Tobias Hjorth Wildlife Photographer » News and Reviews

Dpreview.com reviews Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Tobias — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:41:22 +0000

The biggest photo-site online dpreview.com reviews the newly released Adobe Lightroom 3. It certainly looks like a worth upgrade from version 2.

Dpreview.com concludes : “If you don’t have Photoshop CS5 or a similar image editing program, Lightroom 3 may be all that you need. This could not always be said of earlier versions of the software, but Lightroom 3′s editing options really do cover the essentials. If you do have a separate image editing program, Lightroom will work with it, allowing you to export images for further adjustment when you run up against its limitations.”

Read more at dpreview.com by clicking HERE

Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro review

Tobias — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:16:24 +0000

The Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens is gives the user true 1:1 magnification at 90mm F2.8. Is the lens worth the relatively cheap price tag – Read the review to find out.

No lens is made for a more specific task than the macro lens. Often they are optically perfected for their focal length.
True macro lenses often starts from 50mm up to around 200mm and are very seldom zoom lenses.

Being primes their optical performance are top notch. I´ve previously reviewed the 105mm Sigma macro lens which was a wonderful lens, sharp wide open and with a reasonable price tag.

The Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens is a great tool. Besides the lengthy name the small 90mm has a lot more to offer.
Starting with the solid build quality. Not the hefty material, water sealed type of lens from the typical OEM manufacturer but rather good and dependable.
The lens extends a lot the closer you focus on your subject as with the Sigma 105mm. It´s not a big deal and although 90mm might to too short for insect photography I found it surprisingly usable. Often most insects won´t react to the lens coming closer but rather a quick shade of the incoming sunlight. At 90mm you have to be very close to your subject in order to achieve true 1:1 magnification.

Close to double the lens with the focus all the way to to 29cm´s and with the protruding lens hood mounted.

Often with macro photography you rely on manual focusing rather than the built in focus engine.
On this Tamron macro lens the focus engine works pretty fast for a macro lens. It´s definitely faster than the Sigma I´ve previously reviewed and although it´s somewhat noisy it´s miles ahead of the cheaper 70-300 lenses.

You have the option to limit focusing between infinity and 44cm and between 44cm and 29cm. It certainly help focusing if you´re using autofocus.
But as functional as the autofocus is I was turning to manual focus when ever the situation demanded it, which meant pretty much every time.

Similar to the Sigma 105mm this Tamron 90mm F2.8 features an instant manual focus switch. Just pull the focusing ring backwards and bingo manual focus enabled. Need to switch back to autofocus? Push the ring forward. You do not need to hit any more switches – Super simple and functions as well as it sounds, perfect!

In use the Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro is a true joy.
It weighs very little, in fact only 405grams giving you more maneuverability compared to a heavier lens making ackwards positions less cumbersome to shot from.
As stated before I used manual focus in pretty much any situations and I was very pleased with the results.
Partially due to slow breathing, luck, lots of light and a respect for the subjects I photographed I shot all my shots handheld and got as close as I could get yet without scaring away the insect I had in the viewfinder.

I´m using the 1d Mark II which doesn´t feature a big viewfinder so with any newer pro targeted camera it should be even easier to focus. I had no problem determine where the sharpness was but if I was a glass user, I would probably use an angle finder or a camera with a larger viewfinder. Live-view could also be quite beneficial although a strong sun shining on the screen could hinder a great shoot.

As with any lens sharpness plays a great to for a purchase and as I wrote earlier macro lenses are perfected for their focal length.

The Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro is no different. In fact to lens is very sharp wide open and gains only a little stopping down.
Easily the sharpness lens I´ve ever tried for the price. – I felt it was sharper the 105mm Sigma macro and sharper than the 20mm F1.7 pancake lens from the Panasonic GF1 review.
When shooting macro it´s you can never get too much dept of field. It´s therefore vice verse from what you would aim for using a telephoto lens. Even at F11 dept of field is still very shallow especially when you´re close to the subject. F2.8 is nice to have but not too usable in real life.

