Has anyone compared this Sigma to the Nikon 35mm? Here is a comparison to the Canon 35mm and the Sigma blows it away but the Nikon is a much newer lens.
Either way, the Sigma is way sharper than the Canon:
http://learningcameras.com/reviews/7-lenses/87-sigma-35mm-f14-vs-canon-35mm-f14

I have sometimes bumped the portrait release button while adjusting things....and it results in the same effect. One thinks the adjusting is firing the exposure when it is really bumping the release.

Sometime at a weddings My D4 shoot a frame when Im pressing the ISO button in the lower part of the LCD and at the same time moving the speed dial to change the ISO.

THANKS

The good news is that I can gain control in manual by using the aperture ring. The not so good news is that the control panel goes a bit nuts with fEE flashes (= off min setting) and various f stops that don't coincide with what is set. In image review the meta data shows a - for f stop which is unfortunate. Oh well, too bad the lens isn't compatible.

Thanks again

oops, that was a typo on my part. I meant to say "connected to this competition" My point was that its possible that their license goes beyond just printing things about the competition. But as others have said, its par for the course.

RDA I think PB PM and msmoto has it right. I also found this on the Tamron web site. Hope it helps.

Setting the f-numbers with Nikon & Pentax cameras
Photographing in a programmed-AE or a shutter-speed-priority-AE mode, rotate the lens
aperture ring to the minimum aperture setting position, in the case of a Nikon camera, and
set on the "A" position in the case of a Pentax camera.The aperture ring will be locked in
position automatically.When shooting in an aperture-priority-AE or manual-exposure mode,
release the lens aperture ring by rotating the ring from the AE lock position and depressing
the Aperture ring lock button. If your camera is a Nikon F401 or F50, you can set the aperture
to any desired f-number, leaving the aperture ring at the minimum opening position.
* The lens aperture varies with zooming movement. Cameras read the different lens openings
and automatically adjust the exposure properly.
* For further details, please read the instruction manual of your camera.

This lens does have a manual aperture ring and it should be set at f/22 for shutter or program priority. If shooting M or A, I believe the ring will determine the aperture setting.

The instructions for the lens are not very clear.

Does the Tamron have a physical aperture ring? If so what is it set to?

Parke1953, in the menu for shutter and aperture lock, both are off. On the control panel (manual page 126) I am unable to toggle the lock feature, either on or off. The L icon does not appear. I switched to a Nikon lens and same failure occurred with the 126 page procedure. By the way, aperture works fine in manual mode using my Nikon lens ED AF-S 28-70 1:2.8D. So why doesn't my Tamron lens work in manual mode? Isn't my Tamron compatible?

The test was outside so it could just be an exposure jump. I don't think they are reversed because depth of field appears to increase continuously.
Seems to be an awesome lens though for almost half the price of the Nikon 35mm f/1.4

RDA take a look at page 126 in your manual shutter speed and aperture lock. May help.

I was shooting a building at night in manual mode with my Tamron wide angle. The lens is a SP AF Di 17-35 2.8
In manual mode, I was able to adjust shutter speed but not aperture. Aperture was stuck at F6. I selected various ISOs and shutter speeds but was unable to move off the f6. Same problem using Auto ISO. I've only had the D800 for a week so I could be making a user error.

What "... connected to this publication" ?

I dont think its underhanded, however, this legal terminology gives them more right than people have been saying:

" ... in any of their publications, their websites and/or in any promotional material connected to this competition." can easily be read as: ANY of their publications, and of their websites not connected to this competition and ANY promotional material connected to this competition. In other words, it would certainly be forseeable for them to use the material in a publication that has nothing to do with the competition as long as its THEIR publication, and not a third party publication.

My point is the "... connected to this publication" does not have to tie to all three of the parts of that clause, just the last part about the promotional material.

all that being said, I still dont feel there is anything underhanded or dishonest about this. You know that you are granting a non-exclusive license, retaining copyright, in the hopes of being published (or maybe just winning money).

And i completely aggree with heartyfisher about the types of material in a contest. sure its a marketting reason, but there is nothing wrong with contests being about marketting, and there is no reason costest have to be "arty". (your point about homelessness and christmas)

Thanks for the link. I wonder one thing though. When he shows F1.4 then F1.8 shot it gets brighter at F1.8, then continues to get darker as he hits F2.8 and F4

Did he reverse them on the video ?

