Nikon D4 / Nikon D800 time-lapse photography – review

The highly anticipated Nikon D4 (B&H) and Nikon D800 (B&H) are loaded with features, and both cameras offer exceptional image quality. Hidden in the list of camera specs, is an item which is of specialized interest – Time-Lapse Photography. So if a photographer doesn’t have a specific interest in this, they are most likely just going to gloss over this – but this is quite a powerful feature.

With Time-Lapse photography, as with video, it just looks much more interesting if the camera moves as well. With movies too, the cinematography and how the camera moves, make all the difference. Last year some time, I stumbled on the Time-Lapse photography by MindRelic. The movement of the camera as the city scenes unfolded, blew my mind. This was done via a motorized dolly – specifically, the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero dolly. So of course, with no prior interest in Time-Lapse photography, I immediately bought a Stage Zero dolly. It all just looked that cool.

But then the winter approached and it was just too cold to venture outside at night to try out Time-Lapse photography. So the dolly lay dormant, still boxed, in my office. Until my Nikon D4 cameras arrived a few days ago!

time-lapse photography with the Nikon D4 / D800

If there is any motion with time-lapse photography, the photographer previously had to figure out the number of frames, and exposure intervals, to calculate the duration of the final clip. The Nikon D4 and D800 does this for you.

Even better – previously, with time-lapse photography, the photographer had to try and visualize how the movement of the camera, from the starting point to end point, would finally appear when the images are compiled as a movie clip. I can just imagine how frustrating it must have been to spend time setting something up, only to realize later on when compiling the clip, that the duration is too fast or too slow, or there was some kind of hiccup.

This is where the Nikon D4 and Nikon D800 shine – they compile the time-lapse sequences into a .mov file for you, in camera!

You shoot the sequence of images from start to end, and then hit playback on the camera, and the movie plays back for you. Right there!  So if there are any changes you’d like to make in the sequence, and how the camera moves during the time-lapse sequence, you can adjust it right there and then. Beautifully elegant. This has to be very attractive to any photographer interested in time-lapse photography.

Setting it up is very easy. So easy that I was able to shoot the time-lapse sequences without referring to the manual.

The time-lapse movie file is generated at the settings that you have for the camera’s video settings. In retrospect, I should’ve shot this at 24fps. Perhaps a minor difference.

For quick access, I have this enabled in My Menu of the camera:

And in turn, to quickly access My Menu, I have the DoF preview button set to be the quick access to My Menu instead.

about the New York time-lapse sequence

Erik Colonese and I went in to New York late last night to shoot time-lapse sequences to compile into a longer movie clip. A first attempt at this! In fact, a first attempt at time-lapse photography, aside from a test sequence in my garden to see how the Dynamic Perception dolly works.

We rained out at some point, and the traffic in Manhattan on a Saturday night is dreadfully slow. So between the rain and traffic hold-ups, we managed to shoot 7 sequences which looked good. The opening sequence there was our 2nd try on that 1st set-up. And then the rain came down and we scrambled for cover. When we played it back … wow! High-fives! I was stunned at how cinematic it looked.

I can see a few things I’d do differently now – two of the sequences need to be slower, for example. But as it is, I am very proud of this first attempt.

Here is Erik setting up the MX2 Motion Controller on the dolly. This sets the duration and speed with which the dolly would travel. We usually had the dolly up on two tripods. A few times we had the dolly at an angle with one tripod, and the one end of the dolly resting on the ground.  For two of the sequences, we wanted the camera at this low an angle, and took the dolly off the tripods.
The mysterious girl in the 2nd sequence, is Elmira, who I have used as a model a few times recently.  She was lit by an iPhone, which I purposely moved around a bit during the time the time-lapse intervals. This helped to give it that shimmering look.

Since the Nikon D4 (and Nikon D800) produce the .mov files in-camera already, compiling the video clip is a very simple matter, using iMovie.

Equipment used to shoot the timelapse clip shown above:
Nikon D4  (B&H);  Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S  (B&H)
Manfrotto tripods & quick releases  (B&H)
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero dolly

Soundtrack courtesy of TripleScoopMusic

everything you want to know about time-lapse photography:

TimeScapes forum – the ultimate FAQ on time-lapse photography 

Time Lapse Tutorial – Timothy Allen 

You can order the Nikon D4 and Nikon D800 and other goodies from B&H, via these affiliate links:

Nikon D4

Nikon D800

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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lens review: Nikon 50mm f/1.4G vs Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

The 50mm lens in general is an interesting optic. Not necessarily for what it does, but how it seems to have fallen out and back in favor over the years. For example, in the 1970′s pretty much all 35mm film cameras shipped with a 50mm lens. Zooms weren’t something that just came with the camera as a kit lens. It was the 50mm lens that was the “kit lens”.  So the first thing the serious amateur would do, is dump the 50mm lens and get a zoom lens to get some variety in their photographs.

Then over the years, more compact and slower aperture zooms became the norm. Even more so during the digital era.

Now, as more of the newer photographers are realizing that a 50mm lens is an inexpensive way of getting super-shallow depth-of-field, the 50mm lens is seeing something of a resurgence in popularity.  That super-shallow DoF is a look that your f5.6 kit zoom lenses just can’t give you.

With that, a 50mm lens deserves a place in your camera bag. It takes up little space, and is (usually) inexpensive. (Well, until you step up to something like the Canon 50mm f1.2L … but that’s another story.)

Nikon just released the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (B&H) as an update to the popular Nikon 50mm f1.8D (B&H), and as a more affordable option than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (B&H) … so let’s look at how it performs.

