Capturing Portrait with Nikkor 70-300mm F/4-5.6G

At 70mm, some believe this cheap lens is quite suitable for taking people portraits. And that's what I did recently with my son. Do note its again taken on a bright and sunny day where this lens can really churn out surprisingly sharp photos.

To add to the drama, I've decided to reflect the sweat beats pouring down his whole face with the built-in fill flash. Its quite amazing how funny sometimes they can overpost for daddy.

Monkey Business in Nature Reserve

I am quite sure these monkeys have been taking posing lessons here and they presented me a wonderful opportunity to take them down with my Nikkor 70-300mm G lens yesterday.

As you can see, its shot handheld with a 8mm center-weighted focus area set on the Nikon D90. It can definitely be better if a tripod is available for added stability. Sometimes, a tip I have been using with this lens is to initiate a refocus on the subject to ensure the camera is focusing on where I want it to.

Well, the 11 AF points on the Nikon D90 is not exactly encompassing the whole image hence the chances for less accurate results. Setting my shutter speed to a minimal 1/80 second (to minimize vibration), the camera gingerly pushed the ISO to 560. Technically, each white pixel has been adulterated with slight chromatic aberration here. Well, its but a $150 lens! I am very pleased with the overall result nevertheless.

Canon 500D Bites The Dust Against Nikon D90

Never was I more surprised when Digital Review pitched the newly launched Canon T1i (500D) against the Nikon D90 and declared the Nikon D90 a winner!

In the department of focus speed, battery life, degree of customization, ergonomics, you name it, Nikon D90 came out the winner. Read the wow complete story [here]

Vignetting Control and Lateral Chromatic Aberration Explained

Vignetting Control or peripheral illumination (described by Canon) is a phenomenon of a gradual fall-off of light reaching the sensor caused by a typical converged lens design, hence resulting in a slightly darkened edge impression on the final image that was taken.

As far as the Nikon D90 is concerned, it is claimed by many that it has a built-in vignetting control feature but not explicitly stated clearly in the official Nikon web site. Pictures taken so far with my Nikon D90 has proven to be vignette-free to my naked eye. But fret not if otherwise as software like Nikon Capture NX can perform similar correction via some complicated software algorithm.

Chromatic aberration is but the imperfect single point of light spectrum convergence caused by the different refractive index of the lens to each light ray spectrum spreading from Red to Blue light waves entering the camera. More advanced Nikkor lens feature Aspherical lens technology that greatly minimizes this problem, resulting in sharper precise placement of light spectrum on each pixel point of the image taken. Again, several credible web sites claimed its built-in in the Nikon D90 and provides a detailed comparison to prove it. I could not find these information on the Nikon web site too.

Care to Play a Nikon Flash Game?

At the rate Nikon is rolling out new micro-sites, I am finding quite hard to catch up with all. Here's a first - a mini game that unravels the history of Nikon!

Click [here] to play.

Introducing Nikon D Technologies Microsite

I have always wonder what philosophy drives the creation of the Nikon D90 DSLR and boy was I rewarded with my diligent search!

Click [here] to access it.

Nikkor Lens Review - Most Economical Nano Crystal Coat Lens

If you ask me, how much do I need to cough out to see a sample of Nikkor's best quality lens with Nano Coating, then I will say for around $550, you will be able to do so with the Nikkor's 60mm F/2.8 Micro lens.

Sharpness wise, its one of the sharpest Nikon can deliver in their mighty arsenel of optics technologies. Price wise, its quite within reach to an average Joe like me. Usage perspective wise, it would be rather similar to like using your 50mm F/1.X lens. Macro capability is an added advantage with a 1:1 reproduction ratio. Sweet.

ED lens components, Nano coats with VR and fast silent focusing engine makes this glass a worthwhile investment. Did I mention its FX camera compatible too?

Half-Time! Start Enjoying Your Shoot!

Now that I have a 18-105mm VR kit lens for general photography, a 50mm lens for low-light/portrait and a 70-300mm for bright-lit sports, wildlife and portraits, its now time to focus in squeezing out some decent shots from these three lens I possess.

Sometimes, being too involved in the technicalities, I can side-track into a capability acquisition spree. Just buy, and buy and more buy, forgetting the whole purpose of photography altogether. Does that happen to you too? As now I can fully understand, it takes a certain degree of control and focus to stay balanced.

