SD14 users?

[tomcat]

nice shots there. some more pls.... like to see how skin tones of sd14.

I don't have much opportunities to shoot beautiful models. So I just snapped a shot of my friend to illustrate the performance of the SD-14 for portraiture.

#6

The full sized image is here for those who's interested in pixel-peeping:
http://www.pbase.com/pschia/image/94257351/original.jpg
The per-pixel sharpness is so great that it's very unforgiving and unflattering for portraiture unless proper make-up is applied.

Another full-sized image (of my cat in #4) is here:
http://www.pbase.com/pschia/image/94167797/original.jpg

Other test pics are:

#7

#8

#9

#10

 

[wind30]

after looking at your samples, you wouldn't believe how unbelievably soft the samples I took from the SD14 is.....

 

[tomcat]

after looking at your samples, you wouldn't believe how unbelievably soft the samples I took from the SD14 is.....

So... you have got your camera and lens back?

 

[wind30]

here are 2 raw files from SD14 and another 2 raw files taken by E330 for comparison purposes.

http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/SDIM2859.X3F
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/SDIM2860.X3F

http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/_Q179137.ORF
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/_Q179138.ORF

 

[tomcat]

Just got the 50-150mm f/2.8 II APO EX DC lens for my SD-14.
Very sharp lens !

#1

at 83mm

#2

at 95mm

#3

at 150mm

#4

at 150mm

 

[wind30]

where did you get the 50-150 lens? Is there anywhere in Singapore where they have ready stock of sigma mount lens?

I see you are very pleased with your SD14

 

[tomcat]

I don't think there's any shop in Singapore where you can just walk in and buy a Sigma SA mount lens off the shelf. I get mine from Parisilk... just order it from them and get it in a few hours if Sigma Singapore has stock.

I like the SD-14 or more specifically the Foveon sensor for the unbelieveable amount of details it can resolve when the lighting is good. I have never seen that kind of details come out of any DSLRs. The Foveon sensor resolves so much details that it could make an average lens look good and a good lens great. The next lens I might buy could be the 105mm f/2.8 Macro which is a great lens in its own right... can't imagine what kind of results I would get then.

 

[Cheesecake]

looks very impressive!

 

[waycool]

Just got the 70mm 2.8 marco EX. Very sharp lens!

 

[tomcat]

Just got the 70mm 2.8 marco EX. Very sharp lens!

How much did it cost? Why this and not the 105mm f/2.8mm EX macro?
I think it cost more than the 105mm which I'm thinking of getting because of the longer reach.

 

[wind30]

tomcat,

I find your pics sharper than mine (the portrait shot). How do you post process? Do you shoot raw and develop using SPP? default settings or did you up the sharpness settings? Any sharpening done?

 

[tomcat]

tomcat,

I find your pics sharper than mine (the portrait shot). How do you post process? Do you shoot raw and develop using SPP? default settings or did you up the sharpness settings? Any sharpening done?

Could be because the 18-50mm is a much sharper lens than the 10-20mm. It has had very favourable reviews and is considered to be one of the sharpest zoom lens from Sigma. The portrait shot was taken at 50mm focal length. I would think that it would be difficult to take a proper portrait shot with the 10-20mm even at 20mm in the first place.
I always shoot in RAW and in SPP would use 'Auto' first and then finetune from there. I don't find that there's much of a need to sharpen any more after that due to the overall sharpness of the images from the SD-14 and 18-50mm.

 

[wind30]

I just set everything to zero. Maybe I should try auto.

Ya the 10-20mm is hard to take portraits and landscape sometimes have haze for distant objects.

I tried taking some indoor shots with flash and it looked slightly sharper.

 

[wind30]

default settings developed with SPP. no sharpening

http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/f8.jpg

auto settings developed with SPP. no sharpening
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/f8auto.jpg

seems that the auto settings bump up the contrast so the pic does look a bit sharper.

indoor shot
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/SDIM2994.jpg

 

[tomcat]

default settings developed with SPP. no sharpening

http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/f8.jpg

auto settings developed with SPP. no sharpening
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/f8auto.jpg

seems that the auto settings bump up the contrast so the pic does look a bit sharper.

indoor shot
http://www.pisduck.com/sigma/SDIM2994.jpg

I have yet to come across a DSLR that would produce the best RAW conversion with every parameter set to zero. Each image needs to be tweaked individually to make it look its best.

The 2 images you posted seemed to have a greenish cast which needed to be corrected away either in SPP or in Photoshop to make the other colours stand out more. This could be the reason why you say the images looked hazy.

In SPP you could do this by clicking on any white or grey parts in the image with the 'eye dropper'. In Photoshop, you could remove much of the cast by going to [Image] / [Adjustments] / [Curves] and click on [Auto]. To improve the image further, tweak the Highlights/Shadows appropriately as well to get ultimately perhaps something like this (hope you don't mind)....

 

[waycool]

How much did it cost? Why this and not the 105mm f/2.8mm EX macro?
I think it cost more than the 105mm which I'm thinking of getting because of the longer reach.

I think around $700+ (don't have receipt now...) I have tried the 105mm but found it too "long" for my use... also 70mm got lesser glass element. I don't know much about this theory of mine but I always thought "lesser glass" = "lesser distortion"??? don't know how true is that theory
But I know that lenses for large format cams like the horseman, sinar etc... usually around 4-7 glass elements... and the quality from those lenses especially schneider angulons are top-notch.

 

[tomcat]

I think around $700+ (don't have receipt now...) I have tried the 105mm but found it too "long" for my use... also 70mm got lesser glass element. I don't know much about this theory of mine but I always thought "lesser glass" = "lesser distortion"??? don't know how true is that theory
But I know that lenses for large format cams like the houseman, sinar etc... usually around 4-7 glass elements... and the quality from those lenses especially schneider angulons are top-notch.

I just checked today. The 70mm costs about $727 while the 105mm is cheaper at $706.... more money for less glass... :think:

 

[zenman49]

is the sd14 good in low light/indoor shots? can post some pic?

 

[wind30]

tomcat,

it is ok, the edited pic does look much better. I did not notice the eyedropper tool in SPP nor the color cast. I was more fixated on sharpness and contrast.


zenman49,
well, forget about using the SD14 in low light if you want color. It tends to develop very ugly color blotches even in moderately low light, MUCH worse than almost all other DSLRs out there. If you want to shoot B&W it is pretty competitive.

 

[calebk]

I don't have much opportunities to shoot beautiful models. So I just snapped a shot of my friend to illustrate the performance of the SD-14 for portraiture.

#6

The full sized image is here for those who's interested in pixel-peeping:
http://www.pbase.com/pschia/image/94257351/original.jpg
The per-pixel sharpness is so great that it's very unforgiving and unflattering for portraiture unless proper make-up is applied.

Another full-sized image (of my cat in #4) is here:
http://www.pbase.com/pschia/image/94167797/original.jpg

Other test pics are:

#7

#8

#9

#10

Tomcat, you live in Pine Grove?