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CUSTOMER CASE STUDY: Wildlife Photography with the Sigma 135mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

03 April 2020

CUSTOMER CASE STUDY: Wildlife Photography with the Sigma 135mm F/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

 

We first saw Eoghan Hennessy’s gorgeous shots when he tagged us on Instagram. Eoghan had booked the pin-sharp Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art to go with his Sony a7 II for a scheduled portrait session, but when that was unfortunately cancelled, he found another creative way to make the most of his time with the lens! Over to Eoghan…

"I hired the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 for a portraiture shoot that was unfortunately cancelled, but I was due to visit the British Wildlife Centre on one of their photo days the same week, so I thought I’d experiment by using this traditional portraiture lens on some wildlife when the working distance was suitable for the focal length.

There were two subjects I chose to capture on the day with this particular lens, a majestic tawny owl and a tiny, but no less fascinating harvest mouse. The owl I approached in the same way as a human subject – I was able to fill the frame for both full-length shots and tight head-shots alike, and I'm really pleased with the results. The Sigma 135mm f/1.8 offers excellent subject isolation, smooth out of focus bokeh rendering, and in-focus sharpness with a beautiful transition between the two.

Sigma lens wildlife photography

"When shooting the harvest mouse, I was pleasantly surprised with the lens' ability to focus at close range, even on my older Sony camera body – the a7 II. There are two switches on the lens barrel which aided in this, an AF/MF switch and a 3-step focus limiter for the full, far, and near focus ranges respectively. I was able to shoot the mouse with both manual and autofocus, using the near focus limiter, quickly and with the confidence that I would not miss focus. For better autofocus performance, the answer would simply be to hire a more modern camera body from hireacamera.com to be delivered with the lens like the Sony a7 III or the a9 II.

Sigma lens wildlife photography

"Having rented from Hireacamera in the past I was extremely confident in the excellent service that they offer; their professionalism, and their dedication in fulfilling your needs is admirable and sorely lacking in rival services available on the market. I will continue to avail of their services in future and I am pleased to have such a range of equipment at my disposal at reasonable rates even at short notice."

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography

Sigma lens wildlife photography


We are delighted that Eoghan got on so well with the lens, and that he was still able to make the most of his hire – we think these shots are worthy of National Geographic! We would like to thank Eoghan for his kind comments about our service – and for being such a pleasant client, it really makes our day when we get to support and help such lovely, creative people! You can find more of his amazing photography on his Instagram page, HERE. If you would like to the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM | Art lens, you can choose from Canon EF, Sony E full frame or Nikon FX, HERE.