In my previous post I announced my purchase of a Sigma 120-300 lens. It seems I have little luck when it comes to lens purchases as much like previous lens purchases I discovered that my lens was not working correctly.

I had intended to test the lens at the Shuttleworth Airshow but the poor forecast for that event put me off travelling the relatively long distance to the show. Instead I resorted to some basic manual tests prior to Biggin Hill where this lens was due to get its first proper outing.

My testing process is to set the lens up on a sturdy tripod and shoot some test images of a wall and fence as this allows me to review sharpness across the lens. I’ve always manual focused the lens at this stage to ensure as crisp an image as possible, since there’s not always enough contrast for a decent auto focus lock.

After proving the lens to be sharp I spent a few minutes handheld on AI Servo mode, pointing the lens at different subjects to test that the autofocus was functioning correctly and quickly. This however is where my testing process failed since I never thought to review the AF tests outside of the camera review screen. I’d already tested sharpness and was now confident that the AF motor was working. However as I was later to discover, the auto focus was not calibrated correctly.

On Friday of last week I was at Biggin Hill for the press day and had brought along my new lens to shoot the aerial elements of the day. My initial results were not great, but I put this down to poor light conditions and the learning curve experienced with a new piece of kit. I continued using the lens and after a little while realised that most of the shots were slightly soft, not because of user error, but because of bad auto-focus.

I found myself using manual focus to get anything close to sharp shots of the aircraft and was frankly disappointed. A few tests on a fixed subject soon revealed that the lens focusing was occurring but was not correctly calibrated to produce sharp results.

After a full day of annoyance with the lens and attempts to manual focus aircraft I returned home to redo my lens tests using auto focus, rather than manual focus. It didn’t take long to realise that the lens was front focusing fairly badly. I ditched the lens and resorted to using the 100-300 on Saturday and a borrowed (thank Pete!) 70-200 + 1.4TC combination on Sunday.

On Monday I contacted Warehouse Express about the problem with the lens and they were very helpful indeed. Without spending a huge amount of time questioning the problem (only about 3 minutes total time on the phone) they agreed to send me a new lens and pick up the faulty one. I called in the problem at 8am on Monday and received the replacement by 9am Tuesday. Very good customer service as usual.

They further impressed me as on Tuesday afternoon I suddenly realised that my lens had gone back with my tripod plate attached and after a swift call to Warehouse Express they made a note to intercept the lens, remove the part and post it back to me. I had it by 9am on Thursday at no extra cost. This goes a long way to further convince me to continue shopping with them as they’ve always resolved issues like this quickly and fairly.

The further good news is that initial tests (yes using auto focus this time) suggest the new lens is performing well within spec. I’ll take it out as soon as possible to test it one some fast moving subjects but I’m already much more confident in its abilities.

The moral of this story is to ALWAYS fully test your new equipment under all conditions and don’t save time by making assumptions about its functionality. I’ve learnt the hard way that it can come back and bite you if you’re not thorough with the testing!

After a long time spent deliberating my options for a new lens I’ve made a decision and today my new piece of glass arrived. For a long while I’ve wanted more reach from my lens collection and now that my partner Rhiannon is free to join me for photography more often we needed a second telephoto to allow us both to shoot at the same time.

The solution was to purchase a Sigma 120-300 F2.8 lens. While not extending my reach this lens is better rated with a 1.4x tele-convertor and therefore should allow me to be more flexible in my approach. Using the TC it still has a decent F4 constant aperture so should work very well in most conditions.

I had been considering the Sigma 500mm F4.5 prime but in the end cost and usability came into the picture and for now it will have to sit on the wish list a bit longer. I just couldn’t see one of us using that lens as a primary airshow lens for a whole day without sagging under the weight and being limited to more distant shots.

I’d also considered the 100-400 from Canon but although it provides the extra reach it doesn’t cope so well in poor light and isn’t as sharp as the Sigma. I feel pleased with my decision and look forward to getting to grips with the 120-300. I’ve used one in the past and very much liked the results so I’m confident this lens won’t disappoint.

My first outing with this lens may be the speedway on Saturday or the Shuttleworth Air Show on Sunday if the weather turns nice in time. At the moment the forecast is poor and the lens may not see action until Biggin in just over a weeks time.

Yesturday I recieved a new shiney lens to add to collection. The Canon 17-40mm L F/4 is a well regarded piece of glass and will replace my current 17-85mm. I'm holding onto the 17-85mm until I'm happy that the slight loss of range won't be a problem to me. I'm considering future purchases of either the Canon 85mm prime or even the Canon 24-105mm L to cover this gap should it be a problem.

The lens has yet to receive any sort of workout due to work and the dingy weather. I'm hoping this weekend will give me a chance to try it if the weather turns around. There's plenty of local landscapes I've been wanted to shoot for a long time and this gives me a great excuse to get out there.

Today I confirmed an order for a new Dell 20.1 inch Ultrasharp TFT monitor to replace my aging 19 inch CRT. I've been a bit apprehensive about going with a TFT as the colour representation is not usually as good as a CRT monitor. However with CRT's rapidly being dropped from production and a very good deal that I was able to get on the Dell I decided to take the plunge.

The extra screen space will help with Photoshop work and the reduced size overall will give me back some much need desk space. I've used the 19 inch version of this monitor for many months now at work and have been impressed by the quality and colour range. The few reviews I've found of the 20.1 inch version suggest that it should be at least as good.

It's schduled to arrive on Friday so I should have chance over the weekend to try it out and see how it compares with my current monitor. I plan to write a basic review of it's performance for photographic editing once I've given it a fair test.

