Nikon's newest Professional Zoom the Nikon 180mm - 400mm f/4 is a rock solid performer - with a price tag to match.
Thanks for your interest on this topic. I will start with this is not a full out comparison between these two products, but more of information sharing of my experience. A little background, I begin photography when it was all film based emulsion, and your software was the darkroom or a dependable lab you could drop your film off for processing – at that moment in time the process of buying film, exposing, then dropping the film off or doing the development yourself all seemed normal. My last film cameras were a Nikon F4s and Nikon F100. During the transition to digital, I struggled with “film scanners”, editing software, and then finally a full-fledged Digital Single Lens Reflex camera now called a DSLR. A new era in computer-based editing began.
There is noting more frustrating than being on location doing great photography only to be frustrated once you are doing the post processing and the colors are off. Even the best photographers may not always get the perfect color mach as to the original - there is a way to get perfect color matching.. read on.
Nissin has a nice flash available for cross platform use when paired with a Nissin Air - let us drill into the use of this great little flash.
Nissin Digital is making great strides in their dedicated flash and wireless controllers with their out of the box thinking and designs.
I was in the market for a continuous LED light for my still photography and video work and ran across the Rotolight Company, my investigation has turned up what I think is a very good solution for my needs - the Neo 2.
After a year of searching, test driving two great lenses the 28mm and 24mm f/1.4 for my D850 my search has ended and the choice are one of the two great lenses... Read on to find out what I decided and purchased.
A dry box is normally a metal cabinet with a lockable rubber-sealed door with glass panes that allow the owner to view the contents of the dry box. These dry boxes have LCD displays that indicate the ambient temperature (in Fahrenheit or Celsius), relative humidity, and other settings. Interior LED lights make viewing your camera and lens much easier. The dry boxes have shelving that is both padded and adjustable. So do you need one for your camera gear...
My thoughts about the Fujifilm XT-2 from a DSLR shooter perspective. Why I think this camera line is amazing and worth your time and attention to take a few minutes to check out what Fujifilm is doing - even if you are a loyal fan of other brands.
This is my second true mirrorless camera system, and this time around I choose Fujifilm over the crowded competition. For the last year I have been poking around looking for a travel camera that would fit a simple philosophy - it needs to be small, light, offer great optics, outstanding image quality, lower cost - and most of all be fun to use. This past September Fujifilm answered my calling with the announcement of the Fujifilm X-E3 mirrorless camera, read on to find out why and how I use this beauty.
After many years of using f/2.8 zooms that covered the range of the 50-60, I finally decided I had enough of the compromise.
Almost four years to the day of the announcement of the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G lens I bought one. What was the influence and reason for the expenditure? read on to find out.
Many visitors to the site may have noticed I have a few articles centered on Macro Photography. My first real macro lens was the older Nikon 105 manual lens, and after seeing the fine details and textures from the images I was hooked, the photos took on an inner surreal world of their own.
When not out doing landscapes, birds or wildlife photography – I am doing macro photography because it is such a rewarding aspect of Photography, and I encourage anyone who has not tried it to do so. Let’s get on with it...
The Nikon DK 17M magnifying eyepiece for your specialized work in Macro photography, and especially when using a manual focus lens. Gives you excellent views to ensure you have critical focus.
The Spider Camera Holster. Try something different in the way you carry your camera. Are you getting tired of neck straps? Does your back ache after a long day of shooting? Tired of the camera flopping around, if you said yes - read on.
After many years Nikon finally did what Canon managed to do years before - produce a Perspective Control lens capable of tilting parallel or perpendicular to shift, in other words it is awesome. This will add one more to Nikon's 3 other Perspective Control lens making for a total of 4 PCE to choose from. With that many PCEs converging lines don't stand a chance.
Here you will find my three main Ball Heads that I use and compare and will make an overall suggestion as to which I would buy again. When shopping for a new ball head both Acratech and Really Right Stuff may come to mind and I do suggest you pay a visit to their sites. links will be included.
