Hi all, I finally got around to mounting my Sigma 135-400mm on the good tripod, to do some serious analysis of image quality... have not yet achieved satisfactory results hand held even at the short end of zoom!
So first I used the lens alone on the E-3, tripod mounted with a ball head for mobility. Here are shots taken at the long end, 400mm, wide open f/5.6 - that's how I prefer to shoot. Results as follows:
close-up of oak
nice continuity here among the brush, no weird bokeh
singled out a freeze damaged bloom among the mango branches with A/F nicley
a little motion blur off center, but no ugly purple fringes
sharpness fades off center of focus (may be shallow dof)
subject 50 yards out, certainly useable
purple fringing along highlights here
subject 3 yards out nice detail even in tiny spiderwebs
So having such nice results, I decided it was time to add the EC-14 to the 135-400, what the heck! Still wide open, f/7.9 at the long end 567mm. Many of these exposures are less than 1/100 sec. as it was mostly cloudy this day.
added color fringing, very difficult to avoid motion blur (should have used timer)
not much more detail than in sample without EC-14 really possibly less detail could've cropped the previous sample for equal results
actually better detail here than previously without tc.
more detail in highlights of rg6 cable, slight purple fringing along highlight edges, trippy bokeh
substantally more detail than without tc, certainly useable
As you can see, in my opinion the lens is not too shabby once proper technique is applied - I did not spend any time in pp to really polish the results, wysiwyg. Raw developed in Aperture and resized, that's it. I think next time I hit the beach with this lens I should use my tripod!
Exif intact; C+c appreciated.
Sigma 185-400mm + EC-14 test
I think you're right Rob, it's going to give you some great results. Like any long lens though, it's going to make you work for it!
Linear Mode
