Jun 4, 2014 | Field Reports
Got a gear question you want/need answered? I want to help and answer it. Send your gear questions to me at Gear Questions and I’ll do my best every Wednesday to answer as many questions as I can. Questions are really light this week, you run out of them? Keep in mind the answers are just my $.02 worth and you have to take what works for you and your photography and embrace it and ignore the rest. So here’s this weeks questions ….
Moose,
I have a Nikon 800mm 5.6 VR and use it most of the time with the 1.25 attached. Have you ever used the 1.4 or 1.7 on yours and, if you have, how much sharpness do you feel you lose?
Randy
Randy, that’s a cool, great lens, huh?! I shoot with the 800f5.6 pretty much all the time and have tried it every way you can imagine. So ya, have shot it with the 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x and all with great success. I have not seen any “loss” in sharpness with them and use the 2x quite a bit. What I do experience is a “slower” lens with the 2x making it a f/11 and the AF non-operational lens. With autofocus so critical to my work, I only use the 2x on a subject, like a nesting raptor, when I don’t expect any real subject movement. One of the great things about the D4s is that with the dedicated 1.25x that comes with the 800mm, you have Group Auto Area AF (since you loose Auto Area AF when you attach a converter D3/D4/D4s) and that is simply a killer system! The issue most photogs run into when attaching a teleconveter to a 500mm or 600mm is a loss in sharpness and that is usually attributed to the converter. I think if they locked down the lens and camera body with two separate tripods and shot a target, they would find the combo does deliver a sharp image. The narrow angle of view the teleconverter creates makes even the slightest movement magnified. So the sharpness issue is what we politely call, pilot error. Hope this helps and keep that gorgeous lens eating up the pixels!!
Hi Moose
I have a couple of questions.
1. Do you tune your lenses? If so what do you use. What do you think of the Dot Tune method?
2. In a previous post you mentioned that you use UV filters on the front of all of your lenses to protect the front element from scratches etc. My question is- Do you leave it on when you put on a polarizing or neutral density filter or do you remove it before putting the filter on. I use B+W filters on the front of my lenses and I have been removing them before putting on a polarizer and I’m wondering if I need to.
Thanks
Al
Al, this is a real common question, tuning lenses. And the simple answer is, no. I have not found any lens I own, rented, or borrowed, that wasn’t sharp and requiring tuning. I know many folks who do and swear by it and if that works for them, most excellent. Sorry, never seen or tried the Dot Tune method.
When it comes to the Nikon NC filter, I leave it on all my lenses when attached the polarizer or the split grad. Your questions all center around the basic common concern and issue most photographers have and that’s sharpness. My peers and I have one huge advantage when it comes to sharpness then everyone else, and that’s decades behind the camera. Little things like proper handholding and long technique are two big things like knowing where to focus and DoF make getting not only a sharp image but how to lead the eye through the frame with sharpness second nature. KISS is something I firmly believe in as the best way to get a sharp image that grabs the viewer’s heartstrings.
May 30, 2014 | Field Reports
One of satisfaction from enjoying the moment. Have a great weekend!
May 28, 2014 | Field Reports
Got a gear question you want/need answered? I want to help and answer it. Send your gear questions to me at Gear Questions and I’ll do my best every Wednesday to answer as many questions as I can. Keep in mind the answers are just my $.02 worth and you have to take what works for you and your photography and embrace it and ignore the rest. So here’s this weeks questions ….
Oh Gifted Moose
I’ve been looking through your website looking for advice on macro lenses. I see a couple mentions of a Nikon 70-180 macro lens but little else. I’m hoping you can help me. I’m retired and live where there are lots of bugs in the summer and want to try my hand at photographing them. What’s the best macro lens?
Appreciate your $.02 worth
Marven
Marven, glad you asked me about macro lenses and not macro photography. I suck at macro photography but that doesn’t stop my knowing about the lenses. To your first question, the 70-180mic is an old lens that came out in the 80’s and is a freakin sharp, flat field lens that is very hard to find today. It’s my primary studio lens and never travels (because I suck at macro photography). Nikon currently offers a number of macro lenses like the 40mm, 60, 85, 105 and 200mm and I’ve shot them all and can recommend them all hands down. But which one should YOU buy? All I can suggest is what I go by and that’s what magnification do you need and what kind of light are you going to work with? Each of these macro lenses have a different working distance with the 40mm having the least, the 200mm the most. So if you’re going to use something like the SB-R200 which is what I use, that makes lighting a whole lot easier. Personally, I’m a 60mm macro dude primarily because its working distance and weight of the lens make it really easy to shoot. Think about working distance and lighting and you’ll know which is the right lens for you real fast.
Moose
Your bird photography has me really wanting to try my hand at it but I don’t have the mulla for the big glass. What lens(s) or focal do you recommend for someone like me?
Thanks
Tom
Tom, you are not alone and things haven’t changed much as when I started, I had the same issue. When it comes to birds, 400mm it the ideal focal length I feel for starting. You can get there with a prime lens or lens with a converter will get the job done. For example if you’re shooting with a D7100 you could go with the 70-300 and have a killer outfit. Moving up the scale, I recommend the 300AFS (killer lens I still have) with the TC-14eIII (Just announced) which gives you a 420f5.6. Lastly keeping budget in mind would be the 80-400VR3. Key to remember that a favorite old saying of mine, “Get close physically and use optics to isolate.” The 400mm lens is a great teacher in getting close physically so you master that, and you’ll have a library of beautiful images.
