Flowers 2013

[sury]

Valery,
Wow.

Sury

[sury]

From the flower vase...

[ValeryD]

Sury! It's WOW too!

[jbtaylor]

Valery,
Spectacular images.
What lens?

[Omega892]

Thanks guys I'm afraid the Bluebell period is continuing for a bit, at least.

Don't worry Burma I am enjoying them.

Due to neighbour deciding to take down some fence panels during high winds I don't have much to shoot at the moment and I lack instant mobility for ranging far.

...and the second with the Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro.

That ones intriguing me. What is its Macro ratio and would I be correct in thing it is a f4.5-f5.6 beast?

Some really good shots from others here too, Sury, JB and Valery, a high standard has been set.

Darn it my gout has flared up again, no it is not drink related, making even pecking at a keyboard agony!

[Birma]

Very nice Lilies from Valery and Sury. I was worried that the pollen from those was going to come out of my screen

Lionel, it is 1:4, but goes to 1:2 with the special macro switch which you can use between 200 and 300 mm

More details here, including min. focus http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Sigma-70-30 ... ns221.html. DK is very fond of his copy of this lens and I think he's said that he considers it sharper in the centre than his Sony 70-300 G.

It was the second lens I bought (after the kit lens) and as I'm sure I've said many times before, I got it second-hand for £50 . I'm still smiling after discovering it has FF coverage when I got the A99. I had always assumed that as a budget lens it must be APS-C.

Back to the Bluebells, this time with the Tamron 90 Macro.


Monkwood 2013 - Bluebell 3 by Birm, on Flickr

[caporip]

Love those shots Valeryd especially #1

[Greg Beetham]

That’s an impressive macro shot of the Lily Sury, nicely exposed.
That one looks natural Birma, to the untrained eye that is, I was thinking why don’t you give the 50mm a run on the path/tree shots while there are still some bluebells, natural perspective on the A99, good dof f/8-f/11 and great sharposity too.
Greg

[Birma]

Thanks Greg . The 50mm? Mmm. Interesting idea. It is in the bag, but I must admit to not having used it in anger on the A99 yet. I will try it out this w/e. ("Sharposity"? Brilliant! A new term for lenses is born .)

[ValeryD]

Valery,
Spectacular images.
What lens?

SAL55200

Thank all for comments!

[Omega892]

Lionel, it is 1:4, but goes to 1:2 with the special macro switch which you can use between 200 and 300 mm

More details here, including min. focus http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Sigma-70-30 ... ns221.html. DK is very fond of his copy of this lens and I think he's said that he considers it sharper in the centre than his Sony 70-300 G.

Thanks Birma. I think I have the, perhaps earlier iteration of that lens as the features are identical except I am not sure about the APO standard, it is now with our youngest daughter for a teenage son to use on the A100. It had a thin gold coloured band around the barrel where the red is on your version. I too bought this second hand because of its hand focal length and macro promise too.

I also, after initial reservations, found it surprisingly good when stopped down as when Macro shooting. The fact that it was suitable for full frame was also attractive as I still used the Dynax 7 back then. I have avoided purchasing C-factor only lenses, well until now with that lens that came with the A77 maybe ( ). I bought the A700 body only as I did the A100 before that.

PS I still flick back to your bluebell along the woodland path shot (the one that induced vertigo at first ) which has a very pleasing aspect.

[Birma]

Here are some shots from a wild flower meadow shoot this morning. It was a beautiful sunny morning, despite the early start.

I like the variation from plain purple in this Green Winged Orchid.


Eades Meadow 2013 - Green Winged Orchid 2 by Birm, on Flickr

Trying to capture the amazing colour across the meadow with a variety of flowers including Green Winged Orchids, Buttercups, Cowslips, and Dandelions


Eades Meadow 2013 - Meadow Colours by Birm, on Flickr

Both A99, the first with the Sigma 70-300 and the second with the Tamron 90 Macro.

[Greg Beetham]

Very nice Birma.
Greg

[Omega892]

Dipping my toes in the water here some shots of a beautiful Iris my wife has developing with another head on the way RSN (real soon now - Jerry Pournelle BYTE) all by A77 and 70-300mm SSM G







Yes, I would have tried a fine spray of water but the trigger broke and spitting at it didn't seem to work. Besides water spray on flowers isn't always good for them especially in strong sunlight - all those little magnifying lenses.

[Greg Beetham]

Very pretty indeed.
Greg