Tag Archives: nikon

Andrew and Erin’s Wedding – Waterloo Park Grist Mill and Victoria Park Pavillion

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It’s hard not to gush about Andrew and Erin. Andrew and Erin are great people with great friends and great family. Andrew and Erin are two of the kindest and most considerate people I have ever met. Andrew and Erin threw a fantastic wedding last month and I (and Mike) had the privilege of being their photographer. Andrew and Erin pretty much ARE Waterloo and it will be sad to see them move on to other places after their extended honeymoon.

Here are a few highlights from the wedding, keeping in mind that they will be seeing these for the first time (internet access is spotty in the nooks and crannies that they’re visiting). So, enjoy! And Andrew and Erin, there will be plenty more to see when you get back 🙂

Andrew+Erin_Small-421 Andrew+Erin_Small-43 Andrew+Erin_Small-29 Andrew+Erin_Small-81 Andrew+Erin_Small-82 Andrew+Erin_Small-93 Andrew+Erin_Small-95 Andrew+Erin_Small-100 Andrew+Erin_Small-107 Andrew+Erin_Small-113 Andrew+Erin_Small-120 Andrew+Erin_Small-124 Andrew+Erin_Small-135  Andrew+Erin_Small-184 Andrew+Erin_Small-244 Andrew+Erin_Small-255 Andrew+Erin_Small-341 Andrew+Erin_Small-345 Andrew+Erin_Small-418 Andrew+Erin_Small-363 Andrew+Erin_Small-364 Andrew+Erin_Small-571 Andrew+Erin_Small-581

This Weekend I Bought a D700 Part 5 – Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX

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Yes, this is a DX lens and I shouldn’t expect its image circle to cover the D700 sensor… but let’s try anyway. Here are images of my ceiling at f/2.8 at 11mm through 16mm with no lens corrections applied:

11mm

11mm

12mm

12mm

14mm

14mm

16mm

16mm

If we add lens correction to the 16mm image, it doesn’t look that terrible!

16mm with lens correction

16mm with lens correction

Here are a few examples at 16mm. They aren’t perfect but I would consider the lens useable in a pinch… at least until I figure out what to use for my wider-than-35mm lens.

DSC_1268 DSC_1273 D700 with Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

 

This Weekend I Bought a D700 Part 3- Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G

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The 85mm G has a reputation of being one of the sharpest Nikon lenses out there and I see no reason to argue with that. For it’s price it really does a great job with bokeh, sharpness and colours. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

First, the comparison from f/1.8 to f/5.6:

f/1.8

f/1.8

f/2.8

f/2.8

f/4

f/4

f/5.6. Note the slightly hexagonal bokeh.

f/5.6. Note the slightly hexagonal bokeh.

And a few more examples:

D700 with Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G D700 with Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G D700 with Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G

This Weekend I Bought a D700 Part 2 – Sigma 50mm f/1.4

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In this post I’ll show some examples of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 on my new (to me) D700. Like the Sigma 35 from the previous post, this lens is great on the D700. The bokeh is lovely and it’s nice and sharp. I’d say the only complaint is inconsistent exposure; it tends to over expose much of the time.

Here is a series of the bicycle subject at close distance from f/1.4 to f/5.6:

f/1.4

f/1.4

f/2

f/2

f/2.8

f/2.8

f/4

f/4

f/5.6

f/5.6

And some more examples:

D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 50mm f/1.4

This Weekend I Bought a D700 Part 1 – Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art

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That’s right, friends! I finally made the jump to full frame. I found a near mint D700 at Henrys with a grand total of 1100 actuations on it. I really had no choice, did I? To be honest it was a bit of a toss-up between the D700 and a new D600. Each have their advantages and disadvantages but in the end I went with the body with a more pro build, better AF system, reliable QC and an interface that I really like. In fact the interface is nearly identical to my D300s and after an hour setting the D700 up I can pick up either body and it will act identically. Plus the grip and batteries work on either.

Needless to say, all of my lenses have a new character to them. In the next few posts I’ll show some examples I took over the past 5 days with each of my FX lenses, plus some extras.  Let’s start with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art. This focal length combined on full is the main reason for making this whole decision… after getting a taste for a true 35mm on my N80 film body. The FOV is totally natural to me.

