AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

Nikon today announce 2 new DX bodies and 2 new lenses. One of those lenses which caught my attention was the newly redesigned Nikkor 70-200mm VRII. The questions running through my mind was:

1. What's the main difference between the two?

2. Was the changes made, justify the upgrade?

I did some research and compared the both. If you are reading this you are probably doing the same. Do post some comments on your thoughts as well. Below is a quick comparison highlighting only the difference between the two:

1. Glass elements - The new Nikkor has a lens construction with 21 elements / 16 groups (7 ED, 1 Nano) vs 21/15 (5 ED).

2. Focusing distance has been improved to 1.4m vs 1.5m on the old Nikkor.

3. The new Nikkor is shorter but the difference is not huge 87 x 209 mm (New) vs 87 x 215mm (Old).

4. The new Nikkor is slightly heavier 1,530g (New) vs 1,470g (Old)

So what does this mean?

1. Extra ED elements - the current one is prone to CA under certain shooting conditions (personal experience). The new one should have increased sharpness and color correction capabilities by minimizing CA (base on spec sheets).

2. Added Nano coating helps reduce flare, not that that current one is prone to it. Add the hood and that would minimize the risk further.

3. Closer focusing distance but not by a huge difference. I find this annoying at times so this is a welcome plus points.

4. VR II helps you gain additional stops which aids in getting sharper images in low light conditions or when the shutter is slow.

5. Shorter but heavier. The shorter is a welcome advantage, doubt the length and weight makes much difference if you look at the spec sheets.

6. MTF chart comparison shows sharper images on the edge.

So are all the points above worth the upgrade? To me personally the current one which I have is sufficient for my needs and the edge softness does not really border me. So I will put a hold on this until sample images come out on dpreview. I am very interested in the focusing speed and whether is has been improved further.

D300s and D3000 coming soon!

Several sites have "confirmed" the launching of two new Nikon bodies which would be coming to the store near you. These two bodies affirms Nikon direction and focus on the DX market. Here is a quick summary of the two bodies and what it would mean to you.

1. D3000 - The smaller brother to the current D5000 considered as the "real" entry level into DSLR. The main difference between the D5000 is no video mode. Apart from that we will know when the press release happens.

2. D300S - Dual card slots for CF and SD card. Also comes with HD movie capabilities. This body would potentially replace D300 and rival D90.

You are probably wondering what would this mean to you:

1. If you are new to DSLR, the D3000 is a good entry point or you could get a good bargain for second hand D90 when the D300s hits the shelve.

2. If you have outgrown your existing DSLR but do not want to take the jump to FX due to lens invesment the D300s seems like an interesting upgrade.

10# Microstock Series - Subject Isolation

I thought I share with you something that happen to me recently. The image above was submitted to Dreamstime and got rejected. So I wrote in to inquire as to why it was rejected. The answer I got would change the way I look subjects isolated against a white background for Microstock. Call me naive but if you were like me you would be interested in this:

"Although you might have intended the shadow to add some dramatic look to the image, we don't feel it has a sales potential. Images isolated on white background almost always end up as design elements, for further processing. Shadows don't help here much - if needed, they are easily added, but removing them is much more time consuming."

Ok for those who missed the point here is what it means "Images isolated on white background almost always end up as design elements, for further processing....." I was like ^&%^&%*& I wish someone told me this earlier hehe. Anyways hope you don't run into a brick wall the same way I did. Happy shooting and happy selling.

Nikon D5000 Service Advisory

For those who have not yet heard, Nikon has released a service advisory for D5000 models. According to Nikon, there is an electronic component related to power control in some Nikon D5000 digital SLR cameras which does not meet factory specifications and may, in certain circumstances, prevent the camera from turning on, thus preventing operation of the camera. Indications of such issues are:

1. The camera cannot be operated when the power switch is on, even with a fully-charged battery.
2. The camera cannot be operated with the EH-5a AC Adapter connected through the EP-5 Power Connector and the power switch on.

Details on which camera batch / serial numbers will only be made available on the 23rd of July 2009. Updates would be made available on this page.

Snap your cakes and eat it too

Carrot Cake (42.6MP)

Here is an image of a carrot cake which I took recently. I documented the setup below. It was a fairly simple setup done with just one SB-600 set to manual mode at 1/2 placed on the right triggered via SU-800 with white paper placed on the other side to soften the shadows.

I depended a lot on the ambient light coming from the window on the right. I add-on an additional light to complement the ambient light. Notice that I bounce the flash and let the spill over light from the flash enhance the ambient light. This would also help preserve the details of the white icing which could be easily lost.

p/s: I forgot to mention that the carrot cake image actually consist of 30 images stitch together turning it into a 42.6MP instead of a 12.1MP. How cool is that =).

Su-800 and Sekonic L-358

If you are planning or have purchased a light meter and thinking that it would be best friends with the Nikon SU-800 think again. Apparently the signals that SU-800 (yes you heard me right) transmits to other slave flashes under CLS fools the light meter and all you get is "E.u" which means under expose and I thought this issue was only when you use a SB-800 / SB-900 / pop-up as a commander. Going to scour the net for a resolution while waiting for a response from Sekonic on this. I have a strong feeling there is no workaround. Sigh.

p/s: will post further reviews on the L-358 later, but base on the feedback, specifications and price this is the one to get. Key features includes weather proof, pocket wizard module so you can trigger your pocket wizards via this baby, and last but not least flash in percentage contribution to ambient light (very neat).

Some updates and stuff

Photo by Edwin Tim

Apologize again :P for not updating as frequent as I would want. Been busy with stuff such as attending the Nikonian Discovery Center Launch, editing pre-wedding pictures due this coming Saturday (faint) and an iMac purchased from Machines =). Will get down to some orbis ring flash test on stills this coming weekend and probably review the Sekonic L-358 light meter if time permits.

For those planning to invest in a Nikon DSLR should probably hold of till end of this month. There are rumours going around the internet on two possible new bodies being introduced by Nikon. They are the D3000 which is "targeted" to replace the D40 / D60 and the D300s which is "targeted" to replace the D300. Just google these two bodies and you should find loads of links. In the mean time have a nice work week =).