The Sigma trio (20mm, 35mm, 85mm) has served me well these past few days. The shot below is one I’ve taken many times over the years, not just to record the changes, but also to see how different lenses do. The only one that ever topped the Sigma 20mm f/2 was the venerable 19mm Elmarit-R v. II, and not by much.
While the individual lenses are not that heavy for their speed, 35mm and 85mm both being f/1.4, their combined weight makes for a heavy bag. The only problem is that, again for their speed, there’s nothing lighter without going back to manual focus and crazy expensive M glass. And even then, the weight savings wouldn’t be much, even with a ‘cron at the longer end. Showing my age (and laziness), I guess . . .
The Canon EF 200mm f/2.8, good as it is, has shown a very debilitating Achilles heel this outing: every time I take it outdoors, with change in humidity but not temperature level, it fogs heavily. I’ve never seen a lens do that without a temperature change. Using the bulb blower to help it defog is a uselessly slow process. Minimal fogging is one of the features I’ve come to take for granted with modern lenses, to be more appreciated going forward.
Once again I find myself straddling two brands, one mostly for short, the other mostly for long shooting. There’s a bit of an urge to rely only on Canon for shooting long and go back to Leica for lighter gear shooting short. But, bitten more than once by the brand, I don’t think so, unless it’s to M lenses only adapted to other bodies.
That’s what’s making the china lenses look a little less unattractive these days: there are enough focal lengths and speeds available to cobble together a set for the R7, which I have come to love dearly; and the lenses are mostly modestly-price for good to excellent optics. To be considered . . .
Once the RF 100-500mm established its place at the top of the arsenal, the 200-600mm G once again started to look like a superfluous choice. But it’s not going anywhere, as I know how fickle I can be at times. And the 100-400mm GM hasn’t been heard from since a call from a Sony Service technician about two weeks ago, now somewhere in the black hole of Sony service.
On the bright side, his “I’ll do some more tests” reply after hearing my specific complaints with the lens beats the heck out of Nikon’s adamant “The lens is performing to specification” declaration before returning a buggy 300mm f/2.8 VR II lens to me without any adjustment.
I guess that’s why Nikon’s “specification” no longer meets my needs . . .
