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วันเสาร์ที่ 26 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2555

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

After exhaustive research on many lens, I finally decided to plunk down the $500+ (at the time this was written) to purchase this lens. It may not be the best on the market but it compliments my Nikon 18-70mm DX lens nicely. I was looking towards Nikon's 18-200mm DX lens, however; the price pushed me to choose this one (as it was nearly half the price and my two lens can nearly cover all the range of the one 18-200mm).

QUALITY/WEIGHT:

build quality is cheap yet sturdy... the plastic is a little chinky but cuts down on the weight. My Nikon D200 has no problem handling the lens weight, however; I have heard (unconfirmed) reports that this lens is a little heavy for the lighter cameras (D80, D70, D40, ETC). The Ring Connector is metal and has a rubber gasket on the outside so as to provide minor protection (for the lens mount) from the elements.

You also have to keep this in mind, when discussing weight, quality & price; the bulk of the price of this lens is going into the glass elements (all 17 elements of them). It gets expensive when you place that many high-quality optics into a tube. I'm really not that surprised a the price, although $400 price-range would probably be more suitable for this lens

FOCUSING/LENS ATTRIBUTES:

Focusing can be quite fast... at times. You'll find, at the Max 300mm focal range, that the lens has a pretty hard time auto-focusing in on a subject. At times it would focus pretty quick, at the 300mm range, while at others it cannot focus at all. You can get around this quirk by bringing the subject into near focus (manually) then letting the auto-focus take over; it works every time. I find this focus problem disappointing especially given the price of this lens.

The quality of the Bokeh (Out of focus areas of the photograph) is very nice and pleasing. The images are sharp, vignetting (dark areas in the corner of your photos) is hard to find and lens flare rarely a problem.

VIBRATION STABILIZATION:

All I can say is that it works... it can come in handy. It's not going to stop the image guaranteed for you; it's only meant to slow down the rate at which the camera moves (vibration from holding). You can notice the difference; with it off you'll see that the image (at say 300mm) really bouncing around; then you flick on VR. It takes a sec or two but then the image smooths out, it still wobbles around, but much more slowly.

With VR enabled, you can usually go 2-3 (sometimes 4) stops down, then what you'd normally be able to do when hand holding.

THE "SHOCK" TEST:

I haven't "shock tested" my lens yet (IE dropped it) but I have heard (again unconfirmed reports here) that it holds up pretty well to a drop... although I would never recommend testing that out.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The 70-300mm range should be noted: Although the lens states that it is a 70-300mm zoom, this lens was intended for a 35mm camera or full-frame CCD/CMOS sensor Digital Camera. All (or at least the majority) of Nikon's DSLR (D200, D80, ETC) are NOT Full-Frame sensors. They are approximately 1.5x factor of a full-frame sensor (due to the smaller sensor size).

What does this all mean?

Well it's simple, since this is a 35mm lens and not a DX lens (ie built to account for the 1.5x factor in most nikon digitals) you have to apply the 1.5x conversion. This means that the Nikon 70-300mm on a Nikon DSLR will give an apparent zoom equivalent to a 105-450mm lens. I actually do not mind this apparent zoom and this should also cut down on vignetting; as what the lens projects onto the sensor is larger then the area of the sensor itself. In short: parts of the image spills over the sensor, since this lens was meant to project onto a full-frame sensor/35mm film.

CONCLUSION:

Pros:

Pleasing Bokeh

Fast Auto-Focus (when working properly)

Vignetting is minimal

Image Stabilization (VR)

Flare is minimal

1.5x factor (105-450mm) makes for nice zoom

Colors are very good

CONS:

Plastic Casing

Near Inability to Auto-Focus at 300mm range

Price (even though it is cheaper then the 18-200mm DX)

1.5x factor (105-450mm) might make it more zoom then you need

Lens could be faster (F/4 would have been nice)

I love this lens, even for it's quirks, however; you may want to wait till it drops in price a little more (it falls almost bi-weekly). It may not be the fastest on the market, but it's size, optics, image quality and VR make this a must have lens for Serious Nikon users!

More Detail : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HJPK2C/tipfla-20

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

This lens is very well-made and takes wonderful pictures. To address the most common questions people ask before they take the plunge:

Price: No, it's not usually this expensive. I paid around $400 for mine, but I got it a couple of months ago. Apparently Nikon is having a hard time making enough of these. Rather than rewarding the greedy opportunists who are now charging exorbitant prices for this lens, I suggest calling local and smaller camera shops - they are much more likely to have one sitting on the shelves. It's absolutely worth about $500, but I wouldn't pay more than that. The Sigma (very similar, see below) is a better value at that point.

