This past week I had an opportunity to use my new SD1 Merrill Digital SLR in a few sessions. I chose to use studio lighting instead of my normal natural light and created the following images with Sigma’s APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens. I chose this lens because I love the ability to change my perspective without having to move around too much especially when photographing young subjects.

I also decided to hand hold my camera as a supposed to using a tripod.  I like the freedom of being able to move in any direction in a moment’s notice. What amazed me is how well the SD1 fit into my hands and how light it was.  That means a lot to someone like me who is not as young as I used to be.  It feels very natural in my hands and then add a long lens and I can still hand hold it without any lens shake.

With my subject in place, my focal point was those gorgeous blue eyes of little Zoe. Although I try to plan out each image in advance, when photographing a two year old, it is nearly impossible.  You never know for sure what they’ll do.  Luckily for me, Zoe was in a great mood and willing to sit still long enough for me to capture these fun images of her.

Choosing to photograph tethered to see a larger view of my images after each shot to check Zoe’s expression, I was amazed at how sharp my image was.  It is incredible that the SD1 produces an image size of 46 megapixels.  All in all, it was a great session.

Using a Pro Photo Lighting kit, I set the camera mode to manual, ISO: 100 | Shutter speed: 1/125sec | Aperture: F/9.0. ©2013 Judy Host

Using a Pro Photo Lighting kit, I set the camera mode to manual, ISO: 100 | Shutter speed: 1/125sec | Aperture: F/9.0. ©2013 Judy Host

The following images were also photographed using the SD1 and were processed with the new dedicated monochrome processor for raw files in Sigma’s Pro Photo 5.5 Software.

©2013 Judy Host | APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens. f/8.0 s/160 ISO 100

©2013 Judy Host | APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens. f/8.0 s/160 ISO 100

©2013 Judy Host | APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens. f/8.0 s/160 ISO 100

I added a classical soft focus filter from NIK software, a plug-in to PhotoShop CS6 on this image of Lindsey.

Justin Wojtczak of 375 Photography has been shooting tons of images with an assortment of Sigma lenses over the past few months and put together this great highlight reel on Vimeo showcasing his great images made with Sigma gear.

We asked him to give some background and tips into how he made each shot so you can take his advice and apply it to your own upcoming shoots.

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© 2013 Kevin Ames. Carrying my camera with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, I happened upon a dinghy in the back yard of a beach house on Madaket beach on Nantucket. I climbed the stairs to the back porch then leaned over the railing to make this photograph. The land flows into the distance before becoming beach that transitions into the waves. The ocean seems a long way away. Lens: 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM | Focal Length: 30mm | Shutter speed: 1/50 sec | Aperture: f8 | ISO: 100

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I never imagined that choosing the “right” ISO for wildlife photography would be the most controversial subject that I would teach.  If you ask many pros about which ISO you should use, the most frequent response you will get is: “Choose an ISO based on what you are shooting”. If you are shooting a portrait of a bird or animal, choose a low ISO and when shooting action, select a higher ISO.  My philosophy is to start out with the highest ISO your camera can handle and shoot with it from the start no matter what subject you are shooting.  Why?  It is one less control you need to think about while you are photographing.  You can focus all of your attention on the action to help maximize your opportunities when they arise. Notice I didn’t say to use auto ISO either.  While it may work in certain situations it can also make unwanted choices and ruin an image.  My philosophy follows the Boy Scout principle of “being prepared” and I will show you real world situations where following the high ISO philosophy works all the time!

© Roman Kurywczak | Sigma 300-800 f/5.6 @731mm | Shutter Speed: 1/2500 sec | Aperture: f/7.1 | ISO 1250

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This week’s Fan Photo of the Week was made by Brian Drourr in Vermont with the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 lens.

260 source shots were stacked for this powerful nightscape. © Brian Drourr.

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The Sigma USB Dock paired with Sigma Optimization Pro software brings lens customization to an entirely new level. Photographers can now personally update the firmware of Sigma’s new Global Vision lenses and make performance enhancements including multi-zone microfocus adjustments of +/-20 from the factory default settings.