Please note that the test shots in this blog entry have lost some sharpness when being compressed for the web. The uncompressed images look a lot better

Last week I received news from Warehouse Express that my Sigma 100-300mm had been sent from Sigma’s UK repair centre to the one in Japan. Apparently one or more of the lens elements had a problem and it was too complex to be fixed in the UK. They could not provide a date for it’s return, but could confirm it was going to be a few more weeks at least.

I explained that this time of year is bad for me to be without the Sigma as there are many motorsports events taking place and it’s my only long lens in my collection. The customer services person was very understanding and agreed to send me a replacement so that I didn’t have to wait for the repair. True to their word the lens was delivered the following morning, albeit to my home address rather than my work one! Fortunately someone was home to sign for it.

Last night I finally had a chance to do some basic tests with the lens in natural light.



My Testing Process

For this initial test I wanted to conduct some basic checks to ensure that I’m been sent a decent copy of the lens. My first test was to ensure the auto focus was working properly. On my very first Sigma it had been very noisy when focusing and had had to be exchanged a week after getting it. I pointed the lens at various subjects at different distances and pressed the auto focus button on the 20D. The focusing was quiet and fast, as it should be with this lens.



To further ensure it was functioning properly I switched to AI Servo mode on the 20D and focused on a nearby house. Still holding the focus button I moved the view to different subjects to see if it would focus on them. Again the focusing seemed up to spec, focusing fast and accurately on the subjects. It doesn’t really compare to focusing on a racing car travelling at up to 180mph but was good enough to see that the focusing was working. I will be watching this lenses performance carefully at the next event I take it to.



My final test was to see if the lens was sharp across the whole frame. To do this I aligned myself parallel to a wall and shot a few test shots at varying focal lengths. I was handholding the lens so made sure to keep my shutter speed high to avoid motion blur affecting my tests. After a few wall shots I took a few static car shots. Seeing as these are the main subjects this lens is used for I wanted a few images to ensure they were sharp. After this I shot a couple more test shots of some roof tiles, another wall in less direct sunlight and a plant growing in someone’s garden.



All in all I was only outside for perhaps 10 minutes. I wanted to review these shots first before setting up any more complex tests.

Analysing the Results

Returning inside I copied the 30 or 40 test images to my PC and opened them up in Photoshop. Since I wasn’t using these shots for anything special I had shot in JPEG mode to avoid converting them from RAW. The walls shots were the most important for me as these where the same views that I’d used to diagnose the problem with the previous lens. I was pleased to see that the centre area was particularly sharp and that even in the corners there was very little drop off in quality. Certainly not the noticeable blurring that I’d been seeing before.



I skimmed through the other images of the cars and plants and all of them looked very sharp, much more like I’d been used to with the other lens before it’s failure. I’m very pleased that it all checked out okay as it means I can attend my next motorsports events with familiar photography.

Last week I waved goodbye to my Sigma 100-300mm as it went off for repair. The previous weekend I made a trip to Brands Hatch for the British Superbike qualifying. During the day I shot in excess of 300 shots with the lens and thought I noticed problems with the focusing.

On return I copied the shots over to the PC and reviewed them at full size. Each and every one was soft. Now, while I am not yet an expert with motorsports photography I do expect a better success rate from that many shots. While an 'off day' was still possible I decided to shoot some controlled test shots to check the quality of the lens.

The first set also showed signs of softness even when used on a tripod in bright sunlight. Needing better confirmation of the problem I carried out another test where I shot some printed text attached to the wall from various focal lengths. I used mirror-lockup and timed release to ensure that camera shake wasn't the issue and checked the results.

I was still noticing definate blurring to the left edge at 100mm and at 200mm+ the right edge was showing similar issues.

Not happy, I rang up Warehouse Express who supplied the equipment and they happily agreed to accept a return under warranty. Last week a courier arrived to collect the lens and today I had confirmation that it was being sent to Sigma for repair.

I've yet to get an expected return date but hopefully it will be before the end of the month.

I've been peering through the virtual glass window for a couple of months or so now, wanting, nay craving, the Canon 50mm F1.4 prime lens. I've been thinking of it during the day, during the night and in my dreams; okay perhaps that's a bit over dramatic, but it's true that this lens has been often in my thoughts. Why? Because it's a damn nice piece of glass and it fills a gap I've got with my setup very nicely.

Anyway, yesterday I cracked; I caved like a house of cards in a gale force wind and confirmed the order. The search was a bit of a pain with all the email replies and phone calls leading to a 'sorry we're out of stock' reply. My final resort was Jessops. Hurrah, 'In Stock' but oh no '£279.99' was the price tag. Changing tack I rang their sales team and after plenty of haggling, almost begging, I got them down to a more competitive £240. I bumped that price up a little by ordering the lens hood (which I really think should be included by Canon for that price).

So on Monday I should take delivery of this shiny new lens. The final piece of kit for me for a long while (I hope!). My plans are that this lens will be my low light and portrait lens. It's the one of the areas of photography that I'd like to get into but have as yet been unable to due to lack of equipment. The large aperture on the 50mm 1.4 will allow me to get a very shallow depth of field and create some nice portraits, even indoors with only natural light to work with.

The lens is made up of 7 elements in 6 groups and features 8 diaphragm blades which produce very nice bokeh (Out of focus area). It's reputed to be very sharp and therefore should get some use as a landscape and architecture lens as well.

Previously I had a brief try with a borrowed 50mm 1.8 and that produced some nice results. The 1.4 version is meant to be much better, so I'm looking forward to seeing the difference.