Sigma 30mm Depth of Field test (and lesson!) F1.4 - F8

zackiedawg

zackiedawg

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I thought this might interest photo tecchies who wanted to see lens performance, but also newbies in helping to see a depth of field comparison to understand how much the depth of field can change from wide open to more narrow apertures. ; Here are a series of shots I took to quickly assess the depth of field from wide open to F8, both to see how narrow it is and how it widens as the aperture narrows, and also to see the bokeh and smoothness of the OOF transitions.

It also helped in determining if the focus was accurate (seems pretty solid). ; I was shooting in very low light, so I set the camera to Aperture Priority to control the aperture settings, but let the camera choose the shutter needed to properly expose, and set ISO to 400 so the shutters wouldn't be too slow. ; Camera was tripod-mounted. ; Aperture is subtitled on each photo, along with the shutter speed.

All shots are only resized, no processing or cropping:

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For a closer comparison, here's a 100% crop of the center of the F1.4 shot:

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And here's a 100% crop from the center of the F8 shot:

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The lens looks impressive, as does the subject matter. ; What time does the bar open?
 
Thanks...on the lens and bar. ; The bar is still a work in progress...part of my seemingly endless attempts to update a late '70s ranch style house to a more modern style. ; The bar and two bathrooms are the last rooms left to update!

The bar is still a bit 70's looking:

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But I'm looking to replace the bar top and chairs this year, maybe redo the shelves, and add a bistro table along the side. ; I'll leave the wood paneling for now as that's too expensive a job...and I've got a lot more sport (hockey) memorabilia I would like to add around the bar and billiard room (I've got the Gretzky up...still need to add the other jerseys, some sticks, pucks, plaques, etc.

As for the lens - it has lovely bokeh, very well built, very nice sharpness, and seems like a heck of a deal for the price!

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i say leave the bar as is, every few years it will cycle back into hip, kind of like my clothes closet
 
OMG I have the same paneling in my family room! ; For years I've considered painting it over in a lighter color. ; I did so in the kitchen and it looks good.

And I'm very envious of the Great One's jersey. ; I was working second shift when he turned pro here in Indy and couldn't get to any of the games, so my only link to that era is seeing his Indy Racers jersey on display at his restaurant in Toronto.
 
That lens looks solid Justin. I think a lens of that caliber will be what I'm after once I get the 70-200 2.8 in the bag. I expect to have that lens by the end of July. Once I get both of these, I'll be all set for the next trip.
 
Great shots, and nice looking bar stock. ; The lens seems to be well worth it for the price paid. ; Thanks for the photo lesson.
 
"Cooleo" said:
That lens looks solid Justin. I think a lens of that caliber will be what I'm after once I get the 70-200 2.8 in the bag. I expect to have that lens by the end of July. Once I get both of these, I'll be all set for the next trip.
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I love the Sigma 30mm f/1.4; I think it's the perfect lens for dark rides. ; Canon has a 24 or 28mm f/1.8 lens, right? ; For less money, if you don't have a fast prime, I would look into getting either get the Sigma or that Canon lens AND the 70-200 f/4 IS L. ; The extra couple stops would be nice, but I've heard that 70-200 f/2.8 is a beast. ; I wouldn't want to carry that thing around the parks all day.

Now that I have my Tokina 11-16mm, I think my WDW bag is finally "perfect" (18-200, 30 1.4, 11-16, 50 1.8). ; It might be a little "more perfect" if picked up the Nikon 10.5 fisheye, but I've already got two new lenses since the last trip, so I can be patient...
 
That's a nice bag Tom. Something along tose lines is what I'm working towards. I just chose to start out with the big lens first. After all, I do have a 50mm 1.8 that I am using for now. I wish I would have had this for the last Disney trip, but I got it after. Oh well, there's always next time. :)
 
My bag is still one lens short of what I'd consider perfect...the wide zoom. ; I've got an 18-250 walkaround, 200-500 big tele, 50mm f1.7, now the 30mm f1.4. ; I'm just waiting for either the Sigma 10-20 or the Tamron 10-24 to add to the bundle (no Tokina in Minolta mount)...the Tamron hasn't come out yet so I'm waiting until I can compare those two in person with a few sample shots.
 
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