The SD14 Travel Kit
In trips to Europe or Asia in the past, just about every lens in the camera bag traveled with me. There was the fear that I might miss the photo op of a lifetime so I had to be prepared. After a while you realize that most of the equipment spends its vacation back in the hotel because it's just too heavy and cumbersome to lug around while you're trying to enjoy yourself. All that weight can slow you down and it can make taking vacation pics too much of a chore. At that point you start taking a serious look at what you really use (and really need) to capture some interesting pictures.
This is also about the time that you begin to find the compromises of a superzoom not so bad as they first appeared when you read about them in some lens test reviews. The SD14 can only mount Sigma lenses in the proprietary Sigma mount, but fortunately there are two excellent choices for Sigma superzoom. Both are 18-200mm f3.5-6.3.
Where the lenses differ is in optical image stabilization (OS) and price, as the aperture value is the same on both lenses. Like Canon and Nikon, Sigma supports OS in the lens, rather than body-integral mechanical image stabilization that can work with any lens. Exotic lens elements have also become cheaper to manufacture and they are used in more lenses today. This means the image quality of the smaller image circle, ED-glass, multiple aspheric elements 18-200mm today is much better than the 28-200mm or 28-300mm that became a walk-around choice for many as the film era was ending. The 18-200mm on the 1.7x SD14 is equivalent to a 30mm to 320mm lens for a 35mm, which covers almost anything you might encounter on a trip from wide angle to a fairly long telephoto
The regular 18-200mm is extremely small. In fact it is not much larger than a "normal" zoom lens at just 3.1", using 62mm filters, and weighing just 405g. This would make this lens an ideal choice as a travel lens. Frankly, with the wide, low-noise ISO range of the Nikon D300 or a Canon 40D this might be a good choice in a light, compact travel zoom.
However, the Sigma SD14 is really only good to about ISO 400 in normal situations, even though it does offer options to a noisier but usable ISO 800, or an extremely noisy 1600 with a firmware upgrade and ISO expansion. That makes the OS version of the 18-200mm a better choice, as it is claims to provide up to four stops of improved steady shooting. The OS is a bigger lens at 3.9 inches and uses 72mm filters. The two motor (vertical and horizontal) OS also raises the weight to 610g. While the 18-200mm OS is bigger and heavier, it is also reputed to be even better in image quality than the base model.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
Most of the images are straight out of Auto mode in RAW processing with Sigma Photo Pro. I did sometimes push sharpness or exposure a notch or tow but nothing drastic.I did a lot more Post Processing with the ISO 800 images, since my goal with the ISO 800 shots was to be creative with noise and color shifts.
I'm also a fan of Olympus color. I find the color accuracy of the E3 to be remarkable.
strikeback03 - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
Is that adapter supposed to be a high-speed one? When I bought one a few years ago I got a Jobo brand one from B&H, as they actually advertise a high transfer speed as opposed to the options on Ebay. Works fine (and quickly) with SD cards, no SDHC though. Recently bought another Jobo one that claimed SDHC support, however that did not work with Sandisk Extreme III SDHC cards in either my camera bodies or card readers.I recently visited England, Ireland, and Italy with friends and brought a 40D and Sigma 18-200 OS and 10-20EX lenses. The 18-200 does work out nicely when photography is not the main point of the trip.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
The adapter is high speed in the limited testing I have done with it. I did not see an obvious write slowdown or increased format times compared to a similar high-speed CF on a Nikon D300 or Olympus E3. It also converts an SDHC that can then be easily read in a CF slot even if the reader does not support SDHC. I also have the older SD converter that you mention, but it doesn't support SDHC at all.neilvan - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
I have a Jobo CF - SDHC adapter that I bought from B&H Photo a couple of months ago and it works great with my Patriot 16GB SDHC in my SD14.It saves me a bundle, SDHC cards are so inexpensive!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/462559-REG/J...">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4...ure_Digi...
strikeback03 - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
Yeah, that's the one I tried (though the photo shows the old version I own, not the newer one I ordered this time). I only had Sandisk Extreme III cards to try with it (3 4GB, 1 8GB, took advantage of the rebates and was bringing adapter and some cards to friends in England) and it did not work at all with the SDHC cards, was fine with normal SD. Didn't have time to try and make it work, so I returned it.Wesley, thanks for the link.
strikeback03 - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
What brand is it and/or where did you get it from? I now have an 8GB SDHC card that doesn't do me much good without a functional SDHC adapter.Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
Here is a source for the same item in Hong Kong on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/SDHC-SD-MMC-to-Compact-Flash-C...">http://cgi.ebay.com/SDHC-SD-MMC-to-Comp...6QQssPag.... I have bought from this seller before and they were fast and reliable. There are also several new converters showing on an eBay search for SDHC to CF converter, but I don't have any personal experience with the other brands.mmntech - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
I loved St Martin when I was there back in 2001. You didn't take the camera to Orient Beach did you? lol. (There's a well known "clothing optional" beach in the area)Sigma has always made good lenses. It's too bad the camera was a let down. I'm still in the photography stone age with my Pentax KM 35mm SLR. I have a quite a few good pics I took in St Martin with it.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
I have been to St. Maarten several times and I keep going back because it is one of my favorites. Orient Beach is a normal stop on the Island, but I rarely take photos there. We stay in Philipsburg on the Dutch side and normally dine in Grand Case on the French side. Orient Beach is about halfway between the two.The SD14 was not really a complete letdown - you just have to work within its limitations, which are many. After returning I captured equipment images for this article with a Nikon D300. It was a stark reminder of why the SD14 competes better at around $600 than it did at the $1699 Sigma was asking when it was first introduced.
It is still an interesting sensor for those who have the time to "play" or "create" depending on your perspective.
pervisanathema - Thursday, June 19, 2008 - link
Thanks for the article, now I definitely know which camera to not buy.