I have been waiting very patiently to get this lens. If you are a Canon user, there are two lenses that are second to none. This, the 70-200 2.8 with Image Stabilization, and the 24-70 2.8 (not image stabilized- I am surprised to see how many photographers think their 24-70 is Image Stabilized, as far as I know Canon doesnt make a 24-70 2.8 IS, they make some normal zooms with IS, I think f 3.5, and f4, but not in the 2.8 range. This is even more surprising in that IS lenses have on/ off switches that are hard to miss.) Image Stabilization is able to remove slight vibrations that occur when holding your lens.
For the last year I have been using the Sigma 70-200 2.8, and it has been a fantastic lens. The problem with shooting anything over 20 feet away indoors is your heartbeat starts to effect your shots if you are hand holding your camera. Equally troublesome is if it is indoors and flash photography isnt allowed. I am thankful to have learned with my Sigma because it forced me to learn how to hold the camera extremely still. I have learned a lot of tricks to help keep the camera still that I may not have if I was spoiled early on with this thing.
If you own an SLR, you absolutely must learn how your heart beat can effect your pictures. You can practice timing your heartbeats by looking through your SLR and finding something at least 200 feet away that will fit inside one of your focus squares. As you hold your camera, you will notice it will shake at a regular pace, that is your heart beat pumping blood through your body, and shaking the camera slightly. Breathe normally and when you are ready to fire, exhale completely, then take the picture ever so gently between beats. With practice this technique becomes second nature.
Another good exercise is to slow your shutter speed down in increments to say 1/30, 1/20, 1/10 and try to take a picture of something a few feet away. With practice, you can slightly increase the length of your effective shutter speed, 1/60 usually being the limit for beginners.
I love the new blog. I will be trying some different things with logos and borders on pictures. Here is the new lens:
