Sigma 85mm 1.4 Sample Shots. Finally.

yeatzee · 03-30-2011, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by Emacs

I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh.

To each their own

dasuhu · 03-30-2011, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by outsider

Aah, well the original file is in RAW format and flickr doesn't support that format. Not sure how else to get the original size, but believe me, it's SHAAARP!

Originally posted by yeatzee

I didn't even think about this. Yes, if you do not have flickr pro you do not have access to the original file size. Does anyone know a file uploading website that everyone used when the K-5 first came out so we could compare it to the K-7/K-x

Obviously, Im REALLY eager to get my hands on a full sized pentax image

If you [Outsider] have dropbox, you can upload the original photo into the public folder and provide the link to the file.

yeatzee · 03-30-2011, 10:59 PM

Originally posted by dasuhu

If you [Outsider] have dropbox, you can upload the original photo into the public folder and provide the link to the file.

thats the one I was thinking of! Thanks dasuhu

Pentaxor · 03-31-2011, 12:45 AM

Originally posted by Emacs

I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh.

I don't find it that nervous, unless my eyes are betraying me now.

Class A · 03-31-2011, 01:34 AM

Originally posted by outsider

Well Sigma is a bit of a square I guess in the lens world, but I will say that they have come up with a beast here.

Thanks for posting the samples. I hope we'll some more in the future.

Has this lens resolved your AF focusing problems?

outsider · 03-31-2011, 08:27 AM

You're right pops...wide open it does have some trouble at the distance of the out of focus shot above, but i'm thinking it was the time of day/weather. Overcast as the sun was going down, it was pretty crummy weather actually. But it does incredibly well even in less than ideal lighting at nailing the focus in portraits any closer than the oof shot above. People talk about difficulty with shallow DOF using wide apertures, but, as my gut feeling indicated, this was a non issue with close ish portraits. I.Q. and ability to hit focus spot on is betten at 1.4 than my tamron is at 2.8.

outsider · 03-31-2011, 08:46 AM

Originally posted by Class A

Thanks for posting the samples. I hope we'll some more in the future.

Has this lens resolved your AF focusing problems?

Thanks, i'll have more to come. I convinced my sister to be my human subject for the first portrait test

And you know...with this test (using the 85 on my sister here) I've learned so far that the best thing for getting the eyes in focus using autofocus, is to aim for the eyes, eyes, eyes. For most of the shots i took of her, I would just compose on the middle of face, between eyes, and ever so slightly move to my left and work the shutter button (partially depress) several times, as though asking the camera "are you sure, are you sure, positive you're locked on?". Working the focus using the shutter is a bit of an obsession for me. It keeps the camera thinking and helps it make the fine adjustments while pointing at the area of interest. My assumption is that not enough people use patience, those extra 1 or 2 seconds get the focus right. The focus is a relationship between the camera, lens and how you're reacting to what's happening, half seconds at a time. Not the ability of the equipment, necessarily. But to answer your question my focusing issues have been resolved by my technique (go for the right OR left eye not the bridge of nose), and the closer you are to the face, the greater succes rate. I don't think i'll be backing up farther from the subject than what I can fit in the picture of the head and some upper torso. Beyond this, without fair lighting will not give enough contrast for the camera to grab the front face/eyes....instead it will likely grab the side of head (area of contrast where head and background meet). Which has happend plenty of times with me.

outsider · 03-31-2011, 08:54 AM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

I don't find it that nervous, unless my eyes are betraying me now.

I wouldn't call the bokeh, quite so, "nervous". It had seemd a bit more....how to say...."edgy", than other 85's (canons, pentax), but i've learned you don't know how exactly the lens is going to perform until you use it on the respective body and see the image on a proper computer screen. I will say that the bokeh is less edgy, more soft than what I expected it to be (the harder bokeh lines, circles in the canon examples). But one thing i'm pretty damn pleased about is the center sharpness.

outsider · 03-31-2011, 08:57 AM

Shoot, i replied to the wrong person.....sorry pentaxor. Still getting a hand of this interface...

outsider · 03-31-2011, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by Emacs

I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh.