A quick summary, comparing the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G to the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G

• sharpness wide open at f1.8 is very close the f1.4G optic. Stopped down to f5.6 both lenses are razor sharp. As you’d expect from a lens with a fairly simple optical design like a 50mm lens. (Until you get to the Canon 50mm f1.2L which shifts focus as you stop down. But, that’s another story.)
• the bokeh of both lenses look the same to my eye
• focusing of the f1.8G is noticeably faster than the f/1.4G which is kind of a slouch. This might be due to the longer focusing “throw” of the f/1,4G optic. But the f1.4G just seemed slow and has received sharp criticism for that. The newer f1.8G is a huge improvement.
• the f1.8G is more than $200 cheaper than the f1.4G
• the f1.4G has a 2/3rd stop faster maximum aperture than the f1.8G

And that sums it up whether the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (B&H) or the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (B&H) is more attractive.

(As an aside – I have tried three copies of the Sigma 50mm f1.4 lens at various times .. of which two exhibited back-focusing straight out of the box. That’s less endearing.)

Back to the image at the top:

1/500 @ f1.8 @ 200 ISO

This is typical of the look one can achieve with a 50mm lens, and using shallow depth-of-field.

In this case, the background is melting away not only because of the shallow depth of field, but also because of the way I shot against bright light, and allowed the background to over-expose. Just for interest sake, the background here above Jessica is an art display of pieces of linen blowing in the wind. (It was also seen here in this review of the Canon 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens.)

observations on the optical sharpness of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

With fast primes, I do think we don’t often use the lens for how sharp they are to the very edges. We photograph 3-dimensional subjects. Not flat scenes. (Besides, if you wanted sharp images from edge-to-edge for a scene that is “flat”, you’d just use an appropriately smaller aperture.)

Fast primes tend to show distinct vignetting when used wide open. But this isn’t a negative in my opinion. It can in fact lend a specific “look” to the images. (The Canon 85mm f1.2L is great for this … lending a noticeable vignette when used wide open with the 5D body.)  So the usual way of testing lenses would tell you about their optical quality .. but it would most likely not have much bearing on how the lenses are used – bringing attention to your subject via the shallow depth of field.

With these two images (click through to larger versions), you can see the difference in depth of field between f1.8 and f5.6 … but this shallow depth-of-field comes at a (slight) expenses of optical sharpness when used wide open.

Here are 100% crops (unsharpened) of her right eye of those two photos. The image at the left is for an f1.8 aperture, and the second image is for the lens used at f5.6 aperture.

The lens shows that typical slight haze (even though it looks sharp-ish) that you get with these lenses. So for me, this lens is sharp wide open, in that I would happily use it at wide apertures if I needed the shallow depth of field. If you want super-sharp though, then stop down. Those are your options.

bokeh – Nikon 50mm f/1.8G compared to a few other Nikon 50mm lenses

Before we look at the bokeh of this lens, keep in mind that shallow depth of field is not the same thing as bokeh. Bokeh is the evaluation of how pleasing the out-of-focus areas (usually) in the background appears. Also, we’re going to look at a single scene here. To really get an idea of the bokeh of a lens, we’d have to use it in a variety of situations at different focus distances and different apertures.

But this single example will already give us a good idea of whether the lens has pleasant bokeh or not.

Using a tripod, I took a series of photographs of Jessica at a specific distance. The crop images are from the top-right-hand corner.

The 50mm f/1.8G and f/1.4G show pretty much the same bokeh when used at f1.8 Note the way the out of focus areas are oval and have a soft edge to them. The f/1.4G lens appears to have slightly more round shaped out of focus highlights than the f/1.8G …. but this is such a small difference, that it wouldn’t factor in buying the one lens rather than the other.

Stopped down a little bit to f2.8 it still looks quite similar.

Comparing the newer f/1.8G lens to the f/1.8D we see that the bokeh of the G lens is more pleasing than the D optic. The out of focus highlights of the D lens has a harder edge to it, and would make the background less smooth than for the G optic. So this means to me that the f/1.8G lens has better bokeh than the f/1.8D

Stopped down to f2.8 it would appear the same and we even see that the D lens starts to exhibit a kind of hexagonal edge to the circles. (Both lenses have 7 blades to the diaphragm though.)

Just as a comparison to how the bokeh would look when it is less pleasing, here is how the older manual focus Nikon 50mm AIS lens appears at f2.8 …. the hexagonal shapes are quite distinct.

In summary … the bokeh of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is an improvement over the f/1.8D

The f/1.4G improved in a similar way over the older f1.4D lens in terms of its bokeh. Notice here how intrusive the bokeh of the Nikon 50mm f/1.4D can be when used wide open.

Conclusion:
If you’re in the market for a 50mm lens, then the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (B&H) would make a nice first lens. It is sharp, focuses fast .. and if it is important to you, it has nice bokeh. If you’re able to spring for a bit more money, then the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G  would be a good choice … if you can handle the slower focusing of the f/1.4 optic. We have options.

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Auto FP setting for Nikon D300s & D700 – high speed flash sync

The Nikon D300s and Nikon D700 have a custom setting to enable high-speed flash sync – custom fucntion e1. However, you have the option of setting it to either 1/250 Auto FP, or 1/320 Auto FP. I’ve often been asked which is the preferable setting … and you know, I never quite knew either.

