Have I got A Bad Sigma 10-20..HELP PLEASE!

Thank you all !!! Now I will beable to sleep well tonight!

Margie

I will find the brick wall though...just to be sure!!!

Margie wrote in post #2082530
Thank you farrukh...I will look for a brick wall tomorrow...here in CA. they are not that easy to find !

Tee...I would not be at all surprised if this is user error. This is the first time I took a photo with a VWA lens and have some learning to do. I would rather it be me than the lens. IMO...I think the lens is OK...but I would like to see what other experienced members think.

Bluedog...what method is good to use to reduce the photo size to 800 X 800...?

Thank you all for taking the time to help me!

Margie

hey Margie -- san jose camera has a brick front .

ed rader

Hi Ed,
Pleased to meet you! You are right! Maybe I will take a ride up there tomorrow!
Where in Silicon Valley are you. I am in Almaden Valley. Maybe 15-20 min. from SJ Camera depending on traffic!
BTW...I heard that SJC takes no returns, so I limit my buying from them.
Margie

Margie,
Don't go crazy here trying to drive around for a brick wall. Any wall with enough contrast for the AF sensor to pick up and focus on will do. You can even MF if you want. You can also get close up shot of a newspaper and see the prints if you want. Assuming you have good light to allow for low ISO and fast shutter speed.

Measurebating will make you go blind.

Margie wrote in post #2082530
Thank you farrukh...I will look for a brick wall tomorrow...here in CA. they are not that easy to find !

Hehe, not necessarily a brick wall. Some buildings in a street are okay.

Good to hear...maybe I won't have to go too far tomorrow!!! I will find something! I have plenty of newspapers!!!

Can you see I am a bit compulsive!!!

I will post some more photos tomorrow!

Margie

Margie wrote in post #2082658
Hi Ed,
Pleased to meet you! You are right! Maybe I will take a ride up there tomorrow!
Where in Silicon Valley are you. I am in Almaden Valley. Maybe 15-20 min. from SJ Camera depending on traffic!
BTW...I heard that SJC takes no returns, so I limit my buying from them.
Margie

hi Margie -- i live near santana row. according to their website SJ camera has a 14-day return/exchange policy.

http://www1.sanjosecam​era.com …fm?&DID=56&WebP​age_ID=139

i've bought a few things at SJ camera but i usually buy the big ticket items on the net. strange store. dark inside and no one smiles, and one guy looks like richie cunningham .

ed rader

Wow...Ed...I am surprised that they have a return policy! I forgot to check if it is for returns or store credit. I have to look again.

I really like Santana Row...great meeting a local photo-enthusist!

BTW...do you happen to know of any place that has photo classes around us?

I took on on Better Photo and loved it. I am thinking of taking another one on Wide Angle photography sometime.

Margie

get a well lit wall, tape a few pages of the new paper, place the camera on a tripod and take a few shots with varying aperatures and watch the image sharpen as you stop down and then soften again.

Thanks tee...I will do that!

Margie wrote in post #2082754
Wow...Ed...I am surprised that they have a return policy! I forgot to check if it is for returns or store credit. I have to look again.

I really like Santana Row...great meeting a local photo-enthusist!

BTW...do you happen to know of any place that has photo classes around us?

I took on on Better Photo and loved it. I am thinking of taking another one on Wide Angle photography sometime.

Margie

you know, i live about a half mile from santana row and i've only been there once and that was just to maggiano's and it was so packed we left. i've been to best buys but i've never walked through santana row. i've driven through there maybe a dozen times tho.

i guess you see one luxury european mall you've seen them all, eh .

i'm not sure about the classes. i want to say the JC's but as the husband of a HS teacher i think many of the "fun" classes at the junior college level have been terminated...if you catch my drift .

ed rader

Ed...I took a photoshop class through West Valley and it was great! That would be a good place to check for a class. I guess I prefer to take a class on-line...that way I can go out for taking pictures and not just for the class.

Retirement is great! It can make you lazy though !!

OK...I did a bit of practicing yesterday on sides of buildings and on newspaper...I seem to have found out that the lens takes sharp photos...

But I still have the problem of knowing how far into a scene to focus!

I guess if I posted a photo it would help...it seems like the photos that are taken close up are mostly sharp...but then not when it is a far away scene...

I will have to get some photos posted...Any hints until then?

Thanks, Margie

OK...Let me try this out...here is a close up...I did do PP ed. on both of these...

I am only getting a red X when I try to put image on from Flinkr...so I will give the link...

http://www.flickr.com …otated=1&cb=116​0237972843

And a more distant shot...

http://www.flickr.com …263068017/in/ph​otostream/

Hope this works...Margie

Maybe check out what hyperfocal focusing is?

http://www.dofmaster.c​om/hyperfocal.html Info
http://www.dofmaster.c​om/dofjs.html Calculator

At 10mm and F5.6 the hyperfocal distance is 3 feet. Meaning, if you focused on something that's 3 feet away everything from half that distance to infinity is in focus.

Nifty for street shooting. Just set your camera to manual focus, pick F5.6 or F8 and focus at 3 feet or maybe a little more and shoot like that without focusing anymore. Everything should be in focus (except stuff that's super close to the camera). Hopefully I said this all right. If not, then someone feel free to correct me.