tamron bbar 70-150mm 3.5--just received

[rbelyell]

i just received this lens to use with my sigma sd14 and had a chance to take some initial shots. i was surprised at its sharpness wide open--because of the lack of light almost all shots are at 3.5. first a not very good shot of what i think is an attractive lens, especially for less than $50usd! FOR BEST QUALITY VIEWING, PLEASE CLICK ON EACH PICTURE!



first a couple at 150mm




a couple to test the bokeh, which seems pretty smooth



even at 5.6



tried some portraits of my 2 favorite ladies @3.5




and finally some landscapes, last @ f16






overall, for $50, i'm pretty happy so far. as always, comments/critique appreciated!
tony

[ManualFocus-G]

Interesting stuff! I have the AD2 version of this lens, which is a touch smaller by the looks of things! That is a very good performer.

First off, are you using an AF confirm chip? I've got a few comments which hopefully will help you get the best from this lens. Image 1 looks back focused, which may be related to the chip if you are using one? i.e. it's focused on the leaves. Lovely autumn colours though! The next 3 look to be suffering from camera shake - quite simply the shutter speed is too slow to be hand held. Perhaps it would be best to mount on a tripod or up the ISO a bit.

As for the two ladies, they've come up very nicely indeed And the last three are very atmospheric, well done!

[rbelyell]

hi shrek
thank you so much for your feedback, it is very welcome!

no i do not use a focus confirmation chip, though i wish they made one for my sigma, but i have never seen one so far. i dont know if you can click on the first photo to get a better resolution image, but if you can i think the mushroom looks a little more in focus, though maybe not as much as it should have been

yes, i agree about the next 3--i do have a continuing problem with camera shake and i hardly ever use a tripod as i try and try to improve my handheld technique. also my old sony a100 had image stabilization and the sigma does not, and that makes a big difference. i actually was thinking of getting a pentax (either a used k20d or new kx) because they have IS...i really just need to keep trying to improve.

thank you for your kind words on the last few images. i really love taking landscapes and i take many of that scene up the river as it is adjacent to our property. because its in the mountains the 'atmospheric' as you say changes a great deal, and this image took advantage of the fog and mist.

i really am enjoying the lens, i was very surprised that its pretty sharp wide open--do you experience the same with your model?

thanks again for your ideas and help!
tony

[jmiro]

[rbelyell]

thank you jmiro! you were correct; i tried it out as you suggested and the green confirm light does come on, so that i hope will be very helpful to me and to my images. thanks again.
tony

[scsambrook]

[rbelyell]

yes stephen, i chose my first dslr, a sony a100, for exactly the same reason--and i miss the IS on my sigma, and so do my images! so much for the debate about camera vs lens IS-my vote goes to camera. ive been trying to take a lot of these macro shots handheld at 1/60th, 1/50th and even 1/25th of a second (above 2-5 in this range) and i'm just not good enough in my technique to do that. thanks for sharing, and if i get a k20 i will let you know!
tony

[ManualFocus-G]

[rbelyell]

yeah, i need to play around w the iso. having only had the sigma and mf lenses for about a month or so i havent really experimented so much as there is a lot to get used to, like relearning my handheld technique! i had read a bit that the sigma really shines at 100, so have been reticent to shoot at another iso, except for indoor where i havent been tremendously impressed by its low light capability and noise at 400...another reason to add a k20d!

[ManualFocus-G]

[rbelyell]

shrek, did you use a tripod for your 'more of autumn' series?

[ManualFocus-G]

Nope, but the light was pretty good. Most were shot at f1.9 @ 1/250th a second, more than fast enough for hand held photography. The f2.8 shots were at 1/125th which was enough for a 50mm lens. Anything below 1/80th second and I'd probably switch to ISO 200 or use a tripod.

[rbelyell]

btw, based on that series, i just bought that yashica 50mm/1.9 from ebay. i really loved the bokeh, though i am curious about the sharpness, but the bokeh was amazing to my eye. i should have it in a week.

[ManualFocus-G]

Great stuff! It's not one I've seen too often, but I've been very impressed with the old Yashicas so far

[rbelyell]

yes your shots w that lens were very inspiring, esp for $24!

[patrickh]

Tony

Hand held technique will only go so far. Frankly, if you want to do macro, or use a long focal length (say over 200mm) then you will be very well advised to use a tripod.

The sigma is renowned for needing the right conditions, but when it has them the results are literally spectacular. It can achieve nuances of colour and definition almost like film. I have often wished for some spare cash to try one out for a while...

Keep plugging away, you are well on the way...


patrickh

[rbelyell]

thanks patrick, i really appreciate everyone's advice. at least it makes me feel that the lack of clarity in some of my images seems to be more a matter of physics and not exclusively a matter of my incompetence...

about your interest in the sigma, i really do see a difference in the depth i seem to get out of the sigma as opposed to my old sony a100. when i hit the focus i really love the result, where i rarely 'loved' my sony results. i find the panoramas that i enjoy taking have a very film-like 'paint' quality that i very much enjoy--as in my thread on my porst 35-105mm lens. i also need to find a way to get the uploaded images on this forum to match the quality of the images i see at home so that members can see the same results i see.

as i mentioned to another member, i bought my sigma very slightly used on ebay for about $400, which is overwhelmingly cheaper than when it first came out at $1500, so maybe you might want to revisit incorporating it in your kit. as sigma has planned a release of the sd15 for some months, there might be a really good deal out there for you!

thanks again
tony

[jmiro]

[rbelyell]

thanks jmiro. i actually tried out the AF confirm today and found exactly as you suggest about the 'ballpark'. i did not notice from which 'end' was more accurate, but i will be sure to try this out soon. if you like, i started a new thread 'zeiss pancolar 50mm at iso 400' to show the improvement in my images thanks to the advice of forum members like you. i hope you enjoy them and your help and comments are very much appreciated.
tony

[Nesster]

Personally, some of those could have been hand-held by me, they look so familiar I stay away from long lenses as a result, or use a tripod or something. I envy those folks whose Gibraltar-like steadiness ensures diamond sharp photos. Sometimes, the more I try the more I shake

But it looks like a very nice lens, esp for the money. I'd like to see more shots!

[rbelyell]

thank you nestor, i am very happy with the lens and even though my shaking spoiled the technical quality of the pictures, i really think the quality of the lens comes through, esp for $50. based on forum advice, i ratcheted up the iso to 400 and took some much better shots posted today as 'zeiss pancolar 50mm at 400 iso'. i really hadnt wanted to increase the iso on my sigma, as i had read it really only shines at 100, but this proved not to be the case,it did well at 400. so i will soon take out the tamron for some hand held shots at 400 and post results!