I wouldn't call the bokeh, quite so, "nervous". It had seemd a bit more....how to say...."edgy", than other 85's (canons, pentax), but i've learned you don't know how exactly the lens is going to perform until you use it on the respective body and see the image on a proper computer screen. I will say that the bokeh is less edgy, more soft than what I expected it to be (the harder bokeh lines, circles in the canon examples). But one thing i'm pretty damn pleased about is the center sharpness. I read a lab test of this lens among the nikkor 85 1.4 G, Canon's 85 1.2 and 1.4 and the results were fairly suprising....the sigma held it's own, or bettered all 3 in many areas...

outsider · 03-31-2011, 09:53 AM

If you wan't, I can send you the raw file.....email or msn live messenger

yeatzee · 03-31-2011, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by outsider

If you wan't, I can send you the raw file.....email or msn live messenger

can I post the full sized image here for everyone to check out for themselves?

yeatzee · 03-31-2011, 05:02 PM

Ok I got permission. Here's the DNG images converted to Jpeg with nothing else done to them.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5577457743_bcb0457cf8_o.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5577457749_e90640c541_o.jpg

and very basic editing with LR3 (fill light, etc.)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5578050410_a596159402_o.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5578050422_cefe6f9f1e_o.jpg

outsider · 03-31-2011, 07:07 PM

Originally posted by yeatzee

Ok I got permission. Here's the DNG images converted to Jpeg with nothing else done to them.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5577457743_bcb0457cf8_o.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5577457749_e90640c541_o.jpg

and very basic editing with LR3 (fill light, etc.)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5578050410_a596159402_o.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5578050422_cefe6f9f1e_o.jpg

Niice!! Thanks Man!!

Jewelltrail · 03-31-2011, 08:29 PM

Yeatzee & Outsider, thanks for working together to get these to us. I like what I see & to think the lens was in my "cart" a few weeks back.

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03-30-2011, 10:10 PM	#16
yeatzee Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Temecula Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,675	Originally posted by Emacs I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh. To each their own

03-30-2011, 10:17 PM	#17
dasuhu Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Rancho Cordova, CA Posts: 189	Originally posted by outsider Aah, well the original file is in RAW format and flickr doesn't support that format. Not sure how else to get the original size, but believe me, it's SHAAARP! Originally posted by yeatzee I didn't even think about this. Yes, if you do not have flickr pro you do not have access to the original file size. Does anyone know a file uploading website that everyone used when the K-5 first came out so we could compare it to the K-7/K-x Obviously, Im REALLY eager to get my hands on a full sized pentax image If you [Outsider] have dropbox, you can upload the original photo into the public folder and provide the link to the file.

03-30-2011, 10:59 PM	#18
yeatzee Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Temecula Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,675	Originally posted by dasuhu If you [Outsider] have dropbox, you can upload the original photo into the public folder and provide the link to the file. thats the one I was thinking of! Thanks dasuhu

03-31-2011, 12:45 AM	#19
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Emacs I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh. I don't find it that nervous, unless my eyes are betraying me now.

03-31-2011, 01:34 AM	#20
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by outsider Well Sigma is a bit of a square I guess in the lens world, but I will say that they have come up with a beast here. Thanks for posting the samples. I hope we'll some more in the future. Has this lens resolved your AF focusing problems?

03-31-2011, 08:27 AM	#21
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	You're right pops...wide open it does have some trouble at the distance of the out of focus shot above, but i'm thinking it was the time of day/weather. Overcast as the sun was going down, it was pretty crummy weather actually. But it does incredibly well even in less than ideal lighting at nailing the focus in portraits any closer than the oof shot above. People talk about difficulty with shallow DOF using wide apertures, but, as my gut feeling indicated, this was a non issue with close ish portraits. I.Q. and ability to hit focus spot on is betten at 1.4 than my tamron is at 2.8.

