I suppose this is more of an LBA post and should be in the lens section, but I haven't anything technical to say about the lens, so I'm putting it here.
Thanks to all who contributed opinions and suggestions when I first started considering this lens. I decided that I'd worked hard enough to justify a really nice reward, so I went for the Sigma rather than any of the cheaper (and heavier) alternatives. Late last week my new toy arrived, just in time for the annual hike in the Cobequid Mountains (well, what passes for a mountain here) to look for spring wildflowers and stuff.
I really like this lens! It's much more satisfying than the kit lens, particularly in the macro range. I might actually start using AF once in a while, it's very fast. And I'll admit it's nice to get the exposure data right there in the viewfinder, without having to press the AE-L button as with all my manual lenses. I've not been shooting a lot lately, and wasn't feeling super inspired, but I did get a few that I rather liked.
The main object of the trip: trout lily. This is a crop, I was shooting up from a ditch and the horizon ended up wildly crooked! The plant is rather rare in the area, but can be locally very common, as it is in this spot. Stupid me, I didn't get any pictures of the big masses of them.
Spring beauty - you'd be hard-pressed to find these except when they're blooming.
Just a nice fern frond.
Freshly opened beech leaves. I love the way beech leaves hang down in the spring, and the delicate shade of green.
The trail we were hiking is an ATV trail, apparently not much used. The wildlife obviously appreciates it - lots of deer and moose tracks. Then we saw this:
It could have been someone's dog, but we suspected not - too purposeful (no romping through mud puddles!) and its tracks seemed much fresher than the ATV tracks. It's a big animal, whatever it is - that's a Canadian dime for scale. Any guesses?
This lens is exactly what I was looking for - reasonable range of focal lengths, not too heavy, reasonable macro capabilities. I can bung it on the camera, stuff it in the top of my pack, and know that most things I encounter on a hike that I want to photograph, it can handle. I'm a happy camper!
Julie