SIGMA America

Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 for Classic Winter Sports

Guest post by John DiGiacomo

1/3200 F2.8 ISO 10,000 at 155mm paired with Nikon D4. Photo by John DiGiacomo.

As a professional photographer who covers winter sports, I am continually subjecting my equipment to extreme elements and challenging lighting conditions. These images from the Viesmann Luge World Cup Event, held in Lake Placid, NY are a small example. The event started several hours after sunset, in wintry conditions.

1/4000 F2.8 ISO 12,800 at 155mm paired with Nikon D4. Photo by John DiGiacomo.

With competitors reaching speeds in excess of 70mph and the track lit by sodium vapor lights, what’s a photographer to do to produce useable images? Knowing I would need a minimum shutter speed of 1/2500th to produce a sharp image, I needed to push the ISO on my Nikon D4 to 12,800 and shoot wide open with my Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 lens. Also, I knew that I would have to shoot in RAW and not JPG, as I needed the flexibility of tweaking the white balance and reducing noise.

1/4000 F3.5 ISO 1250 at 180mm paired with Nikon D4. Photo by John DiGiacomo.

With all these variables to consider, as well as the pressure of ensuring that I had a sharp image of every competitor the last thing I want to concern myself with is how is my equipment going to hold up to the elements. By the time the race concluded my Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 lens had ice forming on it, but I was confident that this would not be a problem thanks to its rugged design.

Check out more of John DiGiacomo’s work on his website!

Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM | Art: Hands-On Sneak Peek

Our first look at the 24-35mm F2 DG HSM | Art, the world’s first full-frame F2 zoom lens, was the most popular blog posting of the year!

Our hands-on with the world’s first F2 full-frame zoom lens was far and away the most popular posting of the year!

Helen Chandler is owner of Whistling Wolf Farm, a transitional organic farm in Pittstown, NJ. She was kind enough to pose for an environmental portrait at a local farmer’s market. (www.whistlingwolffarm.com) 1/180 F2 ISO 100 at 35mm with Canon 580EX flash with diffuser down, -1 1/3 FEC.

Boudoir Photography Session 1: How to Take a Good Bed Posing Photo

The first blog posting in Sigma Pro Jen Rozenbaum’s Boudoir Photography series has been very popular this year!

First Impressions: Sigma 150-600mm f/5 – 6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary

Loaded with great birding photography by Sigma Pro Roman Kurywczak, this first look at the 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary lens got a ton of positive feedback from our fans!

© 2015 Roman Kurywczak | SIGMA 150-600mm f/5 – 6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary and Canon 1D Mark 3 | Focal length: 531mm | Aperture: f/8 | Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec. | ISO 800 Hand Held

Festival of Cranes: Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 Sport

And Roman’s piece on the 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sport was also incredibly popular, earning a top spot in terms of views for 2015!

Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 Sport lens on Canon 1D Mark 3 body | Focal length: 600mm | Aperture: f/7.1 | Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec | ISO 800 hand held. © 2014 | Roman Kurywczak

FIFTH PLACE IS TIED: Both of these articles had virtually identical pageviews year to date!

Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art: First Look

Our hands-on first look at the 24mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art was incredibly popular as well. Fans really seem to love our first look hands-on reports on the newest Sigma Global Vision lenses!

30 second exposure of the Brooklyn Bridge a F/11 ISO 100 by Patrick Santucci on the Canon 6D.

20mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art: Hands-On Sneak Peek with Image Samples

The 20mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, the world’s first F1.4 20mm ultrawide prime was the most recently published article in this list, but quickly rose in the rankings!

Hotel Room 2717 at the Courtyard Marriott Times Square West offers a fantastic view of the Empire State Building. I squeezed the camera and lens out the tiny window opening, braced it against the window frame, and fired several variations on this shot showing the street, the buildings, and the moon. I had a camera strap around my neck as well, just in case! 1/2000 F3.5 ISO 2000.

