Photography News Issue 34

Photography News | Issue 34 | absolutephoto.com

Review

Sigma user: Karl Holtby

As a landscape photographer, Karl Holtby knows the value of good lenses, and that’s where his association with Sigma began. “Starting out in 2012 I decided I needed a proper wide-angle lens, and bought the Sigma 10- 20mm f/3.5. I posted one of the first images that I tookwith this lens to the Sigma Facebook page, not really expecting anything at all. It seems Sigma really liked what I was doing and a few years later I use most of their kit, cameras and lenses – as a landscaper it’s a very privileged position to be in, I can tell you.” What is it that he enjoys about Sigma lenses, then? “Overall, the lack of distortion and vignetting is helpful, but above all it’s the sharpness and clarity. The Art lenses I use now (part of the Sigma Global Vision range) have this kind of brightness to them that all the best lenses do. But they’re affordable, too; I’ve recently used lenses costing at least double, and the Art lenses are right up there with those. I’m not looking at technical data to come to this conclusion, I’m going by what my eyes are telling me, and the final result – the prints – which look amazing!” Sigma produces several wide-angle Art lenses, and if he had to choose one, Karl says it would the 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM, a model he describes as having “amazing sharpness, no distortion, and superb rendition of out- of-focus areas. Then there’s the build quality, which is very important to me; the Art lenses just ooze quality.” Along with the 24mm f/1.4, Karl’s most recent shoot also involved the 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, at a location on Anglesey: “As my style’s evolved, I’ve found 24mm is wide enough for most of my work. You get a nice field of view but it’s also wide enough to include a bit of foreground should I need to, which most of the time is what happens. I do like to have the 20mmwithme too, just in case I need something a little wider though, and the quality from that lens is just as good.” Karl also makes use of the Sigma MC-11 Converter, an adapter which allows the use of Canon or Sigma fit lenses on the Sony FEmount: “This letsme usemy prized lenses like the 24mm f/1.4 Art on my Sony S7R. It’s my combination of choice at the moment and I’m getting amazing results.”

Above Thanks to the MC-11 Converter, which is part of the Sigma Global Vision line, you can take Canon and Sigma fit lenses and use them on the cameras with a Sony FE mount, like the Sony A7R. This is a good thing for photographers (including Karl, above right with his own set-up shooting on Anglesey), particularly if you want to use your Canon DSLR body for stills and a Sony body for video, as many are now doing.

karlholtby.smugmug.com