So it was time then to systematically check this out and see what actually happens at either setting – 1/250 Auto FP and 1/320 Auto FP – for both the Nikon D300s and  D700 …

related articles:
a bit of homework first if you’re not sure what all this refers to:
– understanding maximum flash sync speed
- tutorial: high-speed flash sync

I used a simple lighting setup for this test:

The only light source was a 60″ umbrella into which an SB-900 was bounced. All mounted on a light-stand, immediately to camera left. The slaved speedlight was then either triggered via an on-camera SB-900 with its own output disabled …. and then for a non-CLS comparison, the speedlight was also triggered by a PocketWizard Plus II unit.

I set the slaved speedlight to maximum manual output. This way, if there is any reduction in the flash’s effective output, we will immediately notice.

And then we have a favorite model, Anelisa, as a subject.

1/250 Auto FP

So let’s look at how the two cameras behave at various shutter speeds, when set to 1/250 Auto FP

Pretty much as we’d expect. The moment we go over maximum sync speed (1/250 in this case), into high-speed flash sync territory, then the flash’s output is dramatically reduced.

The D700 behaves exactly the same:

1/320 Auto FP

Taking the max flash sync speed one notch higher:

For the D300s (or perhaps it was just this one particular copy of the camera), the flash’s output is ever so slightly reduced at /1320th of a second. Not much. But what is noticeable, is that we are getting a distinct darkening to the left-hand edge of the frame. So with the D300s, if I had to choose between 1/250th or 1/320th Auto FP, then I’d go for the 1/250th setting. The increase in shutter speed is marginal compared to the image quality that is suffering due to uneven exposure.

The same thing happens with the Nikon D700 when set to 1/320 Auto FP.

The same thing happens with the Nikon D700, except that the darkening of the frame happens to the right-hand side of the vertical frame.

using non-CLS capable wireless flash:

Just out of curiosity, I decided to see if the change in the shutter speed at which the camera kicks into high-speed flash sync, would affect the flash’s behavior when used with the older PocketWizard Plus II units. Since these radio senders / receivers don’t have any automation of intelligence between the camera and flash, we’d expect the flash exposure to be consistent with the actual maximum flash sync speed of either camera .. 1/250th

Let’s have a look:

In all four sequences, nothing is gained by setting the camera to 1/320 Auto FP. We can’t cheat the actual maximum flash sync speed of either camera. No wriggle room there.

In fact, if we look at all four sequences, we will see a darkening of the edge of the frame even when we work at 1/250th, due to propagation delay.

An interesting observation here (which is also similar to how the edges of the frame starts darkening at 1/320 when using CLS to trigger the slave flash) … is that the D300s and D700 show a difference in when the shutter curtain moves in relation to the flash’s timing. The D300s shutter starts cutting the flash exposure from the left-hand for the vertical image, (ie, from the top for a horizontal image). The D700 shutter starts cutting the flash exposure from the right-hand side of the vertical image, (ie, from the bottom of the frame for a horizontal image.)

final conclusion:

Set your Nikon D300s and D700 to 1/250 Auto FP, since there isn’t much to gain by going to 1/320 Auto FP.

Also, if you’re working in a studio environment with older radio slaves, then keep to below maximum flash sync speed. This will give you more even exposure from edge-to-edge, than you’d get if you worked at maximum flash sync speed.

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Melissa & Dennis – their wedding day from Neil van Niekerk on Vimeo.

review of the Nikon D3100 video capability

Nikon recently released two very interesting D-SLRs – the Nikon D3100 (B&H) and the Nikon D7000 (B&H). Improving on several of the entry-level Nikon D-SLRs, they also offer HD video capability (1080p at 24 fps), and even does so with full-time auto-focus capability.

So when B&H sent me a Nikon D3100 for review, I thought what better test than to start in the deep end, and use it during a wedding to shoot HD video. The intention was to use the HD video from the D3100 along with the still photographs from my usual set of Nikon D3 bodies … and compile this as a stills & video Fusion clip, shown at the top here. I shot the stills, and Jessica, my assistant with an attitude, shot & edited the D3100 video clips. A first attempt at stills/video Fusion for us.

So how did the Nikon D3100 fare? Quite impressively actually …

The camera is very small, as you’d expect from a camera that came from a D40x, D60 and D3000 lineage. For my large hands, the camera is a bit too compact, especially since I’m used to the heft of a D3. But it is truly light-weight and compact.

The video quality is superb. Really impressive. Skin tones looked great, and digital noise wasn’t a problem at all. The sound we recorded with the on-board microphone was also clear. (However, we didn’t use any of the sound in the Vimeo clip shown here, aside from the brief section where the group of guests cheered.

Shooting video hand-held just doesn’t look good, so we used the light-weight Manfrotto 560B-1 video monopod (B&H), to steady the camera. We didn’t use the Nikon 18-55mm VR zoom lens that comes as a kit with the D3100. Instead, I chose to use the Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S (B&H) for the low-light wedding reception, and the superb Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G ED AF-S (B&H) for everything else we shot with the D3100.

The auto-focus ability during video recording might be useful if you used the camera for motion work with a Glide-Cam, but generally you are better off using manual focus. If you are shooting something and the video pops in and out of focus, the clip is not really usable. So the live AF during video recording is a great feature, but ultimately not essential for much of video recording.

The LiveView lever and Movie Record button are very well-placed and instantly accessible, without the chance of accidentally engaging it.

An improvement over previous recent entry-level Nikon D-SLRs is that the different drive modes are now accessible from a switch on the top deck instead of being buried inside the menu.

Final verdict:
The D3100 is a likable and very capable little camera offering superb video quality. Hopefully the Vimeo clip shown here will reveal some of that, even though the Vimeo clip was posted as 720p HD video.

As a final note – I hope to test the D7000 soon. As the bigger brother of the D3100, I’m expecting a spectacular camera.