Editor’s Picks

Here is a bonus sampling of great blog postings you may have missed this year, hand-selected by the editors of the Sigma blog.

The Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary versus the 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sports

The Magic of Iceland – with just four Sigma lenses

Sigma 150-600mm | C Pairs Performance with Portability

First Look: dp0 Quattro

Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM for Outdoor Action Photography

Working with Children Video Series: Using the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art Lens

Why the 24-105mm F4 | A Is THE Ideal Wedding Lens

Made In Japan, Part I with the Sigma 150-600mm Sports

LENS EXPLORATION: 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS | Contemporary

The Perfect Air Show Lens: Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 | Sport

Sigma WR Ceramic Glass Filter Video demonstration!

We have just announced the world’s first highly shock-resistant and scratch-resistant clear glass ceramic protective filter, the WR Ceramic Protector! Check out this video to get a feel for just how strong this new glass protective filter is!

The Sigma WR Ceramic Protector, the world’s first clear ceramic filter for DSLR lenses.

Have you ever been in a photo situation where this super-tough protector could have saved your lens?

Adirondack landscapes with Sigma lenses

By John DiGiacomo

This year while photographing fall foliage in New York’s Adirondack State Park, I added two versatile Sigma lenses to my arsenal: The Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG Art lens and the Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 II DG lens.
This image was taken along the East Branch of the Au Sable River in the Hamlet of Jay, using the Sigma 12-24mm lens mounted on a Nikon D810. I had noticed a modest clearing in the clouds working itself towards the river, so I switched to the 12-24mm and positioned myself to capture both interesting foreground and middle ground elements while the sky itself (background) was developing a show of its own. My tripod mounted camera was placed approximately 12 inches from the foreground rocks, at an angle that allowed me to include enough of the cascading water to make for an interesting middle ground. I decided to set the focal length to 12mm (122 degree angle of view) to include as much sky as possible. An aperture of f22 provided depth of field, while a shutter speed of 1/8th of a second allowed me to hold detail in the cascading water. A circular polarizing filter at set at maximum strength removed glare from the foreground rocks, while enhancing the skies texture. Lastly, a split ND filter was used to hold detail in the clouds.

Continue reading Adirondack landscapes with Sigma lenses

Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM | A in the field

By Stan Trzoniec
As an outdoor writer / photographer working for close to a dozen monthly publications and books, I’m always looking for new equipment to do my job better. One of the newer items to cross my path is this incredible Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM “Art” lens for my full frame Nikon D3 series to D4s pro cameras. With New England my beat, I recently used it in the beginning and during this extra colorful fall season. A week in Vermont proved the lens is exceptional with reference to clarity, sharpness and color rivaling that of the high priced optics.

1. On a placid lake in New Hampshire the fog from the neighboring mountain helped bring this photo to life. 1/50th of a second, f/ 3.5 ISO 100 @ 35mm.

Continue reading Sigma 24-35mm F2 DG HSM | A in the field

Shot with Sigma: The Last Year’s Living Room Sessions

(Ed. note: We are revisiting many great articles from our archive that celebrate the at-home and DIY spirit of creativity during the Covid-19 outbreak. This article was originally published in 2015.)

The Last Year, an alternative rock band out of Baltimore, MD, recently launched the Living Room Sessions on their YouTube channel in advance of their new self-released album, coming soon!

Niki Barr, lead singer, chose the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | A lens to pair with her DSLRs for its incredibly sharp wide-open performance—great for the challenging low-light situations typical of indoor music venues.

The Last Year records their Living Room Sessions videos with the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens. R-L: From left to right: Scott Griffith, Niki Barr, BJ Kerwin, Scott Ensign.

“We’re a DIY band, and this lens just works perfectly for us, and paired with my full-frame 6D, it’s great for tight spaces. We’re going to be doing a lot of video work with this camera and lens combination this year as we create videos for our singles and live shows.”

