14 DAY ACAI BERRY CLEANSE WEIGHT LOSS FLUSH

Nikon D300 with Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX DG Macro lens and Nikon SB800 Speedlite mounted off-camera on a Hakuba flash bracket and linked with an SC 28 TTL remote cord. The diffusion is provided by the supplied Nikon clip-on unit with a home made diffuser slipped over it. This was constructed from an Ecover plastic washing-up bottle.

The angle and position of the flash can be adjusted for effect. The Hakuba bracket is great but working near its limit, especially in respect of the ball mount, which strains under the weight of the flash gun with its slightly unweildy stack of remote cord terminal block mounted in the dead hotshoe, which is already on the ball mount.. I actually rotate the tripod mount on the lens to a position where I can lean the flash gun on it, which makes a stable combination. I may eventually have to replace the ball mount with something a bit more manly...like the Manfrotto micro ball head for example.

This set up can produce excellent results and gives a more directional light than the ring flash. This can produce more natural shadows in some situations.

It is extremely heavy to hold, especially with the MB-D10 grip fitted, but this can make for a steadier shooting platform.

The extra focal length of the 150mm gives useful working distance but makes it harder to hold steady (I up shutter speed to 1/250th or even 1/320th sec). The lens does not extend in use and has fabulous sharpness and out of focus rendering. It has a minute usable depth of field and is almost impossible to use in windy conditions or if you are having an unsteady day. While the actual DOF should be the same as the105, the OOF areas blur faster, so in practice its much harder to pin focus and I lose a lot of shots to being off-target. The sharpness holds up at F16 and I have no issue using it at that aperture, which can be useful bearing in mind the razor thin focal plane.

The 150mm lens' front element is not well recessed so its worth investing in a UV or clear filter to protect it from dirt and knocks. I have Sigma's own UV filter mounted.