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Archive 2004 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Faced with the prospect of a weekend camping with the Cub Scouts, I ordered a 20D & Sigma 18-125 from B&H on Thursday and had them in time to leave and beat the traffic on Friday afternoon.

I am absolutely tickled to death with this camera and lens. Handling is great (I'm used to the D60, 1D and 1D Mark II), focus is fast and accurate even in astonishingly low light, wake-up from sleep is instantaneous, exposures look good, onboard flash works great and pops up high enough to clear the lens hood, size and weight are just right for a walkaround, ISO 1600 and 3200(!) are more than usable. Wow... I'm just knocked over.

The zoom range on the lens — a 35mm equivalent of about 28-200 — is just right for a walkabout (although I'm looking forward to seeing the new Tamron 18-200 in the spring). It's very light and compact, and build quality seems fine. I'd love to have IS on this lens, but I'd rather have the extra reach, the lower size and weight, and the modest cost.

Haven't even begun to do any sort of critical image analysis of the results yet... and with any luck I won't, I'll just enjoy them. Here are a few more or less random samples, all handheld, many at ISO 3200.

http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00020_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00023_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00036_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00071_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00097_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00108_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00121_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00143_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00165_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00168_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00192_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00200_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00247_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00257_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00261_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00264_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00271_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00275_std.jpg
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/20d-00290_std.jpg

These are all straight out of the camera. Shot RAW, AWB, batch converted and HTML generated with BreezeBrowser with its default USM and auto levels applied. Can't wait to see what C1 will do (but I'll have to).

A couple hundred more samples, with EXIF and slideshow, at
http://www.toulme.net/scouts/bertadams1004/index.htm

This is a snapshooter's dream come true.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 06:55 AM

fpnunes
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Nill very nice series. Really shows one of the 20d's strengths. I absolutely love my 20D. It is a great camera offered at a fantastic price. Coupled with a decent zoom it makes the perfect walk around camera. Match it up to L glass and you have a machine that is 80% of a Mark 2 at 1/3rd the price. Quite a value - way to go Canon. I know that OMMV but I wouldn't trade my 20d for the world.

Edited by fpnunes on Oct 25, 2004 at 10:40 AM GMT

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:22 AM

Softechie
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

I still can't get over how great is the high ISO performance. Went to Best Buy and tested with store lighting with ISO 1600 and 3200 and photos came out looking good and I was taking with the kit lens at f/ 5.6.

This will help me greatly with indoor sports action shooting.

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:29 AM

Dale
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

My 20D should be here by Wed. After seeing your examples I can hardly wait. Thanks for sharing.

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:36 AM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Guy Mancuso wrote:
Nill stop it , i may just have to get one for fun.

Oh but you definitely should. I really can't get over how terrific it is.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:55 AM

bellyface
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Very nice shots Nill! I do notice the sigma lenses lean toward cooler hues. But very sharp indeed!

kudos!

Oct 25, 2004 at 10:41 AM

Grouse
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

On half of your images I'm getting the Red x of doom... yet i see the other half. reloaded the page... but still nuttin any idea..

Oct 25, 2004 at 11:05 AM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Sorry... my internet connection is clogged with molasses today for some reason. I'm running a scan on it now, which probably isn't helping matters.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 11:35 AM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

bellyface wrote:
I do notice the sigma lenses lean toward cooler hues. But very sharp indeed!
!
I noticed that too but am reserving judgment on that aspect. Mind you, for the most part on this outing I was under trees in mostly cloudy weather...

If it's really there, I'll be able to fix it in C1 easily enough, once C1 is up and running for the 20D.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 11:37 AM

traveler
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

WOW Nill........those images for the most part are crispy as all getout. So what ISO were you using for most of them. I'm finding that if I am shooting ISO100 I am just not getting shutter speeds fast enough to give me a crisp result at the wide open end of things. Once I go ISO800-1600 things get way better. What's your technique? By the way I'd have to say that Sigma is surely doing a fine job for ya.

Oct 25, 2004 at 12:05 PM

DaShiv
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

I really liked #2 and #4--the zoom range must be nice for grabbing quick candids.

How's the focusing on the 18-125? I've always been a bit wary of the AF on non-USM/HSM lenses. Compared to L lenses though, the Sigma is really quite cheap, so I'm not sure what one should be expecting at this price range.

