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Nikon 10-24mm Reviewed

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 10-24mm f3.5-4.5G ED

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 10-24mm f3.5-4.5G ED

Nikon’s 10-24mm DX G lens, their newest ultra-wide angle (UWA) lens and the new UWA of choice for DX system users, was a somewhat odd announcement a few months ago,and today it finds itself having been reviewed by SLRGear.

The conclusions? In general, the lens is very sharp throughout the zoom range, and appears to be sharper stopped down a stop or two, as is usual for Nikon (notice I say sharper, the lens is no slouch wide-open). The middle range of the zoom suffers a bit, as is typical for UWA zooms, but at either extreme the lens performs quite admirably in the center of the frame.

Ultra-wide angles like this one (equivalent to about 16-39mm for those of you used to 35mm terms) are good for landscapes and certain architectural applications (I say certain because some funny perspective work is unavoidable at these focal lengths without tilt or shift mechanisms), and are becoming increasingly popular among younger photographers for ‘edgy’ portrait work (they’re good for rock band portraits).

DX means, of course, that this lens is specifically designed for Nikon’s crop bodies, and you full-frame users will have to take a resolution hit if you use it, so it’s probably not the top pick for you. For those of you commited to DX, this is about the best bet running once you need this kind of width.

Buy one here.



“The Wonder of it All” or “Un-Color My World”

I sat down last week and uploaded images, then it got really busy. Really. The next time I got to work on this most impressive post it was almost 5:00 on Wednesday and I had only a minute to get back to it. Really busy, was there a race and 440,ooo extra people in town or what?!?

Anyway, the week before last I went to Florida on vacation and I took both of my Olympus cameras with me. The point and shoot SW1030 was on my hip the entire time I was not sleeping, the E520 and several lenses were brought out several times, but a DSLR is just not as easy to have on you all the time. Both cameras have their unique qualities. The SW1030 (and it’s newer brother the Tough 8000) is a little photo-tank and submarine and can go underwater as far as 33 feet and is still small enough to have on you all of the time. Then there is the interchangable lens DSLR series fron Olympus.color-wheel

My E-520 is a DSLR and takes interchangable lenses and external flashes. One of the features I used the most on vacation is its ability to shoot in B&W. I know, lots of cameras can shoot in B&W, but I don’t know of too many that have Red, Orange, Yellow and Green filter modes built into the software. Here is where Derek would give you a lesson on the old fashion B&W filters and how they affected film images. Suffice it to say that using color filters on B&W film causes the tones closest to the filters color to get lighter, and tones opposite of those colors (on the color wheel we all remember from grade school art class) To get darker). Example, Orange filters will make blue sky darker, green filters will make red items darker (and green ones lighter). There having said that here is a photo I shot using Orange Red and Yellow filters in the Fanning Springs National Park on the Suwannee River in Florida.

Left to Right: Orange filter, Red filter and Yellow filter.

Left to Right: Orange filter, Red filter and Yellow filter.

The differences are subtle but notice how the sky and leaves are much lighter in the yellow, and the darker sky and leaves in the Orange filter.

Now if you have one of those other brand DSLR’s that don’t have built in color filters (for B&W shooting) you can still purchase a screw on filter at you favorite all-purpose camera store like, say Roberts from your favorite sales person like…

Like Sean Connery said in Highlander, “Here endeth the lesson.” Go be happy and make beautiful images. That’s an order.



Raw Footage: Spring Expo cont, Canon 10-22mm

OK, given that we have the new Canon rebates, and Canon Days is this weekend, it seems to finally be the right time to post this quickie from Expo 2009. Amanda’s back once more and this time she’s talking about Canon’s 10-22mm, an ultra-wide angle (UWA) beastie covering about 16mm-35mm for you Rebel and xxD users. And hey! It’s one of the lenses with Instant Savings, so add one to your kit and keep $50 in your grubby little pockets. Go ahead, save money, we don’t mind.



Two More (be)for the Road

Happy Halloween friends. I am just to old and  introverted myself to partake the way my co-workers do but I do still enjoy the pomp and cimcunstance as much as any other wallflower onlooker. Below are two more of my Nikon Coolpix Camera shots from Fridays parade of wild spirits, followed by news about the months ahead.
rog_laura costumesRogerstein and Flapper Laura just after the Roaring and the Roaring 20′s

As I have already said, my wife and I are headed to Florida tomorrow to visit with my folks up on the Suwanee River for a day or two and then down the Atlantic “Treasure Coast” to Port St. Lucie where my daughter lives and works. It will be nice to get a little R&R in before the push for the holiday season begins in just a couple of weeks. We will be having several dealer days in the upcoming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for some great package savings. We will have Nikon sales and technical reps with  Nikon Coolpix camera and Nikon digital SLR camera deals with extended warranties and CF or SD memory cards one weekend, and Canon Digital Rebels and higher end Digital SLRs, Canon Flashes and Canon lenses another. There will be Sony Alpha days and HD camcorder offers, you name it.
Roger looks like he might be into peeling eyes, eh?




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