Evan's photography phun

[trackend]

You've done it again Eric, really great shots

[evangilder]

Thanks guys. I have submitted a number of shots to jetphotos.net, which is very similar to airliners.net, but the screeners are more consistent. Anyway, if you look today, I am the number 2 top photographer of the day yesterday. Go to the main page and look on the upper right. Under tops shots, the shot of the Stearman is mine, and my name is there too. So far, that shot has had over 2,000 unique views!

JetPhotos.Net - The Friendly Way to Fly!

[evangilder]

Holy crap! This new lens is awesome! It just came via UPS today, so I haven't got it out to the airport yet, but will tomorrow. Below shows 2 test shots. One is as 50mm, the shortest lens distance. The next is at 500mm, full zoom. I took these shots one after the other without moving from my spot. Oh boy, is this going to be fun!

[Heinz]

Woah thats some detail!

i showed my old man some of your shots on the forum you have posted, he fancys himself a bit of a photographer. He thought they were awesome, just thought i'd let you know.

By the way how big is that P-47 and did you build it? Looks a lovely model!

[evangilder]

Glad you guys have been enjoying the photos. Have you guys taken a look at my website as well? I think I am up to somewhere in the range of 3000 pictures up on it now.

The P-47 is not one I built. It's one of the ones made by 21st century toys, 1/18 scale, 28" wingspan! It was tough to hang because it weighs 7 pounds. But with youngsters around, it's safest up high.

[Heinz]

I've looked at your site quite a bit, old man hasnt usually busy or whatever

Anywho I've seen 1/18th scale planes the other day. I saw 2 Aussie ones a
P-51 and Hornet. The hornet was huge and the Stang was nice except the figure was in a American uniform, a slight over sight

[evangilder]

Yeah, the 1/18 scale birds are really cool, but they eat up a ton of real-estate on a table or desk. Hmmm...an American pilot in an Aussie Mustang? It was the special Aussie "Eagle Squadron"

..."Hey, who let the Yank in?"

[evangilder]

One quick shot from today. I have to do some more dialing in on the lens. But, I am pleased with the level of detail it pulls out. It was a bit inconsistent today...no, *I* was inconsistent with a kickass lens today!

[Heinz]

Yet another cool shot

As far as the RAAF Eagle squadron goes

[trackend]

That lens looks like something I may be Interested in Eric as you know Ive been on the hunt for a better long focus one for my D50 for some time now, any chance of the details (Make,Supplier etc) as with the exchange rate so good for us in the UK I have been purchasing gear from the US and even with Import duty its been well worth it.
Also (sorry to be a pain) any chance of a small picture section in High def (non compressed) at 500mm so I can look at the pixel/edge distortion when you get a chance please.
Many thanks Lee

[evangilder]

I'm not sure that what I took yesterday is a good gauge for this lens as I am still getting used to the nuances of it. That being said, I have a few shots that show what it does, to the best of my ability on a first run with the lens.

It's a Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 APO DG. There are 2 versions of this lens, one is non-DG. Make sure you look at the DG, as it is optimized for Digital cameras. I took it out and had the Auto-ISO turned off on my camera (D'oh!). Because of thia, a lot of the shots were a little over-exposed, which will make things look a bit less sharp.

Right out of the camera though, I noticed a marked difference in not only the color representation on this lens, but the crispness of the shots (when I did it right). The chromatic aberration that has plagued me with the 70-300 Nikkor ED lens is GONE! That's where some of your white sections that are bright have a purple hue to it, or outright purple. The lens glass and coatings are very sharp. The focus elements are in the rear and the servo control is quick and extremely quiet, especially when compared to the Nikkor. The focus is smooth and consistent across the spectrum, which I found quite surprising for the range it goes through.

Keep in mind, Lee, if you are looking at this lens, there is not VR (vibration reduction), so it's all up to either being steady, or upping the shutter speed. It's heavy, but not as heavy as some of the other lenses of it's size on the market. It's 4.5 pounds, but well balanced. The tripod mount shoe is great to flip to the top of the lens to get it out of the way while making a good carry handle. The lens has it's own strap. At first, I though "Eh, who needs it". Then I thought about what would happen if my stock strap breaks... The strap immediately went where it belonged.

If you do order one, I highly recommend sigma4less.com. They answered the phone within 3 minutes every time I call, and they follow up with an e-mail with the shipping info. I had a bad experience with adorama.com, which I know many people praise. It should be noted that the lens at sigma4less was also almost 10% cheaper.

Here are some shots that show the lens workout I did yesterday. Keep in mind that I am still doing some shakeout with it, so the complete clarity will come after a few more hours with it.

The Hellcat images are at 500mm first, then 300mm to give you an idea of how much closer you get. The two helicopter images are a full frame reduction first, the second is a completely unedited section, cropped from the picture to show the lack of vignetting.

[trackend]

Thanks for the info Eric and the images.
I also note the lens seems to have a nice flat field judging by the verticals on the helo lettering.
Thats been a lot of help cheers Eric I think Nikon have really sacrificed alot in their lens quality to make them down to a price the higher spec lenses they make I think stand well along side even Planer and Schnieder ones but at the price they charge they should do.
As you say a bit more jiggery pokery and you'll be able to get the best out of the lens but even out of the box your shots look very impressive the last image is very useful for me and gives a good Idea of the clarity, Very suprisingly high for the price.
I know exactly what you mean about DG lenses I have found that non digitally computed lenses dont have a patch on the DG even on the cheap vest pocket jobs I have noticed the difference between a lens made for a 35MM then used on a digital and digital specific ones. IMO Its not always how many Pixels your camera has once over 4 meg so much as what the lens quality is.
As I say Eric I'm much oblidged to you for your help & more power to your shutter my friend.

[evangilder]

Cheers, Lee. I have done a few edits today and the statics seem a bit better than the aerial stuff, but that was true initially with the other lenses until I got used to them. If you read some of the reviews of this lens, almost everyone loves it. I read a couple of bad reviews about it on Amazon, but I think those people were people that didn't really know what they were doing, nor what they were talking about. A good place to compare lenses and see example shots is pbase at PBase Photo Database - Photo Hosting - Photo Sharing - Web Photo Galleries Go to the camera section and you can select manufacturer, where it will show you a broad range of their products.

[trackend]

Thanks again Eric had a quick look at work last night I agree with you the moaners seem like people with no patience and they believe all you have to do is point and press and you get an Ansel Adams instantly.
f 6.3 at 500mm is pretty good for a 16 element lens you have us in the UK at a bit of an advantage there Eric as Your weather tends to be a bit more sunny, sometimes It makes it a real pain with the flat lighting we get from blanket cloud which we get alot of the time even for on the ground photography everythings comes out 2 dimensional and lacks definition.
Its ok if I use a flash and better still with an additional slave unit for modelling of static objects, but Ive not come across a flash with a 6000 ft range and the pilots may be a tad upset if they got zapped on every pass.
But hopefully this year will be as sunny as 2005 specially At Duxford flying Legends I suspect I wont have the lens by then though as this Italian holiday Im on in a couple of weeks time has drained the old bank balance . Fingers crossed though rumour has it the the bonus at work is going to be around £600 so you never know I may be able to afford one by July not much time to get used to it but Duxford is a great place to practice.
I still have a couple of lenses to compare but I must admit the one you have picked is a very good compromise between cost and quality I look forward to seeing some of you pictures once you get in full flow. I suspect we will all be running out of expletives to describe your super images ,I may have to invent some, aerovantabulous or howabout Evantastical (sorry that sounds like Evanstestical).

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Cool shots, I really enjoyed the Huey shots.