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review: Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens

November 15, 2013 Neil vN 28 Comments

review: Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens

The Nikon 58mm f/1.4G  (B&H / Amazon) is an odd focal length. It's not-50mm. More than that, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (affiliate) is only $440, and this new 58mm lens is $1,700 ... yup, that's a pretty hefty difference! The price of the 58mm lens is in line with the 85mm f/1.4G … so could one expect improved performance? I have to admit that the 50mm f/1.4G is my least used lens, along with the fish-eye. I'm just not that excited about using it. The focal length is just not wide enough (like a 35mm might be), nor tighter like a  Read more inside...

review: Profoto B1 flash

November 6, 2013 Neil vN 68 Comments

review: Profoto B1 flash

I'm a bit of a fan of Profoto gear. When I first started looking at the more serious on-location lighting systems, my initial purchase was the Profoto 600R. I was drawn by their reputation for reliability and features such as consistent color balance even when you change power settings. The wide variety of light modifiers, as well as the ease of use and setup also had me favor Profoto, even thought it is the more expensive system on the market. Of course, the sleek elegant look of Profoto gear also counted. As far as lighting gear goes, Profoto even looks  Read more inside...

Thoughts on using a beauty dish (light modifier)

September 18, 2013 Neil vN 23 Comments

Thoughts on using a beauty dish as a single light source

A beauty dish is one of those light modifiers that sound attractive just by name already. And when photographers start exploring other options than direct off-camera flash and umbrellas or a softbox, a beauty dish is usually one of the first alternate light modifiers that catches attention. Mine too. Right after I bought my first Profoto kit, I purchased a beauty dish for it and started exploring using a beauty dish. A beauty dish is ideally used at a closer distance for portraits, with the light "focused" on the face,  Read more inside...

review: Westcott Rapid Box – 26″ Octa Softbox

July 19, 2013 Neil vN 61 Comments

review: Westcott Rapid Box - 26" Octa Softbox

The Westcott Rapidbox - 26" Octa Softbox (B&H / Amazon) caught my attention, even among the huge variety of light modifiers available for off-camera speedlights. I bought one of these softboxes to try out at the most recent on-location photography lighting workshop in New York. And I like it a lot! It is relatively fast to set up, and collapses to a compact size and comes in a handy carry bag. Here is another photograph, with the comparative shot at the same camera settings, that shows exactly what impact the light had  Read more inside...

review: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens

July 12, 2013 Neil vN 27 Comments

review: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens

I have to admit upfront that I am a lens snob. Not so much for a lens being esoteric or collectible, but rather that I have a particularly strong preference for the name brand lenses. When I shot with Pentax way way back, I only used Pentax lenses. Similarly, I only have Canon lenses for my Canon bodies, and Nikon lenses for my Nikon cameras. Part of it is that the styling of the lens and camera is more consistent. Yes, I do like my cameras to have a certain aesthetic appeal. I know, I know ... how pretty a lens looks has no real correlation to  Read more inside...

ISO comparison – various Canon and Nikon cameras

July 6, 2013 Neil vN 21 Comments

ISO comparison - various Canon and Nikon cameras

I had a number of people ask about more details about the Canon 6D and whether I would recommend the Canon 6D (affiliate), or Canon 5D mark III (affiliate). It's tough enough to give advice at best of times, since the decision to buy a top-notch camera is a nuanced one. There are so many factors that come into play - your budget, weight of the camera; ergonomics; features & specification. Everyone has a different requirement of their camera gear. So when I was able now to get my hands on a broad enough  Read more inside...

Fuji cameras manual focus mode

June 30, 2013 Neil vN 6 Comments

Fuji cameras manual focus mode

The way that Fuji implemented manual focus mode on their cameras, turn them into possibly the best manual focus cameras around. Now some will say the most recent series camers' AF is so good that you don't need manual focus. However, I'm not convinced of that. The AF is pretty good, but there are times (such as with strong back-lighting), where even the top cameras of any brand would struggle. Then manual focus can be a huge help. And it makes sense to be familiar with the manual focus options on your camera. Anyway, here is why I think the way that  Read more inside...

review: Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Light

May 14, 2013 Neil vN 10 Comments

review: Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Light

The dramatic look that video lights lend to photographs, is a regularly explored topic on Tangents. I also cover the use of video light in my book Direction and Quality of Light. The video lights that I have been favoring, are the Lowel ID-Light (affiliate), but like other halogen video lights, it tends to run hot. LED video lights (affiliate) that are meant to be hand-held or mounted on a camera, also tend to be under-powered for some uses. And since video lights tend to be small light sources, their light is quite  Read more inside...

review: Fuji X100s

April 1, 2013 Neil vN 33 Comments

review: Fuji X100s

One of the most compelling cameras in recent years, was the Fuji X100. It had a slick retro look, solid build, and some interesting features such as the hybrid optical viewfinder. The camera looked quite sexy slung over your shoulder, and felt great in your hands. But it had a few flaws. Sluggish handling at times, and more crucially, erratic auto-focus. It tended to grab the background when focusing in low-contrast light. I loved my Fuji X100, but eventually sold it because of these frustrations. Well, the Fuji X100 was updated with the Fuji  Read more inside...

Continuous lighting – Westcott Spiderlite TD6

March 21, 2013 Neil vN 16 Comments

Continuous lighting - Westcott Spiderlite TD6

The beauty of continuous lighting, such as the  Westcott Spiderlite TD6 (B&H / Amazon) , is that you can see exactly how the light falls on your subject. It is easier now to nudge your lighting to the best position, as well as your subject in how they should move or pose. The Westcott Spiderlites can take a softbox, which gives you beautiful soft light. The downside of these lights, are that they usually aren't very powerful. Unless you are working with a tripod, you'll have to rely on higher ISO settings and wide  Read more inside...

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