[Jonathan Mac]

Sigma fp & Sigma 100 - 400 mm



Life in Australia
by Vladimir, on Flickr

How's that 100-400mm? There's a very lightly used one for sale around here for just €550 and it's severely tempted me to divert money away from my planned 24-70mm.

[bvg]

How's that 100-400mm? There's a very lightly used one for sale around here for just €550 and it's severely tempted me to divert money away from my planned 24-70mm.

Hi,

Sigma 100-400mm has very nice colours, but its sharpness is not very good from my point of view. Anything else is on the high level.

---------- Post added 10-27-22 at 09:23 PM ----------

Sigma fp & Panasonic 24-105/4

Another funny one



Life in Australia - 2

by Vladimir, on Flickr

[bvg]

Sigma fp & Lumix S 24-105/4



Cows in Australia

by Vladimir, on Flickr

[Jonathan Mac]

I used the 20-60mm kit lens for some landscapes in Asturias last week and I found the quality to be excellent and the zoom range to be very good for that type of photography.


Asturias II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Country lane by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Asturias by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[Jonathan Mac]

A few from the Basilica at Covadonga, Asturias, using the 20-60mm


Candles by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


A message in stone by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


In the cliff by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[Jonathan Mac]

Some colourful images with the S5 and 20-60mm


Tweety-Pie street art by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Purple to blue by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[Jonathan Mac]

Taken with the 20-60mm in Getxo, Basque country.


Sitting around by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Curves by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[jschoonj]

Hi everyone,

I came looking for an L-mount club on this forum and I was happy to indeed find it

I've always enjoyed the forum but since I stopped shooting film my engagement has somewhat dropped.
I'm happy to find a place here where I can engage a bit with my photos
I'll start by posting some with the 77mm Limited adapted to my Lumix S5 below.

[jschoonj]

A few shots using the 20-60mm at this year's balloon festival in Segovia.


Red and yellow balloons by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Segovia by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


White balloon II by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

These are great!
SOOC? The rendering is super.

[jschoonj]

As far as B&W jpeg profiles go I've used Pentax, Fujifilm and Panasonic. Pentax is definitely the worst, though some tweaking in-camera can improve things a lot. Fujifilm get a lot of love for their B&W profiles, especially Acros, but so far I've found the Panasonic ones to be at least as good. I understand that originally there was only one but later firmware updates added several more, all labelled as "Leica" and they are very good.

AF flutter only affects continuous AF which I don't traditionally use but then I've never had a camera that could do it very well. I've used AF-C a few times on the S5 and not seen any flutter at all but I've never used it for video, only for portraits to account for small movements of the subject. I need to use it more because I've had a couple of shots where I didn't catch the subject in focus using AF-S. And of course with vintage lenses, which are far more usable on the S5 than on any other digital camera I've ever used, it's not an issue. In summary: my experience is not extensive but I don't see it as a problem.

Here are a few shots from my trip to Edinburgh, all using the S5 and 50/1.8. I'm really starting to love this camera and the output it produces.


Doorway to... by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


It follows by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Second helping by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Loaves by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Peace by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

Panasonic get too bad of a wrap for their AF.

Yes, it can cause problems in video but for stills it's actually pretty good. I use C-AF for my kids all the time and it works great.
In fact due to the pretty advanced subject recognition in the S5 it works a whole lot better than face detect on my Olympus E-M1 III. A camera which is not know for bad autofocus and has PDAF.
I'm curious about the LEICA labled B&W conversions in camera. My S5 doesn't label anything as LEICA, or am I misunderstanding you?
I do get a fair bit of corrupted files when transferring pictures from my S5 to my iPhone 12. Are you experiencing any of the same issues?

[jschoonj]

Yesterday I picked up the Sigma 35mm f/2 DG DN for the S5. I never liked the 35mm focal length until I had kids and found it to be often the ideal focal length when playing with them or reading to them etc and 50mm is a bit too long. I used Fujinon (now sold) and Viltrox 23mm primes on my Fujifilm cameras and they worked well so I wanted to replicate that in my L-mount gear.

It's a beautifully constructed lens - very solid, superb finish and the aperture ring has just the right amount of resistance and click. The FA Limiteds wish they were constructed as well as this Sigma. The optics seem to be excellent too and f/2 provides just enough speed to give some isolation if close enough.

Here are a few photos from trying it out yesterday.


Fallen nest by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Autumn colours in summer by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr


Hole in the wall by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

I'm curious how you're liking the focusing on the Sigma 35 f/2 compared to your Lumix 50 f/1.8?

I'm tempted to get it over the Panasonic option but I have no clue as to how much DFD in the Lumix lenses actually makes a difference in photo mode.

[Jonathan Mac]

Hi everyone,

I came looking for an L-mount club on this forum and I was happy to indeed find it

I've always enjoyed the forum but since I stopped shooting film my engagement has somewhat dropped.
I'm happy to find a place here where I can engage a bit with my photos
I'll start by posting some with the 77mm Limited adapted to my Lumix S5 below.

