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And yet another meaningless challenge.
Lens: 5 lenses Camera: K-3, K-5 ISO: 50 
Posted By: normhead, 03-07-2015, 11:59 AM

I'm submitting 10 images and pixel peeps from those images, randomly selected from our library. Siam 8-16 @16mm, Tamron 17-50, DA 18-135, Sigma 18-250 and 21 ltd.

Just from he banter going about in other threads, you should be able to pick out the Tamron 17-50, anyone want to try? Exif hasn't been stripped so feel free to check your answers.

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03-07-2015, 04:15 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
I'm submitting 10 images and pixel peeps from those images, randomly selected from our library. Siam 8-16 @16mm, Tamron 17-50, DA 18-135, Sigma 18-250 and 21 ltd.

Just from he banter going about in other threads, you should be able to pick out the Tamron 17-50, anyone want to try? Exif hasn't been stripped so feel free to check your answers.
No EXIF data I can find. I wasn't going to hazard any guesses but I was curious.
03-07-2015, 05:52 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
No EXIF data I can find. I wasn't going to hazard any guesses but I was curious.
Last time I looked , I wondered why it was still there, now it's not , go figure.
03-08-2015, 06:29 PM   #4
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Hmmm... no takers

03-08-2015, 06:38 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
Hmmm... no takers
Lol. I'm with you on this.
03-08-2015, 06:46 PM   #6
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I Knew this one would be tough, my last one , everyone and a 50/50 chance on each image, I guess lowering the odds to 1in 5 makes it a lot harder. Maybe I should make it easier, #1 and #10 are the Sigma 18-250, now the odds are 1 in 4... maybe someone will bite....
03-08-2015, 08:16 PM   #7
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my mistake.

03-09-2015, 07:30 AM   #8
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Great pictures, just wonder why did you post the un-focused ones ?
03-09-2015, 07:49 AM   #9
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I have to say that all of these images are having wonderful colours and are nicely composed - but terribly soft compared to what my humble Tokina 17mm f3.5 can do, is there any particular explanation to that ? - like maybe these 'crops' are not 100% but resized somehow ...
03-09-2015, 07:56 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by manntax Quote
I have to say that all of these images are having wonderful colours and are nicely composed - but terribly soft compared to what my humble Tokina 17mm f3.5 can do, is there any particular explanation to that ? - like maybe these 'crops' are not 100% but resized somehow ...

Considering the limitations for jpeg uploads, they're fine. Just not very useful for pixel peeping.
03-09-2015, 08:12 AM   #11
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I was wondering about the softness as, well. One possibility is tripod shake, a light weight travel tripod vibrates in even the slightest breeze, or maybe it's that many of these images are 100 meters away or over. But, all pictures are taken in roughly the same conditions. The image that's sharp, is the 18-250 image of the water lilies, taken close to shore. But, that's not the issue. I'd be interested in images taken at this kind of distance in this kind of atmosphere that are sharper. Maybe you guys are on to something, maybe we need to stop down a bit more. There's a lake between us and the opposite shore, with the resulting atmospheric aberrations. It may be nothing more than that. By the way, the one image we've printed from this series, looks fantastic, we are definitely going large with it.

So I guess what we're saying here, is we can't hazard a guess?

As for the softness of the images, look at the list of lenses, which of them is it you think is soft? The trick was to try and guess which was the sharpest lens. The point I'm making is, you have to have exceptional circumstances, for it to make a difference. It's very rare at least in landscape when you have the opportunity to take advantage of a really sharp lens.

Last edited by normhead; 03-09-2015 at 08:17 AM.
03-09-2015, 08:26 AM   #12
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Not only sharpness - but there are those who claim color differences are a problem for them - some prefer Sigma others Pentax, but it's hard to see that kind of difference at work here. I'm going to admit up front I have not shot the Sigma's - any of them - and my curiosity is at work here mostly. I hoped to see meaningful differences and didn't. But I don't know if that's because the original files are masked by the limitations of JPG uploads here or if there are other factors or non-factors at work.

Maybe in response someone could post shots that DO show these differences - in a similar method?
03-09-2015, 08:40 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
Not only sharpness - but there are those who claim color differences are a problem for them - some prefer Sigma others Pentax, but it's hard to see that kind of difference at work here. I'm going to admit up front I have not shot the Sigma's - any of them - and my curiosity is at work here mostly. I hoped to see meaningful differences and didn't. But I don't know if that's because the original files are masked by the limitations of JPG uploads here or if there are other factors or non-factors at work.

Maybe in response someone could post shots that DO show these differences - in a similar method?
I'd be interested in that too... As I say ad infinitum, we have sold multiple 30x20 canvases from our 10 MP Option 80W pointed shoot. Our conclusion is, there's more to IQ than resolution.

The problem being most of us have a lens we like and shoot with it all the time. It gives us confidence and that's a wonderful thing. My Sigma 70-300 is reported to be a complete dog at the long end. If you shoot more images with a given lens, you probably also get more keepers with the same lens. A sort of self fulfilling evaluation that makes it hard to guess if it's the lens, or other circumstances.

Here's an example...Sigma 70-300


Heres the DA*60-250


If you're close enough even your "dog" takes a good picture, if you're too far away even a sharp lens may be less than perfect.

My guess is a poor lens at 15 feet easily out resolves a great lens at 40 feet on a test subject.

In the above images, I have no doubt is the subject were further away and I had to crop, the DA*60-250 and K-3 would give me a better image. But for the images presented I kind of like the Sigma, between these tow. The feathers look a little bit soft, and there's a part of me that thinks , well that's because feathers are soft.

Last edited by normhead; 03-09-2015 at 08:50 AM.
03-09-2015, 09:34 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
There's a lake between us and the opposite shore, with the resulting atmospheric aberrations.
QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
If you're close enough even your "dog" takes a good picture, if you're too far away even a sharp lens may be less than perfect.
QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
My guess is a poor lens at 15 feet easily out resolves a great lens at 40 feet on a test subject.
All this are excellent possible explanations - great images nonetheless . However, since I do not own any of the lens in question I will not attempt to guess - as otherwise it would need to be done totally blind
03-09-2015, 10:13 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
I'd be interested in that too... As I say ad infinitum, we have sold multiple 30x20 canvases from our 10 MP Option 80W pointed shoot. Our conclusion is, there's more to IQ than resolution.

The problem being most of us have a lens we like and shoot with it all the time. It gives us confidence and that's a wonderful thing. My Sigma 70-300 is reported to be a complete dog at the long end. If you shoot more images with a given lens, you probably also get more keepers with the same lens. A sort of self fulfilling evaluation that makes it hard to guess if it's the lens, or other circumstances.

Here's an example...Sigma 70-300


Heres the DA*60-250


If you're close enough even your "dog" takes a good picture, if you're too far away even a sharp lens may be less than perfect.

My guess is a poor lens at 15 feet easily out resolves a great lens at 40 feet on a test subject.

In the above images, I have no doubt is the subject were further away and I had to crop, the DA*60-250 and K-3 would give me a better image. But for the images presented I kind of like the Sigma, between these tow. The feathers look a little bit soft, and there's a part of me that thinks , well that's because feathers are soft.
I actually like the 60-250 shot but I think this is driven by the composition and the colors not the quality per say. I love the texture of the stump and the darker background bokeh on the bottom picture. That is what draws me to it. I like the way the colors look overall but I don't know what the outcome would have been had the lenses used been reversed.
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