[ note: the clip was edited with iMovie '11 ]

More articles about wedding photography …

Equipment used during this photo session:

Nikon D3100 (B&H)
Manfrotto 560B-1 video monopod (B&H)
Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S (B&H)
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G ED AF-S (B&H)

Nikon D3; Nikon 14-24mm f2.8G ED AF-S (B&H);
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G ED AF-S (B&H)
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)

Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H);

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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Auto-focus (AF) settings for the Nikon D300 / D700 / D3 / D3s / D3x

The current line-up of top Nikon D-SLRs offer a range of AF settings.  The combination’s in settings seem daunting at first.  But with other settings on my D3 bodies, I keep it fairly simple.  Instead of flip-flopping between numerous settings, I keep it simple by generally using the AF settings in just two ways.  This depends on what whether my subject is static or moving …

First of, we’re keeping manual focus out of this discussion.  If you need to focus in manual for some reason, eg, doing macro work, the choice to do so will be for obvious reasons – you’re in a situation where you don’t need AF, or the AF doesn’t respond properly.

Then your choice of AF mode starts at the moment you decide whether you need to shoot in either Continuous-servo (AF-C) or Single-servo mode (AF-S).  This however, depends on how you use your AF-ON button / Back-Button Focus.

Back-Button Focus / AF-ON button

We need to realize that focus initiation isn’t really connected to the moment that you need to trip your shutter. For example, with sport, you might track an athlete’s movements, but only fire the shutter some (short) time later at the peak of action.

Generally, with a static subject, and using default settings, a photographer might only use the center AF button, since it is the most sensitive AF sensor. Then the general way of using AF would be to focus by gently touching the shutter button.  This initiates the auto-focus.  You’d keep your finger lightly on the shutter button until focus has been achieved. Keeping the shutter button lightly depressed, you’d then lock the AF setting and recompose your framing of the intended image … and then only trip the shutter.

Okay, that would be the general default way of using AF on a camera.

This however, would make a sport photographer or action photographer’s life difficult, since they are photographing moving subjects. You can’t lock focus and then take the shot … for your subject has surely moved by then.  So the moment you photograph action or moving subjects, it makes sense to be in the Continuous-servo (AF-C) mode.

There is a hiccup now for the action / sport / news photographer who uses the shutter button to do both functions – initiate focus AND trip the shutter.  Let me explain: let’s say you’re using AF-C mode, tracking movement … but then need to photograph a static subject, and need to recompose the photograph and not just have a central composition.  Now the photographer would need to change switch settings, moving from AF-C to AF-S, and then change the way to lock and hold focus. It becomes a clumsy way of working.

Instead, the vast majority of action photographers would use Back-Button Focus, ie, the AF-ON button to initiate focus … and then use the shutter button purely just to trip the shutter.  This now becomes a separate action – thumb on the AF-ON button to initiate focus, and the fore-finger on the shutter button to finally trip the shutter.

There’s now an added benefit.  If the action photographer wants to hold / lock focus, they simply let go of the AF-ON button.  The camera will now not focus the lens, and the photographer can trip the shutter to take the photograph.  So with this simple change in settings, the action photographer is instantly ready for movement (AF-ON button depressed), and the moment the photographer wants to lock focus, they just let go. Beautifully simple.

However, I don’t use Back-Button Focus.  I just couldn’t quite adapt to it.  I use the AF-ON button to lock & hold focus when I am shooting in AF-C mode.  Beautifully simple … except that I have to flip back to AF-S mode when photographing static subjects.

There is one small gotcha with using Back-Button Focus – the Vibration Reduction (VR) function doesn’t kick in with the AF-ON button, but only when the shutter button is pressed.  So you might encounter situations where the VR hasn’t had time to settle before the shutter is fired. It’s just something to be aware of.

Continuous-Servo (C) vs Single-Servo (S) focus modes

How you use AF-C mode versus AF-S mode will then obviously depend on whether you use Back-Button Focus (BBF).

If you use AF-C mode with Back-Button Focus, then there is less motive to use AF-S mode.

If you don’t use BBF, and still prefer using AF-C primarily, then you could use the AF-ON button to lock focus.  That would work as well. But ultimately, you would then still be better off using BBF if you shoot mostly (or only) in AF C mode.

If you use AF-S mostly, then you could use BBF.  It would make sense to do so.  But not much more than just using the shutter button to initiate AF and fire the shutter.  I believe that BBF really comes into its own if Continuous-Servo mode (AF-C) is your primary focus mode.

This of course brings us to …

Release priority vs Focus Priority

With Nikon D-SLRs, the defaults are:

Release Priority (custom function a1 on the Nikon D3) for AF-C.  This makes sense in that you really want the camera to be able to track focus and you can fire shots off, relying on the camera’s AF technology to give you the edge here and enough in-focus images for a moving subject.  If you were to set Focus Priority, the camera would only fire once it has confirmed your subject is in focus.  That delay would mean your fast-moving subject is already out of focus again … even for a Nikon D3.

Focus Priority (custom function a2 on the Nikon D3) for AF-S.  This makes sense, in that with single-servo mode, you’re most likely focusing on static subjects.  Best then to make sure your image is crisply in focus before the camera allows the shutter to be tripped.

You could swap these settings, or change them from the defaults, but this doesn’t make much sense to me.

There is of course (Release + Focus) Priority as an option for custom function a1, in which the camera slows down the frame rate in AF-C mode to give the camera better chance to follow focus. This also seems a good option for those photographers who shoot a lot of action.  Your choice between Release Priority, and Release + Focus Priority will then obviously depend on your needs.

