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An angel...photographed with Sigma 200-500 2.8 (on 1DsIII)

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Juza_EA

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Today I have finally brought the Sigma 200-500 f/2.8 monster on the field! This is a $24,000, 16kg lens, the only 500mm f2.8 of the world!

It has been a blast!!! I am a nature photographer and I am not expert in portrait/fashion, but it has been a lot of fun! :-D

The angel is CRISTINA, a professional model, that I have chosen for a series of photos taken this morning at Rivalta, a medieval village between the hills of northern Apennines, Italy.

First, a big thanks to the team!

Cristina, my marvelous model, who has given the best for these photos!

Sigma ( http://www.sigmaphoto.com/ ), that kindly loaned me the Sigma 200-500 f/2.8

PhotoSeiki ( http://www.photoseiki.com/ ), that has manufactured a custom made head for the 200-500

Marco Sitza from Sigma, who has taken some "behind the scenes" photos

Gitzo ( http://www.gitzo.com ), that kindly loaned me the Gitzo 5541 LS

And now...our dear angel!

This is just a preview, a couple of photos and 100% crops, but next week I'm going to publish the full size photos AND THE RAW FILES for download in my 200-500 2.8 review!

http://www.juzaphoto.com/eng/articles/sigma_200-500_2_8_ex_dg_review_test_hands_on.htm



Canon 1Ds MarkIII, Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at 500mm), 1/250 f/2.8, iso 100, Tripod.



Canon 1Ds MarkIII, Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG (at 1000mm), Sigma 2.0x Teleconverter, 1/250 f/5.6, iso 400, Tripod.

These are two 100% crops from the previous photos...wide open, on the 21 megapixels sensor of 1DsIII...



500mm f/2.8



1000mm f/5.6

I always handhold my Canon 600 f/4 IS and some time ago I was asked if I could handhold the Sigma monster...yes, I can :-) but obviously it is just for fun; I can handhold it just for few minutes, and I need very fast SS to get sharp photos. The majority of the photos taken during the test had been taken on the sturdy Gitzo tripod.



If you have any question, feel free to ask!

--
Juza
Nature photographer
http://www.juzaphoto.com
 
Juza nice shots. The model is beautiful, good choice. I'm surprised that this lens is so sharp. But with what it costs than I'm not surprised at all..........
 
--
Raoul
 
Awesome model, great shots. The 2nd 100% crop is a bit disappointing (looks like heavy NR) but otherwise, I envy everything including your muscles!
 
I have used some NR, but not to much...actually the lens has a clear sharpness drop at 1000mm, even though it is still amazing considering that it is a 200-500 ZOOM, WIDE OPEN at 1000!

I'd say that at 1000mm f/5.6 it has about the same IQ of the Canon 400 2.8 + 2x at 800mm f/5.6 (while without TCs the Canon is slightly sharper).
Smorter said:
Awesome model, great shots. The 2nd 100% crop is a bit disappointing
(looks like heavy NR) but otherwise, I envy everything including your
muscles!
Click to expand...
--
Juza
Nature photographer
http://www.juzaphoto.com
 
I like the last one the best:-). I know you would try to hand hold it:-)

Just judging by its size, I guess it is not handheldable. I do 500mm IS handheld easily, 600mm IS with short time, but for this monster, I thing it should stay on the tripod.
 
Yes, of course it is just for fun...no stabilization and way too heavy for handholding :-)
Kai Hui said:
I like the last one the best:-). I know you would try to hand hold it:-)

Just judging by its size, I guess it is not handheldable. I do 500mm
IS handheld easily, 600mm IS with short time, but for this monster, I
thing it should stay on the tripod.
--
Click to expand...
--
Juza
Nature photographer
http://www.juzaphoto.com
 
I love the one with you hand holding the lens. That is crazy.

I want to get one of those for my long hikes. I wonder if it will fit in my photo trekker backpack.

Good luck!

Steve
 
I know it's semi just for fun but..

Amazing how deep the DOF still is at 500mm f/2.8. I would've thought it would be so shallow that the model would be hardly within it.

Also, there seem to be no interaction possible with the model from the photographer as the distance is way to long. But then again, if it's really a good model it should probably not matter. You and your team did a nice job!

I think I'd prefer the 200mm f/2.0L or 1.8L for long tele portraits, a bit cheaper too ;)

Still amazing sharpness at 1000mm!
--
Kind regards
Imqqmi



http://www.pbase.com/imqqmi
 
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