Nikon finally brought out some reasonably priced VR lenses!

First of all the excellent Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED and now they have updated the small and light 55-200mm as a perfect companion to the standard 18-55mm kit lens.

This lens will go very well with the new D40 or D40x or an existing D80 or D50.

The AF-S DX VR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED lens is a high-quality compact 3.6x DX zoom designed specifically to work with Nikon’s market-leading D80 and D40/ D40x cameras. The AF-S DX VR 55-200MM F/4-5.6G IF-ED is an affordable entry-level lens which features Nikon’s cutting edge Vibration Reduction stabilization system and exclusive Silent Wave Motor for fast, quiet and precise autofocussing.

With optics designed for the Nikon DX Format digital SLR cameras, this high-performance compact lens delivers a picture angle equivalent to that of a 35mm format, 82.5-300mm zoom lens, which enables users to get close to unapproachable subjects.

Nikon’s Vibration Reduction function compensates for camera shake to produce sharper, clearer pictures in unsteady or poorly-lit conditions.

Other fantastic features include the Nikon ED glass and aspherical lens elements to minimize chromatic aberration, astigmatism, and other forms of distortion, while ensuring high resolution and contrast.

Comments from Amazon Reviews

This lens is sharp even at wide apertures, the VR (image stabilization) works great, autofocus speed is more than acceptable, and it it is very light and compact. The fact that it costs $250 and has effective VR is pretty amazing - no other company offers a lens with this feature for anywhere near this price.

This lens is fabulous. The perfect compliment to my 18-55 lens on my Nikon D80. It takes over where the 18-55 stops. Sharp and lightweight at 11 oz. The VR “no shake, no blur” feature is a must for me. I am usually out walking the dog or in a car or at a cycling event so I never have a tripod. I have no complaints about this lens.

Some more samples here and Ken Rockwell’s thoughts here.

So far from what I’ve seen it’s a capable lens, light weight, sharp wide open and very reasonably priced.

Here in Malaysia it’s on sale (street price) for around RM850.

Little People - a tiny street art project is an awesome photographic project of little people in realistic scenes.

It always includes the perspective shot too, so you can see how it was taken.

Urban Camping

Small Gods

Most were shot with a compact cam, so once again it shows it’s the photographer and the ideas not the gear that makes the picture.

http://little-people.blogspot.com/

Sometimes known as the Indiana Jones of Wildlife Photography - Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols is a superb and innovative National Geographic Photogher.

I’ve been taking pictures for close to 30 years, starting when I was 18. It started with my Photo 101 course in school, right before I got drafted in the Army. I had studied fine art, but the camera was more immediate, and I knew immediately that’s what I wanted to do.

Right after school, I got the draft notice. I was a hippie, so I was really ashamed of wearing the uniform. I was planning to go to Canada, but this was towards the end of the war. So instead of leaving I decided to give an extra year to the Army so I could be a photographer instead of wasting my time in the infantry.

In that time I learned how to print black and white, and got to use equipment that I couldn’t afford. One of the things those guys used to say was “f/8 and be there.” Because they never used a light meter and, as far as I could tell, they didn’t care about quality. But I liked the concept of not depending on the technology so much and using your instincts.

From: Nick’s Take On..How did you get started?

He is one of the pioneers of ‘Camera traps‘ and has stunning pictures of wildlife around the world.

If you want some interesting stuff I recommend checking out Nick’s Take On..Recommended Reading and his complete list of articles is here.

His gear used is here, he uses Canon, Nikon and Leica.

Amazing new news, a replacement for D80 has leaked from Nikon.

Universal Vibration Reduction (uVR)

The new D90 incorporates an optional feature called Universal Vibration Reduction (uVR). This turns all lenses into uVR lenses, and offers a 10-stop advantage.

This means a person using a 500mm lens, who would normally have to shoot at 1/500th of a second, can shoot at 2 seconds when uVR is enabled.

The new uVR system isn’t sensor based, and instead requires one of the three optional vertical battery grips (see below). In this case, the MB-D90a is required. This grip provides all the normal controls and extended battery life of a regular grip. It also holds 8 EN-EL4a batteries, along with a step-up transformer.

Memory card incompatibility solved

The D50 and D80 caused some controversy by moving Nikon’s consumer-orientated DSLR models away from CF cards. This lead many Nikon users to resort to unseemly and ungentlemanly language in the forums (expressly forbidden under the terms and conditions of the standard Nikon warranty).

In an effort to avoid such distasteful events this time around, and ensure everybody can enjoy a D90, Nikon now supports the following storage formats…

• SD
• CF
• XD
• Memory Stick
• 3.5 inch floppy
• 5.25 inch floppy
• 8 inch floppy (in MB-D90b only)
• CD/DVD (in MB-D90b only)
• High-speed paper tape to maintain compatibility with Colossus
• Punch cards

New built-in artistic-effect modes

In addition to the regular scene modes, Nikon have included several artistic-effect modes. You can apply these to your image in-camera. Modes include…

• Black and white mode
• 1960s-style fast-film grain mode
• Nikon long-banding effect mode
• Canon plastic skin mode
• KM7D high ISO smearing mode
• Sony Alpha 1.3-stop underexposure mode
• Point and shoot artefact mode

A picture of the Nikon D90

You can read the full article here:

Nikon D90 Specifications Revealed

*Disclaimer - Only camera geeks will really understand this*

Ah finally some Reviews of the Fujifilm S5 Pro!

It seems it’s much as expected, fantastic Dynamic Range, but slow, slow AF and slow shooting speed. Definitely not for sports or wildlife shooters.

A good camera for skin tones though, excellent white balance (with the new firmware) and very good rendition of highlight details.

No bunching up on the histogram like normal digital camera, apparently it has wide ’shoulders’ and gives more leeway like film.

It also has pretty interesting film simulation modes.

If you shoot in the studio, or you do a lot of portraits and wedding, and don’t like post-processing much, this could be the camera for you.

Although many might say the Canon 5D might be a better choice.

You can find some sample pictures here and here.

Fuji S5 Pro vs D200 Dynamic Range Test.

Fuji Finepix S5 Pro Experience Report

Overall we find the Fuji S5 a very exciting camera. The highlight extension paired with excellent noise characteristics raise the bar for image quality and shows that not only Megapixels matter.

Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro CNET Editor’s Review

The bottom line: While a wide dynamic range lets it serve up tons of highlight detail and impressive overall image quality, the S5 Pro isn’t for high-speed sports photography, and it could use more resolution.

Popular Photography - Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro

But this is not really a sports shooter’s camera. The S5 will no doubt please its intended audience — wedding and portrait shooters. The bigger question is whether it will appeal to the broader market of serious amateur photographers. Actually, we think it will. A lot.

Fuji FinePix S5 Pro Digital Camera Body Only

The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro’s image quality makes it a viable choice for pros and other quality-conscious photographers. Dynamic range, noise and color are all excellent. The S5’s mechanicals – a Nikon D200 body, with Nikon autofocus, metering and flash – are also big assets. The drawbacks of the S2 and S3 bodies are gone.