There is a pretty good review of the new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 and it looks like the lens is awesome:

http://learningcameras.com/reviews/7-lenses/86-sigma-35mm-f14-review

lol! You have done it now ! in 10 years when you are the president it will come back to bite you ! ;-)

seriously though I dont understand what you see as being "dishonest". you seem to say that there is some misrepresentation happening but its not clear to me what it is. I don't understand the relevance of the "homeless" statement (and related paragraph) to the competition.

Its not unlimited license, its only licensed for reproduction related to the promotion of the competition, and you still retain copyright.

yes, i understand that the pictures should be used in connection with the comp, its just they get an unlimited license for any picture sent that bothers me, i feel that it should be our decision as to whether we grant permission for use or not in any situation.

and i just dont like the underhanded nature of it .... i mean seriously, its 100% about grabbing pictures imo, and 0% about art. the comp just seems like a ruse to me.

it struck me how there was nothing about christmas time, nothing about the homeless problem around london, things id normally expect, and the 3 categories are just the stuff they use in their marketing. ya know, its OK if they want to do that, but they shouldnt fake it as a competition, i feel like they are being very deceptive, and i cant stand deception, it annoys me.

so, anyways, even though ive had second thoughts, as far as i know the story is gonna run in the newspaper this week, hahaha, im nervous tbh, i have a feeling like im gonna get in trouble over this. have to wait and see. ill let you know what happens ....

What the original poster's quoted language establishes is that an entrant can't come back later and say "Hey, I don't want you using my photo anymore" and force the University to destroy, for example, printed flyers or whatever. It's perfectly reasonable to expect that if you enter a contest your images might be used to promote the contest.

There are actually many "competitions" that take your pictures.. so you are right to be careful. but this one seems ok.
1) you retain copy right
2) they can only you your picture only for stuff related to the competitions.
3) They cannot sell/on sell the pictures.

eg: of a bad one
"
Ownership of proposals and reproduction rights

The designers transfer all copyright and other intellectual or industrial property rights relating to his or her proposal. These rights will then become the exclusive property of the Organizers which will be able to use, publish or dispose of them as it sees fit, without geographical limitation or any other restriction, via all forms of printed (publications, posters, promotional material, etc.), digital (websites, multimedia presentations, etc.) and/or audiovisual media.
"

I do not see a problem here, the sentence ends in "connected to this competition" .

If SOAS would not be allowed to use the images in their publications, they would not even be able to plublish the winning pics...

And if your pic would win and bget published : even better...
It also says that copyright remains with you, so not only you can stil sell the images, without their permission, but also they will have to add your name to them when publishing....always .

This , to me, sounds one of the better regulations on a competition, many others would stipulate that you would loose the copyright to the work..

@Tao - not every competition is the same, most of the times You only have this kind of closure when Your photo wins.

as for the main topic, I think that it is a cheap way of gathering snaps and therefore I rarely send any of my snaps to competitions - as I don't have time to read all of the fine print before sharing photos.

as for using next snap... well, some snaps are unique. I like to sketch with my camera, though I'm not using is as machine gun and don't fire 2-3-4 same snaps in a row.

This is common, but he's right in that they've found a cheap way to build their image library. While you may not win any prizes, don't be surprised if you see one of your images in next year's school brochure. Consider it a cool addition to your portfolio. If you're really concerned about this, then it's likely because you're already getting paid significant money for your images. If that's the case, why enter a contest?

A shoe store in my town did something similar. They offered gift certificates of $250, $500, and $750 for options when they wanted to rename their store. Every woman in town came to them with dozens of names. Had they gone to a major ad agency to do this, it would have cost them upwards of $5,000. But when you consider the markup in shoes, it only cost them about $750. Smart business if you ask me.

Almost every photo competition in the world has the same language. I challenge you to find one that doesn't.

Overreacting? - Yes. Scam? - nope - they are just doing the appropriate contracts and releases. The images are not worth a penny - until you win. Then it is worth 900gbp or whatever the prize is. Think of it this way - Photographers or the Models they shoot, do not own their images, the publication that paid them does. Nothing different here. You provide the work, you win, they give you something, and you get published or your image seen.

Rarely do many take an image that will be used for Stock or something that will generate an income on it's own to make any difference. And with digital, all you have to do is use the next frame in the set and you are fine - it is another unique image you can use freely.

safyre said:
chances of [the] images being distributed is extremely low

This. also, marketing thinger