PeteCzech.com: Internet Development, Photography & More

Disclaimer: This review is from a prosumer photographer. I’m by no means a dedicated professional, but I know a thing or two by now and feel confident in sharing my opinion. If you have any questions, just leave a comment. I base my reviews on common sense usage and not on technical jargon. If the images look crappy, the review will be bad!

I’m pretty sure Google is smart enough to populate this ad with info about the Sigma 50-150mm f2.8. So, if you are looking to get one, you may want to check out the links they recommend:

I got this lens as I saw a need in this range. I had previously shot some events and realized that I needed fast glass for low light situations. While I am interested in the Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR, I figured this was a good in-between choice to go along with my Sigma 30mm f1.4. In actuality, this would be an awesome pairing with the 17-50mm f2.8 Macro that Sigma put out. More on that later.

Bottom Line: The Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 is a great low-telephoto for shooting weddings, parties and other events. But, the max range of 150mm may leave you desiring more range.

I first used this lens for a friends wedding and realized quickly (as it was my first wedding), that a telephoto gets more action than the wide angle/prime. Slinging my D70 and 30mm prime over my shoulder and relying on this lens, I was able to capture some really great images.

My overall impression is that this lens is lighter, and just as fast as the 70-200 f2.8 lens put out by both Nikon and Sigma. It doesn’t feature any optical stabilization or vibration reduction, so a steady hand in low light is definitely necessary. However, for the length of the zoom range, you get a fairly lightweight package that is easy to carry and shoulder.

The lens focuses with a great amount of accuracy in lowlight and other varying conditions. While I haven’t been able to test this in comparison to my new 18-200 Nikon VR, I can say that in lowlight the performance is outstanding. In normal light and for the purposes of portraits, the bokeh is spectacular and the 50-150 range covers almost everything a portrait photographer would want to cover.

Despite the fact that this lens is a good performer, it is restricted by its zoom length. Many times I wished for more reach, and that I had in fact held out for the 70-200mm. The bottom line for professionals is, if you have the means, go all the way and get the 70-200mm, even if it isn’t the VR. Don’t get me wrong, the 50-150 f2.8 would pair nicely with the 18-50mm f2.8 offered by Sigma or the 17-55 Nikon f2.8 lens. BUT, I’d rather lose the coverage of the 50-70mm range and extend myself to 200mm at the same time. Why would you want to get the 50-150? If you have close access to what you want to shoot, and/or don’t want to shoulder the extra weight.

So, for now, my event setup would be the 18-50 f2.8 and this 50-150mm. I have the 18-50 on the list, it’ll be my next acquisition. Stand by for a review on that one.

Now, for some pics taken with the 50-150mm f2.8:

Disclaimer: This review is from a prosumer photographer. I’m by no means a dedicated professional, but I know a thing or two by now and feel confident in sharing my opinion. If you have any questions, just leave a comment. I base my reviews on common sense usage and not on technical jargon. If the images look crappy, the review will be bad!

I’m pretty sure Google is smart enough to populate this ad with info about the Nikon P5000 / P5100. So, if you are looking to get one, you may want to check out the links they recommend:

Bottom Line: The p5000 is a perfect carry-along point and shoot for advanced shooters who want to always have a camera with them. It’s not an SLR, and if you are looking for a good camera for primary use, get a D40!

I noticed a couple of months ago that my photography collection was lacking a valuable piece of equipment: a carry-everywhere, throw around and take punches, light and compact digital camera. So, in searching, using my brand preference of Nikon as a guide, I settled upon the P5000.

Why? For a variety of reasons:

1. I’m a Nikon groupie;
2. The P5000 features the same operation as my D70 and D200: A, S, P, M modes;
3. The P5000 has built-in VR - Vibration Reduction;
4. The P5000 has a built-in hotshoe for my SB-800 flash and has the ability to attach additional lenses;
5. It features a vibrant display in a compact body;
6. At 10 mp it had a higher resolution then my D70 (not a selling point, but cool none-the-less).

How I use it: As a carry-everywhere mobile photographic solution. I find that it fits perfectly in my pocket or bag and I never miss a photo with it. With a little patience, you can extract images that compete with the D70 or D200.

