Sunday, 17 May 2009
Monday, 11 May 2009
Vivitar 24mm f2.8
This manual focus lens can be found used for very little money today. This sample has Nikon F bayonet without diaphragm coupler of the later AIS type lenses. It can be used with most Nikon cameras (it also has “rabbit ears” for metering on older cameras with pin couplers). It fits to old F bayonet cameras, new D40/40x/60/5000 digital cameras and surprisingly it also fits, given that there is sufficient space between the bayonet and the f-ring, also to more recent cameras with fixed diaphragm coupler. It does not provide metering with newer digital cameras although this may be remedied by using live histograms or simply by trial and error in manual mode.
It serial number 377xxxxx indicates that the lens was produced in Japan in the seventies by Tokina on behalf of Vivitar in 1977 (?) (for Vivitar numbering system see here) .
The lens make is all metal. The focusing ring is smooth with diamond head rubber grip. Focus rotate in the opposite direction compared to Nikon’s normal layout.
It has 8 elements in 7 groups, 7 blades diaphragm and weights 250g. Minimum focus distance is 0,25 m and filter diameter is 58mm. The lens came with an original Vivitar polarizing filter.
The lens is sharp when stopped down on digital APS sensor (DX) as only the center of the image is used. Distortion and other optical defects remain controlled. The images provided by the lens appear less contrasted than Nikon usual type of crisp images.
Users comments often point to poor color rendition. Although this may apply to different production batches, I found that images produced with this lens do have a slight yellow cast. This may be remedied by using filters (in this case polarizer) and/or by playing with the digital camera’s color setting, or even with white balance setting to achieve original results. Color results would need attention possibly in postproduction phase.
The lens should be fitted with any standard 58mm hood and front cap. Standard LF-1 back cap for Nikon mount should be used.
The lens can be used for static and nature subjects given absence of metering and manual focusing. Or with a bit of experience in hyperfocal mode given the generous native depth of field (at f16 everything is in focus from 2m to infinite) which may be amplified by the digital sensor factor. Maybe I would not recommend its use for low light situation, unless stopped down and at high ISO setting.
So basically, this lens provides a quite useful focal length (equivalent to 35mm on DX format) with above average optical performance (especially for cropped DX sensor users). All this at a bargain if found in good condition used.
sample picture (center crop) color adjusted to vivid
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
D5000 video
Yeah right use it on the beach, great idea
Clearly Nikon want you to buy a lot of cameras...
Also not so sure this is the right camera for kids and preteen, it's fairly complicated and relatively pricey.
Clearly Nikon want you to buy a lot of cameras...
Also not so sure this is the right camera for kids and preteen, it's fairly complicated and relatively pricey.
Nikon D5000
IT'S OUT !!!! (But D400 not...)
The dark lord ... with a microphone (image Nikon)
D5000 is the update of the D60 entry model DSLR - so it's compact, DX APS-C format and has no auto focus motor, needs lenses with built-in AFS motor basically all DX format lenses in Nikon range are (except 10mm fisheye). Does have vibrating sensor cleaning system plus airflow. Uses SD card. No dedicated grip foreseen by Nikon (possibly a market brand will be available as it is the case for D40/60, although not sure existing one can be used).
It borrows from D90/300 higher range models: CMOS 12 Mpixels image sensor and image processor, so we can expect very good image quality and above average low ISO performance, which I hope will be confirmed in future tests. AF sensor is the 11 point module with focus tracking capacity found in D90, which is clearly an upgrade from D60's 3 sensors AF module.
What's really new: movable screen although lower resolution than D90/D300, Live View but slow AF performance in this mode, movie recording capacity, upgraded battery, new body but with traditional Nikon layout.
Movie mode: 16/9, 720p, 24fps with HDMI output - so no full HD. No autofocus during recording but stablisation functions with VR lenses. Max recoding in high quality 720p format 5 min.
What I consider weak points are rather related to the structure of the camera, where economical imperatives clash with what you would expect in a Nikon camera that is many dedicated buttons, big bright finder to facilitate composition and a sturdy frame. In fact the viewfinder on the D5000 is even smaller than on the D60, there is no rotating selection wheel in front of shutter button, no depth of field preview button, etc. The camera is clearly not weather sealed contrary to what Nikon promotional video seems to imply (see other posting)
Raw capacity: Image processor is 12bit only and Raw mode is compressed - those using Raw intensively will probably turn to more capable upper end cameras.
