[Dave]

Only had chance to fire off a couple of shots the other night, as sun was setting. Wanted to test the Bokeh on the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM at f/2.8 & this is the result. Nothing tweaked apart from smallest of sharpening due to resize :-



I think I'm gonna like this lens. Once I have a bit more knowledge I'll post my findings on the Review Database.

[Hoo Haa]

Great shot. I did have to look Bokeh up on Google though. My 70-300mm is nowhere near that league for image quality, but then again I've just seen the difference in price of the lenses !!! .

[Dave]

Trust me when I say you haven't seen nothing yet, with some of the kit these guys have got !!.

Saying all of that we have Members on here who have the skills to produce cracking shots from much cheaper gear & even some compacts. Majority of it's down to the Photoghrapher & that's free

[Griff]

Good advert for the qualities of the lens I would say.

[Joe T]

lovely

[dod]

Beats me why people go for the canon version (NON IS) when this is available.

[Dave]

Dod, if you had to show the true capabilities of this lens, for others to see, which would be your choice shot to post here ?

[dod]

That's a really difficult one

Here's a few recent ones, first a tight shot on the rider, second a pic of the bowser watering the track and the last picking up the action at a corner. People try to say the sigma is slower than the canon but it's good enough to track someone coming towards you at 40-50 MPH literally a few feet from you.

On the full size of the first one you can actually see the stitching on the riders jersey.

There are a couple of things I don't like about the lens. The matt finish seems to grab dirt and isn't easy to clean, not a problem for a lot of people possibly but mine is literally showered with mud regularly and it shows. The zoom ring goes in the opposite direction to my other lenses which I occasionally forget. It doesn't have weather proofing. Even taking those points into consideration I still think it offers fantastic value and the only one I'd consider changing it for would be the canon 70-200 IS, but ONLY for the weatherproofing, not image quality.

[Dave]

Excellent shots DOd & good write up. Well if you can capture shots like that in those conditions, with the objects moving that fast, then I'm a happy bunny with mine. All said though, I expect it takes a bit of skill & practice to capture fast moving bikes.......I struggled with the dog running towards me ...LOL.

If you ever get chance I'm sure like others I would appreciate you sharing how to shoot fast sports like MotoX in the Tutorials section. I'm OK with panning , but can't suss objects coming towards me too well. I won't go into it further here, I'll add it to the dedicated thread if you take up the offer

[Jim Beam]

WOW Dod , those are very impressive shots !!!! Would definitely like to hear how you achieve focusing like that, as per Daves comment.

Not sure about all that mud on the camera though. That would kill me

[dod]

Originally Posted by Dave

If you ever get chance I'm sure like others I would appreciate you sharing how to shoot fast sports like MotoX in the Tutorials section. I'm OK with panning , but can't suss objects coming towards me too well. I won't go into it further here, I'll add it to the dedicated thread if you take up the offer

Sorry Dave, just noticed this.

I'm really not sure how to approach it, I wouldn't put myself forward as an expert any way. But I will give it a bit of thought and try to post something over the next day or so.

Had a full day again yesterday, burnt to a frazzle, the sigma never came off the camera, it really is a great lens, I love it Here's a couple I posted elsewhere.

[Dave]

Excellent as always Dod. Really like the last one, as so different from mainstream shots. Have you managed to start making money out of your photos to date, as the quality of shots wouldn't go a miss in Mags etc ?

[Steve]

As usual dod, these really capture the excitement of this sport.

What is your success rate, number of shots vs number of keepers?

[dod]

Originally Posted by Dave

Have you managed to start making money out of your photos to date, as the quality of shots wouldn't go a miss in Mags etc ?

A small amount, best order has been for about £50 from one proud mum I haven’t really tried the mags, usually they’re looking for editorial as well and having seen the quality I’m not sure my report writing skills are adequate.

Originally Posted by Steve

What is your success rate, number of shots vs number of keepers?

Interesting question. Suppose the set up would help first. With the 20D I used AI focus, partial metering, single shot. If you can see the rider track with him and pause when you want to take the shot, there’s a better one a fraction of a second later, really let them come into the frame. If you can’t see the rider listen for the bike, pre-focus the crest and get ready for him to appear. I’ve usually got the camera to my eye but both eyes open in case they’re just out of the viewfinder.

Partial metering is my preference as it biases the exposure on about the centre 12% of the frame. Usually the rider fills that portion so the exposure “should” be there or there abouts. The reflections from the clothing and bikes usually fool the meter though so I’ve got 1/3 to 2/3 stops overexposure dialled in constantly. The 1D MkII is noticeably more consistent in producing well exposed jpegs. I use jpeg simply because of the number of shots involved. Sharpness, saturation in the parameters set to 0 as I’ll batch them in PSCS later.

Yesterday, because it was new camera to me I set it up for the 8 FPS and started shooting. The speed this thing rattles out frames is scary. I was taking 3 or 4 shots where normally I’d have taken one, partly because of the speed but also because the shutter button is more sensitive. Quickly set it back to one shot and began to trust my judgement again.

Taking yesterday, almost 2000 frames shot, on first run through I’d say I’ve deleted about 50-75 where there was either a focus or framing problem i.e. the focus was on the back of the bike or I didn’t track quickly enough and got the back wheel, or nothing . The rider may also have taken a different line from the normal and I haven’t been quick enough to catch them.

Beyond that I’d say there are maybe about 20% where I’m not that happy with composition, 5% where the exposure’s going to need tweaked.

So, to finally answer the question Steve I’d say the keep rate for reasonably well framed, well exposed shots in focus is somewhere between 60-70% although as far as purely technically competent shots is concerned it’s probably up around 90%. I’d say that’s moved from about 85% with the 20D.