Oh Wise One
I have a real simple question, what’s the best lens for baseball? I realize you shoot no sports but figure you could find out.
Wanna be sports shooter
Don
Don, yikes, what a question! I appreciate your faith and in asking, it seems there are a couple of considerations all centering around where you are positioned and what action you want to capture. In a nutshell I’m told that the 70-200f2.8, 300f2.8 and 400f2.8 are the most commonly used lenses. You might notice the one common denominator here is the f/stop, it’s fast and that always means, money. This is for the shallow DoF and corresponding faster shutter speed. The focal length comes into play when you consider where you’re going to be shooting from and the action you want to cover, be it home plate or second base. Now as you very accurately point out, I don’t do sports so I would highly recommend you check out the stud in this dept, Dave Black who it da man. Good luck!
May 23, 2014 | Field Reports
Say it every time you see a vet, but especially this weekend!
May 21, 2014 | Field Reports
Got a gear question you want/need answered? I want to help and answer it. Send your gear questions to me at Gear Questions and I’ll do my best every Wednesday to answer as many questions as I can. I ~really~ appreciate those who email with a basic salutation, makes me feel like the free advice is appreciated. Keep in mind the answers are just my $.02 worth and you have to take what works for you and your photography and embrace it and ignore the rest. So here’s this weeks questions ….
Moose,
Hi it is Joe. I have a gear head question for you. I realize it is today but maybe for next week. I am a hobbyist. I shoot with a Df and a D3s. I have been considering a long lens…I have the 200-400 but I just cannot get a tack sharp image with the Nikon 2 x converter. The 1.7 works fine. My question for you is this (keep in mind I am a hobbyist) Would I be better off with something such as an older 600mm like this one: (Sorry link deleted). Would it be a sharp lens? or maybe get a Dx body and consider it an expensive teleconverter the 200-400 and 1.7?
Thanks
Joe
-Hi Joe! My first thought would not to be another lens like the 600mm. Rather, it would be look at your support system for your 200-400 / 2x combo. Then I would look at your long lens technique. And finally, I would look at which 2x you’re using because if it’s not the TC-20eIII, that might be causing you the sharpness issues. Keep in mind that 99.9% of shooters when they use a 2x have sharpness issues and it all comes down to long lens technique. Your angle of view has greatly diminished so the slightest movement in the gear is greatly magnified. Keep in mind the old saying, “just one sharp image means the problem is most likely pilot error.” I shoot the 200-400 w/the TC-20eIII all the time producing great results. Have no doubt you can too!
I have the Nikon 800 mm 5.6 lens. Can you suggest a bag to put it in on a plane trip (carry on)?
Alan
Alan, I think you should check out the video I just posted. It’s the best answer I have for you right now, the Think Tank Accelerator.
Which – Nikon 800mm, 600mm or 500mm as my primary lens?? I use a Nikon D4s as main camera with a 500mm f/4 & 2x converter (f/8 at 1000mm) as primary lens often free-held or with a monopod and a Nikon D800 with sigma 50-500mm as secondary. We do wildlife photography (sorry link removed) What are the trade-offs for a Nikon 600mm f/4 with 2x or 800mm f/5.6 with 1.25x (both end up at f/8 and all three are less than lighting fast focus unless it is bright light)? Based on weight differences (8.6, 11.2 or 10.2 #s) and relative image quality, is it worth moving to a larger prime? A couple pounds make a lot of difference when slogging through the jungle or up a mountain and hand-holding seems out for the 600 and probably for the 800 (I am 150#s & 71 years)? How do these three lenses compare with the respective convertors pushed up to around 1000-1200mm? Is it worth the extra weight (lets assume the $$$s are not a factor)?
Thanks
Ted
Ted, wish I had the answer for you. In fact, I wish the many other times I’ve answered this question here on GearHead Wed could help. The prime lens you select directly effects how you visually communicate and that’s a real personal thing. Without knowing you, your abilities or style of photography, I can’t simply buy XXX. The best I can do is to give you thoughts to ponder and the advice to rent before you decide.
Now when it comes to the 600f4VR and 800f5.6AFS, comparing these two killer lenses as prime of with the TC-20eIII or TC-.25 (can’t be purchased separately), we’re talking 1200mm / 1000mm f/8 respectively and both killer combos! As I mentioned in many posts a year ago while shooting side by side with my shooting partner Kevin, his results with the 600/2x were just as marvelous as mine with the 800/.25. There is no “advantage” in one combo or the other for sharpness or weight.
I’ve received a lot of what I call “repeat’ questions, once asked a few times and answered a few times already here on GearHead Wed. I appreciate that the question might be new to you, but all the questions and answers have been archeived and read by clicking on this tab which is at the top of the website. So if you sent in a question in the last week but don’t see an answer here, it’s because it’s one of these repeats so I would encourage you to check out the archive as your answer is there waiting for you!
May 20, 2014 | Field Reports
Yeap, Sharon & I are making our way east for our spring visit to the Big Apple and B&H! When, 11-12 June and where are we taking folks this time? Well, that’s still a bit of a secret but I can tell you, we’ve never taken folks there before and you can find it in the photo below. The great folks and the killer skyline you see above keeps bringing us back and we can’t wait. So stay tuned, we’ll be announcing the location for the shoot shortly and save those dates! The 11th is the shoot and the 12th is the crit. Thanks for Lexar for sponsoring the event and B&H hosting it.
And while we’re in town, we’ll be holding our incredibly successful Click2Click. And we’ll also be scouting some new locales while in town. So, if you see us, please be sure to come up, introduce yourself and say hi. New York … here we come!