All this of course brings us to …

AF Area Modes

- Single-Point AF

With this, the photographer manually selects the focus point.  The central AF sensors are more sensitive.  I must admit that I don’t trust the outer AF sensors to give me accurate focus on the Nikon D3, and I rely heavily on the center AF sensor when focus is critical.

- Dynamic Area AF

Now we’re getting to the area where Nikon D3 focusing capability starts to become magical.

Via custom function a3 on the Nikon D3, you can select whether the camera uses 9, 21 or 51 AF points … or 51 points with 3D Tracking. This is where the Nikon D3 (and the other Nikon D-SLRs with 3D Tracking really shines. If you set your camera to AF-C, and have 3D Tracking enabled, your camera will jump to other AF sensors as your subject moves across the frame.  It really is quite incredible to see … and then realize the camera mostly nails it.

- Auto Area AF

The camera is purported to distinguish human subjects from the background.  I have no reason to disbelieve the camera manual on this, but I am perhaps too much of a control freak … I like to see and control which AF point the camera is using. In AF-C mode and Auto Area AF, the camera doesn’t show which AF points are used. (It does so for AF-S mode though.)

And this all finally brings us right back to …

my choice of AF settings on Nikon cameras, specifically the Nikon D3

In summary:  Even though the D3 is a camera that can be customized in an astonishing number of ways, I tend to keep my operations and functions quite simple.  Predictable.  I don’t jump between numerous settings and options.  I tend to keep to one or two basic ways of working, and make sure I get a feel for how the camera works and responds with that. For example, I don’t jump between exposure modes. I pretty much stay in Manual Exposure mode.  Similarly, I don’t use Auto ISO. It brings in another variation in my controls.

In the same way, I mostly use these two auto-focus setups with the Nikon’s:

Static subjects:
I’m mostly a focus-and-recompose shooter. I like AF-S (Single-Servo focusing mode) and the central AF sensor. I do move the AF sensor to the other sensors in proximity to the central sensor .. but I mostly work in AF-S mode, and the central AF sensor.  And I use the shutter button to initiate AF and trip the shutter.  Basic settings really. I lock focus with the AF-ON button, so that I don’t have to constantly refocus on a static subject.

Action & movement:
When I do photograph action of any kind, I change my camera to AF-C and the Dynamic Area AF selection, with 3D Tracking enabled via custom function a3.  Still using the shutter button to do everything. If I need to lock focus, I use the AF-ON button to hold focus.

camera settings & custom function settings for the Nikon D700

camera settings & custom function settings for the Nikon D3

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review: Nikon 85mm f/1.4 G AF-S

So after a slight delay, my copy of the brand-new Nikon 85mm f1.4G (B&H) actually did arrive. I was itching to try it out on a photo session, and yesterday afternoon had my assistant, Jessica model for me. During the short photo session, I used the new 85mm f1.4G and the classic 85mm f1.4D side-by-side. As you can see in the photo above, (Just like the older version of this lens), the new lens’ extremely shallow depth of field and superb bokeh, give backgrounds that just melt away.

My first impression already is that lens is even better than I anticipated …

1. Focus speed

I expected the new Nikon 85mm f1.4G(B&H), to focus faster, and it is! In using this lens on the D3, it felt like the lens was suddenly just in focus at the touch of the focus button. And it is quiet. Very impressive. If you’re used to the f1.4D buzzing sound as it focuses .. especially when it hunts a bit, then this new lens will be a real treat for you. It really is much much faster. This alone would’ve made it an automatic upgrade for me.

2. Focus accuracy

Better yet, while I frequently enough got miss-focused shots with the f1.4D during use on shoot, it would appear with this initial test that the f1.4G nails focus at f1.4 more often.
Focusing on a Jessica’s eyes during various simple portraits of her, the f1.4G nailed it more often than the f1.4D in comparison. The f1.4G nailed it pretty much every time. It is difficult making a qualitative assessment here, working hand-held with an f1.4 optic. If either you or your subject moves even slightly, the plane of focus shifts. Despite that, the f1.4G definitely appeared more confident. The focus was accurate and just *there*. So this is a big improvement.

3. Sharpness at f1.4

I honestly couldn’t tell a difference. For properly focused shots, you could count eye-lashes on photos taken with either lens. Stopped down to f2.0 and then to f2.8 made a difference to the sharpness on both lenses. However this type of lens was meant to be used wide open, or close to wide open.

4. Contrast and control of flare …
Here is the other Big News! Look at these two photos … taken about 30 seconds apart on two different D3 bodies. No filters. The exact same camera settings, and exact same RAW settings in processing.

first, the Nikon 85mm f1.4G

then, in comparison, the 85mm f1.4D

Notice how the flare from the background washed out the contrast, as you can see in her black sweater. Now, the image at the top is noticeably warmer. I did subsequent tests, and the f1.4G is indeed slightly warmer than the f1.4D comparing the two lenses on two identical camera bodies, cross-swapping the lenses. But the difference in warmth of the images wasn’t to the extent shown here. So I am assuming what we see in these photographs is entirely due to the flare from the blue-ish / purple-ish tree leaves.

5. Bokeh

I can’t see a difference in the bokeh in these shots or other test shots. I photographed railings and grid-like iron-work .. things which very quickly show up a lens when it has harsh bokeh. But to my eye, these two lenses had the same great bokeh.

Final initial assessment of the Nikon 85mm f1.4G
– focus speed is greatly improved,
– focus accuracy is improved,
– and the new lens handles flare like a champ.