Image quality: Great. Slightly soft and glowy at 1.4, but that's to be expected. Gets quite sharp at 2.8. The Sigma is even softer at 1.4 than this lens, so if wide-open sharpness is important to you, this is your lens.

Bokeh: Nice, but a little jittery at 1.4 on specular highlights. This means that if you have any light sources or sharp point reflections in the out-of-focus area behind your subject, you will see little light rings around the round blob. These disappear at f2, and they don't really bother me. They are a side effect of correcting spherical aberration in the image - lens manufacturers have to make tough choices sometimes, and Nikon apparently chose wide-open image correction over the absolute best bokeh possible in this circumstance. Compared to other lenses: not quite as nice as the Sigma 50/1.4 wide open, but you get a sharper in-focus area, so it's a trade-off. Not really able to compete with the 85/1.4 or the 105/2 DC, but that's not surprising - those lenses have a much longer focal length.

Focusing: Fast and precise. To be sure, at 1.4, the depth of field (especially at closer focusing distances) is RAZOR thin, so focusing just isn't possibly going to be spot-on every time. I frequently use manual focus, and even a TINY, TINY nudge on the focus ring moves the plane of sharp focus about one-half inch at those distances, so it's extremely hard to get perfect focus exactly where you want it to be. Be prepared to have some patience, or use live view, if you plan to take close-up shots at 1.4 and you want perfect focus. Most amateurs won't notice if things are slightly out of focus, so not generally a problem unless you're a perfectionist. If you're a constant autofocus user you will not even be aware of this issue. Speaking of up-close focus, I will mention that I feel this lens has a fairly short focusing distance, which is nice - you can really get in nice and tight on subjects and come up with some really attention-getting compositions with neat depth-of-field effects. It's no macro, but I'm constantly amazed at just how close I can get to things.

Low-light performance: Stellar. That's really why I bought this lens, as I already have several amazing lenses for portraiture/bokeh. I love this lens for events where I have room to move around (it's a little long in focal length for tightly-packed spaces) because I hate using flash if it's not necessary. This lens and a slight ISO boost is all you need to take flash-free pictures in many settings.

Build quality: Good. Not like Nikon's professional-grade lenses, but very sturdy - I can't foresee any possible problems. The plastic hood is a twist-on bayonet type, and it works well but can be slightly annoying at times.

Lack of VR: Not a big deal - you shouldn't need VR for a 50mm lens at this aperture; it is easily possible to get to a reasonable shutter speed so that shake isn't a problem. On an APS-C sensor, I'd aim for at least 1/60 second if you want blur-free images. At 1/125 second, you'd have to be going through an earthquake to see any shake with this lens, because it just doesn't have enough focal length to make that a problem. Besides, would you really want to pay $200 more for a 50mm prime? Nikon would have to make this a 1.2 for that to make sense to most people. I think the decision to leave VR off this lens was a good one.

More Detail : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001GCVA0U/tipfla-20

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Review of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G AF-S versus other Nikkor 50mm AF lenses

This quick review is based on my use of this lens for almost 3-weeks. It is intended for those already familiar with Nikkor's line of 50mm prime lenses but are wondering how this lens compare with the other Nikkor 50mm autofocusing lenses that I also own. I did however provide a section for beginners or novice at the last section of this review.

AGAINST THE NIKKOR f/1.8D

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is slightly bigger than the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D and a bit heavier but by a mere 31 grams, hardly noticeable at all. Unlike the 50mm f/1.8D, it comes with a reversible hood which does a good job in protecting and shading the lens. Unlike the 50mm f/1.8D which uses a 52mm filter, this lens uses a 58mm filter. Unlike the 50mm f/1.8D which has a maximum aperture of f/22, the maximum aperture of this lens is f/16 (as do the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D and 1/4G). As the "G" suffix indicates, the 50mm f/1.8G does not have an aperture ring while the 50mm f/1.8D has an aperture ring (see notes below for the significance of this).

The new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is sharper and has better bokeh. The aspherical element in the new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G has further improved the acuity of this lens specially noticeable at the corners even at its wide-open setting. Yet Nikon also improved the bokeh of this new lens versus the 50mm f/1.8D! I also noticed some slight improvement in the color and contrast, specially when shot from f/2.0 and above. Focus speed is decently fast and is about the same on a Nikon DX D7000 yet the 50mm f/1.8G seems to be more consistently precise and significantly quieter. Priced very reasonably, this 50mm f/1.8G lens also now focuses on Nikon bodies without built-in focusing motors such as the Nikon D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D40, and D60. Focus speed is decently fast. This lens is a winner by a clear margin!