Glad to see another S5 user on here - it's certainly the best proposition on the L- mount, without the expense of Leica or the weirdness of Sigma cameras.

These are great!
SOOC? The rendering is super.

Virtually everything I shoot is SOOC, thought I shoot RAW+ and often tweak the RAW in the camera before I upload it anywhere. The inability to process a RAW file in camera is the main reason I didn't go with Sony cameras.

Panasonic get too bad of a wrap for their AF.

Yes, it can cause problems in video but for stills it's actually pretty good. I use C-AF for my kids all the time and it works great.
In fact due to the pretty advanced subject recognition in the S5 it works a whole lot better than face detect on my Olympus E-M1 III. A camera which is not know for bad autofocus and has PDAF.
I'm curious about the LEICA labled B&W conversions in camera. My S5 doesn't label anything as LEICA, or am I misunderstanding you?
I do get a fair bit of corrupted files when transferring pictures from my S5 to my iPhone 12. Are you experiencing any of the same issues?

I have had no real problems with AF, even, like you, using it for photos of my kids. Panasonic's AF problems are massively over-blown.

If you look in the jpeg profiles, all the ones which start "L." are supposedly from Leica, whatever that means. I think some of them were added in firmware updates but my camera already had updated firmware when I bought it so I haven't had to update it myself.

I had loads of problems getting the camera to connect to my Android phone initially, with the connection taking up to 45 minutes to make. Then I discovered that there's another Panasonic app (LUMIX Sync) which works much better. It's still not super-reliable but overall it works well and it allows me to use my phone as a remote, either using bluetooth just to trigger or using wifi to stream the image to the phone so I can see what it sees before I shoot. I've not had any corrupted files at all..

I'm curious how you're liking the focusing on the Sigma 35 f/2 compared to your Lumix 50 f/1.8?

I'm tempted to get it over the Panasonic option but I have no clue as to how much DFD in the Lumix lenses actually makes a difference in photo mode.

I haven't seen any difference in focusing capability between the Sigma and Lumix lenses except that the Lumix 50mm struggles to AF at very close distances. There are similar focal lengths in the Lumix f/1.8 range and Sigma I-series Contemporary lenses and between the two I would pick the Sigma every time (except for the 45mm which I've read is not great). The speed difference is usually small and the Sigmas are much better built and have aperture rings plus they're around the same price or cheaper. For anyone used to using more typical modern AF lenses the I-series primes need to be tried to believe that a lens that feels that good in the hand and in use can be a modern autofocus lens. They feel even better than most old film lenses and really make me want to get out there and take photos.

I really hope Sigma brings out an I-series 50mm f/1.8 or even f/2.

* * * * *

A photo from last night with the S5 and Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, wide open and at 1/5th of a second hand held.


Carousel by Jonathan MacDonald, on Flickr

[jschoonj]

I haven't seen any difference in focusing capability between the Sigma and Lumix lenses

That's great to hear :-) no doubt about getting it now!

I really hope Sigma brings out an I-series 50mm f/1.8 or even f/2.

Same! I would also really appreciate an 85 f/2 or longer.
The 90 f/2.8 is just a tad to slow for me to commit too as a dedicated portrait lens.

A photo from last night with the S5 and Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, wide open and at 1/5th of a second hand held.

Looks great! I have to admit the IBIS took me some time getting used to coming from Olympus. On paper the difference in amount of stops isn't that big, but I find I have to be careful again now.
Where I was rather carefree shooting with my E-M1 III in terms of stabilization.

We had some frosty times these past few days over here.
Panasonic S5 + Lumix 50mm f/1.8

[Jonathan Mac]

Same! I would also really appreciate an 85 f/2 or longer.
The 90 f/2.8 is just a tad to slow for me to commit too as a dedicated portrait lens.

I chose the 90 over Panasonic's 85/1.8 due to the far superior build, aperture ring and closest focus being half what it is on the 85mm. It's an excellent lens, very sharp wide open, and I'm happy with my choice. I've had some times where an extra stop or so would have been handy but I would have been more frustrated with the minimum focus distance if I'd chosen the 85mm, and I wouldn't have enjoyed photography so much with a plastic lens. Ideally I'd have both but I'd like the 24/2 and if they bring out an I-series fast fifty I'd almost certainly get that and sell the Panasonic and both of those would be given priority over the 85mm.

[jschoonj]

I chose the 90 over Panasonic's 85/1.8 due to the far superior build, aperture ring and closest focus being half what it is on the 85mm. It's an excellent lens, very sharp wide open, and I'm happy with my choice. I've had some times where an extra stop or so would have been handy but I would have been more frustrated with the minimum focus distance if I'd chosen the 85mm, and I wouldn't have enjoyed photography so much with a plastic lens. Ideally I'd have both but I'd like the 24/2 and if they bring out an I-series fast fifty I'd almost certainly get that and sell the Panasonic and both of those would be given priority over the 85mm.

Right now I'm leaning towards getting the 85mm f/1.4 DG DN as a portrait option.

Panasonic S5 + Lumix 50mm f/1.8