Cheat sheet for Sigma 18-200mm

jzach

Are there any cheats sheets for the Sigma 18-200mm telephoto lens?

Moose

Hi @jzach, the set for the "Tamron/Sigma All-in-One" will work: https://www.cameratips.com/d3100/cheat-cards#tamron-sigma

jzach

Thank you. I made a mistake, it is a Sigma 18-250mm Telephoto. I have purchased the cards. Are there any cheat cards for taking photos indoors under poor lighting conditions or nighttime photography?

Moose

Hey @jzach, the cheat cards are designed around the strengths of each individual lens. Some lenses are fantastic in low light, while others simply struggle.

In order for a lens to perform well in dim situations, it needs an aperture of f/2.8 or lower to allow lots of light into the camera. More light equals sharper, brighter, better looking photos.

The Sigma 18-250mm can only attain an aperture of f/3.5 at 18mm and f/6.3 when fully zoomed at 250mm. This is the equivalent to wearing a pair of dark sunglasses in dim situations.

For sports or action in low light, I recommend you rent the 70-200mm f/2.8 once or twice a year for an important event. This would allow you to capture wonderful low light action shots to remember it by. Depending on what part of the world in which you live, there are online retailers that do this sort of thing. In the States, we have lensrentals.com and borrowlenses.com.

For indoor portraits, I recommend picking up a cheap third party flash. With it, you can aim the flash towards the ceiling and brighten the entire room for a more natural look indoors. I have a video tutorial and some recommendations here:

Anyways, I hope that all makes sense. If it doesn't please do reply back with any questions.

bruto

With regard to inexpensive external flashes: I think in this day of incredibly sophisticated TTL flashes, one forgets how competent a plain old manual or automatic flash can be when used carefully.

It's worthwhile to look around for good deals on a non TTL flash, even an older one. Some are very good, and their built in metering is very effective.