If you would like to purchase this lens, it is available from B&H at this link:
Nikon 85mm f1.4G

.. or alternately, from Amazon:

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review: Nikon 24mm f/1.4 G AF-S

For a long time the only wide-angle auto-focus prime lens that Nikon had available, was the remarkable 28mm f1.4D … which caused the lens to reach astronomical prices eventually on the used market when it was discontinued.  I sold my copy of the 18mm f1.4 a few years ago – a move I still regret – but I couldn’t pull the trigger on a $4000.00 wide-angle prime lens when Nikon’s wide-angle zooms were so incredible.  The Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H), for example, set a new standard for how good a wide-angle zoom can be, surpassing pretty much ever other lens, including primes. But still there was a gap in Nikon’s line-up with a fast aperture wide-angle prime lens.  Until now … enter the Nikon 24mm f1.4 G (B&H) which I was happily able to use at a wedding this past weekend.

Fast lenses (ie, wide aperture lenses), come into their own for a few specific reasons.
The faster aperture allows us:
- more control over depth of field,
- the use of a faster shutter speed,
- the ability to better mix flash and ambient light in low light.

The photo above and below, were taken during a lull in the reception when I took the couple, Kristy and Tom out to the gardens of the venue.  The photo above was lit just by two lamps on either side of the couple and the twinkly lights.  (Click on this link for the wider shot of the area.)  I specifically wanted to see how this lens would perform in low light, and whether it could deliver the goods – sharp images at a wide aperture.  This would allow me to shoot faster than if I had used a tripod.  For the style that I photograph weddings in, a tripod would be very slow to work with … especially when the couple doesn’t want to be detained from the reception for too long.

So I still want a shutter speed that is fast enough to hold steady with ease … and sharp.  I like sharp.

For the photo above, I was able to get a sequence of crisp images at
1/40 @ f1.6 @ 1600 ISO
I still steadied my elbows on my legs where I knelt down on the ground.  I also posed the couple so that the light falls onto Kristy’s face like that, and not be shrouded in shadow.

For the photo below, we went to the gazebo on the grounds.  I know, I know .. but still, there were lots of twinkly lights we could use for available light photos.

There was enough light like this for photos at 1/40 @ f1.8 @ 1600 ISO

Where a fast aperture lens comes into its own, is with control over depth of field.  My natural inclination is to use (or even accept), the increased depth-of-field that wide-angle lenses give us.  But even with a wide-angle lens, the wide-open aperture gives us the opportunity to bring attention to one specific thing in the frame.  The selective focusing forces our attention to something specific .. in this case, Kristy’s super-cool leopard-spotted shoes.
1/200 @ f2 @ 1000 ISO

Next, two images of Kristy looking at her dress.
The first image was with the Nikon 24mm f1.4 G (B&H)
Using the ample available light in the room: 1/250 @ f1.8 @ 800 ISO

This image below is shot in in my usual way with some bounce flash.  Balancing the flash with the ambient light to give a natural look, while giving me more depth-of-field and/or a higher shutter speed and/or a lower ISO: 1/160 @ f4 @ 800 ISO

The shoes were irresistible.  I positioned them on top of a mirror that I placed on the bed.  I wanted a simpler look than the bed cover.  Reflecting the shoes and the out of focus dress allows our eyes to go to the shoes immediately.  The lamp balances the photo, but preferably needs to be out of focus … which the new Nikon lens allows for.
1/400 @ f1.6 @ 1000 ISO

Just for comparison, how the depth of field would be at f4
Unfortunately, I changed perspective in changing lenses when I did more detail shots with the 24-70mm f2.8 .. but you get the idea.

For detail photos of the wedding cake, I usually resort to using bounce flash that I gel for Tungsten.  Shooting wide open with the Nikon 24mm f1.4 G (B&H), allowed me to just use the available light in the reception room.
1/40 @ f1.4 @ 1600 ISO

Just for comparison, the usual way I would photograph the wedding cake, using directional bounce flash.

1/80 @ f4.5 @ 1600 ISO … TTL flash at +0.7 EV
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G ED AF-S (B&H)

Using bounce flash of course gives me sharp images for those fast-paced action shots of the wedding cake.

Foregoing flash for a few photos, using the videographer’s light for back-lighting.
1/80 @ f1.4 @ 2000 ISO .. but I did have to pull up the exposure in post by 0.7 EV

Finally, three more photos from the romantic portraits during the night-time outside.

1/60 @ f1.8 @ 1250 ISO

1/40 @ f1.8 @ 1600 ISO

After the photos at the gazebo, Kristy and Tom walked back to the party at the reception.  Just before they reached the reception room,  I asked them to turn around and look at the camera. The two lamp-posts that we used for the top-most photograph, gave us enough light for this photograph.
1/60 @ f1.6 @ 2500 ISO … and it is sharp!
It still blows my mind that with high-ISO capable cameras, along with fast prime lenses, we can pull in light for very usable photographs in such low light.

Overall assessment of the Nikon 24mm f1.4 G

I’m in love.  Fair enough, I’m in love with the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 and the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR II, as well as the Nikon 85mm f1.4 too.  This new lens by Nikon is long overdue, and in my opinion is an essential lens if you do any kind of work in low light levels, or desire that look that a fast prime lens will give you.

Some photographers have reported copies of this lens with poor focusing, but this lens behaved very well.  Really well.  (I suspect that the problem lenses might have been a specific initial batch that Nikon will sort out.)

The bokeh of this lens is superb.  Smooth.  Definitely smoother than the Nikon 14-24 used at 24mm.  (I did test the lens for its bokeh, but really, who wants to see photographs of the flowers in my garden?)

The lens’ build quality is obvious.  It feels solid, with a chunky heft.

