(100% Crop) Sigma 12-24 - D3 - Good copy or Dud?

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Cheng

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I bought a used Sigma 12-24, using it on a D3. Taken 2 test shots, with AF fine tune (-6), one at f4.5 (wide open) and one at f10.


A brick wall - forgive me please :(

f4.5 unsharpened.

4490675538_e7523f6a2c_o.jpg


and sharpened (smart sharpen)

4490675534_868bfa0efa_o.jpg


f10 raw 100% crop:

4490675526_6afbaa237c_o.jpg


And smart sharpen:

4490675518_43254a5cc9_o.jpg


These are crops from more or less the centre - are these acceptable? They are a little soft but aren't awful after sharpening, although they seem to have a 'pastel'/painted look after sharpening which destroys detail. (a give away of softness before sharpening?)

I must note that the Sigma 10-20 on a D300 and the 24-70 2.8 (obviously) on the D3 were both razor sharp with no sharpening needed. They looked similar in raw to these shorts after sharpening. So there are good sigmas...Just wondering from those who have owned a 'good copy' on full frame, whether this is good or a dud? Cheers.

Edit: Wrong camera!
 
are these acceptable?

Its your money - are they acceptable to you?

You can't test these lens properly on a cropped camera - if you are trying to test for de-cenetering do it on a full frame camera, and check that all sides are equally sharp.

It took me 4 attempts to find one that wasn't de-centered...
 
Sorry, forgot to add these are on a D3.

Yes, it is my money but I am just wondering if it is possible to get any better?

If not, I will keep it. If it is, then it's going back.
Was your 'good' copy any better than this?Cheers.
 
Boldonian said:
Looks soft to my untrained eyes. Sigma will re-calibrate the lens for about £100 or so if it's out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Cheers. Most lenses are a little though, without sharpening. My 10-20 was much sharper straight from raw. Not sure if it's calibration though - I went through +10 to -20 and there wasn't much improvement. It could be that the lens itself isn't sharp! Can anyone that has owned one on full frame provide any input? Cheers.
 
Cheng said:
Was your 'good' copy any better than this?Cheers.
Click to expand...

I'd need to see corner and edge crops - no point testing center sharpness on such a wide lens without looking at corners / edges.

If your Sigma 10-20 is significantly sharper, then you've probably already answered your question.

BTW don't mess around with lens fine tune - its not suitable for non-parfocal zoom lenses.
 
It looks fine to me. A bit of sharpening sorts it right out so I wouldn't worry. I've seen softer...
 
puddleduck said:
I'd need to see corner and edge crops - no point testing center sharpness on such a wide lens without looking at corners / edges.

If your Sigma 10-20 is significantly sharper, then you've probably already answered your question.

BTW don't mess around with lens fine tune - its not suitable for non-parfocal zoom lenses.
Click to expand...

Thanks for letting me know about fine tune - I'll see how it goes - tbh it makes little difference, but I have had decent results on all my other lenses so it hasn't been bad...yet! In fairness I mainly use it as a 12mm prime so it might be ok anyway!

Here's a link to the full sized (jpeg qual 7) photo for your perusal if you may - yes, the extreme corners are very soft (but we are talking really extreme) but apart from that it's quite impressive how sharp the corners are relative to the centre! Like I said the only niggle is that the whole image doesn't seem as sharp as my 10-20 did, but I'm not sure if that's actually possible?

http://j.imagehost.org/view/0292/DSC_1922_unsharpened_full

How does it compare now to your 12-24?
 
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