Sigma Global Vision lenses can be customized through the USB Dock and Sigma Optimization Pro software. As you can see, we’ve customized several lenses so far!

These adjustments are possible for every DC and DG lens in the Art, Sports, and Contemporary lines. The Sports line of lenses, represented currently by the new 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S lens, allows for even more performance enhancing tweaks to be applied–autofocus speed, focus limiter, and Optical Stabilizer performance.

Click “Play” to watch a screencast demonstration of Sigma Optimization Pro in action!

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The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art lens replaces the very popular 30mm EX DC HSM lens as the fast, standard prime designed exclusively for DLSRs with APS-C sensors including the Sigma SD1 Merrill, the Canon EOS Rebels, 60D and 7D and a number of Nikon models including the D7100, D90, and D5100. And based on the updates and upgrades, the 30mm F1.4 Art lens is going to make a lot of photographers very happy.

The shallow depth of field at F1.8 draws your eyes right to the hands and starfish. The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens is a super-sharp standard prime for APS-C cameras. 1/3200 F1.8 ISO 100 on the Canon Rebel T3i.

As an Art lens the 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | A is built to the same design and performance standards introduced with the 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens, the first lens in this line to be announced. In fact, this lens feels like a scaled-down version of that fast, full-frame prime lens. And it’s not simply a cosmetic change. The new 30mm F1.4 has a completely new optical design, with more lens elements, including a double-aspheric lens which minimizes spherical distortion. (You can read the full tech specs of the lens on the special Sigma Global Vision site.)  As far as focusing goes, there’s been a lot of advancements since the original 30mm F1.4 was released in 2005.  The autofocus is much faster, and much more quiet. And the full-time manual focus ring is very responsive for complete creative control. And as a Global Vision lens, each and every 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art lens is individually tested on the A1 MTF device at the Aizu, Japan factory.

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One of the benefits for outdoor sports shooters on APS-C sensors is the gain in reach with telephotos lenses.  The negative of course is that now your wide angle 16mm is now not so wide at 25.6mm.  Thankfully Sigma has a great wide-angle lens perfect for crop sensor shooters…the 10-20mm f3.5!  I picked up this lens about a year ago and have shot outdoor sports and adventure travel with it extensively.

©2013 Liam Doran | Sharp, light, fast and tough…the 10-20f3.5 makes it in the pack for multiday expeditions. Focal length: 10mm | Shutter speed: 1/800 sec | Aperture: F6.3 | ISO: 200

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Recently I traveled to Chena Hot Springs, a beautiful, well-appointed, and environmentally responsible resort located about 50 miles east of Fairbanks, Alaska. While you would expect to find ice sculptures mid-winter in the 49^th state, at Chena Hot Springs Resort’s Aurora Ice Museum you can find exquisite frozen artwork year-round.

Two knights joust in this ice sculpture by world champion ice carvers Steve and Heather Brice. These life-size figures are featured in the Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs Resort, Chena Hot Springs, Alaska. Seven exposures processed in Sigma Photo Pro and then combined into on HDR image in Photomatix Pro. Sigma SD1 camera, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens (10mm), Gitzo GT2541EX tripod and ball head. Shutter speed: 1/15s to 4s | Aperture: f/11 | ISO 100. © 2013 David FitzSimmons. All rights reserved.

The Aurora Ice Museum is the world’s largest year-round, man-made ice environment in the world. Inside are sculptures made by six-time world champion ice carver Heather Brice and her husband, Steve, a fifteen-time world champion ice carver.

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We’ve just announced the world’s first F1.8 constant aperture zoom lens, the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art lens, and I’ll readily admit, we on the Sigma Corporation of America team have been just as excited about this lens leading up to launch as photographers have been since it was officially announced in the wee hours of April 18th.

The world’s first constant aperture F1.8 zoom lens.

And now that I’ve spent some time with my hands on a preproduction version of the lens paired with my Sigma SD1, I truly cannot wait ’til this lens starts shipping and I can share high-resolution end result photos! Today we’re going to focus on what we can talk about–the hand feel, build quality, and such, of this brand new lens designed specifically for APS-C DSLRs.

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