{"id":1499,"date":"2010-04-21T23:01:46","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T14:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-04-21\/1499"},"modified":"2013-08-28T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2013-08-28T05:21:43","slug":"walkabout-with-the-sigma-bigma-versatility-galore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-04-21\/1499","title":{"rendered":"Walkabout with the Sigma Bigma: Versatility Galore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nD700 + Sigma “Bigma” + 2×TC @ 410 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 3600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSigma Bigma at a Few<\/span> Inches<\/span>\nWith the 2× teleconverter, it becomes a 0.64× macro\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nD700 + Sigma “Bigma” + 2×TC @ 1000 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 4500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSigma Bigma at a Mile<\/span><\/span>\nWith the 2× teleconverter, it becomes a 1,000mm telephoto\n<\/div>\n\n

The photo immediately above is the Mt. Daimonji\n “\u5927”<\/span><\/a>\n\nvisible from much of Kyoto. For comparison, this next shot was taken from\nabout the same place, at 24 mm (as opposed to the 1,000mm of the picture\nabove), from my Discovering Kyoto's Mt.\nYoshida<\/a> post a year<\/span> ago...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/16, ISO 2500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Yesterday I offered some samples of Sigma's new “Bigma”\n50-500mm<\/a> superzoom with the 2×\nteleconverter attached<\/a>, turning it into a 100<\/span>-1,000mm f<\/span>\/9-f<\/span>\/13 zoom that also works as an\nalmost 1-to-1 macro. I noted<\/span> that first impressions were that using the\nteleconverter (“TC”) lowers the optical quality considerably, and today's\nequally-informal tests support that understanding.<\/p>\n\n

But what the pair lacks in pure optical quality, it makes up (for me) in\nfun, because I've never had a lens<\/span> that could go anywhere near 1,000mm, or\nwith magnification anywhere near 0.64×. The optical<\/span> stabilization\nhelps with the fun; both shots above — like all the shots on this\npost — were handheld.<\/p>\n\n

The versatility is fun. I'd met some<\/span> friends for lunch, and when one\ntook out his small point-n-shoot camera to document the dishes we were\nabout to enjoy, I retrieved<\/span> my camera (with the very big Sigma Bigma\nattached<\/a>) from its resting spot on the floor near my feet, to great\nlaughter from those who had arrived after me and hence had not seen me with\nit. “Mine's bigger than yours... much<\/i> bigger.” \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 210 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/6, ISO 4000 —\nfull exif<\/a><\/span>\nSide Dishes<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

What I'm enjoying so much about this lens right now is that it's opening\nup my eyes to new ways to look at things.... “expanding my envelope”, so to\nspeak. Its telephoto<\/span> pull allows me to reach out and isolate<\/a> in\nways I couldn't<\/span> before, and now that I know<\/span> about its pseudo-macro\nability, it's letting me get up close and personal.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 210 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1600 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDainty<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Walking around the neighborhoods near Mt. Yoshida in Kyoto, I found<\/span> a\nwall<\/span> in deep shade with lots of bits of moss....<\/p>\n\n

\n\n
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n