The Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM is a pro-level do-it-all lens. It’s sharp, fast, compact, and stabilized…not to mention a whole lot of fun!

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©2011 Ryuichi Oshimoto | Camera: SD1 | Lens: 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM | Exposure Mode: Manual | ISO: 200 | White Balance: Daylight | Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec | Aperture: F11 | Focal Length: 8mm

Title Photo: The Taos Pueblo is a Native American village in northern New Mexico and the natives have inhabited the land for the last 1000 years. Heading over to the village square, I walk through the gates of San Geronimo Church, built in 1850, and turn around at the entrance. The shadow of the church entrance created from the morning light stretched out and the majestic mountains in the background were covered in wispy white clouds. Setting the ultra wide-angle zoom lens on the DSLR, the beautiful building and sacred air was captured.

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by Jack Howard
Over the past few years, I’ve traded emails regularly with Jay Burlage, one of the owners of Dynamic Perception, and co-creator of their motor-driven dollies for time lapse motion effects, about this, that and the other thing relating to time lapse photography.

I’ve been itching to experiment with the amazing Stage Zero dolly and MX2 Dolly Engine from Jay’s company, and Jay needed a tack-sharp ultrawide angle zoom lens for testing a cool new telescoping configuration for the next version of the motion dollies. So, I shipped my Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 DG HSM II off to Jay for a month, and Jay loaned me a Stage Zero dolly.

And then, gear swapped, we each embarked on creating a new time lapse video. The gear was very similar: Sigma ultrawides, Canon cameras, and Dynamic Perception dollies. Jay’s video is edgy, with lots of amazing ultrawide auto interiors, night-driving head- and tail-light light-tracer graffiti, and HDR time lapse sequences thrown into the mix.

Every time I watch this video, I am more amazed at Jay’s skills with creating, capturing, processing, editing, audio-tracking, and pushing the envelope for time lapse photography. Jay’s time lapse video is urban, industrial, edgy, and showcases the expansive field of view of the full-frame Sigma 12-24mm lens on on full-frame camera (Canon EOS 5D Mark II) in such an amazing way.

The gear I packed for my experiments with the Stage Zero dolly was very similar, but APS-C scaled: the Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM paired with an APS-C SLR, the Canon EOS Rebel XTi. I took a very opposite tack with my subject choice for the first field test with the Stage Zero Dollie and MX2 motion controller. I spent my day in a patch of woods that’s always sang to me. While Jay’s video is filled with nightside city streets, mine features the low winter sun filtered between dancing trees. (I also supplemented the wide-angle motion time lapse footage with a few non-motion shots made with the Sigma 70mm F.28 EX DG Macro.)

After these first experiments, I am totally hooked on motion controlled time lapse, and cannot wait for the chance to get out and make more time lapse footage with this fantastic six-foot long track and motor kit! I’ve been thinking non-stop about the possibilities the Stage Zero opens up for my future time lapse adventures. I thought I was hooked on time lapse photography before, but, wow, now I’m in even deeper, thanks to Jay!

Here’s one more thing to think about as you check out these videos: give a close listen to the audio on both tracks. Jay’s audio track is a punchy remix with driving bass, while mine is a mellow, guitar-based Celtic melody. We used very similar gear, but chose very different subjects, and as you listen to the audio of both tracks, think how well-fitting each tune is to the on-screen imagery. Now imagine reversing the tracks–it flat-out doesn’t work!  Pairing the the right audio to the on-screen goes a long way towards polishing up a time lapse video, and the audio should complement, but not compete, or worse, contradict, what’s being seen onscreen.

Here’s the takeaway in one sentence: Sigma Ultrawide zoom lenses and Dynamic Perception’s Stage Zero Dolly kit are a potent combination for making killer time lapse videos, whatever your visions happen to be.

I’m off and running on my next time lapse adventures with this dollie, but now I’m experimenting with the Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Fisheye! And you can check out more of the amazing time lapse videos Jay Burlage has created over the years on his Vimeo page.

by Jack Howard

It’s official. Sigma has just announced the Digital Neo line of lenses for compact interchangeable lens cameras with a worldwide announcement launching as CES 2012 gets underway out in Las Vegas. The relatively small physical  size of the 19mm F2.8 EX DN and 30mm F2.8 EX DN notwithstanding, this is is big news for us!  You can read the full press release here.

Sigma 19mm F2.8 EX DN

As of now, photographers with Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras and Sony NEX-series cameras have the choice to couple a pair of sharp Sigma F2.8 primes to the go-everywhere cameras.  These two prime lenses for Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount cameras have been designed from the start for both still and video capture, which, of course, is what makes this camera category so exciting.