So, for the next few months, I will begin my destination travel again, thinking it be the best way to excite my spirit of exploration and photography. Until I reach 20,000 shots with my Nikon D90 and the 3 lenses, I will then reconsider the need to expand the capability department of my optics!

Its such a shame for most of the folks I knew who is shooting less than 500 images per month to keep upgrading their gears prematurely.

Happy Easter Holiday!

Enjoy your day and may it be a special one in 2009!

Time to Choose A Proper Camera Bag

My last review to carry our camera and laptop ended up with the Targus model, where both the rain cover and ample space stole the whole show away. But for those of us who is beginning to pile up their lens asset list, a more organized approach has to be reviewed.

Lowe Pro has been making such bags since I knew about photography and has a series that is coined - Flipside that appeals to do the job economically. With the ability to house 3-4 lens, flash and a tripod, the Flipside 200 may well be the choice for me. Nevertheless, with the Blackrapid strap in use, and my North Face Bullhead hydrator pack, I am truly running out of backs to carry it.

Hence, the Lowe Pro Top Load AW is my final choice. With an All-weather cover and the ability to carry one to two additional lens, I can easily strap in on my waist without wearing me down with my usual day-hike or trek.

When Nikon D90 is Not Enough - Full-frame Advantage

At the current limitation of technology, the law of diminishing return will be in set in on non full frame-sized sensors at about 15 MP. And if you ask me, is pretty much today.

But what exactly does full-frame sensors offer besides significantly more expensive glass and body? As far as I am aware of, one advantage - superior images at higher mega-pixel level.

All in all, the APS-C cameras and lenses in the Canon, Nikon, and Sony systems can provide comparable imaging quality at less cost and almost always reduced size and weight. But if you require extremely high-resolution images, if you make really big enlargements, or if you want great leeway in cropping deep into an image, you’ll want a high-megapixel full-frame DSLR.

Sigma Lens Galore!

If you find the Sigma lens brochure scanty and obscure, you are not alone.

For an informative, interactive site page offering a fairly complete list of lens with sample images, point your pointer [here] to start.

All New Lens Need "Break-in" Periods - Part I

Here's what I concluded today...

None of the numerous lens in the market are developed for one particular camera model and there will be a transition time to get accustomed to. In short, you learn to accommodate the lens you bought with your Nikon D90 body and not expect it to work out-of-the-box. They usually don't. I discovered that fact while shooting with both the Nikkor 50mm F/1.8D and 70-300mm G lens. They are kinda developed to perform only within a fixed boundary.

While reading about the Nikon D700, it also specifically indicate a built-in database capable of storing up to 40 lens characteristics. This, in fact, is causing me to wonder how each lens characteristics are recognized and exploited on the Nikon D90?

The Most Cost-effective 500mm Lens for Nikon D90

Having looked real hard to find the most cost-effective 500mm lens, an ultra-telephoto zoom lens covering a telephoto range up to 500mm, incorporating Sigma’s original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function has been identified - APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM.

This ultra-telephoto zoom lens covers a telephoto range up to 500mm and allows photographers to bring the subject close and short perspective. Sigma’s original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower. It is ideal for sports, wildlife and landscape photography with handheld shooting. Three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction for chromatic aberration.

This lens is equipped with a rear focus system that minimizes fluctuation of aberration caused by focusing. The super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. This lens incorporates HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), which ensures a quiet and high-speed AF as well as full-time manual focusing capability. The addition of the (optional) 1.4x EX DG APO or 2x EX DG APO Tele Converters produce a 210-700mm F7-9 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens or a 300-1000mm F10-13 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens respectively. A removable tripod socket (TS-31) is included as a standard component.

And with tons of accustoming to, you may just be in the position to begin exploiting its $900 worth of potential resembling [this]!

Tips #24 - Shoot with a Pro to Lean More

Merely reviewing, surfing the web to know more about photography is like reading a book to learning to swim. It just won't do. If you have friends who are in the thick of it, why not volunteer yourself to help him or her during his next commercial shoot? Don't charge anything as its more of a training for you and you should be more than welcome.

Remember, ask questions and more questions. And you are on your way to improve outside of a classroom.

Speaking of which, that's exactly what I will do in the coming weeks.

Ask and it shall be given...

Sigma DP2 Prosumer Compacts - A Worthy Backup Camera?

