Sigma 28mm f/1.8 (title used to be Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S)

[trevendous03]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

When I'm in the studio I'm usually using a focal length of 70-200mm, you must be using a tiny studio...

I made my own studio in my house in the room next to mine... it's extremely tiny. I can't get like any DOF in that room. the ten foot wide backdrop holder I have barely fits. I have bigger rooms in the house, but I live with my sister and she didn't want a studio in the living room. The living room would have been ideal!

Anyway though... this is kinda off the lens topic, but I have a ton of creases in my 10x13 backdrops from them arriving folded. I kinda don't want the PITA of ironing them... would a fabric steamer prob do the trick? I'm thinking about hitting up Target later today.

 

[Raymond]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

What color is the backdrop? If it's white just strobe it with a light or two at a stop higher than whatever you're exposing the subject for. You won't see any wrinkles haha

 

[trevendous03]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

Thanks Ray!

I have one blue-gray 10x13 and one white 10x13... I have people coming over for portraits tonight who say they want both, but I told them I have Elinchrom color gels too which I could shine against the white muslin.

There's this conair fabric steamer at Target for $30, which isn't bad and would prob help with the gray one. People say muslins are supposed to be wrinkled, but I was hoping to use them as wrinkle-free backdrops, but I might just have to purchase some seamless paper later. I only have a three light setup, and I'm really trying to learn studio photography better, but I have a long way to go with it.

1 Nikon SB-600
2 Alien Bee B-400s

2 silver umbrellas
1 white shoot-through umbrella
1 30" gold/silver reflector disc with holder
3 honeycomb grids
10 Elinchrom color gels

I know people say I should buy a light meter, but those are expensive, and I think eventually I can figure it out on my own. These have amazing modeling lights!

Here's what I was hoping to do tonight for the portraits and see what happens...

SB-600 camera left (1/2 power) into shoot-through umbrella as main
Reflector disc camera right (silver) for fill
AB400 (1/4 power) with 20deg honeycomb camera right, high for hair light
AB400 (full power) shined against the white muslin to key it out with or without a color gel (maybe even place it behind the backdrop)

I've researched that a lot of people when using Alien Bees go for ISO 100 or 200 and 1/125 to 1/250 shutter, and f/7.1-f/9. I know it all depends, but these are people's ideal settings, so I might try this too and then underexpose or overexpose where I see fit. Does this sound like a plan? I know it's completely off topic for this thread.

 

[trevendous03]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

Instead of buying this lens, I went with the more expensive Sigma 28mm f/1.8 for Nikon AF-D, which means it is manual focus again with my camera, but everywhere was sold out of the Nikon 35.

This will be my first Sigma lens, and I wanted something more wide than 35mm anyway, so I decided this would be great. It got pretty decent reviews except for some AF issues, but I'll be using it for MF only until I upgrade my camera to a D90. I think it is a very pretty lens if I do say so, and I like Sigma's color optics from pictures. Overall prob the prettiest lens I have is the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 though which I think everyone has. I actually was considering the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8, which is a lot smaller than the Sigma in stature, but I figured I'd want something faster than that.

 

[hiddengamer7]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

Sigma has nice glass, you will enjoy it!

 

[trevendous03]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

Thanks... I've needed some more wide-angle glass anyway. I know that 28mm is not that wide on a 1.5x crop factor, it's like 42mm standard.

Still though, it's considered a wide-angle lens and should do me well for now. Eventually I'd like to get a fisheye, but they're all so freaking $$$$, even Tokina.

 

[trevendous03]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

The Sigma lens arrived today, so I'll try it out today.

 

[Fundillo]

Re: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S

The Sigma lens arrived today, so I'll try it out today.

def. want to see the results. im very interested in this lens

 

[trevendous03]

I went to the park today for the first time with it, so once I finish the photos, I'll upload them. I also bought a reverse mount adapter, so I can do some reverse lens macro, but actually the Sigma 28mm is classified as a macro as well and takes some pretty killer macros as far as I can see in my 2.5" LCD. I'll take a picture of the lens too.

samples:

(any vignetting was added by me... there was no vignetting with this lens! The lens is sharpest once you hit f/4, but the focal subject is still sharp in the wider apertures as well with some pretty creamy bokeh if I do say so.)