new lens some diff aperature shots to compare

[tmickley]

I got a Sigma EX DG 50mm Macro lens. I like it. I had a little shooting session this afternoon to try and find the sweet spot. Here are 4 pics to look at with different aperature settings. The focus was manual on the stag handle ripples. I changed the aperature via tether so I didn't even touch the camera changing from one setting to the next. I actually took several more than this but these 4 illustrate pretty well what I got. These are the jpeg images exactly as they came out, nothing was done to them.

at 2.5f stop, wide open


at 18f stop


at 25f stop


at 45f stop smallest aperature and longest shutter speed



you can see the huge difference in sharpness, you might see some color shift but not much with this one and it's hard to see on the web anyway. I guessed the sweet spot at around 18f stop or so with this light set up. Here is a shot at 18f stop with a little work on the dark reflection on the bolster and slight sharpening.



and finally, what good is a macro lens if you don't MACRO baby...
The stag on this knife does not like the camera. It is much better looking than I have been able to bring out but here is a fun close up shot I took of it. I could have gone closer but then you'd miss my mug shot reflected in the bolster....


I'll be shooting around 16f to 18f with this lens based on these quick tests. Your milage may vary...