The positive aspects is that basically you get a D90 image quality (possibly slightly improved by 6 further months of devlopment) plus movable LCD screen (which is always cool) in a compact package.
For manual lenses shooters, the camera while probably unable to meter as there is no metering coupling. This means however that any Nikon lens (with very few exceptions) produced in the past 50 years can be mounted on this camera. And while no auto focus will (ever) be available with manual lenses (obviously...), you can always use the focus confirmation function in the finder.
In addition, all lenses can be used with live view and movable LCD which is interesting in Macro photography. The camera has an automatic function for the correction of lateral chromatic aberration (which is a common problem with older lenses used for digital) and additional cool in camera retouching options like perspective control, D-lighting, etc.
Also, I would be courious to try some older lenses for movies (AF doesn't work with movie mode anyway).
As an interesting note, the D5000 has a dedicated socket to be used with additional GPS module, which will make geotagging simple.
Price is around 700-800 $/Eur body only and 800-900 $/Eur with 18-55 VR kit lens.
The D5000 at first look does not sound like terribly competitive. Frankly at that price I would either spend a little more, forego the movable LCD screen and buy the D90 or use a Canon 500D (possibly with a F/EOS adapter ring) .
But if you want an uptodate Nikon camera in a more compact package, the D5000 is certainly a competent camera.
The dark lord ... with a microphone (image Nikon)D5000 is the update of the D60 entry model DSLR - so it's compact, DX APS-C format and has no auto focus motor, needs lenses with built-in AFS motor basically all DX format lenses in Nikon range are (except 10mm fisheye). Does have vibrating sensor cleaning system plus airflow. Uses SD card. No dedicated grip foreseen by Nikon (possibly a market brand will be available as it is the case for D40/60, although not sure existing one can be used).
It borrows from D90/300 higher range models: CMOS 12 Mpixels image sensor and image processor, so we can expect very good image quality and above average low ISO performance, which I hope will be confirmed in future tests. AF sensor is the 11 point module with focus tracking capacity found in D90, which is clearly an upgrade from D60's 3 sensors AF module.
What's really new: movable screen although lower resolution than D90/D300, Live View but slow AF performance in this mode, movie recording capacity, upgraded battery, new body but with traditional Nikon layout.
Movie mode: 16/9, 720p, 24fps with HDMI output - so no full HD. No autofocus during recording but stablisation functions with VR lenses. Max recoding in high quality 720p format 5 min.
What I consider weak points are rather related to the structure of the camera, where economical imperatives clash with what you would expect in a Nikon camera that is many dedicated buttons, big bright finder to facilitate composition and a sturdy frame. In fact the viewfinder on the D5000 is even smaller than on the D60, there is no rotating selection wheel in front of shutter button, no depth of field preview button, etc. The camera is clearly not weather sealed contrary to what Nikon promotional video seems to imply (see other posting)
Raw capacity: Image processor is 12bit only and Raw mode is compressed - those using Raw intensively will probably turn to more capable upper end cameras.
The positive aspects is that basically you get a D90 image quality (possibly slightly improved by 6 further months of devlopment) plus movable LCD screen (which is always cool) in a compact package.
For manual lenses shooters, the camera while probably unable to meter as there is no metering coupling. This means however that any Nikon lens (with very few exceptions) produced in the past 50 years can be mounted on this camera. And while no auto focus will (ever) be available with manual lenses (obviously...), you can always use the focus confirmation function in the finder.
In addition, all lenses can be used with live view and movable LCD which is interesting in Macro photography. The camera has an automatic function for the correction of lateral chromatic aberration (which is a common problem with older lenses used for digital) and additional cool in camera retouching options like perspective control, D-lighting, etc.
Also, I would be courious to try some older lenses for movies (AF doesn't work with movie mode anyway).
As an interesting note, the D5000 has a dedicated socket to be used with additional GPS module, which will make geotagging simple.
Price is around 700-800 $/Eur body only and 800-900 $/Eur with 18-55 VR kit lens.
The D5000 at first look does not sound like terribly competitive. Frankly at that price I would either spend a little more, forego the movable LCD screen and buy the D90 or use a Canon 500D (possibly with a F/EOS adapter ring) .
But if you want an uptodate Nikon camera in a more compact package, the D5000 is certainly a competent camera.
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