I’ve spent the last few weeks with the new Nikon 24-85VR Lens. It’s a really compact zoom with a really nice range. Keeping with that spirit, I took the MB-D12 off the D800 and went shooting with it. alot! I really like the zoom range of 24 to 85mm, the VR was attractive because I could make use of that in my aviation. I wasn’t really concerned with its “slow” aperture because I wasn’t buying it for that speed. I really wanted it to work because it has a greater range then the 24-70AFS in a smaller package with VR. So Sharon & I got on our MtnBikes and went for a ride.
I think the lens does an excellent job. I was very pleased to see the lack of vignetting and its sharpness. I think the lens is better than the 24-120VR but not as good as the 24-70AFS. Like the 24-120VR, the lens expands and contracts with zooming, something you don’t have with the 24-70AFS. So while I like the lens, it does not replace the 24-70AFS so I won’t be adding it to me camera bag. But if you’re looking for an expensive, compact zoom in this range, the lens will serve you well.
On a side note, while Sharon & I were riding our bikes, we came across this old guy. With the pot belly of a campground bear, it was just strolling through the forest between campsites looking for a pic-a-nic basket. He was upset with the guy with the camera (me) when I wouldn’t let him get anything. Don’t think it hurt his physique any, I’m sure it scored after I left. It was taken at the 85mm end of the 24-85VR
To say Patrick has talent is really slighting Patrick because what he does is so much more than just talent. What you see here is a total original piece of art. The reason it’s on my blog because Patrick used a Bison image of mine for a reference. Working with Patrick is great, what he comes up with always makes me smile. Patrick created a time lapse of it’s creation you’ll enjoy watching. Nicely done Patrick, can’t wait for the next one!
One of my favorite tools just got a whole lot better! “The Box” as I call it, eMotimo has a whole new look built upon what was an already great platform. The first think you’ll notice is the entire massive beef up of the pan/tilt/time lapse mechanism. This provides incredible stability, flexibility and smooth as silk operation to hold the beefiest camera. The joy stick now operates via Bluetooh. And the programming software in The Box is improved and with more features. I decided to do a little test to prove my point.
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i set the The Box to run all day during a thunderstorm. The D4 w/50f1.4AFS was set up and left running through the wind, rain & hail capturing 1294 Jpegs over 10.5 hours. The unit was covered with the LensCoat Raincoat to keep the rain out, but I had to constantly go out and dry off the front element. The D4 was powered with AC and was the eMotimo. As you can see, it worked flawlessly.
Brent has been real busy and has BT Journal vol15.1 Monument Valley back issue (not included in a subscription) now available for purchase. Brent had me jumping writing 36 new, expanded captions, creating not 1 but 2 pg28 Digital Darkroom lessons and much more. I don’t know how many Monument Valley time lapses are in this issue but I do know one of the DD lessons on pg28 is how to assemble one in Photoshop.
Brent had a lot of fun assembling a lot of new Monument Valley images of mine into a number of slideshows. Those have captions as well. At the same time, we have updated the navigation of the Journal with the new tools available from the publisher. Be sure to check out the updated instructions on page 2. If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll see the option to purchase this newly released back issue (not included in your subscription) when you launch the BT Journal in the Newsstand. If you’ve not subscribed, you can find it at the top of our app’s Main Screen.
BT Journal Premiere Digital Issue –FREE! Ipad version released 03.30.12 – FREE! (click on icon) Subscriptions like anything iPad is purchased through iTunes. At this time, subscription to hard copy will not include digital copy. Back issues and issues released before the start date of your subscription not included.
