Tangents

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lens review: Tamron 35-150mm f/2 – f/2.8 (for Sony E)

December 20, 2022 Neil vN 2 Comments

lens review: Tamron 35-150mm f/2 - f/2.8 Lens (for Sony E)

The two things that immediately stand out about the Tamron 35-150mm f/2 - f/2.8 (for Sony)  (B&H / Amazon), just by looking at it: The focal length range: 35-150mm is an incredibly useful range for photographing people. The fast maximum aperture. A surprisingly f/2.0 at 35mm, going to a very usable fast f/2.8 as you zoom in. This would immediately make it an ideal one-lens option that would cover to many different photo sessions. I show some examples lower down in this review, which include engagement  Read more inside...

Review: Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM lens

October 19, 2019 Neil vN 15 Comments

Review: Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM lens

The 135mm focal length is super for getting more reach than 85mm or 100mm would, but still keeping the lens to a smaller size. While the smaller size is nice, it was the fast aperture was what I really wanted. That the lens is super-sharp is an extra bonus. The Lens Rentals review has this as "This is the sharpest lens we’ve tested. Period." That says something! The first thing to notice about this lens is the fast f1/.8 aperture. Even though I mostly use a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for events and headshot photography, there are times where I need that  Read more inside...

review: Profoto B10 flash

October 30, 2018 Neil vN 16 Comments

review: Profoto B10 flash

As promised in the First Look review, here is the proper video review of the Profoto B10 flash  (B&H / Amazon) - putting this versatile flash through its paces during a photo shoot with a model in New York. Hopefully the video shows just how elegantly versatile the Profoto B10 is - it's a powerful little flash, and is also a powerful video light. The video light capability should excite any wedding photographer. During this photo shoot, we tried the flash as well as the video light aspect of it. I didn't run through the dry  Read more inside...

review: Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens

October 3, 2018 Neil vN 13 Comments

review: Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens

The 24-105mm f/4 range of lenses seem like a compromise between size & weight, and the range, and the so-so aperture. We get a great range from wide-angle to short telephoto. Perfect for travel or just any kind of general photography. But we miss out on the fast aperture. There is often a compromise in the sharpness of these types of lenses - the greater the range of a zoomoften implies a loss in lens sharpness with greater chance of optical distortion and smearing. With this review of the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G lens  (B&H /  Read more inside...

review: Profoto B10 flash – a first look

September 12, 2018 Neil vN 14 Comments

review: Profoto B10 flash - a first look

I first had a chance to play around with the new Profoto B10 flash  (B&H / Amazon) during the promotional release event at the Alyeska resort in Alaska. What do I think of it? Before we get there, I have to clarify that I’m not specifically a fan of Profoto just because of the brand name. I’m a fan of quality. I’m a fan of ease of use. That’s where I’m coming from - I love quality. I like Profoto for all these reasons, and I loooove this little flash. 250 Ws gives you a decent enough punch of light. It’s a stop less  Read more inside...

Silent Shutter / Electronic shutter vs mechanical shutter

June 18, 2018 Neil vN 9 Comments

Silent Shutter / Electronic shutter vs mechanical shutter

I “accidentally” bought a new camera recently. I had no real intent to. This is going to be a long story ... or a short review. The story starts when I dropped the small camera Fuji X-T20 (affiliate) that I use on a gimbal. While it was still in for repairs, so I went in to my local camera store, to see what I could rent for a gig that upcoming weekend. I idly asked to see the new Fuji X-H1 (affiliate) ... and the moment I tripped the shutter, I knew this was the camera I had been looking for. It has the  Read more inside...

Nikon D850 medium RAW files soft?

May 2, 2018 Neil vN 17 Comments

Nikon D850 medium RAW files soft?

In the review of the Nikon D850 camera, I noted that this near-perfect camera had one major flaw for me - the medium RAW files appear soft. For event work or any kind of volume work, the massive full RAW file is just too much overhead, whether in storage or processing time. I need a RAW file in the 20-24 megapixel range. The medium RAW file of the Nikon D850 (B&H / Amazon) would have been ideal - allowing me to shoot the majority of work as medium RAW, and occasionally flipping over to full-size RAW. I have had several  Read more inside...

Lens review: Trioplan 100mm f/2.8

February 25, 2018 Neil vN 4 Comments

Lens review: Trioplan 100mm f/2.8

My favorite adventure in photography for the past year or so, has been to explore vintage lenses. Many of these lenses render the background in an interesting or unusual way which makes them appealing in helping to create a distinctive look to your photography. A recent purchase was the Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 lens (affiliate) for use with my Sony A7ii camera. The Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 is well known as the 'soap-bubble bokeh' lens. Created by the Meyer Optik Görlitz  company, it gives perfectly spherical circles in the background when used in  Read more inside...

review: Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95  lens

December 7, 2017 Neil vN 8 Comments

review: Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95  lens

The Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95  (B&H / Amazon), is an immediately impressive lens - it has that unusually wide aperture. Zero point nine five. Just how good is it then, you may well ask. Lenses with super-wide apertures tend to show some softness and optical aberrations when used wide open. Similarly then with the Mitakon Zhyongi - there are definite optical flaws, but this also adds to the character of the images you get with this lens. It's not just the super-shallow depth-field that defines  Read more inside...

review: Spekular LED lighting kit

November 6, 2017 Neil vN 7 Comments

review: Spekular LED lighting kit

The most adaptable and versatile continuous lighting setup currently might well be the Spekular LED lights (B&H / Amazon). They come as a set of four LED sections (11.8" x 1.57") that can be connected in different ways - as panels or strips or geometric shapes. You decide. The Spekular website shows some of the options. The specifications of the Spekular LED kit only gives a dry idea of what these are capable of.  Therefore, with this video review of the Spekular, I wanted to show some of that adaptability, and how these lights might be  Read more inside...

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