As the price of the 50mm f/1.8D has risen in the recent months, the price disparity between this lens (USD$219.00) and the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D has narrowed. Considering that the 50mm f/1.8G has better optical performance (sharper, better bokeh, improvement on color and contrast), has an included hood, lens pouch, plus the flexibility of being able to use this lens with all of Nikon's dSLR, I strongly recommend anyone looking for a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens to choose this Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G over the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D.

AGAINST THE NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is slightly bigger than the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D but is lighter by 63 grams. Unlike the 50mm f/1.4D, it comes with a reversible hood which does a good job in protecting and shading the lens. Unlike the 50mm f/1.4D which uses a 52mm filter, the 50mm f/1.8G uses a 58mm filter.

At the same aperture setting from f/1.8 and above, the new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is again sharper and has better bokeh. This is surprising considering that the 50mm f/1.4D is already stepped down 2/3 of a stop when these two lenses are compared at the same aperture setting. The bokeh of the 50mm f/1.8G is also better! Focus on the 50mm f/1.8G seems about the same or just a bit faster than the 50mm f/1.4D on a Nikon DX D7000 but the difference is so small as to be almost imperceptible. Focus precision between these two lenses are about the same but the 50mm f/1.8G focuses quieter than the 50mm f/1.4D.

The primary advantage of the 50mm f/1.4D over this lens is primarily in it being 2/3 of a stop faster and it having an aperture ring. The former is important for still photography while both are important for video where 2/3 of a stop advantage and being able to manually set the aperture have a substantial impact on the final output. The 50mm f/1.4D remains attractive for these. For still photography shooting at f/1.8 and above, I would choose the 50mm f/1.8G over the 50mm f/1.4D.

AGAINST THE NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G

In terms of size, this lens is about equal with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G and also uses the same 58mm filter. The 50mm f/1.8G is lighter by 94 grams than the 50mm f/1.4G. Like the 50mm f/1.4G, it comes with a very useful hood.

At the same aperture setting, the new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is as sharp in the center and has about the same quality of bokeh. The 1.4G of course would have a better bokeh shooting at f/1.4 and f/1.6 still than the 1.8G at f/1.8. More noticeable is that the 50mm f/1.8G is sharper at the corner than the 50mm f/1.4G when shot wide-open. This is surprising considering that the 50mm f/1.4G is significantly better than the 50mm f/1.4D yet the 50mm f/1.8G is still a bit sharper beginning at f/1.8 but even more noticeable at f/2.0 despite the 50mm f/1.4G being already stepped down! Measured in terms of optical performance alone, the 1.8G has a slight advantage over the 1.4G in corner acuity even at f/1.8 but more so at f/2.0 and above. Color and contrast are about equal and I am unable to see any difference between the two. It would seem that the aspherical lens element that Nikon added to the 1.8G but not to the 1.4G has made quite a considerable difference. Yet Nikon also endowed this lens with excellent bokeh despite it being half the price. Kudos to Nikon for doing this!

In terms of focus precision, the 1.8G does not differ much from the 1.4G on my Nikon D7000 and D3100. In terms of focus speed, the 50mm f/1.8G focuses a tad faster than the 50mm f/1.4G. Manual focusing on the 50mm f/1.4G however is easier than on the 50mm f/1.8G. This may be an important consideration when choosing a lens for video use.

Like the 50mm f/1.4D, the primary advantage of the 50mm f/1.4G is its being faster by 2/3 of a stop which can be invaluable for still photography and for video as well for those aiming for the thinnest depth of field (DOF) and/or more light to keep the ISO setting as low as possible. For these advantages, the 50mm f/1.4G cost about double the price of this lens.

If only Nikon included nano-coating and added an aspherical element into the 50mm f/1.4G to make it perform like or perhaps better than the 50mm f/1.8G, then the extra cost of the 50mm f/1.4G would be easier to justify and the 1.4G would be a clear choice. But as it stands, one would choose the 1.4G when shooting at f/1.4 to f/1.6. But when shooting at f/1.8 and above, the 1.8G would be a better and also a less expensive choice (at just half the price).

NOTES RE THE 50MM AND VIDEO-ENABLED NIKON DSLRS:

The 1.8G like the 1.4G no longer has an aperture ring that the 1.8D and the 1.4D still retained. The aperture ring remains handy and useful for manual control of aperture in video more so as the current video-enabled Nikon dSLRs do not allow the changing of aperture settings when video recording has started. With an aperture ring, the aperture setting can be changed manually once video recording has started.