Final summary … this stellar lens continues to build Nikon’s legend, and will be an essential lens for many photographers.

If you would like to purchase this lens, it is available from B&H at this link:
Nikon 24mm f1.4 G

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Nikon flash system – TTL vs TTL BL

Nikon’s TTL flash system is generally accepted as being quite exceptional.  The camera and speedlight working together according to various algorithms to control the flash exposure.  The TTL flash exposure will depend on various factors – the tonality of the subject and scene; the brightness of the scene;  and how the camera interprets the sections of the metering pattern.  The other factors quite possibly also includes data from the lens.

How these factors inter-relate, we can only guess at.  We can make educated guesses; and many photographers have taken time and effort to do test shoots to see how the cameras and speedlights work.  To make things even more interesting, Nikon offers two modes of TTL flash metering:  TTL and TTL BL.

The way I understand this to work, is that with TTL BL flash metering, the camera takes the ambient light into account when calculating the flash exposure.  With TTL flash metering, the flash metering would appear to be de-coupled from the ambient metering.

Similarly, with Canon, you have Average / Evaluative flash metering for TTL flash.  (This is set on the camera body via the custom functions.)  Again, the way I understand this to work (and I’ll gladly be corrected or fine-tuned on this), is that with Evaluative TTL flash metering, the camera takes the ambient light into account. And with Average TTL flash metering, the camera is less biased by the available light..

So which TTL flash exposure mode to use?  TTL or TLL BL?
In the end, I work in a fairly simplistic way …

With Nikon I keep it to TTL BL, and with Canon I mostly keep it to Evaluative TTL flash metering.
I then adjust my flash exposure compensation to taste.  I do this by pre-judging the tonality of my subject and scene, and making an educated guess as to how much FEC I would need.  Then I fine-tune this by looking at the image on the camera’s preview.

This does strongly imply that you have to ride the FEC as you check your results while you shoot.   Shoot, check and adjust.

Ultimately you HAVE to get used to how your camera and flash responds, by getting familiar with your equipment and shooting a lot.  This to me is the key point here .. being able to roughly predict how my camera will react, and what the flash exposure would be like as a result.  It comes with experience and shooting a lot.

My take on it is that I am better of using one of the modes the majority of the time, and get a feel for how my camera and flash would react. Rather that, than jumping between the modes, and hoping the camera and flash will sort it out, without much input from me as the photographer.

The general approach:
Keep to TTL mode if the flash is a dominant light source.
Change to TTL BL when the flash needs to act as fill-flash or when the flash is in relation to the ambient light .

This is the approach as generally advised on various websites and forums, and is how I used to do it with the D100 and D2H and D2x.

As it is, I mostly keep to TTL-BL on my Nikon D3 bodies. There isn’t a huge difference between TTL and TTL BL modes on the Nikon D3, like there was with the Nikon D100 for example.

With the D100, I would be change between the two modes, picking TTL when the flash was a dominant source of light …  and TTL BL when I wanted fill-flash, or needed the flash exposure in relation to the ambient exposure.  WIth the Nikon D3, I would just use TTL BL mode and adjust from there.

In my opinion, with the latest range of Nikon D-SLRs, it doesn’t make such a difference whether you use TTL or TTL BL.  Since TTL flash metering is dependent on the tonality of your subject / scene (and all the other factors), you will have to ride your FEC anyway.

Once again, this means that there has to be some familiarity in how a specific camera and speedlight works together.  This is how I noticed that I needed to adjust the FEC on my D3 bodies differently than I was used to on the D2x and D2H.

So whichever TTL flash exposure mode you use, for the same situation, you’d just set your FEC to different values … and still get correct exposure by looking at your camera’s preview, and making a visual judgement of how much more or less FEC you need.

We need to accept a certain flexibility in our technique … as opposed to expecting that by meticulously analyzing how our camera and speedlight work in test situations, that we could get every image perfectly exposed from the very first frame.    I believe this one of those areas where there is a danger of over-thinking it and expecting real world situations to fall withing specifically anticipated behavior … when it is much simpler and better, to simply adjust your FEC as you need, on an on-going basis while you shoot.

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review: Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II

I’ve been very happy with the older 70-200mm f2.8 VR telephoto zoom.  Even even though the edges are softer than the center, it never bothered me.  With weddings, I am mostly only interested in the center portions of the image being super-crisp.  Similarly, the vignetting didn’t bother me.  I usually add more vignetting in post-processing anyway.

Still, I ordered the new Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H), and received it on Friday.
It’s beautiful!

Doing a few test shots around the house, and was immediately impressed. It is sharp! I like sharp.  Every thing about this lens is good news.  Focusing is faster, and flare is very well controlled. There has been considerable debate about the shortening of focal length with this lens as you focus closer and closer.  Yet, I would never have noticed it if I hadn’t been told about it. For my work, a total non-issue.

One of the features of this new lens, is that it has even more aggressive vibration reduction / stabilization.  So even though I do take my shutter speeds low at times, my advice is always that if you want sharp images, the first thing you need to do is make your shutter speed much faster.  Now, I’ve never been one to really be able to hold my camera steady without careful control or with steadying myself against a wall. So for me, vibration reduction is an essential feature on long lenses .. especially since I don’t work with a tripod for the style of photography I do.

At a wedding on Saturday, where I was the second shooter for a friend, I was able to see how the VR worked during an actual photo shoot.   During the ceremony I took photos of the guests sitting in the dark temple.  How dark? 1/6 th @ f2.8 @ 2000 ISO kinda dark …

Well, there I was picking off shots, with another camera slung over my right shoulder  - usually a dead certainty for me to start swaying or my right arm starting to shake.

