Just bought a 200mm f/2.8 lens for my Nikon D300s for $99! Incredibly it’s only 3.1 inches long and it’s as sharp as a handful of carpet tacks. It’s used, sure, and it’s manual focus. But hey! It was made by Nikon. It’s a real Nikon lens and it’s just one example of the fantastic bargains that are available to those who know what to look for.
Vacation season is approaching fast! Like millions of other Americans, you may be planning to travel to a destination where you can do a few of the things you really enjoy—including some inspired photography. Whether you’re headed to Tokyo, Toronto or Terre Haute, Indiana, here are a few tips that will help you enjoy your adventure.
Pssst! Hey – yeah, you. Share this story with your significant other and maybe they’ll take the hint that this year you both need a photo-perfect vacation.
I used to believe that the Auto setting on a camera was something to be avoided the way a tired waitress avoids eye contact when you’re signaling for a coffee refill—she can’t deny that you’re there, but she can ignore the hell out of you. I still feel that way about fully auto exposure, but my maniacally stubborn attitude toward Auto ISO is softening like marshmallow Peeps in a microwave.
Does a 5mm scratch in the center of the front element ruin a lens? We gouged a brand new, straight-from-the-box, $499 Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 zoom to find out. Then we shot some test subjects. Was the defect visible in the images? See for yourself…
President Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” I get that. It’s a truism that applies to things much lighter than D-Day, too. So as I watch March melt into April, I summon my highly analog paper Day-Timer calendar and begin plotting my summer. In pencil, of course. Here are the seven “must-do” activities I’ve strategized so far.
Last fall we published a series of fun quizzes and thankfully no one took them, or themselves, too seriously. Well, we’re doing it again. They’re a bit easier this time except for the first four and the last nine. Tell us how you scored in the comments. And no peeking at Google. Ready?
There’s something here for everyone this week. We look at a retro tripod from a famous filter maker, a messenger bag from a famous tripod maker, a lens case from my favorite photo backpack maker and a new circular polarizing filter from a not-so-famous accessory maker—plus a knockout protective case for your MacBook.
Hacking, wiretapping, malware downloads and televisions that watch us instead of the other way around—they’re all in the news and it sounds like they’re here to stay. We don’t want to give up our Amazon Prime memberships or Pandora tunes, but neither do we want to be plagued by viruses, Trojans and ransomware. There’s no magic pill, but it is possible to keep the bad stuff locked outside. Here are seven ways to protect your assets in an extremely connected world.
Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March throughout most of the US. Despite the nonsensical grumbles about losing an hour of sleep, this annual event is a reason to celebrate. It heralds the first hint of spring—and if that’s not enough—it brings us an extra hour of useable light before dinnertime. It also stands to remind us to clean out the tackle box, as it were, to get things in order for another wonderful summer of photography.
It was portrait shooter’s paradise with two new Sony lenses this week. The 100mm STF is a veritable bokeh machine, while the FE 85mm f/1.8 is a budget-friendly, professional quality portrait lens. Sony invited a small group of editors to a private studio and assured us that we were the first journalists in the world to shoot with this new glass.