Sigma Lens

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by eeyore

The 90-300 is a good basic 300mm zoom - it was one of the first lenes i bought and it still sees regular action - it is well worth spending the extra 30 or so notes to get the USM (ultra sonic motor driven focusing - quicker and quiter than the basic type) version though

the 28-105 is an okay lens but it might be a bit short for most wildlife photography - that said its an okay lens for general shots , portraits , and big animals in their environment - I have a 28-135 IS which i use for these type of subjects (that costs about 300 notes and might be out of your price range tho).

Thanks for this info. I have decided to buy the Sigma 105 and the Sigma 70-300. The Sigma 70-300 is cheap and though it won't take fantastic photos it will tide me over until I can afford the Bigma (if that's the right name). I felt that I would be better putting the extra pennies towards a really good one rather than an intermediate but I wanted something that I could at least use to catalogue what I see on a daily basis on my walks.

Thanks for all the help.
Kerry

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Kerry

Thanks for this info. I have decided to buy the Sigma 105 and the Sigma 70-300. The Sigma 70-300 is cheap and though it won't take fantastic photos it will tide me over until I can afford the Bigma (if that's the right name). I felt that I would be better putting the extra pennies towards a really good one rather than an intermediate but I wanted something that I could at least use to catalogue what I see on a daily basis on my walks.

Thanks for all the help.
Kerry

bigma (50-500) is about 650 notes - remember tho that buying a comparitively cheap lens still takes a hundred or so notes out of you pocket that you could otherwise save towards what you really want. I have the little bigma (170-500) which is about 400 notes and it has done well being used in a pro workload for which it is not really designed - however i am begining to wish i had gone for the bigma originally.

if you are buying the 105 anyway you could put a 2x Teleconverter on it for modest long shots (2xtc in jessops is 39 notes) this would be far from ideal but would "tide you over" until you can get the lense you really want , which will be that much closer

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Kerry

WOW! That image was fantastic! How close were you to take that photo? What sort of distance range would I be working in with the 105? I would certainly welcome suggestions for good prices on the 400D and the lens; I have been scouring the internet to find the best prices but you might have suggestions that I haven't found yet.

Many thanks
Kerry

Microglobe photographic equipment retailer in London UK Digital slr nikon canon accessories tripods film cameras was a good price for the siggy 105
for later the siggy 50-500 £668 at Amazon

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by eeyore

bigma (50-500) is about 650 notes - remember tho that buying a comparitively cheap lens still takes a hundred or so notes out of you pocket that you could otherwise save towards what you really want. I have the little bigma (170-500) which is about 400 notes and it has done well being used in a pro workload for which it is not really designed - however i am begining to wish i had gone for the bigma originally.

if you are buying the 105 anyway you could put a 2x Teleconverter on it for modest long shots (2xtc in jessops is 39 notes) this would be far from ideal but would "tide you over" until you can get the lense you really want , which will be that much closer

Thanks for this tip. In my ignorance I had assumed that a dedicated macro lens could only be used for macro but looking on pbase.com, and from your comments, I see that it can be used for photographs in general. The ones on pbase.com weren't of particularly good quality for distance shots; is this due to the photographers or due to the limitations of the macro lens?

I intend to save for the bigma rather than the little bigma so it will be quite sometime before I get my hands on one.

Kerry

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Microglobe photographic equipment retailer in London UK Digital slr nikon canon accessories tripods film cameras was a good price for the siggy 105
for later the siggy 50-500 £668 at Amazon

Thanks for this info, I shall take a look.

Kerry

[Kerry]

I just wanted to post a link to a couple of pictures that I have taken of birds with the 70-300mm Sigma Macro. I know that they aren't fantastic quality, but for someone who just wants to record what they see on a daily basis and they aren't in a position to buy expensive lenses, then this does fine. I haven't had chance to try the Sigma 105mm Macro yet as the weather hasn't been suitable with mainly strong winds.

Thanks to all those that took the time to offer advice.

Birds

I am now saving my pennies for a better lens!

[Boddie]

Originally Posted by Kerry

I just wanted to post a link to a couple of pictures that I have taken of birds with the 70-300mm Sigma Macro. I know that they aren't fantastic quality, but for someone who just wants to record what they see on a daily basis and they aren't in a position to buy expensive lenses, then this does fine. I haven't had chance to try the Sigma 105mm Macro yet as the weather hasn't been suitable with mainly strong winds.

Thanks to all those that took the time to offer advice.

Birds

I am now saving my pennies for a better lens!

I'd be pretty chuffed with them. You have done well

[nightshade]

Nice shots Kerry any idea what the aperture was,F8?

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Nice shots Kerry any idea what the aperture was,F8?

I was using the Auto Focus while I get used to the camera and this is the info:

Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/500
Av( Aperture Value ) 10.0
ISO Speed 250
Focal Length 300.0 mm

Kerry

[Kerry]

Originally Posted by Boddie

I'd be pretty chuffed with them. You have done well

It is difficult to get good shots against a bright background and I can see that I will need a LOT of practice! The great thing with digital is that it doesn't matter how many you take and scrap; I won't show you the other twenty that I took in order get a couple of good ones!