Here is a series of shots from f/1.4 to f/5.6 with a close subject. I challenge anybody to find a problem with the bokeh here. I find it glorious.

f/1.4

f/1.4

f/2

f/2

f/2.8

f/2.8

f/4

f/4

f/5.6

f/5.6

More examples:D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4

The Chapel on the Rock – First photo from my trip to Denver/Boulder Colorado

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This past week I visited Denver and Boulder Colorado for my cousin Simon’s wedding. The trip was fantastic and I’ll have lots and lots of images and stories to share over the next couple of weeks. To start things off, here is a photo of one of the highlights of the trip. My aunt Glynis took me to this church, near Allenspark, after a long drive into the mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park. The Chapel on the Rock deserved a full HDR treatment (otherwise the mountains and sky would have been completely washed out).

I shot this with the D300s and Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX. Five shots at f/8, each separated by 1 stop.

Chapel on the Rock near Allenspark, CO

Chapel on the Rock near Allenspark, CO

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art

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Finally! Ever since I gave up shooting with Pentax and switched to Nikon I’ve yearned for a lens like the FA 31mm f/1.8 LTD. That Pentax lens was staggeringly good and I hadn’t found anything to match it in the F-mount system… until now with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4.

I’ll start this post with a reminder that I shoot with DX bodies (at least for the time being) so the field of view (FOV) of this lens is more like 52.5mm, acting like standard prime. I’m not going to dwell on technical details in this review. Other sites do a far better job than I’m willing to do, with analyses down to the pixel level and direct comparisons to other lenses (here and here, for example).

Here is my current fast prime lineup, all cover FX lenses in case I ever decide to go that route. From left to right: Sigma 35mm f/1.4, Sigma 50mm f/1.4, Nikon AF-S 60mm f/2.8G Micro, Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G. This is a great combination for FX, and pretty good for DX. A wider prime would still be needed but for now the 17-55mm f/2.8 fills that roll.

DSC_1250Being an f/1.4 lens, I’ve naturally focussed mostly on the wide aperture capabilities. I’m amazed at how sharp it is at wide open. Not only is it sharp but the contrast is quite high, making the in-focus subject pop. Stopping down does sharpen the image even further but really, I find the lens sharp enough at all apertures. It even shines on the D7000, a body I’ve found extremely sensitive to most lenses. Here are a few wide-open examples from the D300s (first two) and D7000 (the next four):

DSC_2807 DSC_2782DSC_1174 DSC_1181 DSC_1206 DSC_1225The effect of shooting at f/1.4 is dramatic, even on a DX sensor. I demonstrate this below with a couple sets of images with a range of aperture settings. The first set of images has minimal post-processing, while the second has one of my ‘fade’ presets applied (click on the images for larger versions).

DSC_2791-Edit DSC_2800-Edit

The bokeh is nice. It’s not the best but far, far from the worst. I have no complaints here.

I was, of course, expecting the Sigma 35 to be optically excellent but I am surprised at how accurately it focuses on both the D300s and D7000. The performance contrasts my other fast Sigma, the 50mm f/1.4 where I find the focus to be inconsistent, especially on the D7000. In single-point AF, I find that I am the weak link, not the lens-body pair.

Do I have any negative comments?

Well, it is heavy at only 100g lighter than the 17-55. That’s about it. I’m really looking forward to giving it a workout at my next wedding shoot. I’ll end this micro-review with some more photos.

DSC_1187 DSC_1234 DSC_1220 DSC_1238 DSC_1206 DSC_1237 DSC_2821-2

An Afternoon with a DeLorean

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My friend Justin owns a DeLorean. Actually he owns two DeLoreans. The day after shooting the wedding this weekend, Portt and I met up with Justin in West Montrose so the car could pose with the covered bridge.  I both envy and don’t envy Justin. On the plus side he owns two classic 80’s supercars. On the other hand, wow did a lot of people stop and ask to pose with the car. He must get that a lot.

The light was moving back and forth constantly between overcast and bright sun. Bracketing each shot allowed me to capture the full range of tones with the option of HDR later on. I decided to go the HDR route with the posed shots. They may be a bit over done but I think they have the “car ad’ look to them. I went even heavier in the processing on the last shot. I was trying my best to pan, but with a wide angle FOV (19mm) the effect isn’t too pronounced.

Nikon D300s with AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8.

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A Misty Barn Three Ways

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Driving home from Guelph, Mitzy and I pulled over at a barn that both of us have always wanted to photograph. You wouldn’t know it from this post, but it’s actually quite red. The mist gives it a completely different feel! I thought I’d show three quick interpretations of the same photo to get a feel for which is most effective.

D300s with AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 at 34mm f/5.6 15s ISO 200.

Which do you like best?

DSC_2767 DSC_2767-2 DSC_2767-3