Check out their website to see all the videos in the Living Room Sessions and much more! And Check out their Patreon Page, too!

Check out another band using Sigma Art lenses for videos!

Video frame by John Isberg from Mote’s Freeway video.

Sigma’s Summer Gift Guide: Great Gear for Dads, Grads, and Everyone

Whether as a gift for your favorite dad, or recent grad, or for yourself before a big summer adventure, there’s great Sigma gear for everyone’s photographic style!

The best camera lenses for the beach

17-70mm F2.8-4.0 DC OS HSM | Contemporary

Covering wide to short telephoto, this zoom lens is perfect for switching for wide scenes to closer portraits, at the height of day. And with a faster maximum aperture at all focal lengths than the typical kit lens; it’s also perfect for twilight portraiture and nightscapes. Offered at $399 through June 30th on Instant Savings!

18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM | Contemporary

This high zoom ratio lens covers a lot of focal distance without ever having to change lenses, perfect for sandy, mist-sprayed seasides. From wide angle to supertele with a flick of the wrist, it can take in the whole of the beach one instant, and then fill the frame with surfers on the waves, or birds on the rocks. Continue reading Sigma’s Summer Gift Guide: Great Gear for Dads, Grads, and Everyone

Introducing Sigma Vision magazine!

Welcome to the premiere issue of Sigma Vision, the new biannual magazine from Sigma Corporation of America, featuring inspiring imagery and great technical advice!

We’ve got great advice for adventure sports photography from Liam Doran, birding tips from Lisa Franceski, art show tips from Walter Arnold, and much more! You can read the magazine online in the embedded viewer, or click on the Share icon from the reader to download as a PDF (screenshot below).

Please share with your friends, and please share your feedback and thoughts on the first issue of our new magazine!

© 2015 Liam Doran
This morning sun rises over the San Juan Mountains
of southwest Colorado bathing the deep snow on Coal Bank Pass in low angle light. I spent two days
skiing and shooting with local pro skier Sven Brunso. His knowledge of the area is extensive and was
critical in helping us capture some amazing shots.
Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM lens on a Canon

Like what you see? Fill out our quick survey for a chance to win a Weather-Resistant Circular Polarizer!

You can download the PDF for offline viewing.

50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A review by Marc Lebryk

Here at Sigma, we love seeing lens reviews from photographers and bloggers from all over the world who are rediscovering many of the incredible lenses in the Sigma lineup. For example, we just came across this fantastic hands-on account of a test-shoot of the new 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | A from Marc Lebryk, based in East Indianapolis, Indiana.

Photo © Marc Lebryk. Used with permission. (Canon 5D Mark II, 100ISO, Sigma 50mm F1.4 HSM Art Lens. 1/5000th@F1.4)

After testing the 50mm F1.4 he reports that:

“Everything I’ve touched or seen out of Sigma in the last 2 years has not only met but far surpassed my expectations from not just the Sigma name, but the Nikon or Canon name as well. If you don’t own a 50mm lens (and I am a firm believer that everyone should have a 50mm prime of some kind in their bag) then the Sigma is more than just an option; This time it’s the cream of the crop.”

Read the full review on his blog.

Sigma 150-500mm Camera Lens Info

Tried and true comes to mind when thinking about the Sigma 150-500mm APO F5-6.3 DG HSM OS. A staple in Sigma’s lineup, it’s ideal for all sorts of photography but truly excelling in nature photography, wildlife photography and sports photography.

With fantastic reach, fast auto-focus, optically stabilized and great image quality, this lens has been a hot seller since its release.

Want some more info on the 150-500mm lens? We have some more articles already on Sigma’s blog listed below with sample images and more in depth details on the 150-500mm.
– Birding with the 150-500mm 5-6.3 DG HSM OS
– The 50-500mm vs. 150-500mm Shootout

Author: SIGMA