Buying a new lens tonight!

Phil Young

Phil Young

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Wife has OK'ed a lens I've wanted for ages - Sigma 8-16mm :)

Looking forward to it.

Anyone with first hand experience of it here???

Just got a job that gave me an excuse to buy it - climbing wall photography. Got a few ideas to make those walls look like mountains :)
 
if you havent used a uwa then theres a reasonable article on how to use them best by ken rockwell :)
 
Yeah, the only slightly worrying thing would be KR's review which seems to go against every other review in the AF department.

That I find odd because although his opinions are quitr strange and no holding back, I've always found his equipment reviews spot on...

Time will tell!
 
I've got one.

It's reasonably sharp on my A77 but it does require quite a bit of care. There is a lot of distortion (surprise surprise) as it stretches at the edges.

I had an 11-18 (Sony / Tamron) which I recently sold on because I wasn't using it much after I'd had the 8-16 for a few weeks. The 8-16 was a bit harder to get right but is more fun. I kept the 11-18 a bit longer than necessary because it has a filter thread whereas the 8-16 doesn't but still tended to choose the 8-16 anyway. I would rate the 11-18 as being an easier lens to work with because of the relative lack of distortion - but the 8-16 is a bit shartper in the centre.

I don't tend to use it wider open than F8 and usually around F11 with manual focus. That tends to make it more forgiving towards the edges. I tend to choose shots were any detail in the edge areas will be more distant than the centre as that tends to work better.
 
Dryce said:
I've got one.

It's reasonably sharp on my A77 but it does require quite a bit of care. There is a lot of distortion (surprise surprise) as it stretches at the edges.

I had an 11-18 (Sony / Tamron) which I recently sold on because I wasn't using it much after I'd had the 8-16 for a few weeks. The 8-16 was a bit harder to get right but is more fun. I kept the 11-18 a bit longer than necessary because it has a filter thread whereas the 8-16 doesn't but still tended to choose the 8-16 anyway. I would rate the 11-18 as being an easier lens to work with because of the relative lack of distortion - but the 8-16 is a bit shartper in the centre.

I don't tend to use it wider open than F8 and usually around F11 with manual focus. That tends to make it more forgiving towards the edges. I tend to choose shots were any detail in the edge areas will be more distant than the centre as that tends to work better.
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Thanks for the reply :)

With regards to distortion - can you compare it to a gopro image? I assume it's easily corrected in ACR??
 
Phil Young said:
Wife has OK'ed a lens I've wanted for ages - Sigma 8-16mm :)

Looking forward to it.

Anyone with first hand experience of it here???

Just got a job that gave me an excuse to buy it - climbing wall photography. Got a few ideas to make those walls look like mountains :)
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Phil- hope you realise you will need to get up there- ass shots are completely boring. What wall is it?
 
Ah- a warm up wall;)

Good man- shots from the side and above are good. Anticipate people making the clip and falling. You can often tell when people are about to fall as their climbing style will change. Not always true though and good fall capture can be tricky. Stylish moves like Egyptians are always good as are dyno moves. If you are photographing boulderers, the moves there are often much more dynamic and they cut loose much more than lead climbers.
 
Dr_O said:
Ah- a warm up wall;)

Good man- shots from the side and above are good. Anticipate people making the clip and falling. You can often tell when people are about to fall as their climbing style will change. Not always true though and good fall capture can be tricky. Stylish moves like Egyptians are always good as are dyno moves. If you are photographing boulderers, the moves there are often much more dynamic and they cut loose much more than lead climbers.
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Sorry to be a know-it-all...but I'm with you on all of that, been climbing for years myself so have a good idea of what shots would look good.

The tricky thing is...

they need to be lit and for that, I'm going to need an assistant with me...
 
Widest I have on a crop is 11mm....8mm is mental :)

Enjoy and I'm sure wifey has stipulated 'payback', mine always does :naughty:

Enjoy.
 
I liked the way mine performed on my Canon 550 but it wasn't getting used so sold it to fund something else

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Phil Young said:
With regards to distortion - can you compare it to a gopro image? I assume it's easily corrected in ACR??
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Never played with a GoPro image.

However Lightroom has lens correction profiles for the 8-16 and different cameras.

I haven't found this particularly useful unless you have the image of something facing straight on to the camera. However the manual distortion correction can work quite well.
 
Phil Young said:
Sorry to be a know-it-all...but I'm with you on all of that, been climbing for years myself so have a good idea of what shots would look good.

The tricky thing is...

they need to be lit and for that, I'm going to need an assistant with me...
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Ah, excellent a fellow climber- I'm currently injured and been advised I may need to scrap this year- 8b and E6 targets not going to happen but at the moment I'd climb anything, so all in all been difficult to handle. Fingertip chin ups with 120kg may not have helped but no one told me that:rolleyes:

Climbing light indoors can be tricky- u need a D3S or a brighter climbing wall:p.
 
Errr....you're much better than me lol...I'm a 6a kind of climber :(

To be fair, it's only a recreational thing for me, I'd never be one of those die hard climbers that lives for the sport...

I'm planning on using flash funs with umbrellas to get some cool shots but like I said...I'll need to plan that a bit!
 
It's all relative though- at least you're doing it:)- nothing wrong with 6a- christ I'd take that just now:D. Yeah- pretty much a lifestyle for me after retiring from martial arts. Climbing has taken me to some pretty awesome places around the world and I've met so many great characters and had loads of great pics.