The telecentric optical design of these lenses is designed specifically for light transmission to digital sensors for edge to edge  image quality, and there’s a new AF system designed for the DN lenses for both still and video capture.  On Micro Four Thirds cameras with their 2x lens factor, the 19mm F2.8 EX DN translates to a 38mm F2.8, and the 30mm F2.8 EX DN translates to a 60mm F2.8. On Sony E-Mount NEX cameras with a 1.5x lens factor, the 19mm F2.8 equates to a 28.5mm and the 30mm F2.8 equates to a 45mm F2.8. These are two new  serious lenses for a class of cameras that I think are great go-everywhere cameras.

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Infrared photography involves capturing light at wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum. Infrared energy is reflected quite differently than we are accustomed to by many organic and inorganic surfaces, and the results of landscapes bathed in infrared light has long been a favorite style of photography for fine art photographers since the silver halide days of centuries past. A unique design advantage of Sigma’s DSLRs allows creative photographers to quickly and easily swap between visible spectrum and infrared photography.

Lilypads, trees, and clouds are highly reflective in Infrared wavelengths, as this scene from midday in Spring Lake, NJ, illustrates. Camera: Sigma SD1 with IR blocking filter removed. Lens: 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM Infrared Filter: Cokin P 007 (89B) Infrared passing filter (50% transmission at 720nm) | Exposure: 1/80 at F/13.0 ISO 100 X3F Raw Capture. Converted through Sigma Photo Pro 5 to monochrome.

All digital SLR sensors are sensitive to infrared wavelengths–but these wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum are prohibited from reaching the sensor by IR-blocking filters. In the Sigma SD1 and SD15 Digital SLR cameras, the Infrared blocking filter is just inside the lens mount–and above the reflex mirror. It easily pops out to enable sensor cleaning, and this also allows energy of infrared wavelengths to hit the sensor.

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Since its announcement last year, the Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM has been generating tons of buzz in photography circles for its flat-out fantastic performance.

The Hypersonic Motor in the Sigma 85mm F1.4 autofocuses amazingly swiftly. The build quality is rock-solid.

And the exceptional optical performance of this lens is making huges waves both via word of mouth from photographer to photographer in forums, blogs and Twitter streams, and also in lens testing labs around the world.

Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

We at Sigma know this lens is tack-sharp. And we know this lens is a world-class tool for serious photographers for portraiture, product, fashion, indoor sports,  documentary work and any of a myriad of other photographic specialties where a winning combination of reach, light-gathering, Autofocus speed and accuracy and optical performance demand professional performance.

But it isn’t just us talking about what make the Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM lens so extraordinary.

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© 2011 Jason DeCaires Taylor

In the waters off Cancun, Mexico, photographer, artist and conservationist Jason DeCaire Taylor has been creating the Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA.) This underwater sculpture garden is filled with realistic and fantastical sculptures that attracts underwater creatures–which in turn attracts scuba divers and snorkelers. And Sigma Corporation of America is proud to announce sponsorship of this photographer and his important and intensely compelling work.

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We have heard this question so many times in email form, from visitors to our Facebook page, and at trade shows from coast to coast. Photographers are always asking us some variation on this basic question:

Why aren’t there rebates on lenses and cameras during certain times of the year from Sigma Corporation of America?

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The answer is really very simple:

The reason that Sigma Corporation of America doesn’t have hugely discounted rebate periods at certain times of the year is because each and every one of our lenses is priced very competitively each and every day of the year.

So, if you need a ultra-sharp prime like the Sigma 85mm EX DG HSM, an amazing telephoto close-up lens such as the 150mm F2.8 EX DG Macro, a 13.8x multi-purpose zoomer with Optical Stabilizer like our 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM, or any of the other great lenses in our wide lineup of unique lenses on the first of the year, the Fourth of July, and for your certain someone’s milestone birthday celebration on any day of any month throughout the year, you will be able purchase that great Sigma lens at a very fair price.

There’s no rebate forms to fill out.

There’s no receipts to be photocopied and mailed.

There’s no UPC bar codes and serial numbers to be carved from boxes with a dicy boxcutter blade.

And best of all, there’s no waiting for six to eight weeks while you hope that all your forms and paperwork were received, and worrying if the rebate reward has been lost in transit or processing somewhere along the line and if you’ll be out of pocket for the money for even longer, perhaps even permanently, while following up and tracking it down.

The money never leaves your pocket, and you get our great gear at a fair price any time you choose to purchase a Sigma product.

And we think that’s a great deal any time of day, and any day of the year.

Need help finding the Sigma lens that’s right for you?  Check out our Lensfinder!

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There’s still a few days left to enter the 5th Annual Digital Photo Pro Emerging Pros Photo Contest.

Entry deadline is December 6th, 2011, for your chance to win amazing prizes worth $20,000 from Sigma Corporation of America and other sponsors.

And be sure to check out the Fashion & Beauty, Photojournalism & Sports, and Fine Art Galleries to see some of the amazing images vying for the prizes!

Hurry up and good luck!