Sigma 200-500mm F2.8 EX DG on
the field |
I
always handhold my Canon 600 f/4 IS and some time ago I was asked if I can
handhold the Sigma monster...yes, I can :-) but obviously it is just for
fun; I can handhold it just for few minutes, and I need very fast SS to get
sharp photos. The photos taken during the test had been taken on the sturdy
Gitzo tripod.
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Some months ago I reviewed the Sigma
200-500 f/2.8 (click
here for Sigma 200-500 f/2.8 EX DG review).
In my first review, I did an in-depth studio
test, but I hadn't many photos taken in the
field. I absolutely wanted to try this lens
on the field so in April 2009 I loaned again
the lens from Sigma and I have spent one day
photographing Cristina, a beautiful model.
The photos had been taken in Rivalta, a
medieval village between the hills of
northern Apennines, Italy.
Using this
lens means tons of fun :-) The people kept
looking at us...sometime wedding
photographers take photos in Rivalta, but
none of them bring any lens that come close
to the Sigma 200-500 f/2.8... Other than
that, due to the extreme focal length - 1000
millimeters with the 2x extender - many
times I had to take the photos from 15-30
meters, a pretty unusual experience of
fashion photography!
There are
various persons and manufacturers involved
in this test. A big thanks to Cristina
(http://cristinaventresca.com), the
beautiful model who posed for these photos!
Cristina is a young girl from Australia that
now lives in Italy; she is both a singer and
a model...it has been fantastic to work with
her!
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Cristina with the Sigma 200-500 2.8 and 1DsIII. Thanks Cristina :-)
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Other than that, thanks to M-Trading, the Italian importer of Sigma
(www.m-trading.it),
that kindly loaned me the Sigma 200-500mm
f/2.8 EX DG; PhotoSeiki (www.photoseiki.com),
that has manufactured a custom made head for
the 200-500 f/2.8; Gitzo (www.gitzo.com),
that kindly loaned me the Gitzo 5541 LS
tripod; Christian from PhotoSeiki, who
helped during the shot, suggesting poses and
locations; Marco Sitzia from Mamiya
Trading, who has taken some behind the
scenes photos.
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This
thing is darn heavy :-)
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Full size samples
at 500 and 1000mm
You can download either the untouched
photo (JPEG converted from RAW without any
additional post processing; minimum contrast
and saturation, no sharpening, no AC,
distortion or vignetting correction) or the
post processed version. The untouched photo
is a good way to see the real image quality
of the lens, and the post processed versions
allow to see the final quality you can get
with good post processing techniques.
Please respect the
copyright! These images can used
exclusively for personal purposes. All
other usages are prohibited.
Cristina: photo
gallery taken with Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8
Cristina is a truly beautiful model, and
the unparalleled Sigma 200-500 allows to take
photos against soft, creamy backgrounds...a
perfect combination.
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| Canon 1Ds MarkIII,
Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at 500mm),
1/200 f/2.8, iso 400, tripod. |
100% crop |
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| Canon 1Ds MarkIII,
Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at 500mm), 1/400 f/2.8, iso 400, tripod. |
100% crop |
 |
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| Canon 1Ds MarkIII, Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at
1000mm), Sigma 2.0x TC, 1/400 f/5.6, iso 400, tripod. |
100% crop |
 |
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| Canon 1Ds MarkIII, Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at
1000mm), 1/160 f/5.6, iso 400, tripod. |
100% crop |
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Conclusions
Overall, the image quality is of Sigma
200-500 f/2.8 is good for such an extreme
lens, even though it is far from easy to get
the best from this lens: at f/2.8 the depth
of field is very shallow, and the focus must
be perfect...even an error of few
centimeters may make the difference between
a sharp photo and an out of focus photos.
The AF is pretty good, it is fast both
as 200-500 and even with the 2x extender, as
400-1000 f/5.6. I missed, instead, image
stabilization: even tough this lens is made
to be used on tripod, image stabilization
would help a lot, even on a sturdy tripod
there are still some small vibrations due
the the great weight. Would I buy it? If I
had tons of money, yes :-) This lens gives
an unparalleled brightness and background
blur at 500mm, and using it is pure fun!
Do you have
comments or questions?
If you have comments or questions about
this article, feel free to ask in the
Juza
Nature Photography Discussion Forum!
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