Just when you are pretty much bored with the performance of today's prosumer compacts, Sigma decided to launch the DP2 quietly on her web site, almost throwing my balance off quite a bit today.

Its an almost total revamp of the DP1, while boosting everything technical by several notches. I have not seen any decent reviews online yet but the sample photos look fabulous! A worthy backup camera if the price is not more than the Nikon D200 body or if you want some freedom from SLR chunkiness and weight.

Read more [here]

Determing the Best F-stop for Your Nikkor Lens

To get the sharpest images, you’ll almost always want to stop down one or two f-stops from the widest available aperture your lens provides. That is, an f2.8 lens often produces its best results at f5.6. Unfortunately, with action photography, a high shutter speed is often desirable, so you’ll find yourself shooting wide open more than you’d like.

In that case, the maximum aperture of your lens can be important when shooting action in low-light situations. A “slow” lens can limit the maximum shutter speed you can use, thus affecting your ability to freeze action. For example, if your lens opens no wider than f8 (a common limitation for longer lenses and zoom settings), the best you can do with your camera set to ISO 100 in full daylight is 1/500th second at F8. The Nikon D90 has a 1/1,000th or briefer setting, but you can’t use it without increasing the ISO setting to 200 or higher, thus increasing your chances of detail-robbing noise in your photos. If daylight is waning or you’re shooting indoors, an f8 lens may limit you to sluggish 1/250th or 1/125th second speeds.

So, a larger maximum aperture is better, assuming that the lens performs well wide open; an optic that is a bit fuzzy at its maximum aperture is no bargain. Keep in mind that the maximum opening of some zoom lenses varies, depending on the focal length setting. That is, a lens that rates an f4.5 aperture at the 28mm setting may provide only the equivalent of f6.3 or slower when zoomed all the way to the telephoto position.

Cutest Patented Air Blower for DSLR

Here's what many professionals I came across recommended - Giotto Rocket Air Blower!

At $15, its worth the convenience of making that trip to the Nikon Service Center cleaning up your optical investment.

Read more [here].

How About Nikon D200 As A Backup Camera?

While looking at the fairly expensive yet under-performing Prosumer compacts, an idea just came to me today. How about getting an older (but brand new) Nikon DSLR at a bargain? Now, I don't mean the Nikon D60 or D40 but the Nikon D200.

Sure it's an old horse but a decent one at $600 from Amazon. And with its 1005-pixel RGB sensor and weather-sealing, it may possibly go where the Nikon D90 may have trouble getting. One of my dear friend has recently joined the fray of photography (seeing my passion for photography spreading!) with a used Nikon D200, and he simply enjoys shooting with it.

Sure it's heavier but it also boasts a high-speed 1/8000 second shutter speed and a direct heritage from the award-winning Nikon D2X.

To sweeten the proposition, both Nikon D90 and D200 uses the same battery, lenses and even Speedlight. How's that for all you who were thinking of getting the Canon G10, Nikon P6000?

Nikon Speedlight Guide Number Explained

I have for the last one month, been finding myself using either the built-in flash or Nikon Speedlight SB-400 more and more often in broad daylight. It does help bring down the ISO of my shot in less ideal condition, while not casting a harsh flood of white light on my subjects due to its i-TTL logic.

In attempting to shoot beyond a certain distance say at 200-300mm range, I found insufficient light reaching my subjects with the above hardware. Say for example, the SB-900 has the following guide number: 34/111.5 (ISO 100, m/ft), 48/157.5 (ISO 200, m/ft) while my SB-400: 30m/98.4ft. (ISO 200, m/ft at 18mm zoom-head position, 20 degrees C/68 degrees F).

By its Guide Number, assigned to almost all built-in and shoe-mount flashes and listed—in feet, meters. The GN tells you how far your flash will carry at a given aperture or what aperture to set for a given distance. Just divide the GN by either distance or f-number. For example, if a flash has a GN of 80 in feet (at ISO 100), it can reach up to 20 feet with a lens set to f/4 (80÷4=20). If you want to shoot at 40 feet at the same ISO, you’d have to open your lens to f/2.

Applying the above formula with my cheap Nikkor 70-300m at 300mm (F/5.6), my SB-400 can only effectively reach a maximum distance of about 18m at ISO 200, while the Nikon D90 built-in, at 10m. You are pretty much on your own beyond that.

Using a $420 Nikon Speedlight SB-900 will allow me now to cover as far as 28m.