HarveyG

Nikon VR Cutaway on the Nikon Coolpix 8800 (Image from www.digitalreview.ca)

I’ve done a lot of research online and yet to come up with a difinitive solution. When I do I’ll post it here.Generally I was of the opinion that one should NOT use VR “On” with a ‘pod as it can confuse the VR. But with VRII that has changed somewhat.

In the interim here is the official position of Nikon with some of their VR’s when used on a tripod.

Up bright and early, around 4:30am to get this shot. Minimalist landscape. The fabulous CCD based D80. Needless to say a tripod was used and a longer exposure at ISO 100, f/22 @12mm. The Tokina is shaping up.

Sedgefield - Kingfisher River Lagoon (c) HarveyG Photography

Gear I use:
Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar /
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro /
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Batteries, Grips, Timers, Triggers: Phottix /
Plug-in: Topaz Labs for Noise Reduction, HDR.

Buffel’s-Baai (Buffalo-Bay), Goukamma Nature Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa

Pushed the limits on the HDR (ToneMap?) here as an experiment. (It is not my favourite processing style but simply an exercise for me.) The Haloing (created during Post Processing) is more evident on the Medium-High quality (Flickr) JPG than on the full size original (PC). I will have to work on that to reduce or remove the effect when posting to web.
Shot with my Nikon D80 (CCD) which is far richer than the later D90/D300 supposedly more advanced (CMOS) sensors! with my new Tokina AT-X 124 AF PRO DX 12-24mm f/4. and NO filter…
This is the original (2006?) Tokina 12-24mm, with glass made by Hoya (the filter people).
The newer PRO DX II version apparently has less flare and ghosting due to some improved coatings, but I don’t think my PRO DX is as bad as it’s made out to be in some reviews, judging by the above and other results I shot this week.

I took more care with the above processing and whilst perhaps not as impactful as the first, it certainly is more realistic and believable.

Gear I use: Bodies: Nikon D-SLR’s / Lenses: Nikon, Sigma, Tokina, Vivitar /
Filters: Hoya UV & Polarizing / Flash: Nikon Speed-lights / Bag: Lowe Pro /
Tripods & Heads: Manfrotto / Grips and Batteries: Phottix
Editing Plug-in: Topaz Labs for Noise Reduction, HDR.

Silkmoth, Bombyx mori

OK. So you have a yearning to try Macro work? Ladybugs, Mantids, Flowers or anything else that springs to mind. But that $1000.00 105mm f/2,8 VRII Macro Lens is just a little beyond the budget? You should have gotten an 18-55mm Kit lens with your DSLR or you have a nice 28-70mm f/2.8? Your not sure if spending so much money will be worth it? There are a number of solutions. You can buy an adaptor ring or reversal ring, which mounts into your DSLR body and the other end is threaded so that you can reverse your lens and screw it into the adaptor. This effectively turns your lens into a macro lens. Sure there will be no metering. Focus and exposure is manual and you will have to determine the correct exposure, by trial and error. Set mirror lock-up and use the best tripod you can afford. A small shutter release is also a definite must. All of which prevent camera shake and blur. So choose an object that is stationary, like a coin, or flower or rings. This reverse ring will cost you all of maybe $25-00. Don’t like it? Too much effort? Then macro is probably not for you. You see, even with a dedicated Macro lens you will eventually only manually focus. Focus and composition is so critical on macro’s that you can’t let the camera’s AF do it for you. Whilst the exposure is auto on such a lens, you might sill need to add flash or fill light to your subject. Trust me, its better to set that up manually too, you will want to control the light direction and intensity more often than not, meaning off camera flash. iTTL or eTTL is pretty pointless then, unless you insist on running it using an ext cable. There are many online macro tutorials, all I’d like to say here is go cheap first. Go manual. You have more control and if you find that going from stationary objects to moving beetles or bees becomes near impossible, yet you are still keen to try, then go for a few extension rings. You get manual and automatic version of this. If you can afford it, take the auto’s. It’s one less thing to worry about when you start chasing live subjects. Sure you can throw the bug into the deep freeze for 5 minutes and haul him out in a state of narcosis, but you don’t have a fridge in the veld 100 miles from home. So you need to practice before you hit the road.

This image was shot with a set of Phottix AF Macro Tubes coupled to a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG and a YongNuo YN-460 II Speedlight that was fired with a set of Phottix Tetra Triggers and an IR Remote Control. Outlay for flash, AF ext tubes, batteries, triggers and IR RC (excluding camera and lens) about $390-00 vs a dedicated 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens of about $1000-00, no flash or batteries…

A word of caution, the smaller macro lenses around 40/50/60mm tend to minimum focus (1:1) TOO close to the subject. The front element is literally a few cm’s or even a few mm’s away from the subject, and if it’s a live subject, it’s scared off long before you can focus. This is true for extension tubes combined with normal short tele lenses. But at least you haven’t made a $700-00 to $1000-00 mistake.  This then is the attraction of the huge 180mm Macro’s. 40cm / 18″ closest focusing distance but thats one huge chunk of glass, and thus heavy to lug around. In everything there are compromise, especially photography.

If you are going to buy a real macro lens, also don’t bother with those 70-300mm “macro” lenses. You normally don’t get 1:1 lifesize ratios, they tend to be 1:2 or often 1:3. Maybe you have one of these lenses. Go right ahead, switch it to macro and try it. Not what you expected right? If macro is for you, get at least a 100mm (Canon) or 105mm (Nikon) mount from Canon, Nikon or Sigma. I use a 180mm f/3.5. It’s a chunk of glass weighing in at 2.1 lbs (965g) and no OS/IS/VR. (ETA: Sigma have released an OS f/2.8 version in Jan 2012.) Tripod only unless you have arms like Arnold…which I don’t! But it’s closest focus distance is 18″ from the subject. Get something in the 100-150mm range. Thank me later

Canon's 120Mp APS-H Sensor

Canon successfully develops world’s first APS-H-size CMOS image sensor to realize record-high resolution of 120 megapixels.

TOKYO, August 24, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed an APS-H-size^*1 CMOS image sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280 x 9,184 pixels), the world’s highest level^*2 of resolution for its size.

Compared with Canon’s highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor of the same size, comprising approximately 16.1 million pixels, the newly developed sensor features a pixel count that, at approximately 120 million pixels, is nearly 7.5 times larger and offers a 2.4-fold improvement in resolution.^{*3 /} Read the full Press Release here.

In order to compete with other 1080 HD and High ISO DSLR offerings out there, Nikon have just released their much anticipated replacement for the D3000.

Nikon D3100

Order yours here:
here with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR for $699-95 (August 2010)
or
here with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR and 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR for $949-95 (August 2010)

Specifications:

(continue reading…)