Equipment

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - My friend ended

2012-09-28T15:33:30 -05.00

My friend ended picking a Sigma 120-300mm. Not as fancy or ar sharp as a Canon, but very well reviewed at a fraction of the price.

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - It may be even w

2012-09-24T01:50:48 -05.00

It may be even worse here... Camera/lens prices are generally 70-100% more than in the USA. We say it is cheaper to pay an air ticket and go to NYC, if you want to buy a complete equipment.

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Wow Greg...thank

2012-09-23T14:51:50 -05.00

Wow Greg...thanks for the explanation, I had no idea....

Steve

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Steve, let's say

2012-09-23T09:01:57 -05.00

Steve, let's say you buy a Nikon camera locally, it has already has had to go through customs, with the fees mentioned earlier. Hopefully that importer brokered a good deal for a not too inflated price.
Or, I can order something from, say, B&H, have them ship it to a Miami, Fl. address exporter, he ships it to me, it gets taxed at customs. Example, I spend $1000.00 at B&H, between shipping and import taxes, it would cost me total between $1,350 to $1500. depending on the whim of the officer of the day.
Your $1000.00 Whirlpool fridge is $1400.00 locally. See where this goes when it comes to cars!

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG -
quot

2012-09-22T11:13:58 -05.00

quote:
Originally posted by: Greg Golojuch
yeah, Steve, everything that comes into Costa Rica, and many other countries goes through customs. Depending on the type of item, anywhere from 13 to 50%. Then, if you need to return it, customs 2 more times again, going and coming. There are forms to fill to try to explain a returned item, just doesn't always work. laptops, camera equipment and some other personal items can be brought in tax free with you when traveling, so when we have visitors, we use them as mules.

Wow Greg...never knew it was to this extent ! Guess if you can't buy the equipment locally you have no choice though. Other than higher shipping costs you pay for delivery, do the items cost you more money?

Steve

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - yeah, Steve, eve

2012-09-22T08:57:26 -05.00

yeah, Steve, everything that comes into Costa Rica, and many other countries goes through customs. Depending on the type of item, anywhere from 13 to 50%. Then, if you need to return it, customs 2 more times again, going and coming. There are forms to fill to try to explain a returned item, just doesn't always work. laptops, camera equipment and some other personal items can be brought in tax free with you when traveling, so when we have visitors, we use them as mules.

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - I was not aware

2012-09-21T23:27:08 -05.00

I was not aware that buyting abroad was that much more expensive other than maybe shipping costs Adelaide. I also was not aware of different codes on the boxes of refurbished items.

You learn something new every day !

Stev

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Buying abroad to

2012-09-21T19:28:13 -05.00

Buying abroad to Brazil means a lot of costs, Steve. Personally I would bother less about buying refurbished if I could easily return to the store should something be wrong.

BTW, is it true that we can identify refurbished items by a code on their boxes?

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Looking on E-bay

2012-09-19T23:15:21 -05.00

Looking on E-bay for a used one would be abother option. Make sure the seller has a high satisfaction rating.

B&H also sells refurbished and used lenses. I have bought refurbished cameras and used lenses from them in the past with no problems.

Steve

RE: Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Thanks for your

2012-09-19T21:12:43 -05.00

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, no IS in the Sigma. It's curious that people I know who shoot sports - maybe of daytime - don't bother about it.

Monopods are certainly allowed here, I've seen tripods too but maybe just for videographers. Tripods would not be very practical, I guess, for moving fast to follow players.

There are stores who sell cheaper, and people say these are refurbished items. Any experiences with that? Apparently the manufacturers are ok having their names on this material.

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Always remember.

2012-09-19T09:15:30 -05.00

Always remember...you get what you pay for. I am not a fan of any third party lenses as they cannot compare. There's a reason why they are much lower in price.

Shooting in stadium lighting at night can be tough with a slower lens and the images may very well not come out as well as an f2.8 lens, Also it's difficult to shoot in a stadium with a tripod and the stadiums in the US do not even allow them. Henceforth the need for a vibration reduction lens.

Bottom line - If he has the money and is serious about the way his images come out then go with the Canon. Otherwise there's really no choice other than to get the Sigma or another 300mm 3P lens if there is one with virbration reduction.

Steve

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - Hi Maria: I don

2012-09-19T01:02:07 -05.00

Hi Maria:
I don't have any experience with either lens but checking the specs it appears that the canon is image stabilized and the sigma is not which would give canon approximately a 2 stop advantage hand held in low light that said without a side by side test it would be a tough comparison.
Mel

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG - A photographer f

2012-09-18T22:28:50 -05.00

A photographer friend of mine needs a fast 300mm lens for sports, basically for football (soccer for you in USA ;D ). This means shooting at night, with the stadium lighting, therefore the need for a f/2.8.