And here’s the 100% crop

Yup, that is 1/6th of a second with the lens zoomed to 200mm, without carefully tucking in my elbows and checking my breathing or my stance, or even steadying myself.
I just stood there, camera to my eye, and let rip.

I have honestly never been able to get images THIS sharp, THIS easily before in low light with a telephoto zoom.  I’m truly impressed.

Obviously, at such slow shutter speeds we’re really pushing the limits .. and therefore not all images will be this sharp.  But my success rate was more than 50% and mostly the images that suffered from blur were because people moved during those slow shutter speeds.

I’ll post a more in-depth review later this month, comparing it to the older lens and the 200mm f2.0

This lens, in my opinion, isn’t just a minor upgrade on the previous version, but an important one.

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In testing cameras these days, they are rated not just for specification, but for their primary qualities in helping you take great photographs.  And for that, judging the camera according to handling, image quality and auto-focus speed and accuracy, becomes even more important than just the list of specs.

Nikon D5000 hands-on review

So with that in mind, when I recently got my hands on a brand-new Nikon D5000, (B&H), I thought I’d hit the streets and see how it performs.  I took it for a late-night stroll around Times Square in New York, armed only with a Nikon 50mm f1.4G AF-S, (B&H), lens to see how the camera handled the low light levels there.

Nikon D5000 image quality

And of course, late night in Times Square is when you see and even meet the interesting people, the gorgeous people and the usual mix’n'match that Manhattan throws at you.  So let’s see how the 12.3 megapixel Nikon D5000 performed in low light, at high ISO settings; all hand-held, using just the light from the billboards ..

Here is Blueberry Studmuffin, posing for the camera.
1/250th F1.8 @ 1000 ISO; no flash

As you can see, the camera responds fast enough for a candid portrait in low light.
Impressive so far …

Jennifer, a visitor to Times Square, who kindly let me take her photograph.
1/125th @ f2 @ 1000 ISO; no flash

And now I know you’re wondering how the high-ISO noise looks.
So here’s a 100% crop of part of that image ..

I purposely chose a darker part of the image (as processed in ACR / Bridge CS4)  I know that the high-ISO noise appears differently for different tonal values … but this should give you a rough idea how the camera performs at 1000 ISO.

Let’s take it a step up to 1250 ISO ..

1/125th @ f1.6 @ 1250 ISO .. and I never quite did catch his name …

Here’s a 100% crop of some area just above his cap.

Noise is starting to come in, but still nothing I’d be concerned about on a professional shoot.  Which means I am quite impressed with this.

So let’s take it another step up to 1600 ISO for a candid shot  out on the street where Elmo made a shy appearance by now!

Looking at a small portion of that image as a 100% crop ..

Here we are starting to see that mottled effect of high-ISO noise really creeping in.  And yet, I’d say this is about a stop away from the high-ISO killer, the Nikon D3.  In other words, very impressive for a camera that retails at US $730.00.

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Nikon D5000 AF speed and accuracy

Keeping in mind that my day-to-day camera is the Nikon D3, then it will be obvious that no camera that I work with or play with, will quite match up to that beast.  With the Nikon D5000, I had more misses and focusing inaccuracies than I would’ve had with the D3 .. but that is an unfair comparison.

For where the camera is pegged at, the AF speed is solid.  I was able to get many grabshots that were keepers.  Fleeting moments where I just turned the camera towards people and snapped the scene …

1/125th @ f2 @ 1600 IOS

In perspective, I’d say the AF performance is solid, especially considering the light levels I was working in, and shooting with a fast lens where the depth-of-field is very shallow.

btw … One of the billboards threw a heavy red color cast on them, which I partially corrected for in RAW, hence the background going towards a cyan tint.

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Nikon D5000 handling

The camera is small and lightweight.  Very easy to carry around.  It is too small for my large hands though, and if I were to use the camera regularly, I would be looking at one of the off-brand grips to give something larger for my mitts.

One feature that makes the camera very interesting, is the fold-out LCD panel.

It folds close to protect the LCD, and folds and swivels open to reveal the settings and image preview.  You can use the LiveView function to surreptitiously take candids without taking the camera to your eye.  However, the auto-focusing is much slower with LiveView enabled.

And I like that the display on the back also rotates when the camera is rotated.

The Nikon D5000 has all the exposure modes you could ever want, from fully manual, to Scene modes.  This is a camera that would allow you to grow.

Shooting in manual exposure mode is more clumsy than in a higher-level camera, in that you have to push more buttons to change settings.  The rear dial controls the shutter speed.  But by pressing the +/- button and simultaneously controlling the rear dial, you change the aperture.  Changing the ISO is slow though, since you have to go through the menu.  Most people won’t find this an issue, but if you want easier access to change the ISO on the move, then you can change custom function 1, so that the Function button (Fn) controls the ISO.

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Nikon D5000 specifications (a quick overview)

The Nikon D5000 features also includes the following specs:
-  movie mode, in the AVI format at 720p and mono audio,
- a self-cleaning sensor,
- Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection and subject tracking,
- 11 AF points with 3D tracking,
- 4 frames per second continuous,
- in-camera retouching.

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Nikon D5000 – final comments

It should be obvious that I found the Nikon D5000 to be a likable little camera with surprisingly good image quality.  And that should be the most important aspect in deciding on a camera.

For another thorough review of the Nikon D5000, which includes a comparison with the Nikon D3, check Frank Nuernberger’s site.   You might just be surprised.

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If you are interested, this camera is available from all camera retailers, including B&H and Amazon:

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