Nikon 16-35mm f/4 VR Review
This is an in-depth review of the new professional Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f/4.0G ED VR lens that was released earlier this year.
The Nikon 16-35mm VR lens is a professional-grade constant aperture lens for enthusiasts and professional photographers that need an ultra-wide angle zoom lens with the latest generation of VR II (vibration reduction) technology for both FX and DX cameras (equivalent of 24-52mm on DX). Being the world's first ultra-wide angle zoom lens with vibration reduction, the lens is ultra-fast with AF-S silent-wave focus motor, has Nano crystal coating against flare and is sealed against tough weather conditions. Unlike the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens, the new 16-35mm f/4.0 VR has a 77mm filter thread, which is great news for landscape photographers.
AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f4.0G ED VR
Nikon DSLR and Lens Rebates
As I have noted before, Nikon is currently offering rebates for customers who are buying a DSLR together with a lens. Although not all Nikon lenses are available with this offer, some of the best Nikon lenses such as Nikon 70-200mm VR, Nikon 70-300mm VR and Nikon 24-70mm are available for an instant rebate.
Nikon Lens Rebates Starting February 28th, 2010
If you have been wanting to buy a DSLR with a good lens, then wait until this Sunday. Nikon is announcing great rebates on some of the best Nikon lenses, including the new Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II and the outstanding Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G lens that I use primarily for my landscape photography. The recently reviewed Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens is also going to qualify for an instant rebate, as outlined below:
- Buy Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II with any DSLR and get a $400 instant rebate
- Buy Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G with any DSLR and get a $300 instant rebate
- Buy Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR lens with any DSLR and get a $200 instant rebate
- Buy Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II with any DSLR and get a $250 instant rebate
- Buy Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR with any DSLR and get a $200 instant rebate
These are some great incentives by Nikon and the first three are definitely great performers and Nikon's best lenses. It would have been even better if the incentives were for the lenses only, but those deals do not normally happen until around Christmas time, or when Nikon needs to clear out the shelves.
Nikon 70-300mm VR Review
This is an in-depth review of the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR lens that was released back in August 2006 together with the Nikon D80. The lens was kindly provided by B&H - the largest photo reseller in the world that I use more than any other to buy my photography gear.
The Nikon 70-300mm VR lens is targeted towards sports, nature and wildlife photographers that need a lightweight, versatile telephoto lens with great optics and vibration reduction technology, at an affordable price. The lens works on both Nikon FX (full-frame) and DX (cropped) sensors and has an equivalent field of view of approximately 105-450mm on DX sensors, which makes the lens particularly good for reaching distant subjects. The Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ID-ED VR lens features two "ED" (extra low dispersion) glass elements that are used in all Nikon professional lenses, providing higher contrast, lower chromatic aberration and higher resolution, due to less air bubbles and glass deformities within the glass elements. In addition, the lens sports the latest vibration reduction "VR II" technology, giving up to 4 full stops of advantage over non-VR lenses at low shutter speeds. Vibration Reduction, especially the latest VR II generation, makes this lens particularly useful for hand-held shooting while hiking and traveling. Autofocus is practically silent, thanks to the Silent Wave Motor (AF-S) within the lens.
Nikon 70 300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR (image courtesy of Nikon USA)
Nikon 24mm f/1.4G
Along with the Nikon 16-35mm f/4G VR lens, Nikon has also announced the new super-fast AF-S Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G ED prime lens. It is a replacement for one of the sharpest Nikon lenses ever produced - the discontinued Nikon 28mm f/1.4 lens. This new lens sets a new standard on contrast and sharpness, because it beats the older 28mm f/1.4 lens in all aspects.
Nikon 24mm f1.4G ED
Nikon 16-35mm f/4G VR
Today Nikon announced a brand new FX lens - AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, world's first ultra-wide angle zoom with Vibration Reduction technology. The lens is ultra-fast with AF-S silent-wave focus motor, has Nanon crystal coating against flare and is sealed against tough weather conditions. Unlike the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens, the new 16-35mm f/4.0 VR has a 77mm filter thread, which is great news for landscape photographers.
Nikon 16-35mm f4G ED VR
How to Obtain Maximum Bokeh
In photography, the term bokeh represents the magical out-of-focus blur that makes it look like the subject is isolated from the background. It is visually appealing for us to see a photograph with a soft, creamy and beautiful background. It helps concentrate our eyes on a single area and creates a sense of depth and dimension on an otherwise flat-looking image.
Let me share a few tips on how you could obtain maximum bokeh from your camera setup.
1) Use a large aperture
Bokeh is not created by the camera - it is your lens and its optics that are responsible for rendering the out-of-focus areas. Therefore, the first thing you should do is set your lens aperture to its lowest value, also known as "maximum aperture". You can do this by changing your camera mode to "Aperture Priority" and setting the "f" number to the lowest value your camera will permit. On Nikon DSLR cameras, this is typically done by rotating the front dial towards the left (counter-clockwise).
Big website changes
During the last two weeks, I have been heavily working on the website, making big changes to the site layout/design, content and sections. I had no idea that the database I was running on before was so problematic...apparently I have been running it on a wrong character set all this time! It took me a while to convert the website content to the UTF8 standard encoding and even now I'm continuing to experience some problems with weird characters showing up in some posts, so please let me know if you see a bunch of weird characters showing up and I will take care of them.
On top of that, I decided to get rid of the "www" in front of our domain. I have always been using "www" in front of all of my domains and this year I changed my mind and decided to make the domain shorter. It was a painful decision, because it will affect search engine links and rankings, whether I like it or not.
I also decided to get rid of the old gallery and start over with a brand new one. Instead of putting junk into the gallery like I was doing before, I will only be uploading the best pictures that are worth staying in the gallery. Initially, I was going to reuse the same gallery software, but I decided to try a new one this time, which should be more integrated to our blog. So far, I like the results and I will be posting the first gallery in a couple of days, if everything works out as planned.
I'm sure you have already noticed the top of the main page where it says "Last Two Recipes from Lola". It took me a while to figure it all out and I had to write custom code for that, but the top part will now automatically pull the latest two recipe images from Lola's Recipes page. She has been busy with other projects lately, but promised to put up more recipes very soon!
Oh, and the new Nikon 70-200mm VR II is soo good!
Lola took this shot wide open at f/2.8, 1/5000th of a second. Simply incredible, one of the Nikon's sharpest lenses ever!
Nikon 70-200mm VR II 100% Crop
Bald Eagle
Captured this guy a couple of days ago on the way to Barr Lake State Park:
I was told that there is a big number of bald eagles near Barr Lake this year. I'm planning to drive there this weekend and take a long hike, with the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens.
Nikon 50mm AF-S vs AF-D
This article is a comparison between the new Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens versus the older Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF-D.
First of all, I want to start out by saying that the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 is my favorite low-light and portrait lens. The Nikon 50mm f/1.4D lens was one of my first lenses that I bought and I have been using it more than any other lens, even today. I was very excited when the new Nikon 50mm f/1.4G came out, because I loved the older version and couldn't imagine how good the new one would be with all of the new enhancements that Nikon has been adding to their line of lenses. So, as soon as the update came out, I pre-ordered one from B&H and started using it more than the older version for my everyday photography needs. I use it for all indoors/low-light photography and especially to photograph my two boys.
Omar and Osman, captured with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens
