p.24 #2 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
SDTrojan wrote:
Just from a cursory look at that marketing article, it appears it's some magnetic circular filter system, so I'd think no grads for this solution, at least.
Yeah, that's my big hold up. Love all that I'm hearing about the lens, and would love it for landscape astrophotography, but for an UWA I feel like a workable ND + CPL setup is very important, and paying an extra 800-1000 for a specialized kit is rough, especially for someone like me who is doing it as a hobby and not as a paid professional.
If you search, you can get the Nisi adapter + ND6+CPL combo for about $500. Still a lot but not $1000 as you mentioned. I expect the Haida alternative to cost even less and they make great filters as well.
You could also use ND and polarizer gels (real filter slot) with this lens. The Lee ND 4-stop gel sheet for instance costs only $7 and you can make dozens of filters from it.
p.24 #3 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
If you search, you can get the Nisi adapter + ND6+CPL combo for about $500. Still a lot but not $1000 as you mentioned. I expect the Haida alternative to cost even less and they make great filters as well.
You could also use ND and polarizer gels (real filter slot) with this lens. The Lee ND 4-stop gel sheet for instance costs only $7 and you can make dozens of filters from it.
Thanks Fred. I must have misunderstood the pricing on their website. It seems like the adapter kit is $440 and I saw the 6 stop ND polarizer was going for $419, and was assuming there was no way to combine both.
I think I'll try the gel approach first. The problem there is that you can't combine both without provoking field curvature, based on what you've reported.
p.24 #4 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
I was checking something
Sony 12-24
Lens Elements / Groups
17 Elements / 13 Groups
Diaphragm Blades
7, Rounded
Dimensions Diameter x Length
3.43 x 4.62" (87 x 117.4 mm)
Weight
1.24 lb / 565 g
Sigma 14-24
11, Rounded
Focus Type
Autofocus
Image Stabilization
None
Filter Size
Gel Filter (Rear)
Dimensions (Diameter x L)
3.35 x 5.16" (85 x 131mm)
Weight
28.04 oz (795g)
p.24 #5 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
SDTrojan wrote:
Thanks Fred. I must have misunderstood the pricing on their website. It seems like the adapter kit is $440 and I saw the 6 stop ND polarizer was going for $419, and was assuming there was no way to combine both.
I think I'll try the gel approach first. The problem there is that you can't combine both without provoking field curvature, based on what you've reported.
Personally I am loving the Gel filters and will try 6-stop and 10-stop versions soon. You can combine two gels but the lens needs to be stopped down to at least f/8 for the induced FC to be masked. I would advise on only using 1 gel for max IQ.
p.24 #6 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
Personally I am loving the Gel filters and will try 6-stop and 10-stop versions soon. You can combine two gels but the lens needs to be stopped down to at least f/8 for the induced FC to be masked. I would advise on only using 1 gel for max IQ.
I can hardly imagine to carry around a 150mm filter system. Therefore, I will keep my Sony Zeiss 4/16-35 for ND filter exposures until the Sigma filte questions are clear. Three round B+W filters (2xND+CPL) just weigh 135g all together. Stopped down this Sony lens is really fine and I do not expect obvious improvement from the Sigma in of daytime long exposures.
I am strongly interested in the Gel filters. So I have orderd the Lee ND1.2 material you have suggested. The only darker ND material I could find are the pricey Kodak Wratten products. Is there less costly ND6/ND10 sheets on the market? Which materials do you intend to use?
p.24 #7 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
I’m a little baffled by those who seem to feel carrying around the 150mm filters will be so burdensome. They are big but not that big. They don’t weigh much at all especially compared to the weight of cameras and lenses that we all carry. It is just as easy to use as my 100mm NiSi system on my other lenses. I think it is well worth the IQ of controlling the light with these filters and they are very easy to use in the field without taking the lens off the camera.
That said I’m also interested in seeing how well the rear gel filters work in practice. I have a sheet of the 4 Stop ND gel to try. I’m a little concerned with the practicality of taking the lens off the camera and putting these smallish size filters on the rear of the lens. Especially in the elements such as wind, rain and snow.
p.24 #8 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Agreed Chuck. Once you are used to it, the Nisi S5 system (and perhaps even more so the upcoming Haida one ) is very quick to install on the lens, especially if you have a round filter pre-mounted in the adapter as I do with plastic caps on both sides. Takes me no longer than standard screw-on filters on other lenses.
And although Fred has mentioned the use of gel polarizers is possible, my own experience with rotary CPLs suggests you only get max polarization (or whatever strength you want) when your camera is orientated at a specific angle relative to the sun. As soon as you change your camera orientation, you need a different CPL orientation to match. I often also see uneven sky darkening with a fixed polarizer orientation, which usually requires a bit of rotation to even out.
p.24 #9 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
The Sigma 14-24/2.8 is capable of well defined sunstars at f/16, f/18 and f/22.
Sunstars have 22 points and IMO look nice.
Here are a few from a quick test I did today. Excuse the high ISO as the lens was handheld.
What surprised me was the lack of ghosting flare. NONE!
p.24 #10 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Sigma 14-24/2.8 is capable of well defined sunstars at f/16, f/18 and f/22.
Sunstars have 22 points and IMO look nice.
Here are a few from a quick test I did today. Excuse the high ISO as the lens was handheld.
