New lenses from Sigma from the PMA!

1) Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, 85cm MFD, 1:8.6x maximum magnification

On the Sony side there is the Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 85mm F1.4, with 85cm MFD and 1:7.6x maximum magnification. The Zeiss has better magnification because it is not an internal focus lens – the downside is that it extends out has does not have SSM.

2) Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM, 24cm MFD, 1:7.8x maximum magnification

Which is the APS-C version of this:
Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG, 28cm MFD, 1:7.1x maximum magnification

I’ll just say that 12mm on 24 megapixel full-frame is sweeter. However it is nice of Sigma to give an APS-C version – let’s hope they also upgraded the performance wide open.

3) Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 APO EX DG OS HSM, 140cm MFD, 1:8x maximum magnification

Okay, a downgrade in minimum focus distance, which was a strength of the previous version:
Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG Macro HSM, 100cm MFD, 1:3.5x maximum magnification

Unless they upgrade the optical performance especially at 200mm F2.8 at close focus, I don’t see how the new version is worth it for a Sony or Pentax dSLR.

4) Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM, 28cm MFD, 1:5x maximum magnification

Another downgrade in some ways compared to the previous version:
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC, 20cm MFD, 1:2.7x maximum magnification

The unique selling point of the old Sigma was the close focus capability even at wide angle. Now it’s just a Tamron copycat, while being slightly weaker.

Interestingly, here’s the Tamron lineup:
Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 VC DiII, 29cm MFD, 1:4.8x maximum magnification (only for Canon and Nikon)
Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 DiII, 27cm MFD, 1:4.5x maximum magnification

5) Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM, 50-180cm MFD, 1:3.1x maximum magnification

Finally, a great upgrade to the previous version, which was prone to gear stripping:
Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO EX DG, 100-300mm MFD, 1:5.2x maximum magnification

And now, for the answers to my previous puzzle post here:

Because it is in the shade, we can use the teachings of the Sunny F16 Rule. Here, there are no shadows, so we assume F5.6 light at 1/100s ISO100.

However, to get it to 1/125s we open up one-third for F5, and to get to ISO400 we stop down 2 stops to F10. However since there are only half-stops on the Opteka it is more likely to be half a stop in between F8 and F11, or F9.8.

As for the title, it would be “SAME BUT DIFFERENT“. Notice that the bricks are all meant to be the same shape and size, but they all look unique and different. It could be a metaphor for many things!