What's even more amazing is that these shots were not postprocessed in any way, except for minor white balance adjustments to the RAW file in the Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software prior to being output as JPG files.

More information:

1. Grab your coffee first, because it might take a while before the huge images finish loading. The second set of images are here.
2. Summarizing Ben's thoughts on the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens:
• Pretty good for indoor portraiture
• According to the MTF chart for the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8, f5.6 is the peak sharpness of this lens across the entire focal range, and it's sufficient to keep her face in focus
• Color and contrast is excellent with a slightly more yellow cast than Canon lenses
• Autofocus speed is faster than the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and doesn't hunt in low light. AF performance is generally good even without any focus assist from the 580EX flash.
• It's extremely cheap, currently going for about $400 in the US, especially when compared against the $1000 Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens
• The Sigma is not as sharp in the corners vs the Canon 17-55mm or the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lenses
• The 18mm end of the Sigma is good enough for group shots during birthday parties and events
3. Camera settings used:
• Canon 30D in AV (aperture priority) mode
• Center focus point selected
• Spot metering enabled
• Canon 580EX flash with difuser bounced to the ceiling
• Flash exposure compensation set to +1 and locked to synchronize to 1/250 (that is, the shutter speed was set to 1/250 sec)
4. Enjoy more excellent Canon 30D photography at Ben's PBase gallery

In the end, Ben found that the Sigma didn't fare too well with outdoor group and landscape photography, exhibiting corner softness and high levels of chromatic aberration, so he returned it for the Canon 17-55mm.

Related Posts

1. Concert Photography with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
2. Canon 17-55mm Reviews, Samples, Accessories and References
3. Canon 17-55mm vs Canon 17-40mm lenses
4. Best Price for the Canon EOS 30D Body
5. More Reasons to Upgrade to the 20D from the 30D
6. Canon EOS 30D vs Canon Rebel XTi / 400D – More Considerations
7. Canon 30D vs the 400D / Rebel XTi
8. Should you buy the Canon 20D or the 30D?
9. Fantastic portraits taken in natural light
10. Portraits straight out of the camera
11. Images from Historic Charleston, South Carolina
12. Should I upgrade from the Canon 10D to the EOS 30D?
13. Fabulous Portraits of Fabiola
14. Olympus E-1 user shoots birds and flowers with the Canon 30D + Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lens
15. Fantastic Wild Animal Park Pics with 30D + Canon 100-400
16. How to reduce the intensity of fill-flash on the 30D
17. Where to download user guides, manuals and drivers for the Canon 30D
18. Official Canon 30D Image Samples from Canon Japan
19. Darren compares the Canon 30D vs the D60
20. Dealing with sensor dust on your Canon 30D camera
21. Nikon D80 Compared With The Canon 30D

Equipment: 30D + Canon 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8 and 24-105mm lenses + Canon 580EX flash.

Links:

1. See a larger version of the images, together with some notes on the shots and a link to the full gallery.
2. Jose also has some tips on his general shooting style and workflow, preferring to shoot in RAW + jpg, and processing the files via Bibble Pro 4.7. Shooting RAW gives him flexibility to later perform any corrections for colour casts.
3. Occasionally, the use of Fred Miranda's Velvia Vision Photoshop action might be warranted.
4. ExpoImaging ExpoDisc was utilized for white balancing

Related Posts

1. Concert Photography with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
2. Canon 24-105mm Reviews and Samples
3. Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM Reviews, Samples and References
4. Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM Reviews, Accessories, Samples and References
5. Best Price for the Canon EOS 30D Body
6. More Reasons to Upgrade to the 20D from the 30D
7. Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Portraits
8. Canon EOS 30D vs Canon Rebel XTi / 400D – More Considerations
9. Canon 30D vs the 400D / Rebel XTi
10. Should you buy the Canon 20D or the 30D?
11. Fantastic portraits taken in natural light
12. Portraits straight out of the camera
13. Images from Historic Charleston, South Carolina
14. Should I upgrade from the Canon 10D to the EOS 30D?
15. Olympus E-1 user shoots birds and flowers with the Canon 30D + Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lens
16. Fantastic Wild Animal Park Pics with 30D + Canon 100-400
17. How to reduce the intensity of fill-flash on the 30D
18. Where to download user guides, manuals and drivers for the Canon 30D
19. Official Canon 30D Image Samples from Canon Japan
20. Darren compares the Canon 30D vs the D60
21. Dealing with sensor dust on your Canon 30D camera
22. Nikon D80 Compared With The Canon 30D