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Written by Richard Kilpatrick
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Friday, 22 May 2009 19:10 |
The DP range was first announced at Photokina in 2006; with a build up campaign and ongoing development it would be the beginning of 2008 before people could hold and use the pioneering camera. That gestation period saw the development of a new processor and pipeline for Sigma cameras; it also saw the details emerge that the DP was not to be a one-off, but part of a family of large-sensor compact cameras. Unique in the market still, the 28mm “wide” DP1 has been joined by a 41mm “standard” DP2.
With a much shorter period from announcement to availability it looks like Sigma’s ownership of Foveon will allow the firm to react to market demands more effectively - and the DP2 demonstrates how the feedback from early DP1 users has shaped their latest camera. |
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Written by David Kilpatrick
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Tuesday, 19 May 2009 00:00 |
{mosimage width=125} The new Sigma EX DG 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM Macro II answers some requests from owners of earlier Sigma 70-200mms, and some prayers from owners or want-to-be owners of 'marque' lenses with similar specifications.
The prayer these days is for a sudden favourable shift in the exchange rate, with lenses from Canon, Nikon or Sony in this category now costing as much again as a full-frame DSLR body. Sigma has the answer to that prayer at half the marque price, while now adding the one feature everyone wants, in-lens HyperSonic Motor focusing. Found in all the makers' own 70-200mms, it can now also be found in the Sigma design for all mounts. |
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Written by Richard Kilpatrick
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009 00:00 |
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{mosimage width=125}Sigma already produce an excellent option for the DP1 and 2 in the form of the VF optical viewfinders - but if you own both cameras, or have to wear glasses, using this design of optical viewfinder can be a little tricky. The Ikodot is a simple folded-wire viewfinder which can be used on any camera as a quick reference for composition, and may suit glasses-wearers far better than many options. |
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Written by Richard Kilpatrick
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Tuesday, 10 February 2009 12:40 |
 Sigma's DP1 digital compact camera broke new ground by offering a DSLR sensor in a point-and-shoot style body - it also offered the unique mix of a Foveon sensor and a good 28mm lens for only a little more than the equivalent 35mm glass. Despite this very single-purpose approach, Sigma felt that the DP1 could be given more versatility and announced the AML-1 close up lens accessory.
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Written by Julian Ashbourn
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Friday, 30 January 2009 22:55 |
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SigmaUsers are welcome to submit reviews of the lenses as articles; these represent the opinions and verdicts of photographers from all backgrounds. Julian Ashbourn has provided this one for the established Sigma 15-30 EX DG. The Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 EX DG has been around for a while now and some might think of it as an 'old' lens. Furthermore, its physical design may be perceived by some as a little ungainly, although others might welcome the sheer physical presence of this relatively large lens. However, this is a lens which has some special qualities of its own, as we shall discover. |
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Written by Stuart Dennison
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Friday, 12 December 2008 12:31 |
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{mosimage width=125} Fashion has come full circle for the 8mm fisheye. It’s almost a full-frame lens on the digital APS-C format. Richard Kilpatrick intruded on friends at Whitby’s Gothfest weekend with the original 8mm f4 EX DG - and has since been using the 8mm f3.5 EX DG in Sigma fit… To shoot portraits with an 8mm fisheye, you have to be willing to stick the lens mere centimetres from the subject’s nose – and they have to be willing to accept a cariacture worthy of any gothic abbey gargoyle in exchange! |
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Written by Stuart Dennison
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Sunday, 07 December 2008 14:40 |
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{mosimage width=125}The Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM is the company’s latest offering in the extreme telephoto zoom budget marketplace and it comes in with a few eyebrow raising improvements! Replacing the 170-500mm model that is now somewhat long in the tooth, the new lens, along with its shorter sister 120-400mm version has an excellent specification for its price. |
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Written by Julian Ashborn
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 10:16 |
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{mosimage width=125}Julian Ashborne takes a long hard look at the 24-60mm f/2.8 EX lens and gives us his conclusions. |
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