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Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Review

1/31/2016

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By Jack Neubart • Posted on www.shutterbug.com Jan 6, 2016
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Call them what you will – ultra-wides or super-wides – I love ‘em. By covering a breathtaking expanse, these types of extreme wide-angle lenses are not only capable of capturing most landscapes, they also help sweep you into that landscape, making you feel a part of the scene in the process.

Of course, not every ultra-wide shot has to be expansive. Sometimes we just want to capture the full scope of a structure or geologic form or even a tree without having to step back more and more until we find ourselves on the edge of a precipice—or standing in the middle of traffic. And of course there’s always that in-your-face forced perspective that lends a dramatic flair to any subject photographed close up with these lenses.

Normally, I’d say, go with an ultra-wide zoom. But zooms, even at f/2.8, can be considered slow when we’re shooting at dawn or dusk, and especially after nightfall or in a dimly lit interior, without cranking ISO all the way up. What about using a tripod? I often prefer to leave my tripod at home, opting instead to shoot with the camera handheld. This way I’m free to move about, without worrying about the attached tripod bumping into people on a crowded street, or catching it in brambles or scraping against rock along the side of a trail, or having to take everything apart and set it up from scratch each time the tripod is needed.

Enter the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art lens. This lens, which Sigma is calling "the world's first" 20mm f/1.4 lens for full frame digital SLRs, is eminently suited to handheld photography. That said, it would work just as nicely seated on your favorite pod. In fact, it has one advantage for tripod users. You know how you always forget to disengage the image-stabilization (IS) mechanism on a lens equipped with this tech when the camera is on a tripod? Well, I always do. (That can result in blurred shots.) This lens does not feature IS, or OS (optical stabilizer) in Sigma parlance, so no worries. Now, is that entirely a good thing? Let’s find out.
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Read the full review here, at shutterbug.com.


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Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review

8/12/2015

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Posted 5/13/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

I thought that Tamron had outdone itself first with its 70-300mm lens and then with the 24-70mm f/2.8  and 90mm f/2.8 Macro lenses: all bearing the SP (super performance), VC (vibration compensation), Di (digitally integrated primarily for full-frame sensors), and USD (ultrasonic silent drive) monikers. There are of course other noteworthy lenses in the lineup, but these are the ones I tested for Shutterbug. Now comes the impressive Tamron SP15-30mm f/2.8 Di FC USD, which the company first previewed way back at photokina 2014. With this lens Tamron has created a near-flawless masterpiece in optics that simply blew me away!

I tested this full-frame Tamron SP15-30mm f/2.8 lens on a Nikon D610, with Picture Control set to Standard (default settings). Raw images were processed first in Adobe Lightroom and, because Lightroom 5 doesn’t yet directly support this lens with a specific profile, I post-processed the files in Adobe Photoshop, which does offer a profile for this glass. Processing was carried out with sharpness at the default settings in each application. (Note: Lightroom CC now supports this lens.) READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

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Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro: A Short, Full-Frame Tele-Macro With Image Stabilization

8/22/2014

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By Jack Neubart • Posted: Mar 17, 2014 • Published in SHUTTERBUG MAGAZINE: Feb 1, 2014
When my fascination with macro began, all my work was done by available light. Getting sharp images at life-size magnification took all the resolve I could muster, especially when dealing with heat and humidity or frigid conditions. It’s tough to hold a camera steady in those situations. What I wouldn’t have given for image stabilization!

Well, the new Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro gives me my favorite macro focal length, plus adds Tamron’s proprietary image stabilization: Vibration Compensation, or VC. And I get all that in a lens designed for a full-frame D-SLR, in this case my Nikon D600 (currently the D610). (The lens is also available for Canon, and without VC for the Sony Alpha.)


CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE COMPLETE PUBLISHED REVIEW ONLINE: TAMRON 90mm MACRO
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PHOTO CAPTION
Lifesize Capture with Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro + Flash
I prefer a macro in the short telephoto range because it's easy to handhold and gives me more breathing room between camera/myself and skittish subjects. For this shot, keeping the lens's Vibration Compensation (image stabilization) engaged, I disengaged autofocusing (AF), instead focusing manually. At these magnifications, AF becomes iffy and a time-consuming effort with any lens. (ISO 100, f/11, 1/125 sec flash exposure)
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Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD: A Constant-Aperture Full-Frame Zoom

8/22/2014

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By Jack Neubart • Posted: May 6, 2013 • Published in SHUTTERBUG MAGAZINE: Apr 1, 2013
PHOTO CAPTION
Tamron 24-70mm at Maximum Aperture
Pritzker Pavilion, in Millennium Park, Chicago, captured with a handheld Canon EOS 5D and Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with Vibration Compensation (VC) engaged. (@24mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/15 sec.)
The difference between a “constant” aperture zoom and other standard zooms is that when you increase the focal length on the standard zoom the maximum aperture becomes smaller. This might make the difference between being able to hand hold or not when zooming in, and may indeed force the use of higher ISOs. Known as “fast” lenses, constant aperture zooms are pricier and bulkier than their variable-aperture counterparts. And to sweeten the pot, we’ve seen more and more fast lenses with built-in image stabilization, which gets you even more low light and camera-shake-free capability.

Enter Tamron’s new SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD Model A007. Selling for $1299, it’s not cheap, although less expensive than comparable OEM lenses. The image-stabilized Tamron 24-70mm F/2.8 VC is available for D-SLRs from Canon (tested on a Canon EOS 5D) and Nikon (also for Sony sans built-in stabilization). The lens is targeted at full-frame cameras, but is also compatible with APS-C (cropped) sensor D-SLRs, upon which you’d be working with around a 36-105mm equivalent focal length, depending on camera model.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE COMPLETE PUBLISHED REVIEW ONLINE: TAMRON 24-70mm
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