The bokeh is very smooth, best at F2.8 and in certain situations the bokeh makes the picture rather than the subject itself.
I found the sharpness to be very similar across the frame typical for a tele prime and found the pictures requires less sharpening than other lenses.

Downloadable samples straight from RAW files (right click and choose save as..)
Sample 1
Sample 2

Conclusion
I was wondering before using the lens how it was performing. Having knowledge with Tamron products before I knew they have some true gems in the repertoire. This is one of them!
As sharp as they come wide open, fast in use, small and compact and for a price everyone can afford. The only thing negative is that I have to send it back. Superb Macro lens!

Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM review

Tobias — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:38:16 +0000

Perhaps one of the most famous telephoto zoom lenses is the now discontinued Sigma 50-500mm EX HSM. For a long time this was the de facto standard in how much technology and sharpness you can put into a 10x optical telephoto zoom lens – At least for the DSLR market.

The 50-500mm focal length range is still unique and to this date Sigma is the only one who have this type of lens in their repertoire.

With this new 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM length Sigma added a couple of things the most important being the OS or optical stabilizer.

The massive 10 times zoom span gives the user an impressive ability to switch between a number of tasks often done with multiple lenses. Ranging from portrait to motorsport to wildlife photography. Sure it would be quite awkward to carry a lens of this size to a portrait session but you have the option to do so. The most obvious choice of use for this lens would be wildlife photography and it is for such I´ve been using it for.

Compare it to the older non-OS version they are very alike. They both feature the same superb tripod collar with the built in grip. Although it only have threads for one bolt it´s long and solid. Locking or unlocking the collar goes with ease and the lens rotates very smooth within the collar if you´re switching to portrait orientation or back to landscape orientation.
Another great thing in the space for the tripod colar strap so the user carries the camera plus lens from the lens and not from the camera preventing stress on the lens mount. The lens includes the tripod collar strap as well!

The front element is increased to roughly 82mm probably to prevent vignetting on a full frame body being slightly larger than required for a 500mm F6.3 lens. Sigma´s includes and adapter if´s you´re using a APS-C size body. Otherwise the lens requires 95mm filters!

The lens features a couple of obvious buttons with the new one being the one for the built in optical stabilizer or OS. This will allow the user to select either Off or mode 1 or 2.
In mode 1 the lens stabilises both in vertical and horizontal while in mode 2 its horizontal only. I found mode 1 to be the most useful. It function very well adding a couple of stops of “light” to play with.

The lens also features a lock/unlock button that allows the user to lock the lens at the shortest focal length 50mm to prevent lens creeping. Oddly Sigma didn´t add the same option for 500mm. I tried to roll back to 50mm and walk around with it for some time with the lock button unlocked and didn´t notice any lens creeping. Either way its a useful feature!

There´s also the typical AF / M focus button, where you choose auto focus or manual focus. Worth mentioning is this Sigma lens features a full-time manual focus override. If you´re in a situation where the auto focus fails to achieve whatever you´re aiming at, you can always manual focus afterwards. – You do not need to hit the AF / M switch.

Being a 500mm F6.3 zoom lens adds quite the weight. Bare in mind this lens is, although heavier than the Tamron 200-500mm F6.3 still a lot lighter than a 500mm F4 or F4.5 prime. Weighing in at barely 2 kg´s (1970 grams) you can in fact hike or walk with it all day. Compared to a prime 500mm F4 it´s more compact and less cumbersome albeit being slower F6.3 at 500mm. Worth mentioning it´s cost a fraction of the bare 500´s and adds 10x optical zoom. – As with everything it´s a compromise!

