If you are a Nikon shooter, you might have found the announcement of the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P puzzling. While it looks great on paper, the lens seems to be ahead of its time, since the only cameras the lens is fully compatible with are the recent DX cameras. What is the point of announcing a full-frame lens, if it is limited to only a few DX cameras and practically no FX cameras? To me, it shows that Nikon is…
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Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P Announcement
Today Nikon revealed its first pulse motor (AF-P) lens designed specifically for full-frame cameras, the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR. This is a very interesting release for a number of reasons. First, it improves the already great 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR budget telephoto lens by making it sharper, faster and lighter. Second, it vastly improves the image stabilization system on the lens, capable of compensating up to 4.5 stops when shooting hand-held, in addition to adding a Sport VR mode…
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New Nikon Lens Rebates
While the previous Nikon camera and lens rebates are now over, Nikon has just introduced a few more lens-only rebates. The list of lenses has changed considerably this time, probably based on demand. Interestingly, Nikon included the recently announced Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR as part of this rebate program (see my in-depth review) with $200 off its MSRP, just like the 24-70mm f/2.8E VR last time. It is definitely not normal for Nikon to include such new lenses…
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Postcards From Buenos Aires
More of a fleeting snapshot, really (albeit rather image heavy). The ‘City Of Fair Winds’, Buenos Aires is a dusty, noisy and beautiful city with a searching modernity rising above its skyline of baroque and colonial architecture. Eyes descend the ornate carvings of huge window arches and elegant masonry before finally resting on a sign for a well-known coffee or fast food chain. Roads are wide enough for the traffic that fills them and the city centre is thoughtfully laid…
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How to Buy Used Lenses
With new lenses getting more expensive all the time, many photographers choose to purchase used gear and save money. While certain lenses can only be bought new (at least for a while), the used lens market is often full of great lens choices, especially for someone on a tighter budget. In this article I will try to explain the benefits of buying used lenses, as well as give you some tips on how to buy used lenses on-location knowing you’ll…
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Lightroom Before and After
When editing a photograph in Lightroom, it is often useful to compare what the image looked like when you started out (the “Before”), to the changes you have made so far (the “After”). This way, you can keep track of your edits and understand how the different sliders and check marks within Lightroom affect your image. Thankfully, Adobe made it easy to switch between the Before and After screens and provided a number of different ways to view both vertical…
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Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G DX VR AF-P Review
In this in-depth field review, we are going to have a look at the Nikon telezoom DX lens the Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR, which was launched in August of 2016. This is one of the three existing DX lenses featuring the new AF-P abbreviation, along with the Nikkor 18-55mm (VR and non-VR versions) and the new Nikkor 10-20mm VR wide-angle lens. AF-P stands for a new piece of technology – a pulsing / stepping focusing motor.
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How to Photograph Fireworks
Wondering about photographing fireworks on 4th of July, New Year or some other event / occasion? In this article, I will provide some basic tips on how to best capture fireworks, what type of equipment to use and what camera settings to use during the process. Although the process is relatively simple, there are some things that might be worth considering, as outlined below.
