Nancy and Pete Spader
Senior Member
One of the things some people with the SD1 andSD1 Merrrill are lamenting is the fact that there does not seem to be a Sigma WA lens that provides good sharpness when using the SD1 cameras. A substitute would be panos.
The advantage of panos in this case is not increased sharpness, since the SD1 with good lens is as sharp as almost anyone could want. The advantage is that you can have as Wide-Angle a shot as you want, and you can are not limited the width/length ratio of a single lens. I have the 14mm and it is a great WA lens (mine needs to be sent to Sigma to correct a minor decentering problem that developed). But it has a fixed field of vision, and also produces pronounced perspectival distortion which can be great for creative effects, but not always.
Panos give you complete freedom to do what you want. You can do the standard long panos, or do the spherical panos that are truly spectacular. But you can also simple do WA shots with you picking the size and ratio.
I do not have an SD1 or SD1 Merrill, I have shot many panos using the Sigma 50mm macro, the 105 macro and the 20mm lens on our SD10 and they were fun to do since I love WA. From the images posted and comments made by users, the 50mm is good on the SD1 and SD1Merrill and the 70mm is better (and so is the 85mm). All three can be used to make panos, and that is why I hope SD1 and SD1Merrill owners will try them out.
Pete
The advantage of panos in this case is not increased sharpness, since the SD1 with good lens is as sharp as almost anyone could want. The advantage is that you can have as Wide-Angle a shot as you want, and you can are not limited the width/length ratio of a single lens. I have the 14mm and it is a great WA lens (mine needs to be sent to Sigma to correct a minor decentering problem that developed). But it has a fixed field of vision, and also produces pronounced perspectival distortion which can be great for creative effects, but not always.
Panos give you complete freedom to do what you want. You can do the standard long panos, or do the spherical panos that are truly spectacular. But you can also simple do WA shots with you picking the size and ratio.
I do not have an SD1 or SD1 Merrill, I have shot many panos using the Sigma 50mm macro, the 105 macro and the 20mm lens on our SD10 and they were fun to do since I love WA. From the images posted and comments made by users, the 50mm is good on the SD1 and SD1Merrill and the 70mm is better (and so is the 85mm). All three can be used to make panos, and that is why I hope SD1 and SD1Merrill owners will try them out.
Pete
