Fast Standard Full Frame Zoom on a Budget: Tamron 28-75 f/2.8

In this post, I would like to have a second look at the Tamron 28-75 2.8, a lens that has been around for a while.  I used it when I had a Nikon D80.  I recently repurchased it to use it as a full frame lens for the Nikon D600.

The OM-D Visits Europe - Part 1 (Stockholm)

Västerbron Bridge, Stockholm

It has been a long time since my last post, and I apologize, the past couple of months were quite hectic, and I traveled a lot, both inside and outside of Egypt. In this series, I will be telling my story about my recent visit to Europe, and I hope you will enjoy it, and forgive my lack of posts. Hit the jump for the full post.

Hidden Beauty

Nikon D600 + Nikon 85 1.8G

I had passed by this shrub many times, at varying times of the day.  (An azalea? Not sure - the leaves seem too broad.)  Anyway, usually, it is shaded under the tree or shaded by the house to which it belongs.  At other times, the sunlight from opposite the house shines on the bush directly.  It looked ordinary.  Then, one morning, as I passed by it for the nth time, I caught something glowing at the corner of my eye.  It was the same shrub I had seen before.  But now the sun was just at the right angle to shine past the eaves of the house and the canopy of the tree, to backlight the shrub against the shadow of the house, making it glow with beauty. I turned around the block and stopped to park and take a picture.

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A Lighting Opportunity You Shouldn't Miss

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This image was edited in Lightroom only.  Do you know how it was done?

Comments on recent news about lenses

Just wanted to share some thoughts on some recent news about lenses.

TAMRON 70-200 2.8 VC

DXO recently released its test results for the Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC for Nikon. DXO found that the Tamron 70-200 (22 P-mp on a D800) is sharper than the Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR II (20 P-mp) and the Nikon 70-200 f/4 VR (21 P-mp).

I would be interested in the Tamron but am very concerned about the size and weight. If it's too inconvenient to carry with me I will likely end up not using it very often. For now, my preferred telephoto lens is still the Nikon 85 1.8G (19 P-mp on a D800 or D600).

SIGMA 18-35 1.8

Last week, Sigma announced the pricing and availability for the Sigma 18-35 1.8, which will have a street price of $799 in the U.S. and will be available in July. I had been interested in this lens as a complement to the Nikon 85 1.8G. The price is not low but I was actually expecting it to be higher. Nonetheless I will probably pass on this lens. The reason is that the Sigma 18-35 1.8 is equivalent to having a 24-50 2.8 full frame lens in terms of depth of field and effective sensitivity. In that regard, I already have the Nikon 28-70 2.8D which I'm happy with and in addition I already have the Sigma 35 1.4. If you ask me, I would prefer the Sigma 35 1.4 over a 24-50 2.8.

My problem is that if I use the Sigma 35 1.4 on my D600, I don't have a great telephoto alternative for the D7000. The 85 1.8G perhaps, but it's kind of long for my purposes.

Anyway here are Photoworld's hands-on impressions of the Sigma 18-35 with sample shots.

ALTERNATIVE TO TOKINA 11-16

I'm currently using the Tokina 11-16 2.8 (on the D7000) to complement my 85 1.8G (on the D600). I like the Tokina but it's a little shorter than I'd like on the long end. I am contemplating replacing the Tokina 11-16 with a Sigma 10-20 3.5. The 30mm equivalent on the long end would be useful to me. When I had the 28 1.8G I liked the focal length and I think it would be a good compromise between having a 28mm and 35mm lens. I've also had the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6 which I found quite sharp, so I am pretty sure that the 10-20 3.5 will be sharp enough for me. Besides, according to DXO, the Sigma 10-20 3.5 and Tokina 11-16 are both about as sharp (8 pmp on a D7000). The Sigma is slower than the Tokina but the D7000's high ISO performance is decent, so I don't feel I need a fast wide angle lens as much as I needed to with the Fuji S5.

Nikon D7000 vs. Nikon D7100

D7000 + Tokina 11-16

I've been using the Nikon D7000 for a couple of months now, and in this post I'd like to share my thoughts on the Nikon D7000 and Nikon D7100, after having about 1600 shots on each.

An Evening with Friends Part 2

Some more observations from the photos I took a few weeks ago at my friend's party.  Part 1 is here.

Lightroom 5 Now Available

Lightroom 5, previewed here, is now available.  The full price is $149, or $79 for an upgrade.  It's available direct from Adobe. Alternatively, it is also included with your subscription to Creative Cloud.

Thank You

This week, we reached a milestone for this blog - a million pageviews.  Thank you very much for your support!

We will be celebrating this milestone in a special way that we hope you will like.

A suggestion for the photography industry

I felt really bad about the Chicago Sun-Times photographers being laid off. I have an idea of what it's like to be in their shoes. When the economy tanked in 2008, my industry got hit hard and I eventually had to look for another job. I'm very thankful that I did. For these photojournalists, I can imagine it being much harder due to their shrinking industry. Photojournalists aren't the only photographers who are suffering. Other professionals, such as wedding photographers, have also been hit due to the democratization of photography.

I think one solution may be to require licenses in order to charge for photography.

Photographers invest time and money in order to learn their craft and buy the equipment needed to realize their vision. If there are no barriers to entry, they are being disincentivized from making that investment. The end result is that there will be fewer professional photographers. Of course, with so many people having cameras, there will always be people ready to take your photos for little or nothing. The issue for us as consumers is that, on the average, the quality will probably not be as good. Even talented amateurs who have the skills to produce good photos would find it hard to compete in a marketplace where someone is always available to offer their services for free.

We require licenses in several professions partly for health and safety, such as for doctors and engineers. But there are other professions for which a license is required even though there is no physical danger to consumers, such as lawyers, accountants, or even gardeners. Simply because we want someone to do the job competently. I think consumers would benefit from a similar assurance of competence for photographers.

I think the fact that a license has generally not yet been required for photography is because the skills and equipment required for photography served as a natural barrier to entry. But because the photographic industry changed virtually overnight, the law hasn't kept up. Eventually, if almost all competent photographers switch jobs and enough consumers are burned by ugly photos, consumers themselves will probably ask legislators for some sort of license for photography. I'm just suggesting we do that before we lose the talent of this unique generation of professional photographers who have used both film and digital cameras.