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Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Announcement
Tamron announced yet another new-generation lens for both Nikon F and Canon EF mounts, the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. The new professional-grade lens sports an impressive optical design, with a total of 17 elements in 12 groups, four of which are aspherical elements, two have extra refractive and three have low dispersion properties. Just like the recent “G2” series lenses from Tamron, the SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 comes with eBAND and BBAR coatings…
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Canon 6D Mark II vs Nikon D750
With the release of the much anticipated Canon 6D Mark II, one might be wondering how it stacks up against the three year old Nikon D750 in terms of specifications and features. Since the 6D Mark II has a similar feature set and price point as the D750, it makes sense to compare these two cameras, even though Nikon has not announced a replacement yet. While I am planning to work on a detailed review of the 6D Mark II,…
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Canon 6D Mark II Announcement
Earlier today Canon unveiled the much anticipated Canon 6D Mark II, which offers a number of incremental updates over its predecessor. The new 6D Mark II comes with a slightly higher resolution 26.2 MP full-frame sensor featuring Dual Pixel AF and its image processor has been also bumped up to DIGIC 7. But the more exciting news has to do with the autofocus system – the 6D Mark II comes with a powerful 45-point all-cross-type AF system, which is significantly…
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Snapshot vs Virtual Copy in Lightroom
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a snapshot and a virtual copy in Lightroom? They are both options that you can use to preserve image settings, but they work in very different ways. A while back I posted an article and video titled how to create a Lightroom snapshot that briefly explained what a snapshot is. We’ve also posted an article about virtual copies before. In this article, I want to explain the differences between a virtual…
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What is Exposure Compensation and How to Use It
In this article, we will go over what exposure compensation is on a digital camera and how you can take advantage of it to make adjustments to your exposure when shooting in camera modes such as aperture priority, shutter priority, program mode and other scene modes of your camera. Every modern camera today has a built-in capability to adjust exposure settings in order to make it easier to properly expose images. In simple terms, the idea is to be able…
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QNAP TVS-882T Review
It is a fact that as content creators, we are always in need for more storage. Thanks to all the latest and greatest cameras on the market that offer incredible detail with their high resolution sensors, we find ourselves constantly reassessing our storage requirements. Old computers are getting too slow to handle all the media and data we have to deal with, while storage solutions that used to be good enough a few years back do not seem to cut…
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Backing up Photos in the Back Country
Any photographer who has ever lost some of their photos will tell you how important it is to have a good backup system. For your best photos, you should have three or more copies, located in at least two different physical locations at all times. You absolutely shouldn’t have any of your photos located in just a single spot, or you’re asking for trouble. But how do these recommendations apply when you’re traveling, particularly if you’re out in the middle…
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Improving Your Cityscapes with a Polarizing Filter
One of the easiest ways to substantially improve the image quality of your daytime cityscapes is to use a circular polarizing filter. Putting a polarizing filter on your lens is like wearing a pair of polarized sunglasses over your eyes; the polarized glass blocks random light waves from passing through, creating a clearer image. Randomized light tends to be lower quality than direct light. As such, a polarizing filter will help ensure that only the sharpest, most colorful light hits…
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Moonscape Photography Tips
There are some popular conditions for landscape photography that every photographer already knows: sunrise and sunset, storm clouds, fog, and so on. But one that doesn’t get mentioned very often is the light produced by a full moon on a clear night. The subtleties of moonlight aren’t always visible to the naked eye, but long exposure photography can lift the curtain. The results may have hints of familiarity, but they also have unique characteristics that make them stand out from…
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Photographing Automotive Details
Once the good weather breaks, from the late spring through to the fall, many small towns in Ontario hold festivals. Quite often displays of antique and custom cars are featured at these types of events and represent great opportunities for photographing automotive details. This past weekend the town of Smithville held its annual PoultryFest, which I had the opportunity to attend. The day started out with bright, sun-filled skies…a significant change from the torrential rains that had hit much of…
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New Free Email Subscription Service
We are happy to announce a big change to the way we handle and process email subscriptions for our readers. As of today, we have completely switched to a new system and migrated away from two previous email subscription systems, which will hopefully alleviate all the frustrations our readers have had with our newsletters. While we have been relying on free email delivery services from Google and WordPress for the past few years, they have proven to be very limited…
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Photographing Aurora Australis on Stewart Island
It was the last Saturday of May and it was already time to go. After spending more than a week in the Fiordland National Park, walking around this New Zealand’s jewel, and a few days in Invercargill waiting for the weather forecast to get better, it was now or never. The forecast predicted a splendid weather until the following Monday, perfect to finish the 3 days of trekking on the Rakiura Track, one of the 9 Great Walks of New…
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