03-31-2011, 08:46 AM	#22
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	Originally posted by Class A Thanks for posting the samples. I hope we'll some more in the future. Has this lens resolved your AF focusing problems? Thanks, i'll have more to come. I convinced my sister to be my human subject for the first portrait test And you know...with this test (using the 85 on my sister here) I've learned so far that the best thing for getting the eyes in focus using autofocus, is to aim for the eyes, eyes, eyes. For most of the shots i took of her, I would just compose on the middle of face, between eyes, and ever so slightly move to my left and work the shutter button (partially depress) several times, as though asking the camera "are you sure, are you sure, positive you're locked on?". Working the focus using the shutter is a bit of an obsession for me. It keeps the camera thinking and helps it make the fine adjustments while pointing at the area of interest. My assumption is that not enough people use patience, those extra 1 or 2 seconds get the focus right. The focus is a relationship between the camera, lens and how you're reacting to what's happening, half seconds at a time. Not the ability of the equipment, necessarily. But to answer your question my focusing issues have been resolved by my technique (go for the right OR left eye not the bridge of nose), and the closer you are to the face, the greater succes rate. I don't think i'll be backing up farther from the subject than what I can fit in the picture of the head and some upper torso. Beyond this, without fair lighting will not give enough contrast for the camera to grab the front face/eyes....instead it will likely grab the side of head (area of contrast where head and background meet). Which has happend plenty of times with me.

03-31-2011, 08:54 AM	#23
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	Originally posted by Pentaxor I don't find it that nervous, unless my eyes are betraying me now. I wouldn't call the bokeh, quite so, "nervous". It had seemd a bit more....how to say...."edgy", than other 85's (canons, pentax), but i've learned you don't know how exactly the lens is going to perform until you use it on the respective body and see the image on a proper computer screen. I will say that the bokeh is less edgy, more soft than what I expected it to be (the harder bokeh lines, circles in the canon examples). But one thing i'm pretty damn pleased about is the center sharpness.

03-31-2011, 08:57 AM	#24
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	Shoot, i replied to the wrong person.....sorry pentaxor. Still getting a hand of this interface...

03-31-2011, 09:00 AM	#25
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	Originally posted by Emacs I don't use the wide open my FA* 85 if enough light available, but it definitely is able to produce enough resolution in DOF at 1.4, although I usually close it down to 2.0, since I find those portraits with sharp eyes and blurred ears being plain simply ugly, especially for this sigma with its nervous bokeh. I wouldn't call the bokeh, quite so, "nervous". It had seemd a bit more....how to say...."edgy", than other 85's (canons, pentax), but i've learned you don't know how exactly the lens is going to perform until you use it on the respective body and see the image on a proper computer screen. I will say that the bokeh is less edgy, more soft than what I expected it to be (the harder bokeh lines, circles in the canon examples). But one thing i'm pretty damn pleased about is the center sharpness. I read a lab test of this lens among the nikkor 85 1.4 G, Canon's 85 1.2 and 1.4 and the results were fairly suprising....the sigma held it's own, or bettered all 3 in many areas...

03-31-2011, 09:53 AM	#26
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	If you wan't, I can send you the raw file.....email or msn live messenger

03-31-2011, 02:08 PM	#27
yeatzee Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Temecula Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,675	Originally posted by outsider If you wan't, I can send you the raw file.....email or msn live messenger can I post the full sized image here for everyone to check out for themselves?

03-31-2011, 05:02 PM	#28
yeatzee Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Temecula Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,675	Ok I got permission. Here's the DNG images converted to Jpeg with nothing else done to them. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5577457743_bcb0457cf8_o.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5577457749_e90640c541_o.jpg and very basic editing with LR3 (fill light, etc.) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5578050410_a596159402_o.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5578050422_cefe6f9f1e_o.jpg

03-31-2011, 07:07 PM	#29
outsider Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Albums Posts: 416 Original Poster	Originally posted by yeatzee Ok I got permission. Here's the DNG images converted to Jpeg with nothing else done to them. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5577457743_bcb0457cf8_o.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5577457749_e90640c541_o.jpg and very basic editing with LR3 (fill light, etc.) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5578050410_a596159402_o.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5578050422_cefe6f9f1e_o.jpg Niice!! Thanks Man!!

03-31-2011, 08:29 PM	#30
Jewelltrail Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Rhode Island Photos: Albums Posts: 4,180	Yeatzee & Outsider, thanks for working together to get these to us. I like what I see & to think the lens was in my "cart" a few weeks back.