Sharpness seems okay (hard to tell at this size) and the bokeh isn't nearly as distracting as I feared it might be from a lens like this.

Oct 25, 2004 at 12:06 PM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

I was really impressed with the focusing -- even way out there at f/5.6. I was typically using the center point and it was very snappy indeed as long as I gave it something with a modicum of contrast to latch onto, and this was mostly in light ranging from poor to pitch darkness. The motor of course is a bit noisier than what we're used to (and in a quiet indoor environment might be more noticeable still, we'll see...), but overall I have to say I was pretty well stunned by the performance of both the camera and the lens. When you toss in the facts of the lens's size and weight and $260 price, it's a fairly remarkable package all-round.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Edited by Nill Toulme on Oct 26, 2004 at 06:39 AM GMT

Oct 25, 2004 at 12:39 PM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Traveler, a lot of those are at 3200, and I'm not sure if any are below 800 -- maybe a couple at 400. Probably about half are in Av mode wide open, half in P mode. Some of the shutter speeds are ridiculous too -- like 1/6.

I mostly used the center focus point. Its ability to catch focus in poor light is, as expected, *much* better than the other focus points. I basically traded off ISO as necessary to get what shutter speed I could. As I was really just testing out the new camera I wasn't trying for maximum quality, but just seeing what it would do. Anyway, I'm amazed and very happy with it.

If you go to this link you can see the whole weekend's shoot, almost 200 frames, with complete EXIF.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 12:50 PM

WebDog
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Nill
nice shots! Were you shooting hand-held?? Amazing you get such sharp pics at those low shutter speeds.

/WebDog

Oct 25, 2004 at 03:16 PM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Thanks... yes, all handheld. I guess I was relatively calm this weekend. ;-)

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 25, 2004 at 06:26 PM

Don M. Dean
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Nill,

Lest the purists miss the point, I might point out that your posting is what photography is all about. I have no idea about whether your photos were technically correct or aesthetically pleasing. They are full of life and what each of us should strive to capture.

A really nice post!

Don

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:30 PM

Michael H
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Nill Toulme wrote:
I noticed that too but am reserving judgment on that aspect. Mind you, for the most part on this outing I was under trees in mostly cloudy weather...

If it's really there, I'll be able to fix it in C1 easily enough, once C1 is up and running for the 20D.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

Is this color cast something indicitive of the lens or more from the camera? It seems to me that one characteristic of many Canon models is the tendancy to lean towards the cool side. I most certainly feel this about my 10D, and I've seen many examples showing it. There are some good direct comparisons by Gary Fong at http://www.digitalphotographers.net/. He has run several direct comparisons. One thing mentioned is to use a UV filter on the 10d to greatly reduce it. I wonder if it would reduce it here? As you say though, it can easily be corrected in post-processing.

Amazing performance of your combo! I'll probably end up getting a 20D, but not yet. I'm still learning the 10D.

I think somene else also said this, but this is why I really like this forum! Thanks for sharing these shots. They really do show what it's all about!

Oct 25, 2004 at 09:49 PM

rd4tile
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

That did it, I just ordered the Sigma. It's a great range to have with the 20D.

Oct 26, 2004 at 12:25 PM

Grouse
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

I am curious why you and Nill both chose the sigma over the tamron 28-75 2.8?

Was it purely to get that extra range in the zoom, or just to test the lens

Oct 26, 2004 at 01:11 PM

Nill Toulme
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · 1DMkII owner thrilled with 20D & Sigma 18-125

Weight, size and zoom range. I have a 24-70 f/2.8L and until recently also had a 28-135 IS. I consider a 35mm-equivalent 28mm wide end to be highly desirable in a walkaround lens. On a 1.6x crop factor an actual 28mm equates to about 45mm, more of a normal lens than a wide angle. I always felt really frustrated by the 28-135 on my D60 for this reason. It's also a fairly bulky lens in its own right.

I like the 24-70 f/2.8L on my 1D bodies, but that's a different kettle of fish entirely.

My whole purpose in getting the 20D was for a reasonably small, light and versatile walkabout. The Sigma 18-125, with its 28-200mm-equivalent range, fits that bill perfectly, and I have been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the results I'm getting from it. The only thing on the horizon that *might* be better is the Tamron 18-200 that's coming available in the spring.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

Oct 26, 2004 at 01:24 PM

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