WI The Nikon D500 is here and I have found no negative reports about this camera, The D500 is said to be one of Nikon's best DX offerings to date, and I agree - It is a solid camera. I share my thoughts and experience after four months of solid use. The Nikon D500 has many technical benefits of the D5 making it a super sports camera, fast and agile with reasonable files that are easy to off load, process, and store. and after un-boxing in April my journey has begun, Read on ......
This week I bring to you a full two years of the Sigma 180mm Macro lens. Is it a solid lens and worth the price? Does it deliver as a medium telephoto? Can you use this lens as your go to portraiture lens. Over the course of two years now, I will give you my opinion and a few Macro shots.
Do you need a small led light table for your ads for selling of your products or used gear, if so read on about the Savage Product Pro Led Light Table. A somewhat straightforward approach for obtaining pleasing images of the smaller type products you wish to sell or place in ads. In operation, it is simple to use and the results are good. Read the full review here....
I bought my Promote Control a number of years ago; In fact I may have been an early adopter of their product.. At first, I was critical of the product due to the cost and my lack of "true understanding" of the benefits to expand your photography.
The first thing you notice when you pick up the Nikkor 200mm F/4 Micro lens is its build quality, VERY solid. This type of lens build represents an era before plastics became standard fare. Holding this lens you know it is one of the best built Nikkor lenses ever and although this is one of Nikon's older lens with a long service life it is a premium Macro / Micro lens holding it's favor among macro enthusiast since its first release in 1993.
My Intel back in 2016 was close to what Nikon announced in the next release of the 800 series, the D850. This camera is CLOSE to a game changer and now that I have mine let me give you my initial input.
This is my review of the Really Right Stuff flash brackets and flash mounting accessories. I purchased my setup this past month and have taken it out on a few shooting assignments. Here is what I have to say about the setup and its operation and dependability in the field.
The review of the newest Nikon fisheye lens. This new fisheye was released along with two other new lenses and this one, in particular, will be my favorite and must have the Nikkor 8-15mm Fisheye. The new AF-S Fisheye NIKKOR 8-15mm ED supports a zoom range of 8-15 mm range with a maximum aperture between f/3.5-4.5. Used on your FX body, the lens can produce circular fisheye images and full frame diagonal images, all with one lens when zoomed all the way out (wide-angle position). Zooming close to all the way in enables full-frame fisheye images with a diagonal angle of view of 180°. The best DX diagonal.... read more
I have been around the Astronomy community for some time with many telescope adventures under my belt. One of the scopes that I was looking to acquire is a nice 4" refactor, not just any refactor but a premium performer, capable of doing what I wanted to do visually and imaging wise, my choice was.....
I am putting together a small portable imaging solution based on several key requirements; The mount must be light, quite, have tracking with a guide port. Enter the iOptron CEM25p. This year I am gearing up to use my Daystar Camera Quark, Stellarvue SV80 Access to do some Solar Imaging as well as touring the night sky. This project is going to be fun and rewarding. Please read on to see how the mount holds up and hear my comments while I use it out in the field.
For those who don't like to read all the goofy stuff below; Nikon's Service and Repair is a must for any of your Nikon gear that is in need of repair. My overall experience was very rewarding, the final results is an almost pristine 14-24mm lens repair job in about 18 days. I was extremely pleased with Nikon's service and would highly recommend them to anyone needing their Nikon gear repaired or cleaned. Thanks you Nikon -
In 2016 Nikon announced and surprised many of us with new digital imaging tools, The Nikon D5, "surprise" a new D500 and to go along with it the beginning of wireless flash control, this is a first for Nikon In this article we cover down on the SB-5000 and SB-910. How should you spend your coins going forward?
This is a write up from Don C who added an extensive "comment" to my WT-7 post/review. I though it was worthy of an individual post.
The remainder of this post is Don's comments: I decided to breakdown and purchase the WT-7a,..being that 1) I own a D500, and 2) I love to shoot untethered. Note, my forte' in the photography world is "Event Photography. That is, capture and print "onsite". It's 90% of my business model and every since the days of the mighty D2X and WT-2a, I've always admired the ability of "capturing and image and it instantly popping up on a display monitor" for customers to see, and of course, buy prints! Well, time has changed since those 'good old days' to newer 'good old days' of the D500 and WT-7a!