Where it excels: in quite a few areas. How about:

1. Low Light Performance: It has a built in Best Shot Selector, ie, it’ll shoot multiple exposures with one click and chose the best one. So, if you are in a museum or church that doesn’t allow flash, you can still get a great image. This plus the built in Vibration Reduction and high iso capabilities = great low light exposures. Speaking of which, my previous point and shoots didn’t let me choose ISO anyway…
2. The video mode isn’t horrible: Nikon Coolpix cameras aren’t exactly known for video, but this camera does a decent job. Granted, I’d rather have my Sony HDR-HC3 High Def camcorder to capture video, but this does a decent job for posting videos on YouTube of your drunken friend doing Karaoke.
3. Manual Override: Using M mode or A mode you can capture images as decent as your D70 or D200.
4. Auto Bracketing: You can use the P5000 to make HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, if you want. But make sure you tripod it. With an SLR, I’ve pulled off handheld 3 image HDR’s because of the high shutter speed (5fps on my D200). With the P5000, you won’t have anywhere near the speed, so forget it.
5. It still has an optical viewfinder: this shouldn’t be a selling point, but it’s there. So might as well mention it.

P5100: Nikon just announced the P5100. The published upgrades are more resolution (12mp versus 10mp), in-camera distortion correction, and a variant of the new EXPEED image processor. If this is worth it to you, then buy that. Otherwise, you can save some money and get the old P5000 where still available.

SLR Replacement? Not quite. It’s still a point and shoot. If you know what the differences are, you probably want an SLR. I’d offer up the Nikon D40 as a good starter model, or a used D70.

At last, the photos:

Disclaimer: This review is from a prosumer photographer. I’m by no means a dedicated professional, but I know a thing or two by now and feel confident in sharing my opinion. If you have any questions, just leave a comment. I base my reviews on common sense usage and not on technical jargon. If the images look crappy, the review will be bad!

I’m pretty sure Google is smart enough to populate this ad with info about the Sigma f1.4. So, if you are looking to get one, you may want to check out the links they recommend:

This year I spent quite a bit of time (and money) investing in new equipment to build out my inventory. Having had an interest in prime lenses, I got one of these new Sigma 30mm F1.4 lenses. Built for digital, I figure it would be the perfect prime lens for either my Nikon D70 or Nikon D200.

Bottom Line: The Sigma 30mm f1.4 is a powerful prime for low-light situations. Anywhere else, the use is limited.

How I reach this conclusion is really determined by my style. First, I learned to shoot in the zoom lens age. So, I didn’t start with a series of prime lenses. I always had the spoils of a good zoom lens when I learned with my Nikon N70. As such, I didn’t learn the advantages of a powerful, wide open aperture (who spends that much money as a kid on a lens, anyway?). So, this served as another learning experience as I continue to develop my skills.

Like I said, this lens excels indoors in mixed light. My test experiments found that punching up to f1.8 or f2.0 yields superior results to shooting at f1.4 exclusively. I’m not a natural-light freak, but with this lens you’ll find less use of a flash. However, at f1.4 you’ll experience a good amount of soft focus. I don’t believe this is a technical flaw of the lens or its communication with the camera, but rather just my lack of experience with a wide open prime and its extremely shallow depth of field. If you have a subject that is willing to hold still for however long it takes you to focus, you can get some great shots at f1.4 - the pictures below of the cats are all f1.4. Because of softness, they have been sharpened using software. If you can’t work fast or get a still subject, stick to f1.8 or f2.0.

If you go outdoors - forget it. I’d rather use my 18-70 f3.5 Nikon Zoom or my 50-150mm f2.8 Sigma rather than use this. Outdoors = more space to move around and more need for a zoom range - if you are shooting action (kids playing, etc). I haven’t used this for landscapes yet, hopefully I can take it on some leafing excursions this fall and get a more thorough test. It’s very easy to leave this lens wide open when you run outside from inside and start taking some really crappy pictures (as I did, chasing a child from inside to out to grab a perfect shot). Nighttime or sunset? Then you can take this back out.

Recommended Use: If you are shooting an event indoors (wedding, party) and can sacrifice zoom range (perhaps by using two bodies at once), I’d want this lens. Recently shooting an event I had this lens in tandem with the f2.8 50-150 and was quite pleased with the results. If you have a lone body, you may want to reconsider unless you are set on the 30mm range, or it fits your style.

Now the pictures:

More Information:

• Sigma Product Page