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Welcome to this first episode of SIGMA Rethinking Lenses.
In this episode and in the next ones...
we'll discuss a number of fine, innovative SIGMA-products.
For this first episode I have invited...
Ivo Freriks of CameraStuffReview.
This is our new USB dock.
You have tested it extensively. What are your findings?
First of all, it's an innovative product.
The nice thing is that SIGMA is the only brand offering an USB dock.
Furthermore, it's very user-friendly.
Those are the two most remarkable things.
With a USB dock you can connect...
the objective to a computer.
You connect it the way you usually protect an objective:
With a cap. So that's what you do here.
Now they are connected.
Now you can choose a number of settings in the computer
to program the objective.
From a simple firmware update...
Normally, when you want to fine-tune the objective...
you have to send it to the importer.
That is no longer necessary, you can do it yourself.
And what happens in the software...
When you have attached the lens, it connects to the internet...
and immediately checks if there is a new version.
This one is already up-to-date and will not ask questions.
While testing, I noticed it first asks:
'A new version is available, would you like to install it? '
So I did.
There are several applications.
There is the Sports series.
That series of objectives is meant for use with a lot of action.
It has extra options, such as limitation of the autofocus range...
or the use of optical stabilization.
This objective offers the best options for customization...
compared to other lines.
Therefore I prefer to discuss the USB dock with this objective.
It sounds clear, but is also it easy in actual practice?
Can you show me how the software works?
Yes, but we already missed the first part.
When attached, it immediately connects to the internet...
and checks for a new firmware update.
That wasn't the case, so we can't see anything.
Normally you would see the message:
'A new firmware update is available. Would you like to install it? '
I can't show it, since everything is up-to-date.
You see a menu with a button 'Customization'.
When clicking, you'll see this objective offers several options.
You can adjust the autofocus settings.
That is possible with all objectives.
Furthermore, you can see the Customization Mode Setting.
When looking at this objective, you see the button CUSTOM, C2 and C1.
The Sports objectives offer extra possibilities...
interesting to photographers who take a lot of action photos.
When you click the button...
you'll see two other buttons, C1 and C2.
If you wish to customize C1...
you'll get three options that are customizable.
The autofocus speed.
If you want to focus very accurately...
the objective will go to the right place and start focus hunting...
to find the right focus.
When you are taking pictures of a tennis match, that's annoying.
In that case, you can opt for speed and print off directly.
It sounds like an enormous difference.
For most photographers these are differences in fine-tuning.
It is crucial to professional photographers...
but personally, I would choose the standard settings.
Focus Limiter Setting.
With an objective, when you go from infinity to near...
the 'near' part often is the most time-consuming.
If you take pictures of a tennis match from a larger distance...
you don't want to go to 60 cm or 2 metres, because you waste time.
Here you can adjust the exact autofocus area.
AF will be faster than when it starts focussing within the whole range.
You can adjust it here.
You can set an upper limit, as well as a lower limit.
These settings can be saved here.
A third option...
is customization of the optical stabilization.
You can opt for a dynamic optical stabilization...
or a moderate stabilization.
I hardly ever use optical stabilization, and while testing...
I found it hard to say which one was best.
They were all fine.
Once you have customized the settings...
you select 'Return'.
One more time and then you reach the part of the menu...
where you can save the setting.
Now the settings are adjusted. -Easy.
Yes, that's all there is to it.
Thanks. To which photographer would you recommend this dock?
Each photographer that takes himself seriously
and has a SIGMA Art, Contemporary or Sports objective.
When you're happy with your own photos, you don't need it.
But if you want your objective to perform optimally...
I would buy one.
It's completely clear. Thanks for coming.
My pleasure. Hope to see you next time.
That was it for this episode.
Next time we'll talk about the 120-300 Sports lens.
We'll discuss it extensively and we'll answer all your questions.
Thanks for watching and hope to see you next time.