New Nikkor supertelephoto zoom lens

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

Nikon has just announced a few new lenses, including the new Nikkor AF-S 200–500 mm f/5.6 VR supertelephoto zoom lens. While this isn’t actually the kind of lens I’d be using for low light action photography, it is, nonetheless, an interesting lens (as Thom Hogan has commented recently). The combination of the 200–500 mm focal length range and… Continue reading New Nikkor supertelephoto zoom lens

A breath of life for the Nikon DX range

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

Nikon has just announced a new DX zoom lens for its cropped frame sensor cameras—the Nikkor AF-S 16–80 mm f/2.8–4 DX VR. If we were being optimistic, this might be the first sign of a breath of life for the Nikon DX range of DSLR bodies and lenses. This new lens, in and of itself, isn’t particularly exciting for… Continue reading A breath of life for the Nikon DX range

Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II on special

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

In today’s issue of The West Australian, Camera Electronic has advertised the Nikkor AF-S 70–200 mm f/2.8 VR II lens for $2,538 (after cashback from Nikon). This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen for this lens in Perth. I wouldn’t expect it to ever really fall below this figure, as this is already lower than… Continue reading Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II on special

Memory card failure

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

Recently, one of my Compact Flash (CF) memory cards failed. To date, I’ve only used SanDisk cards in my digital cameras, and they’ve been very reliable. This was only the third error in 10 years of shooting, with more than 120,000 frames shot during that time (albeit across two DSLR bodies and five CF cards). That’s a… Continue reading Memory card failure

DxO One

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

DxO has just announced that it’s entering the camera manufacturing business (adding to its established business of photographic software) with the DxO One. It’s a camera module that connects to iPhone or iPad models with a Lightning connector, as shown in the picture below from DxO’s press lounge. With this camera, DxO is trying to… Continue reading DxO One

Canon EOS 1200D on special

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

In today’s issue of The West Australian, Harvey Norman has advertised the Canon EOS 1200D with 18–55 mm kit lens for $338. This is some $200 off the regular price (roughly 35% off), and is probably the lowest price I’ve seen for a DSLR kit yet. For a comparison with other Canon DSLR bodies, see another article I posted… Continue reading Canon EOS 1200D on special

The big guns

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

Some of you might be curious about the Canon EOS-1D X and Nikon D4S that I referred to recently. These are the ‘big guns’ of the Canon and Nikon DSLR lines—the top-level, professional camera bodies that are around the $7,000 mark. First, let’s refer back to the Canon EOS 7D Mk II as a basis for comparison. I’d… Continue reading The big guns

Choosing Canon and Nikon lenses

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

There are two main types of parts to DSLR systems—bodies and lenses. I’ve covered the mainstream Canon and Nikon bodies, so let’s now turn our attention to lenses for low light action photography. There are two main features we’ll want to see in lenses for low light shooting: A large maximum aperture (optically ‘fast’); and Fast autofocus speed. In poor… Continue reading Choosing Canon and Nikon lenses

Canon and Nikon DSLRs head to head

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

A few days ago, I suggested a method for choosing a new DSLR body for low light action photography. I then outlined the current mainstream Canon and Nikon DSLR models, and made a few recommendations within each of those ranges. But how do Canon and Nikon currently fare against each other in this arena? A general point that most photographic writers… Continue reading Canon and Nikon DSLRs head to head

Choosing Nikon DSLRs

Published on Author Yean Wei Ong

Nikon currently has the second-largest DSLR market share worldwide, after Canon. These two companies are far ahead of the rest of the field, and they have the most complete systems, in this particular market. Below, I describe what I consider to be the current mainstream Nikon DSLRs. There are other Nikon bodies available, such as the D4S (flagship professional body), but… Continue reading Choosing Nikon DSLRs