What surprised me was the lack of ghosting flare. NONE!
Nice work with those sun-stars Fred
Flare is indeed well controlled given it's a zoom and has a large bulbous front element. Much better than the Sony 12-24.
p.24 #11 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Seems like a great lens tho I don’t love its sun stars nor the difficulty of using filters. Can’t someone make a quality lens wider than 21 that takes filters of a reasonable size and has good sun stars? Or am I asking the impossible?
p.24 #12 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
I tried a 4-stop ND gel this morning to see if it could work as an alternative to my Nisi setup. The gel I used was the GAM ND1.2 (available from BH), and it has a pretty strong cast that I don't much care for as shown below.
But the exercise was nevertheless very instructive, as I found the whole process of using the gel very fiddly. Maybe it's just me, but unless the gel were preloaded, there's no way I could use this approach in the field where I'm often working in somewhat adverse conditions. It will be front filters only for me.
p.24 #13 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
When I switched in 2013 from DSLR to Sony A7R mirrorless, main motivation was to get FF in a smaller package. With the years the cameras got bigger and bigger, as well many lenses including larger accessories and bags. It is not always easy keeping my package in a size and weight limit I enjoy to carry it around.
The Sigma 2.8/14-24 DG DN has a reasonalbe size for it's superior performance. A 150mm front filters system will get the lens package in the 2-3 pounds range. Depending on which filters you will need.
Rear filter use could be a nice alternative. the issue with the tiny rear filters is mainly the handling out in the field. I hope Sigma will react and provide framed quality rear filters for easy handling. I am not sure yet, if I will really need CPL. During recent years I have used polarizers not very often.
Maybe the Haida M15 round filter system will be smaller than others an not be as big and heavy as it looks in the first moment. Could be a nice and maybe slim option. Especially if you would not need a square filters holder for NDs and CPL.
The Nissi filter system package looks really bulcky to me. Probably I would not get used to that. I guees that transport pouch could easily carry a Alpha camera including Sigma zoom and not fit in my main camera bag. The B+W screw-on filter set I use so far fits stacked into my pants pocket or in the bag under the lens.
I will take any filters decissions now, but use the lens mainly for astro photography, I mainly bought it for. Thanks for the different interesting contributions to the filters options.
p.24 #14 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
rvh23 wrote:
I tried a 4-stop ND gel this morning to see if it could work as an alternative to my Nisi setup. The gel I used was the GAM ND1.2 (available from BH), and it has a pretty strong cast that I don't much care for as shown below.
But the exercise was nevertheless very instructive, as I found the whole process of using the gel very fiddly. Maybe it's just me, but unless the gel were preloaded, there's no way I could use this approach in the field where I'm often working in somewhat adverse conditions. It will be front filters only for me. ...Show more →
Try the Lee 1.2 from Adorama. ($7 sheet from England)
Way less color cast. I'm actually happy with it with a minor LR preset.
p.24 #15 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Luvwine wrote:
Seems like a great lens tho I don’t love its sun stars nor the difficulty of using filters. Can’t someone make a quality lens wider than 21 that takes filters of a reasonable size and has good sun stars? Or am I asking the impossible?
I also prefer 10 or 12 straight blade sunstars but this stuff is actually very subjective just like bokeh rendering... The surprise for me was the lack of flare ghosting which I was expecting a ton for such a lens. The negative for the Sigma in respect to sunstars is that one would need to stop the lens down to very small apertures. (just like with other lenses with rounded blades)
The use of filters is definitely a pain but there are great options out there being with a large front filter (NiSi, Haida, Fotodiox) or a ridiculously small gel rear filter. I think it's worth the trouble because it's the best ultra wide zoom ever made, challenging and in most cases exceeding our best primes in IQ.
p.24 #16 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
Just sold my FE 16-35 f4 to get 16-35 f2.8 GM but this lens has slowed down my decision :-(. I hate filters already and the kind needed for this means I might have to keep my A7R ii for this lens whenever I need long exposures. It would have been easy decision for me if Sony kept the Smooth Reflections app. Hope they bring back just this app.
p.24 #18 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
kits_VA wrote:
Just sold my FE 16-35 f4 to get 16-35 f2.8 GM but this lens has slowed down my decision :-(. I hate filters already and the kind needed for this means I might have to keep my A7R ii for this lens whenever I need long exposures. It would have been easy decision for me if Sony kept the Smooth Reflections app. Hope they bring back just this app.
Actually this is the easy filter to deal with . It’s just a ND gel filter you put on the rear of the lens . Not expensive either.
You have a second option of a clip in ND that goes over the sensor . But you may hit a focal length limit of about 21mm. I’ve had this one worked nice but not on my extreme wides. That’s a test that needs to be done.
p.24 #20 · Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN first impressions
GMPhotography wrote:
You have a second option of a clip in ND that goes over the sensor.
I've tried a 6-stop ND Clip Filter (in front of sensor) but unfortunately just like with the FE 12-24/4G, field curvature gets absurd at the wide range. The ND glass from the clip-on filter is too thick. From my experiments, only very thin gels have no influence on FC.
The hard one is a CPL
Polarizer gels work with the Sigma 14-24's rear filter slot but you have to cut them for the strength you need. (Can't be rotated, adjusted)
