Lens test - Self portrait

MisterMcCruffMisterMcCruff Registered Users Posts: 87 Big grins
edited May 18, 2010 in People
Hi All,
I've been umming and ahhing over whether to buy the EF 50mm 1.4 USM next month to replace my Nifty which got smashed up at a party a couple of months ago. I was discussing the matter with my boss and he suggested I check out the Sigma 30mm 1.4 HSM.
At first I balked because I'm a firm believer that 3rd party glass will never be as good...

HOWEVER, another dude at work lent me his copy and...wow, what an awesome piece of glass. The bokeh is gorgeous and the 30mm length's field of view is far more usable on a cropped sensor.

On Friday night, I finished a workout and got round to firing off a few test shots.

I'm sold.

Available light from a Velux skylight above and behind camera.

Editing:
Bumped the blacks up in ACR and imported into CS3.
Sharpened using high pass layer in soft light blend mode.
Minor skin work with the clone tool.
Converted to B&W with a channel mixer layer.
Final curves layer to bump up the contrast.
Flattened, resized, watermarked and uploaded.

4610684801_93e894e42e.jpg

What do you reckon?
All C&C welcome.
Chris :D
Cameras: Gripped 30D, EOS 33 35mm, Ricoh KR10, Sony DSC-H7.
Lenses: Canon 17-40mm f/4 L USM, Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon 70-200mm f/4 L USM, Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM.
Lighting: Canon 430EX II, Nikon SB24, Konig stand, Stofen omnibounce, 33" brolly, DIY beauty dish + diffusers.
Misc: UV+CPL filters, reverse mount adapters, Velbon tripod. Photoshop CS3

*clicky flickr clicky*

Comments

  • MitchellMitchell Registered Users Posts: 3,503 Major grins
    edited May 17, 2010
    Certainly a sharp copy and a nice SP with some great lighting.

    Personally, I don't care for that focal length as a portrait lens. I'm shooting mostly FF at this time and it is just too wide. You get a hint of the facial distortion in your shot here.
    Mitch
    http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
  • MisterMcCruffMisterMcCruff Registered Users Posts: 87 Big grins
    edited May 17, 2010
    Thanks Mitch. I'd agree that 30mm is generally too wide for portraiture but, because I'm shooting on a Canon 1.6x crop, it comes out as a 48mm field of view which I really like.

    My old 50mm f1.8II on the crop (80mm FOV) was just too tight for most situations and this seems to be a lot more usable.
    Cameras: Gripped 30D, EOS 33 35mm, Ricoh KR10, Sony DSC-H7.
    Lenses:     Canon 17-40mm f/4 L USM, Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon 70-200mm f/4 L USM, Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM.
    Lighting:     Canon 430EX II, Nikon SB24, Konig stand, Stofen omnibounce, 33" brolly, DIY beauty dish + diffusers.
    Misc: UV+CPL filters, reverse mount adapters, Velbon tripod. Photoshop CS3

    *clicky flickr clicky*
  • MacushlaMacushla Registered Users Posts: 347 Major grins
    edited May 17, 2010
    What a lovely photo. You are beautiful!!! (the lighting, crop and DOF are nice too)
  • CaspianCaspian Registered Users Posts: 165 Major grins
    edited May 17, 2010
    Nice shot. I like the composition and PP. The lens looks sharp. But, I'm with Mitch that I prefer a 50-85mm as a portrait lens on a crop camera.
    David McPherson
    davidmcpherson.smugmug.com
  • MisterMcCruffMisterMcCruff Registered Users Posts: 87 Big grins
    edited May 18, 2010
    Cheers Caspian.
    Macushla, I'm flattered! Thank you :p
    Cameras: Gripped 30D, EOS 33 35mm, Ricoh KR10, Sony DSC-H7.
    Lenses:     Canon 17-40mm f/4 L USM, Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon 70-200mm f/4 L USM, Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM.
    Lighting:     Canon 430EX II, Nikon SB24, Konig stand, Stofen omnibounce, 33" brolly, DIY beauty dish + diffusers.
    Misc: UV+CPL filters, reverse mount adapters, Velbon tripod. Photoshop CS3

    *clicky flickr clicky*
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