Hi Pentaxers,
I picked up my Sigma 80-200 2.8 zoom in London yesterday, at the bargain
basement cost of about 560 UKP. How is this possible, you ask? Most UK
retailers list this lens at over 700 UKP plus. Mine came in a carrier bag
with B and H Photo emblazoned on it, via a good friend visiting form
Manhattan ;-)
We met at a disgracefully poor-value-for-money Italian restaurant next to
the London Eye (huge ferris wheel <www.ba-londonye.com>) where, after
much catching up of gossip, feasting on Lilliputian portions of pasta,
and quaffing of dry Italian white wine (always dangerous), I was handed
my purchase, er gift.
Inside the box is a generously sized vinyl/cordura - type case with
shoulder strap. Unzipped and un-Velcroed, inside lurked the lens. It's
big. Bigger than my old Tokina manual 80-200 2.8. I had an MX with drive
waiting, so plonked it on right away.
A couple of minutes later we were due to join the queue (line) to go up
on the Eye, so this would be an interesting, brutal initiation of the
lens for me.
First impressions, as I remember them:
Extremely nice-looking, although lighter than I expected. Nice finish,
but a slightly 'plastic-like' aspect - perhaps not as much metalwork as I
had imagined. Beautiful to hold, fits perfectly in my oversized mits.
Even with tripod mount on, in fact taking it off felt weird. I like it
on. The tripod mount adjuster-knob braces annoyingly well on the edge of
my left palm. Lens hood is tulip ('optimum') shaped, and looks the
business. Mental-note: surely the ideal shade would be rectangular,
moving in and out, changing length and shape as lens is zoomed? Too
expensive. Make some drawings later. Looking through, it's bright and
clear. No surprises there. Anyone coming from a 3.5 or 4 would see the
difference right away. Focus (I'm on an MX) ring is great size, feels
good, if short throw, but accurate. No problems. Zoom ring is good size,
and very good feel. My Tok 28-70 is much stiffer, requires thumb and
index with some pressure to move. The Sigma I can do with one finger or a
thumb. Excellent. The aperture ring is stiff - will it loosen up with
time? It feels ever-so-slightly chintzy - not annoyingly so...
Up we go, slowly rising above the London skyline, the Thames receding
below. I've got a roll of Kodak Elite Chrome 100 aboard, free with AP a
while back. I never shoot slide film. Last time was Kodachrome 25 as a
student back in 1978. This will be interesting. Now, it's bright sun - do
I overexpose slightly to saturate, or was it underexpose? Too much wine...
It's about 70f outside and the aircon inside is not up to the job. Each
bubble is a greenhouse with 25 sets of lungs going full-chat. Sweat
starting to form, palms clammy as I rattle off a few shots of my
companion as she sketches with her Rotring and notebook. I forgot my
flash (fill-in was very useful the last time I was on this contraption),
so I try and get her with buildings behind, not sky. I wander off to the
other side of the bubble and look down. The shadow of the wheel is
falling on a huge lawn dotted with sunbathers. The meter says 4 at 250th,
away we go. 70mm, snap snap, 80ish, snap snap, 90ish, etc. The zoom is
very functional, it feels great. The glass of the bubble, all curved, is
difficult to shoot through - reflections and distortion everywhere - not
a good test! If only there was a small hole to poke through like in the
back of a Jetranger. Nice shot though, I can see amazing detail. The
sunbathing dots look good in the frame. Back up, and we're at full
height, 450 feet above the river. Tonal gradation is heavy: lots of
moisture in the air. Distant buildings getting less easy to discern.
Fantastic. Snap snap. My friend is now using a PAS: what's that? A
'Lomo'?? Russian, oh. You're kidding? Weighs more than the Sigma,
nearly... People in the next bubble are pointing at something, snap snap.
This is fun, though the sweat is starting to dribble off the brow. We'll
be down in ten minutes or so, how many left? Plenty - going with the sun,
the colours are very strong, even through the glass. One guy is using a
PAS on the skyline and the flash keeps going off - what a nightmare with
all that parabolic glass bouncing it back at him - wouldn't like to be
him when his wife sees those prints. Snap snap, we're almost down. Mental
note: this needs an ultra wide, maybe a fisheye, for a great shot inside
the bubble with all the people spread out around the periphery looking
out. Further mental note: wince with anguish at selling my SMC 15mm 3.5
all those years ago that I bought from new. I want to do a 'Basil Fawlty
- You're a naughty boy, smack the bottom routine' but fearful of
frightening the other passengers. Possibility of 'air-rage' accusations.
Manage inner anguish instead. Ahh, we're down.
Well, I'll get the roll off early this coming week. If anyone's
interested, I'll post some pics up in a week or two.
Second impressions in the cold light of day: of course I'd prefer a
Pentax lens, but until the lottery decides it's my turn, I'll make do.
Having said that, so far so good: it's a lovely bit of kit. I can see it
fitting in well with my preferred subject-matter, which is people in
mono. The 80-200 lets me stand back a bit for those that are daunted by
close proximity. It's the dogs bollocks and I'm chuffed, as we Brits say.
Cheers,
Cotty
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