Planning is good- I'm sure you'll b fine:). Let us know how it went.
 
haha indeed- I'm retired now for a long time tho- one injury too many and I could no longer attain the standards I'd set. My sister's still a professional fighter but I found it easier to dissociate myself altogether. I didn't want to be that shadow and come across as you're doing it all wrong and not as good as me type stuff.

looks like you're going strong from your pic- are you seriously into it? by coincidence we were discussing flexibility earlier today and I was horrified by how bad mine had become- not exactly unexpected given lack of specific training but an eye opener nonetheless given I was demoing some stretches with known markers for me. Almost had me looking for the leg stretcher- almost but I've moved on:D
 
oh im going to look forward to your photos phil the 8mm is mega wide i have the 10-20 sig but was toying with buying the 8-16mm sig let us know how you get on with it
 
hoochy1 said:
oh im going to look forward to your photos phil the 8mm is mega wide i have the 10-20 sig but was toying with buying the 8-16mm sig let us know how you get on with it
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I will definitely post some shots here when I have it :)

Dr_O said:
haha indeed- I'm retired now for a long time tho- one injury too many and I could no longer attain the standards I'd set. My sister's still a professional fighter but I found it easier to dissociate myself altogether. I didn't want to be that shadow and come across as you're doing it all wrong and not as good as me type stuff.

looks like you're going strong from your pic- are you seriously into it? by coincidence we were discussing flexibility earlier today and I was horrified by how bad mine had become- not exactly unexpected given lack of specific training but an eye opener nonetheless given I was demoing some stretches with known markers for me. Almost had me looking for the leg stretcher- almost but I've moved on:D
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Yeah I'm well into my kickboxing. I just started teaching a class at my work as well (health club) and I got 15 people out of a possible 20 on my first class.

I really like different martial arts and would love to try silat from Malaysia.

Kickboxing for me, is a good mix of the kicks from TKD and boxing (used to do) but wouldn't mind playing about with some rubber weapons to develop something which incorporates the kickboxing into it.
 
Phil Young said:
I will definitely post some shots here when I have it :)


Yeah I'm well into my kickboxing. I just started teaching a class at my work as well (health club) and I got 15 people out of a possible 20 on my first class.

I really like different martial arts and would love to try silat from Malaysia.

Kickboxing for me, is a good mix of the kicks from TKD and boxing (used to do) but wouldn't mind playing about with some rubber weapons to develop something which incorporates the kickboxing into it.
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I teach ju jitsu and we have a few kickboxing black belts in the club, hell, they can get some power into their kicks!
 
i used to know a woman that did the kickboxing phil she was my little sisters pal think she went on to become the scottish champ at one time then went in to the army think she still teaches kickboxing fiona stirton was her name
 
Phil Young said:
I will definitely post some shots here when I have it :)


Yeah I'm well into my kickboxing. I just started teaching a class at my work as well (health club) and I got 15 people out of a possible 20 on my first class.

I really like different martial arts and would love to try silat from Malaysia.

Kickboxing for me, is a good mix of the kicks from TKD and boxing (used to do) but wouldn't mind playing about with some rubber weapons to develop something which incorporates the kickboxing into it.
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Kickboxing?!:eek::p- my sister is usually less than complimentary towards them- you know how it is lol- she's a Thai boxer as I'm sure you just worked out:D

Really good news on the class- I hope and am sure it will be a success for you:).

I'm aware of Silat but I have never studied it- I did Karate, TKD, Thai, Ju-jitsu, Brazilian Ju-jitsu (although ironically I went to America to study it lol), Judo, Krav Maga, Aikido and dabbled in Kung Fu and Jeet Kune Do. mmm...when you actually write it it seems quite long- I did start when I was 5 though- no wonder I'm wrecked:eek:

I really liked the movement of the classic marital arts and I was also very much into meditation and chi. Later I got more into grappling and elements of self defence although they were not aesthetically pleasing but they were effective. Eventually I disliked being constrained- I did what I wanted when I fought so the natural progression was to create my own martial art that took the best elements of all of the styles I had studied and then put them together to suit me but I quit before completing . It's a pity Bruce Lee died early as I would like to have seen how his evolved although I'm not sure how much appreciation of him there is these days but he was certainly an inspiration for me-his whole philosophy really resonated with me.

For me there will always be a distinction between an art which can take you to a better place spiritually and self defence which is just full on brutality so a lot of it depends on what you are looking to achieve with yourself or your class. Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs:D- not actually thought about this for a long time so been fun revisiting:)

Weapons training is good and I'm sure you could come up with some routines. Depends what you want to get out of it- definitely give it a go though.

Anyway, best not turn TP or the Equipment section into a martial arts discussion lol although it is your thread so off topic guilt is low:p

Looking forward to some 8-16 madness:)
 
Ok so the lens arrived tonight, had a quick play - it's wide!

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It also makes a very good portrait lens lol

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So this weekend I'll try and get some cool shots with it but from what I've seen I'm very happy - distortion is well controlled (as good as you could expect) and it is a very sharp lens. Seems Ken Rockwell was wrong about the focus - in true HSM style, it is fast and accurate.
 
You drowned the cat!
 
lol told you it was wide looking forward to more photos from you phil
 
Nice Phil (y) I think that's what ultra-wides are best at - dynamic perspective effects with strong graphics, bold colours and tones.

As you say, 8mm is very wide. Going from say 11mm to 8mm may be only a few mms, but it's the same relative increase in field of view as going from say 35mm to 25mm :eek:
 
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