When preparing for a trip, what lenses will you be taking? Photographer Steve Eilenberg discusses how he decided which lenses to bring and rediscovers a macro lens made by Sigma—the 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM.
Preparing for any photographic trip causes me to think about what gear will work the best for what I think I’ll be shooting—landscapes, nature, underwater or even street scenes. Which camera gets the nod? A Fuji X-Pro2? Maybe the crop sensor Nikon D500 or should it be the Full frame D850. Which lens?
This was exactly the scenario when my wife and I were prepping for a trip to Japan.
Images by © Steve Eilenberg
My wife and partner at Aperture Photo Arts is a die-hard Fuji shooter and between us, we have most of the Fuji X lenses and spare camera bodies. This was the logical choice.
For my Nikon cameras, I have several F-mount lenses. Street photography is covered with my prime Nikon 35 and 50mm lenses. Landscape happens with the Tamron 15-30mm and Tokina 11-20mm while I handle wildlife with the newest Nikon 80-400mm.
Stellar’s eagle, Hokkaido. Nikon D850 Sigma 150mm macro lens. 1/1600th, f5, ISO 400
I was feeling deficient in the short-range prime telephoto lens department and started internet searching for the next lens that would make “all the difference”, match the D850’s discerning, super high-resolution eye while easily fitting in my camera bag.
A trip to my gear closet revealed the Nikon 105mm and the Sigma 150mm macro lenses. They are optically wonderful. The 105 is also great for portrait, although it gets used mostly underwater. The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM APO macro lens bridges both short and medium telephoto ranges. So far, I've only used it for macro photography when a bit more distance between me and the subject was needed. I remembered the advantages of the Sigma 150mm lens and decided to bring it along.
Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. Nikon D850 Sigma 150mm macro lens. 1/640th, f7.1, ISO 800
For a macro lens, the 150mm isn’t small or light, but it’s still easy to handle, solidly built and fast at f2.8! It has image stabilization and super fast focus for street or birds on the wing. It was snappy and accurate. This is one very sharp lens. And it’s a lot easier to lug and handhold than the 80-400mm. Topping it all off is its very pleasing bokeh. It also comes with a comically long lens shade which came in handy shooting in weather or backlight.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo. Nikon D850 Sigma 150mm macro lens. 1/500th f4.5, ISO 1250
