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Monthly Archives: October 2010

In the picture: slrlounge.com

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To kick start our theme of introducing you to useful photography based websites, let’s start off with SLR Lounge. They’re a free resource for photographers offering photography tutorials, post production tutorials, photography studio marketing tips, equipment and software reviews, WordPress themes and plugins as well as general photography inspiration and news. So there’s a lot of useful content on here which many photography enthusiasts will find useful.

SLR Lounge was first launched in 2007 by Lin and Jirsa Photography, an Orange-County Based Wedding Photography Studio.  At first, the site focused strictly on wedding photography, but has since expanded to include all types of photography, from nature and landscape to people and macro.  It has also since expanded beyond Lin and Jirsa Photogrpahy to include articles from authors/photographers from around the world, including the U.K., India and Canada.

It’ a very popular site within the photographic community and regularly gets more than 50,000 page views a month. Popular articles on the site at the moment include Free WordPress Themes, followed by a post production tutorial on applying textures.
So, definitely check out their site. They provide a number of ways to participate in their community, including joining their forums, guest writing as an author, being interviewed as a professional photographer, joining their Facebook Fan Page, and of course reading and commenting on their site!

Nikon / Nikkor AF 70-300mm review

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Don’t forget, you can also watch the Nikon AF 70-300mm video review.

Nikon produce two 70-300mm telephoto lenses. The cheaper standard version – which this review covers – and a more expensive version which has VR image stabilisation.

This lens weighs 480g which is pretty light compared some of the competing lenses at the same focal range. It is important to note that the magnification levels when using this lens will vary depending upon the size of the sensor within your digital camera. When using a cropped sensor digital camera such as the Nikon D80, the image will be cropped, making it look magnified unto 1.6 times the actual focal length you are using. So, for example, taking a photo at 300mm will in effect be 480mm. If, however, a full frame digital camera is used, such as the Nikon D3, the image captured will be the same as the focal length of the lens.

Nikon 70-300mm lens construction

It’s a very simple lens to use, with no switches or buttons to worry about. The MF/AF switch is found on the digital camera rather than on the lens. The barrel of the lens provides enough resistance when moving from 70mm all the way up to 300mm, without it being juddery. It does feel surprisingly light in your hands almost like a toy. When trying to auto focus, the lens is typically noisy – much like the Sigma and Tamron lenses – and takes a similar amount of time to focus in. There isn’t a specific macro function either with this lens, and the minimum focusing distance is 1.5m away.

Nikon 70-300mm image quality

Alternative lenses

The more expensive Nikon/Nikkor 70-300mm has VR (vibration reduction). This noticeably increases the price but affords the ability to take photos at slower shutter speeds. The direct competitors to this lens however would be the Sigma APO 70-300mm and the Tamron 70-300mm.

Overall

Considering the price of this lens, it is ideal if you want an introduction into telephoto photography without having to spend a lot of money. The Sigma and Tamron have the advantage of incorporating a macro function which is very useful. So, if you’re only concerned with telephoto photography, perhaps the Nikon 70-300mm would make more sense, however if you are interested in delving into the world of macro photography as well, then the Sigma APO 70-300mm would be more suitable.

Nikkor AF 70-300mm F4-5.6 (non VR) lens video review

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Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO Macro lens Canon fit video review

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Sigma 70-300mm review

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Don’t forget, you can also watch the Sigma 70-300mm video review

Sigma is another company that produces lenses that fit a number of the main camera manufacturers. The 70-300mm APO lens incorporates Sigma’s low dispersion technology glass which limits colour aberration. This generally reduces the fuzziness that can sometimes appear around the edge of objects within the frame of your shot where there is a somewhat large difference between the luminosity of the object and the background. Basically, it means a Sigma lens with APO technology will produce sharper images than a Sigma lens without it.

Sigma 70-300mm lens construction

The lens itself weighs 530g, this places it pretty much in the middle, when compared to competing 70-300mm lenses. It is important to note that the magnification levels when using this lens will vary depending upon the size of the sensor within your digital camera. When using a cropped sensor digital camera such as the Canon EOS 60D, the image will be cropped, making it look magnified unto 1.6 times the actual focal length you are using. So, for example, taking a photo at 300mm will in effect be 480mm. If, however, a full frame digital camera is used, such as the Canon EOS 1DS, the image captured will be the same as the focal length of the lens.

The lens feels sturdy and well built. The focusing mechanism offers a suitable amount of resistance which makes it easy to move between different focal lengths. The macro toggle only works once the barrel of the lens has been extended beyond 200mm. Turning the macro function on and off can be a bit difficult, and does require a certain amount of fiddling with the focusing and the extending / contracting of the lens. Like the Tamron 70-300mm, it is necessary to stand around 1m away from the desired target when using Macro mode.

Sigma 70-300mm image quality

Alternative lenses

70-300mm is a popular focal range and there are a number of manufacturers that produce lenses at this level. Sigma and Tamron both produce lenses at a similar price. Canon produces a 70-300mm with image stabilisation and a USM ring motor. This produces superior results however it costs more than twice the price of the Sigma 70-300mm. Finally Nikon produces a number of 70-300mm lenses, a basic version without any extra functions, and a more expensive version with vibration reduction – Nikon’s version of image stabilisation – and this would be a similar price to the Canon 70-300mm USM IS.

Overall

For those on a budget, the Sigma 70-300mm APO DG is an excellent purchase allowing many types of photography ranging from nature photography through to portrait work ending up in macro photography. In my opinion it is slightly superior to the competing Tamron 70-300mm lens due to its slightly faster focusing and better build quality.