It happened just about on schedule - 2 years since the last big update, Nikon released a stunning update to an already spectacular Super Telephoto lens; the new Nikkor 600mm f/4 FL ED VR lens, and just how could any manufacture make this wonderful lens faster, lighter, and better? Lets find out.
I have been a photographer for awhile, It has been a long wonderful road to where I am today in respects to my equipment and ability. DSLRs and modern manufacturing capabilities have put in our hands some of the most advanced cameras today, notwithstanding the super spectacular lens designs coming from makers such as Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron just to name a few. With so many choices out there it is no wonder we sometimes get wrapped around the axle trying to decide what lens to purchase.
This is a review of the L-858 Light Meter from Sekonic. If you want perfect exposures in camera then you need a better light meter - the Sekonic L-858 has improved on many already great features, mostly the ability to measure flash speed.
This is my review of the Wimberley CK-100 Sidemount Conversion Kit. I have owned the Wimberley WH-200 Gimbal Tripod Head II with Quick Release Base for a couple years without any issues. But, I was looking for a more compact setup to use. I ran across the sidemount kit from Kimberley and decided to give it a try.
2017 update ... the The Nikkor 400mm 2.8 ed fl is an exceptional lens known for it's flexibility and amazingly sharp images it produces. Lighter and more nimble and all the while retaining and improving on an already great Nikkor 400 heritage, this lens will bring to the photographic market a continued, appreciated, and highly sought after instrument. Unfortunately for me, to acquire this version I had to sell my VRII 400mm, yes this lens is even more expensive but I expect a long wonderful relationship together.
Help This Site: Buy a Nikkor 400mm
Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS-S Micro-Nikkor Lens is a super choice for your first intro into Macro. You may find others who state they don’t recommend this lens as a Macro due to the very close distance you must get to the subject in order to achieve 1:1, about 2 inches at the closest focus distance (1:1). The lens needs to be 2 inches from the subject for 1 to 1.. I simply believe each lens offers a special interface between the camera and user. I use most all focal lengths of Macro/Micros. I agree a 200mm Macro will put distance between you and the subject but it also has it’s own drawbacks (you can read about it in my blog). I like a 60mm because there are sometimes I need both detail and more of the subject without lugging a 2 pound lens around. With todays mega pixel cameras, even if your not 2 inches from the subject you can crop (as most of us do) to get amazing details. Overall I am very pleased with the lens and look forward to using it more often.
The Nikon 1 V3 mirror less camera looks and in most cases functions like a DSLR, except it is all digital including the viewfinder. This sounds mostly exciting since I for one in the market for a lightweight, portable, small form factor mirror less camera. Obviously, being a Nikon fan I gravitate to Nikon 1 series for a possible solution
Help this site; Buy a V3 Camera
Although this site is primarily based around Photography I thought it fitting I would at some point introduce sound into the mix - get it? sound mix!. Anyway a lot of photographers shoot video with their nice DSLRs and in choosing to do so like to have great sounding audio. Audio opens a new aspect and with so many options and mics available, I am taking a few minutes to start a audio section. Here it goes....
The Nikon WT-7 has arrived for use as my studio on location wireless interface to the internet for near instant feedback of images taken with the Nikon D500. This new product has a few cool features like built in Web Server, FTP upload capabilities, and a web interface that allows you preview, and the ability to change camera settings wireless, we will dig into each.
If you are in the market for a well rounded Nikon 1 travel lens to stretch your photography and keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket, you are in luck. 1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4-5.6 is an excellent choice to fulfill that one lens travel need. The Nikon 1 VR 10-100mm has been optimized for CX Nikon 1 cameras and offers very reasonable performance in this package.
The Sigma 8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye lens offers some very unique image perspectives, covering 180 degree angle of view, this creates some exaggerated and interesting photography. Best use of the lens requires some thought, practice and skills.
How does this lens performs? Lets begin by covering my last 6 months of use and images and along the way I will help you decide if a "fisheye" will be in your bag sometime in the future.