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Photo of the Day - October 2009

fall 2009
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Another recent wedding, I really loved the field and backlighting :)
 

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luminosity said:
D700+135/2 at 3200 ISO. Taken last night.

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I added a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tokina 12-24 f/4, Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 AF-D, and a Nikkor 300 f/4 AF. Still want to add a couple more fast primes, or a 24-70 f/2.8 eventually.

Interesting lens selection. I had the 80-200 push-pull version, and I sold it. I now prefer using a 180/2.8, and just bought a used copy of it (I hope it's better than the new one I bought that I had to send back because it was defective). Do you use your 80-200 at several focal lengths, or just a couple? I've heard nothing but good things about the Tokina 12-24, and the 300/4 seems to have a good reputation if you can get past its slow autofocus. I don't think I'd want a 24-70 now, not least because it's very expensive. Have you thought about the 28-70? Can get a nice condition one for $1K or so if you know where to look.

Last night's game helped cement an 85/105/180 combination for me, I think, rather than something like the 85/135 or 85/180. Both for weight reasons and a preference for them in general, I pretty much use only primes now.
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Being able to go high ISO in combination with anything as fast as f/2.8 or better really changes things. This is great for 3200, extremely usable.

I use the 80-200 at several focal lengths, so a straight prime there would probably mean more lens changes than I'd like. It does have excellent optical quality, and even on the D50 I was impressed with the focus speed. Maybe that's why they still make it. The 300 is really not that bad for focus speed, but I just use the focus limiter ring when appropriate. It's a great lens which I picked up for only $510 in near-mint condition. I added a pinch-style lens cap (82mm) to replace the leather-type cover, and it's not too big, which means I can toss in in the top part of my MRock sling-type bag when I think I'll need it. You make a good point on the 28-70... I should consider it. I'm also looking at the 17-55f/2.8 as a walkaround, overall 'photojournalism' type lens (yeah, I know it's DX, but so far I've got two DX bodies.) I think I can get one for around $900.

The Tokina is very sharp, with excellent color saturation and contrast. It is a bit flare-prone, and supposedly the newer model with built-in motor has improved coatings, but sometimes this lens really blows me away. It's built like an old-school pro Nikon lens, and just feels worlds more durable than typical consumer/entry-level lenses, yet it's fairly cheap. Tokina was started by a bunch of Nikon engineers way back when, and that lineage shows, even in the travel direction of focus and zoom rings. The manual/auto focus clutch mechanism is a nice bit of engineering. Oh well, I'm a bit off topic, so I'll quit while I'm ahead and go back to watching Oregon smack down UCLA... ;)
 
The blast zone of Mt. St. Helens, 29 years after the eruption.
The mountain is off frame to the left hiding under a hat of clouds. It was an angry day, which is fitting for the Angry Sister of Mt. Rainier.



Dale
 
Friday I joined the children on their outdoor science project. One thing they had to do is collect insects and study them using plastic microscopes.
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