For a F6.3 at 500mm zoom lens the first thing that surprised me was the focus speed. It´s not lightning fast as a 500mm prime but despite the lack of focus limiter it´s quite good. Slower than Sigma´s own 100-300mm F4 it´s probably close to the 70-200mm and remember this is a 10x zoom lens. Highly impressive if you ask me but since I´m using a 1d series body so expect slower speeds on consumer orientated bodies. Either way it boggles me that Sigma didn´t went all the way and added a focus limiter. – Perhaps some day this would be a built in function on a camera body?..
The photo above of the yelling coot wasn´t to much of a challenge for the auto focus as it tracked it nicely. – I recon the Coot was at full rudder

One of the most important things if not the most important thing of any lens if the sharpness. I´ve been reading the few reviews of this lens available only and I didn´t know what to expect. Luckily I was in for a pleasant surprise.
The Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM is sharp lens wide open at pretty much any focal length. So far I´ve been shooting most at 500mm and F6.3 and each and every time I´ve been blessed with sharp shots thanks to the SLD glass and the OS. Most shots are done without tripod some in very low light and some as slow a 1/80 in shutter speed! Since I´m usually shooting with the Sigma 300-800mm F5.6 EX HSM lens which weighs the same as three 50-500mm lenses and does not feature optical stabilization the 50-500mm is quite pleasant to use. So a big plus for sharpness and another for the OS.

The power of the 10x 50-500mm zoom can be very addicting. This above shot is taken a 50mm and 500mm. That is going from landscape photography to wildlife photography in a second!
Framing your subject is also much easier with a zoom lens. If it´s too tight just zoom out slightly and if you want a tighter framing just zoom in accordingly.

Downloadable samples straight from RAW. – Right click and choose “save as..”
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3

Conclusion
To be honest I could probably go on about this lens and cover all focal length but choose to concentrate of the focal length I suspect most would use.
Overall the Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM is a great lens. A true pendant to the famous Canon EF 100-400mm L being wider and longer.

It´s quite sharp wide open on all focal lengths and therefore perfectly usable at F6.3.
There´s few things I wished for. One is the focus limiter and the other is that it would be a F5.6 lens up to around 450mm and not as it is now, around 200mm. There´s certainly the right amount of glass for it.

Either way it´s wonderful landscape, portrait, motorsport and wildlife lens – And that is quite the acheivement in itself!

Gitzo G2180 review

Tobias — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:12:29 +0000

The Gitzo G2180 video head is a small to medium size video head useful for smaller DV or DSLR cameras. It is also suitable for birdwatchers using spotting scopes.
Unboxing the G2180 was quite surprising how small the head literally it. It comes disassembled meaning you have to attach the pivot / tilt arm which can be done in a heartbeat using a screwdriver or even a larger size coin. – Great if you´re backpacking in the field as it fits in pretty much every backpack and if you´re within the reach of your wallet you can in fact assemble it anywhere.

Starting from the base which is marked by degrees it´s obvious you´re dealing with a quality Gitzo product. The base is quite larger fitting the 2 series Gitzo´s or similar sized tripods. Note you can use smaller tripods although the base will protrude the top of the tripod.

The body itself of the G2180 feels extremely solid. – It feels like you could use the entire head as a hammer!
The Gitzo G2180 is made of a material which Gitzo calls Soulid 238. It gives the base and the rest of the head a better ability to sustain vibrations compared to a typical Aluminium / Steel head while still retaining the somewhat low weight.

Moving upwards and you´ll find the tilting part of the tripod head together with mount for the adjustment arm and the main lock and drag knob.
The knobs are made in aluminium and are art pieces themselves. Beautifully made and well working!
The outer knob controls the main lock while the center controls the drag. This goes for both pan and tilt – I would have like them to be separate, that is one drag knob for tilt and one for pan but for a relatively simple head it works as advertised and I found it quite easy to set a desired amount of drag on both axis.

