D800 in DX mode Examples (Sigma 50-150 2.8 HSM)

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One of the D800's appealing attributes is it's ability to crop cleanly. I have a Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 HSM II that I shot all the time on my D90, and the when I picked up a D700 I would still occasionally shoot it on that, in DX mode, because I liked that Sigmas AF speed, it size, and it's optics, but the 5.5MP of the D700's crop mode kept those shots ideally at 8x10 or smaller prints. So, I was excited to give the Sigma 50-150 a try on the D800, where it will deliver about 15.5MP in the frame.

This is my second day with the D800, and I spent a couple hours yesterday with the 50 1.8D and the 180 f/2.8 AF-N, and was very happy with the results from both of those lenses on this sensor. I put some shots from those combos in another thread:

---> http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1021&thread=41588933&page=1

While the Sigma can't quite match the 180 2.8 prime, and DX mode only gets you around D7000 territory in resolution and SNR, it's still a quality combo, very fast-focusing, very versatile. Below are some shots, almost all wide-open, several at 150mm which is supposed to be this lenses' weakest point (150mm wide-open) :

He really does not want to be photographed today
80mm f/2.8 ISO 125

150mm f/2.8 ISO 220

150mm f/2.8 ISO 280

Bug Discovery!

50m f/2.8 ISO 900

75mm f/2.8 ISO 320

Here's an ISO 1600 shot, an example of a little noise reduction on the file:

150mm f/2.8 ISO 1600 (some NR applied)

85mm f/2.8 ISO 1100 (some NR applied)

112mm f/4 ISO 1250 (some NR applied)

Here's a little more of a challenge - ISO 2500 & 2800

105mm f/2.8 ISO 2500 (some NR applied)

98mm f/2.8 ISO 2800 (some NR applied)

Others near the MFD of the lens:

150mm f/2.8 ISO 800

150mm f/2.8 ISO 800

150mm f/2.8 ISO 720

I'm quite happy with DX mode on the D800 - even though I won't be using it with any other lens than the Sigma 50-150 f2.8, I think the general cropability shown here is encouraging.

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Here are a few of my favorite things...
---> http://www.flickr.com/photos/95095968@N00/sets/72157626171532197/