ADDITIONAL NOTES OWNERS OF THE NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G

The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G is slightly bigger and slightly heavier than the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G but the weight difference is not really noticeable. The 50mm f/1.8G exhibit the same qualities as the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G in that it is usable and sharp even when shot wide-open. These two lenses are also priced about the same. While the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G is a DX lens, I have used it with an FX body at night where the vignetting at the corners is not as issue as it is not noticeable under certain light conditions. I would not however use the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G on an FX body on daytime or where the light is even. Sharpness at the corner is also not good. The Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G can be used with a DX body as well as with an FX with no vignetting or corner sharpness issue such as I described. Like the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, color and contrast improves considerably when this lens is stepped down a bit by 1/3 to 2/3 stop. If you own a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and need the field of view of this lens, getting this lens would be a no-brainer.

SUMMARY

In sum, this lens is currently the best Nikkor 50mm lens for general still photography when shooting from f/2.0 and above. The stellar performance of this lens matched with its relatively low price and its ability to autofocus on Nikon's lower model dSLRs makes it a hands-down winner.

For still photography or video where every little bit of light is needed or where getting the thinnest DOF is crucial, the Nikkor f/1.4D and f/1.4G remains the better choice. The Nikkor f/1.4D with its aperture ring is particularly useful for video with its ability to change the aperture setting through the aperture ring even after video recording has started. Changing the aperture setting after video recording has started is currently not possible with the Nikon D7000 and the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G. This situation makes it necessary for me to own multiple type of Nikkor 50mm lenses.

FOR THE NOVICE OR BEGINNER

This lens is light, compact inexpensive, but produces very impressive results. On a DX body such as the Nikon D40, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100, D7000 and D300(s), this lens has a field of view of a 75mm. On an FX body such as the Nikon D700, D3(s) or D3x, this lens has a field of view of a 50mm.

Despite it being a fixed focal length and not being able to zoom, I highly recommend this lens for beginner Nikon dSLR users who own only the kit zoom lens. This prime lens is a safe, inexpensive, and exceptional route to trying out how good a prime lens can be as against zoom lens. In addition, this lens allows you to shoot at low light and/or to blur the background of the subject of the photo. It also hints at what the professional Nikon zoom lens are capable of should you get serious in this hobby. Read more ›

More Detail : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004Y1AYAC/tipfla-20

Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Nikkor Zoom Lens

This lens is sharp even at wide apertures, the VR (image stabilization) works great, autofocus speed is more than acceptable, and it it is very light and compact. The fact that it costs $250 and has effective VR is pretty amazing - no other company offers a lens with this feature for anywhere near this price.

As for image quality, search the various internet photo sites, such as dpreview and nikonians for sample photos taken with this lens by real users. The results are impressive! My copy produces similar results. The previous reviewer must have a bad sample.

Of course, the lens is slow (like almost all consumer zoom lenses), in that its widest aperture is smaller than a professional zoom or prime lens, so it's not a good choice for action photography in lower light conditions (like indoor sports without flash or outside sports at dusk). But a fast telephoto zoom will cost at least three times as much and weigh a ton.

I give the lens 5 stars based on a combination of image quality, value, and compactness/lightness.

More Detail : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000O161X0/tipfla-20

Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR

First of all I'll say that I ordered my lens as soon as Amazon had them available. I upgraded to next day shipping and got it 18 hours later - quick service. Thanks Amazon!

But now on to the real review...

This lens is fantastic - especially for $399. My first concern was whether it not it had a plastic or metal mount since some DX lenses in this price range have plastic. I even contacted Nikon and they couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me. Well, I was really pleased to see that it does have a metal mount. It has a nice solid feel to it. The zoom movement is smooth and I haven't had any problem with lens creep when I'm aiming it downward. Even when I point the camera downward and shake it, it won't creep.

I'm just beginning to get into testing it but my preliminary pictures are coming out nice - really nice. The sharpness is amazing and the lens produces a very nice bokeh. I posted the image of the dragonfly with the chicken wire background (see the customer uploads) Check out the detail in the wings. That shot says it all. It was HAND HELD and cranked all the way out to 300mm. The original image is great but a lot of the detail was lost with the upload to Amazon. But - none the less - it's still pretty sharp. The auto focus on this lens is fast, smooth, quiet and very accurate. It locked right in on the subject. It was set on aperture priority at f/8 1/500sec for the shot that I posted here (shot with a D-90).

The VR on this lens is great. The detail I get with hand-helds just amazes me. It has Nikon's VRII image stabilization and it even has a tripod detection mode that reduces any vibration from shutter release when it's on a tripod.

Colors are rendered accurately and the contrast is pretty sharp even at the max aperture. The lens is compact for a 300mm and it's lighter than my AF-S DX 18-200mm which I use as my regular walk-around. I'm sure the new 55-300 will be used as my walk around pretty frequently also.

All in all for an APS-C lens, Nikon did a great job with this one - especially for the price. It's a welcome addition to the DX line and I'm really glad I have one in my gear bag.

More Detail : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003ZSHNCC/tipfla-20