On the opposite side you´ll find the arm mount and the unique tilt resistance knobs usually found a much more expensive and “serious” tripod video heads. Although it wasn´t accessible how this very knob actually functioned inside of the head, it felt like a spring was activated when the knob was used. Although not too scientific Manfrotto actually uses a similar type on their much much larger ENG type head.
I liked the knob and the function it added but I also wished for more user selectable resistance like the main drag knob.

The tilt / pivot arm is made of aluminium and is rubberised for comfort – Great!

On the top of the head you´ll find the Manfrotto / Gitzo quick release with a equal camera / lens plate.
I´m not a big fan of the Manfrotto system and although I wished it was a Arca Swiss type of quick release, it functioned perfect for this type of video I shot.
It features a anti slide button so if you accidentally unlock the quick release the equipment will not fall to the ground.
I feel the more skilled videographer the better this head will function – I´m quite the novice in this area!

Conclusion
There is no doubt the Gitzo G2180 is a great video head. It features butter smooth panning and quite good tilting to help you achieve the video you need. It is important to remember how capable this head is for its size and how easy it is to bring everywhere. I used the Panasonic DMC-GF1 and Casio FH20 super zoom camera – Both worked sublime on the G2180.
I liked the extra tilt knob that ads even more resistance but I wished it was adjustable and less of “the more you push the more resistance”.
Either way I have no problem by recommending the head – Great and fun to use in a very compact design.

How to create SuperMacro lens by Lozzless

Tobias — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:32:40 +0000

Vimeo and Youtube user Lozzless shows in this very interesting video how to transform the 18-55mm kit lens to a working super macro lens.
It includes soldering, wiring, lots a glue and very steady hands.

Have a look at the guide and video on Vimeo HERE

Sigma telephoto focus issue statement

Tobias — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:13:40 +0000

Recently released 50-500mm OS (which I´m currently reviewing) and the 150-500mm OS plus the 120-400mm OS are witin a limited series having some focus issues in certain situations. Contact your local Sigma dealer in order to get it checked and fixed.

Sigma writes: “After thorough investigation, we have ascertained that some APO 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM, APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM and APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM lenses, produced recently, may have a potential autofocus defect.

This issue could possibly occur in some lenses within the following range of serial numbers.

[List of lenses requiring the modification]

APO 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM
APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM
APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM

Serial Number between 10633051 and 10972000.
Serial Number between 10574001 and 10972000.
Serial Number between 10674301 and 10972000.

This is a limited problem that will not occur in any lenses other than those specifically listed above.

[Support for this problem]
To overcome this issue, we will be offering our customers an inspection and where applicable, a modification service, free of charge. In the case of any autofocus problem becoming apparent on inspection, we will rectify the situation through the help of our local authorized Sigma Service Stations.”

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 launched

Tobias — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:52:48 +0000

The most popular image editing and image sorting tool Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 has just been released. Things have been speeding up and new features have been added as well.
Adobe writes :
“Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the immediate availability of Adobe(r) Photoshop(r) Lightroom(r) 3 software for Windows(r) and Macintosh, the essential digital photography workflow solution that allows photographers to quickly organize, enhance and showcase their images from one application. First released as a public beta in October 2009, the final version of Lightroom 3 introduces a completely redesigned performance architecture that better handles growing image libraries and provides an unrivaled raw processing engine with noise reduction and sharpening tools to achieve the highest image quality. The 64-bit capable Lightroom 3 includes new features that optimize workflows and allow images to be shared in creative ways, including support for DSLR video files and tethered shooting on select cameras.”

Adobe offers a 30 day trial of the program with all the bells and whistles.

Visit the dedicated site at Adobe HERE

Introducing ratings system

Tobias — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:35:56 +0000

To simplify the conclusions I´m now introducing a ratings system.
All products will now be rated with one of the following:

Hopefully the majority will achieve the later rather than the former

No related posts.

