Casa Loma and the Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6

I will admit I don't use my super wide angle Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 a whole lot, but a recent visit to Casa Loma, the magnificent early 20th century castle in Toronto, seemed like the perfect opportunity to pull it out.  This lens is the widest zoom lens in production for full frame cameras, allowing an incredible 120 degree rectilinear view.

Though this lens is fairly slow at maximum aperture, the ultra wide angle means that you don't have to worry too much about shake, even at shutter speeds as low as 1/8th a second. At this shutter speed at 3200 ISO, as room is quite dark.  The other thing about this lens is that you dont have to worry too much about focusing - almost everything is always in focus.

A rather interesting quirk is that this camera lens combination tends to underexpose scenes inside (particularly those with a bright light source, like a window) quite dramatically.  One photo I have to add +3 stops on exposure compensation to get the correct exposure.  Outside there were no issues.

Overall it is a good lens, reasonably sharp and not too much distortion.  The corner quality does drop significantly wide open at 12mm, but this is to be expected.  12mm does give an unusual perspective on an object, and for this alone having the lens around is worth it.

Non bidder eBay winners

Though its harder now with a little one around, I often spend time looking at interesting items on eBay, and make sure I watch them, especially if they are local.  Occasionally some very interesting items have not had any bids for what seemed like a very reasonable starting price.   So several times now I have contacted sellers after the auction that are local and made them an offer about 5% less than their starting price (to account for their eBay and PayPal fees).  Usually most sellers are interested, and once we agree, I make arrangements to pick up the item from where they live.  This works well for the seller as it means no hassle and cash payments for their items, and for me I get a great item at a great price.

The two lenses that this worked out very well for are a rare Nikkor  105mm f1.8 (see previous post) and an ultra wide Sigma 12-24mm full frame lens.  For both I ended up paying about 25% less than what I thought their true used market value was, so a great deal all round.

Is it bye bye DX?

With the new Nikon D600 coming out, and the need to de-complicate my life due to the time soak that is an 8 month old, I am thinking of getting rid of all my DX gear.  I`ll wait until I pick up another camera, but that`s the plan.

The reason I liked DX was for the light weight and compact size of body and lenses together.  The D600 will be some 250g (or 25%) lighter than a D700, but full frame lenses are always bigger than DX.  My Sigma 12-24mm is some 30% bigger than the Sigma 10-20mm I have as well.  Same goes for zooms - the 24-135mm Tamron is quite a bit bigger and heavier than Nikon 18-200mm I have.

Still, I think moving to one format will be the way to go.

Analogue FX - Nikon FE2 on color print film

Full Frame lens kit

Over the last 3-4 years I’ve spent a lot of time acquiring the right lenses for a full frame DSLR.  Here’s my pick of the must-have lenses.

WIDE PRIME – This is where a full frame camera really comes into its own

1.       Sigma 12-24mm f4-5.6.  The world’s widest angle rectilinear lens for DSLR's is a must-have for full frame.  Very dramatic scenes with excellent optical performance.  Can be had relatively cheaply – about $550 used.

2.       Nikon 14-24mm f2.8.    I don’t own it, but known as the world’s best wide angle for DSLRs.  Big, heavy, expensive, flares a lot; but the best.  About $1,500 used

WIDE ZOOM - Like wide primes, they're fabulous on full frame

1.       Sigma 20mm f1.8.  Not the sharpest out there, but the wide aperture and close focus make for dramatic images. About $400.


2.       Nikon 24mm f1.4 AF-S – I haven’t used this lens, but I could see it being great for full frame. About $1,700 used.  I use the Nikon 24mm f2 Ai-s manual focus which I like.


3.       Nikon 35mm f1.4 AF-S – I haven’t used this lens, but would also be great for full frame.   About $1,700 used.   I use the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Ai-s manual focus, which is only OK. About $450 used

STANDARD ZOOM

1.       Fast – The only lens is the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8.  Expensive, but the best. About $1500 used


2.       Allround – Tamron 24-135mm f3.5-5.6.  Excellent all round zoom, but no VR or AF-S.  A bargain in today’s market. About $200 used

STANDARD PRIME

Nikkor 50mm f1.2 Manual Focus – The fastest 50mm Nikon has ever made.  Fabulous with full frame, but lots of light fall off at f1.2.  About $450 used.

TELEPHOTO 

Any of the 70/80-200mmf2.8 lenses work great.  I think the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D twin ring in particular is great value, with outstanding performance.  About $800 used.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 35mm f2 AF-D