How much did the lenses cost?
Titoy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Boris Grigorov" <alienspecimen@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 4:27 AM
Subject: [OM] Lense evaluation
My fellow Olympians,
I would like to report to you that in recent weeks, I have aquired two
lenses from that awful site. Today, I am going to give you a report on the
first purchase.
It is a brand new Sigma 24-70 f4.5-5.6 UC Aspherical.
I know that the sickest of you would wrinkle noses in disgust, but from the
start, I am warning you that this is a praise, so if you are sensitive, skip
to the end of the email.
Four things that you would not like about it are:
It is not prime, it is slower, it focuses on the opposite direction and
"plasticky" a word often describing third party lenses, those from competing
manufacturers or modern lenses in general.
I would start with the last point and go up the list:
I actually like the rubbery feel of the lens and it is sooooo light. I like
the plastic too. It is like the plastic used in an expensive German car,
not a (insert name of country that makes cheap cars yourself here, I am too
politically correct to do it, this list is too international)cheap one.
I do not care about the direction it turns and it does not confuse me. As a
matter of fact I liked the lens so much, that I purchased another today in
like new condition, so now I have two of them turning the same way. (75-300
APO late 90"s model, it is on the list of cult lenses) This would answer
the question about the ultimate travel kit, my two Sigma 24-70 and 75-300.
Slower does not bother me, coz the type of pictures I take require max f8.
I go wider, but this rare. Never use flash.
Which brings me to the last point: it is not prime lens. Well I have a
surprise for you. I own only two Zuiko lenses: the 50/1.8 and the 28/3.5.
Not the best ones, still, good performers. The Sigma outperforms them well.
I took exactly the same pictures with all of them and was able to see the
difference even on the dinky 4X6. Sorry, do not have a website yet to show.
I took some pictures of a light house, some trains and couple of my wife.
The technique was:
Put the camera on a tripod
Move the mirror to up position
Hug tightly the camera with both hands to absorb any additional vibration
and fire.
The difference was so stunning. When it comes to the long end, wide open,
got a little softer. Still, the sharpness was so good, that it produced
very unflattering pictures of my wife. It exaggerated every little pore and
a tiny wrinkle she has. She is 33, but you'd never guess the right age if
meet her in person (I guess this makes me a lucky bastard.???). The
portraits of her were handheld. The blurring of the background was decent
too.
The lens is flare prone though, but this is why you have the hood that comes
with it. Surprisingly, the hood does not have any Sigma markings.
Distortionwise, not that bad. As expected it is worst at the ends but never
exceeds the one of the 50/1.8, it changes its form from slight barrel to a
slight pincushion.
Film used was Fuji Superia Extra 400 and Fuji Sensia II 100.
I am very, very happy with my purchase. I love zooms and am happy to own
one that is much better than the primes I have. Another reason I like using
zooms is the fact that I do not have to change the lens that much. My
picture taking is always outside and frequent changing lenses, often
introduces foreign elements in the camera. Also, it allows me to have a
better composition control.
Cheers,
Boris (who was so happy with his purchase, that the he had the camera with
the lens mounted on his nightstand for the first few nights.
P.S. The lens accepts 55mm filters and its diameter is barely bigger than
that.
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