Thursday, March 10, 2011

The NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8 in Action

My daughter’s school was having a concert at a local mall today, where she played violin. Naturally my wife and I were there to take pictures, her with her new D3100, and me with my D90. Since she had everything covered with the mighty AF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 zoom, I decided to take along the AF NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8D.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Nikon Changes its Body Cap

I know, I know. This Earth-shattering piece of news is going to keep you up all night. But while searching for a Nikon-branded baseball cap, body caps popped up and what did I find? The words “discontinued by Nikon” beneath a photo of a BF-1A. And internally I said to myself, “WTF!”.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Review: Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens


It’s hard to get really wide on a DX camera without spending a lot. The AF NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED which lists for $1,894.95 will get you to 21mm, and the AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED will get you from 15mm to 36mm for $899.95. But the Samyang/ProOptic 8mm f/3.5 lens is a great way to get REALLY wide on a budget.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Review: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

When I purchased my first Nikon DX body, I elected to forego the kit lens and select my own. The criteria was simple; if this were the only lens I would ever buy, which one would I choose? So, I was looking for the best combination of quality, versatility, size and price, pretty much in that order. It came down to the 16-85mm zoom or the 18-200mm zoom. Because the 16-85 was optically superior, smaller, and cheaper, it ultimately won out.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Review: Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II

If you’re looking for a compact, normal lens with a traditional feel, This is the one to get. With the compact dimension of a “pancake” lens, but a little extra room for ease of operation, this manual focus lens is sharp and fast. The focus is so smooth, it will make you reconsider the whole autofocus phenomenon.

Review: AF NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8D


Let me start out by saying that this lens is not really designed for digital cameras. Oh sure, like most Nikon F-Mount lenses, it will fit and function as it should. But digital camera sensors behave differently than film with wide angle lenses.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Nikon Retires the SB-600

Isn’t retire so much nicer than “discontinue”? Still, no matter how you call it, the SB-600 is taking it’s place in history as one of Nikon’s all-time great speedlights.