Gitzo GK1581OT review

Tobias — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:18:23 +0000

The Gitzo GK1581OT is the worlds first Tripod and Ballhead made specifically for use in the most harsh environments especially the salty ocean. It is also the world´s first stainless steel tripod and head combo designed with one thing in mind. – Use it any invoiment and it will deliver the performance you can expect from a 1 series Gitzo tripod.

The kit consist of two Gitzo products the Gitzo 1541OT Tripod and the Gitzo GH1281OT Ballhead.

Starting with the Ballhead the first thing you will notice it the size. It´s quite small and very simple. There´s only one knob for drag, lock, unlock the ball and pivoting the base. Although it might seem too simple, it is clear that utilizing one knob allows for very quick operation. I use the head along with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 with great success.
The Panasonic GF1 being a small and capable camera the Gitzo GK1581OT kit is very well suited for a camera of this size. Tuning, adjusting and tweaking the Ballhead is a joy to use. Extremely quick and done with ease. Where ever you aim the head is where it will stay in place.

Using the bigger 1d series camera things don´t go as smoothly. Sure the GH1281OT Ballhead is able to carry the weight but quickly reveals that you do not want to use bigger lenses with the Ballhead - It is simply not powerful and strong enough for pleasant operations and fine tuning and tweaking is not a option! The tripod on the other hand has no problems with larger lenses.
On the Gitzo website you´ll find an ad and video where the photographer uses the Canon EF 100-400mm L telephoto lens. That´s definitely stretching it!

One of the most unique things and one the reasons why the Gitzo Gk581OT is among the most expensive Gitzo tripods, is the ability to sustain use in salt water. Current tripods especially the carbon fiber models are having a very hard time dealing with the salt from the open sea. Mainly the quick locks have a tendency to corrode and lock up if they have been used in salt water. That goes for other harsh environments, even more so in any watery area.

On the GT1541OT this is not a problem. It´s built for this harsh envioment.
The unique locks are suited with another lock specially made by Gitzo to this very kit to prevent debris and water from entering the tubes and therefore preventing the carbon fiber and locks to malfunction. It functions well and it is obvious the special lock catches all the debris I put the tripod through.
It´s worth mentioning I did not use the tripod in salt water!

As all Gitzo lock the quick locks functions superb! – Class leading both in speed and usability and the tripod can be erected in seconds and likewise closed in seconds.

Collapsed the Tripod only measures 43cm and weighing only 1.22kg. Adjusting it to maximum height the tripod measures a healthy 139cm. Add close to 10 centimeters for the head and another 10 for the camera body all you´ll get to eye level or above on the average human. Plenty of height for me.
One of the things that amazed me with the tripod and typically with Gitzo is the stability collapsed or fully erected. There´s almost no difference and you´ll have no doubt the rated 4kg´s which the tripod should be able to carry, is a bar set low. I´m sure you could go to 5kg without noticing a difference. At least in drag downwards. – Impressive!

A video made by Gitzo shows some of the capabilities of this special kit

Conclusion
I like the Gitzo GK1581OT kit but not unconditionally.
It feels like the brilliant GT1541OT Tripod is classes above the GH1281OT Ballhead.
Although I found the Ballhead great with a smaller camera using a larger like the 1d series with a wide angle lens was almost to much. Adding a bigger lens was no go without supporting it with your hands.
The tripod on the other hand was as impressive as they come. Superb handling, extreme lightweight and with promising specs it could live up to and more it´s hard not to recommend the Tripod. – But only if you´re a photographer who´s main subject are in the most extreme environments. Otherwise the regular 1541T is just as good.

Expensive and unique but not without certain value!

Gitzo GH1281OT

Gitzo GT1541OT

Planning the Perfect Photo Vacation – Article on NatureScapes.net

Tobias — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:04:10 +0000

Bret Edge, nature and adventure photographer has written a very interesting article about one of the key element to a great photography vacation – Planning!
Especially the part about researching the area in which you´re photographing is a must read.

Read the whole article on NatureScapes.net HERE