Monday, July 25, 2011

Prototypes versus Production

Could just ONE car company bring out a nice looking sports coupe which looks EXACTLY like its prototype? Is that so much to ask?

Friday, July 22, 2011

New Nikons soon?

The buzz is out that there's two new full-frame bodies coming from Nikon at once. People are concerned that it's a bit wierd that there's to be a D4 and D800 released at the same time, but not if you think about it from the video standpoint. Nikon is still playing catch-up to Canon in this area, so look for the D800 to be a "5D mkII fighter" with a big sensor.

I wonder what this will mean for the long-awaited D400? Will it fall in the 18-20mp range as anticipated? Will I even care, being that there will be a plethora of available D700s dumped on the market once the D800 lands? Mmmmmm, D700 deliciousness at discounted prices! Yummy! I can't wait for August!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011


It's been too long since I've uploaded photos to my blog so here are a few I like. this is Apollo Performance's very nice WRX STi, shot with my two trusty SB-600 flashes and my Tamron SP AF 70-300mm Di VC lens.

How's this for a night shot with two SB-600 flashes and my Tamron SP AF 70-300mm Di VC lens?

Light blogging recently

Sorry for the lack of updates. Hectic end to my wife's school year, frantic preparation for a long summer trip, followed by a two-week long home-repair bender upon our return. Everything is beginning to return to normal now in the house, and I can finally get back to my writing. I'll be sharing some of my thoughts from photography that I had during my trip too, in a day or so.

Meanwhile... still no new cameras from Nikon or Canon, but there are more rumors now. Nikon, really... a 20mp D800 at $2500? Did you not see the Sony A850? Or the Sony A900? Canon, The 7D looks great on paper, but feels a little like a toy in the hands. I guess something had to be given up to hit that $1400 price point, right?

Tamron, could we please get the VC system in your 70-200mm f2.8 Di LD lens? Soon? The market needs an alternative for the super-pricy Nikon 70-200 VRII.

Bye-bye Nikon 80-200mm f2.8

Well, Nikon, I tried your good old 80-200mm and when it's good, it's really good. But when it's off, like it is constantly for the AF system error at minimum focus distance, it's really horrible. Having seen this same performance from my old Sigma lens up close, I'd say the Sigma's optical formula was based on the Nikon 80-200, as they shared minimum focal distance AF errors and focus shift. I have a Tamron 70-300mm Di VC lens and it has no problems even when used on the same D300 camera body. When I analyzed my shooting, I figured out that I wasn't using the f2.8-f4.5 range anyway, because I didn't like the softness in the images. Above f5.6 both my Sigma and my Nikon were acceptably sharp, but if I'm going to shoot at f5.6, I can do that with my significantly-cheaper Tamron 70-300, and have image stabilization to boot! Yes, the Tamron VC is incredibly good. It enables me to take sharp, colorful, contrast-boosted shots in situations where I had to go to f2.8 before (f2.8 on my previous two lenses suffers from light diffraction inside the glass elements, causing less contrast and color, and a reduction in apparant sharpness). It's good enough that I'm considering getting Tamron's 17-50mm f2.8 Di VC lens in a month or two, making it time to sell off both my 50mm f1.4D (which I never shoot below f2.5 due to focus shift) and my 17-55mm f3.5-5.6 AF-S kit lens. There are benefits to be had from the Tamron, and if I can capture engine bay details at f2.8 or f3.5 between 35mm and 50mm of focal length, I'll be incredibly happy with the new Tamron. Now to save my pennies...