The Canon 300 IS f/2.8 costs US$7250 in USA and a Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG costs US$3400 - a huge difference. Given also the cost to purchase it in Brazil, the difference gets much larger.

Does anyone here have some experience with this particular Sigma lens? Can you share your opinion about it?

Rentals are not available here and 2nd-hand market is basically non-existent.

Have you calibrated your monitor? - Daniel, Thanks

2012-05-26T20:55:08 -05.00

Daniel,
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give it a look. Small price to pay if someone is serious about selling their prints.

Maria,
I had always been cautious about looking for color cast in my monitor. I hooked up a second monitor that I thought looked very warm/red but I started wondering if my primary monitor was maybe a little cool/blue. With nothing to compare it to it can be hard to say for sure.

Have you calibrated your monitor? - Hi Chris, I w

2012-05-24T22:11:49 -05.00

Hi Chris,

I would recommend the Spyder 4Pro or Spyder 4Elite if you really want it all. Other top of the line brands would be the Xrite i1 and similar products. If you check the reviews the Spider 4 has the best product for the price award and wins as being excellent or best (5 out of 5 stars) product. I paid $169.00 for my Spyder 4Pro and it was worth every penny. After the calibration was done I basically could go through the majority of my images and scrap them or attempt to fix them because my old screen was reading so far off. The Spyder takes all the guess work out. It is the only way to be certain that your images online along with prints will all be proper and match what is true on the monitor. If you send your images out to have your prints done for you some require the ICC profiles along with all the calibration/settings before they will print your prints to ensure they will be right. They simply will not print your prints if you do not have them calibrated. This is a good thing because they then know there will be no mis matches of color or tonal range from either end meaning they speak the exact same language. Have you ever worked on your images thinking they are done well with color range, brightness, contrast, sharpness, white balance, etc. and then load them on to Shutterpoint after hours of work just to be disapointed at the outcome and the difference of appearance. Then go back and try to fix the unfixable. Most of us know the feeling and its not fun unless you enjoy torturing yourself. Well you wont have that problem after you get proper calibration software as long as you follow the steps properly to calibrate your system. Another nice thing about the Spyder Pro/Elite is you get a before and after that you can click back and fourth along with an advanced test that you can do after it has all been calibrated to test many things. I will not get into all the details but its a nice set up and you would be very happy with the Spyder Pro and/or Elite 4 if you were to purchase it.

Edit: Spelling (probably still wrong)

RE: Have you calibrated your monitor? - I've seen many r

2012-05-12T15:09:48 -05.00

I've seen many recommendations to do so, but I never did more than those online tests to adjust brightness and contrast. The investment in the equipment seemed too high, especially here in Brazil. What I try to observe however is that my monitor doesn't show any specific color shift, I mean, I don't observe a tendency to show bluish or reddish images, so I suppose colors aremore or less adjusted.

Have you calibrated your monitor? - Chris, I have n

2012-05-10T16:52:11 -05.00

Chris,
I have never really thought about calibrating my monitor. It would probably be a good thing.
I have noticed that the same photo uploaded to two different websites can look very different from one to the other. Thart makes me wonder if it matters all the much.
I am sure there are many opions on this....

Have you calibrated your monitor? - Just set up a se

2012-05-09T18:49:02 -05.00

Just set up a second monitor for editing. I'm amazed at the color difference between the two. Maybe as much as 1K in temperature. I'm going to have to invest in calibrating software/equipment. It gives me the willies thinking about the images I have for sale that may be significantly different in color than what I had envisioned.
Have you calibrated your monitor(s)? If so what have you used and would you recommend it.

Thanks.

New Filters - The best filter

2011-11-10T09:41:27 -05.00

The best filter of this type on the market is made by Singh-Ray: The Thin Variable N.D., Screw-In - 77mm (it's a special order) and goes for $429.

A bit pricey but well worth it.

Steve

New Filters - I was considerin

2011-11-09T21:40:40 -05.00

I was considering purchasing the ND FaderFilter Mark II. I was wondering if anyone else has one and how they like it. So far I love the idea of one ND Filter to carry in the bag that adjusts 8 stops or ND2 - ND400. I also like the quality of it as it doesn't scratch so easily as some of the inexpensive plastic filters. I wanted another opinion prior to purchase.