Sigma vs Canon

I've hit a lens wall. I initially bought the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. Foolishly I sent it back and decided to "upgrade" to a professional lens, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8. It was foolish because the price difference was HUGE, $600 vs $1300, and I'm not seeing a difference in image quality, actually I think the quality isn't there. 

The Canon lens arrived the other day, but it didn't work right. This was probably due to the large box it was packed in, and the big bubble to protect it from being jarred in transit was flat. I'm assuming it banged around and shifted more than a lens should, so needless to say, back it went. The replacement lens has arrived. This one works correctly, but I'm not seeing the image quality I expect from a lens more than twice the cost of the Sigma. If this doesn't change over the next few days, the Canon L lens will go back, and I'll happily welcome back the Sigma! 

I think this also confirms when it's time to purchase the 70-200mm f/2.8, I'll be purchasing the Sigma lens for $1300 and forego the Canon for $2300. In many of the reviews it is comparable, if not better in regards to image quality. One last note, I didn't see chromatic aberrations in the Sigma lens, sadly, I've seen some in the Canon lens.... 

I guess I will not be a die hard Canon L lens fan girl. Sorry Canon, but it appears Sigma has some great lenses amongst their lineup! 

For the pixel peepers who would like to compare. Here is an image from the Canon and an image from the Sigma. 

Canon 70mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/80

 

Sigma 50mm, ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/40

St. Patty's Day

This St Patty's Day weekend my family and I packed up the car and went down to Ocean City MD for a long weekend, some R&R and a parade. I'm sad to report the weather was gorgeous in NJ while we were away in the endless fog and cold down in OC, MD. 

This trip presented a great time to become familiar with the 85mm portrait lens, which had arrived a few days prior to our departure.

I have to say, the hardest part of the trip may have been helping my 3yr old son gather up the candy thrown in the parade before all the kids rushed in to snatch it out from under him. Holding him back when he was constantly trying to get too close to the parade and taking pictures with my 7D in one hand and the other hand on my sons head, to assure I didn't lose him in the crowd as I looked through the viewfinder.

 

Click on the image to scroll through all the images... 

Boy oh boy, was I wrong

After a prior post mimicking images of the man holding multiple DSLR's with telephoto lenses attached, I'm eating my words. I vowed I was going to keep it simple by upgrading to the X-Pro 1 instead of the usual bulky DSLR. Through trial and error, I've learned a DSLR with decent focus tracking needs to be the next addition.

Last night I hit the purchase buttons and will keep my fingers crossed I made the right decision in choosing the Canon 7D over the 5D Mark ii. My only true concern after viewing TNTC images produced from the above said camera bodies was what I perceived as "soft" images. I've grown accustomed to the tack sharpness of the X-100 when I view the image at 100%.

So after accepting my fate of softer images at the focal point. I then went on to spend obsessive amounts of time trying to decide which lenses to initially purchase with the body. The standard lens lineup for wedding photographers usually consists of a few fast primes, 24-70mm and the 70-200mm. The initial set of lenses I decided on is the 85mm f/1.8 and a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. The Sigma lens was a hard one to convince myself to purchase, since it won't fit a FF DSLR, but I think for the APS-C sensor it will be excel in wedding photography.

Next on the itinerary (next year or so) consists of purchasing a few L lenses and a FF DSLR, probably the 5D Mark iii.