I just got a new lens for my D300 :-)

The AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor ED 70-200mm f/2.8

This is the standard lens for news, sports and action and environment portrait shooters. It's light weight mechanically and optically precision built and the 70-200mm VR shines for fast action in low light. Its rated as one of Nikon's sharpest lenses ever and its sharp at every aperture. It is famous for its beautiful bokeh (that gorgeous out of focus background look) The 2.8 aperture makes this a 'fast' lens.

I also have:

Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED IF AF-S VR

Macro lens for insects, food and tiny stuff. Also one of the best portrait lenses you can get. Again beautiful bokeh.

AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF DX VR

Good optics and considering the low price and the long focal range, very good all rounder in performance.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X

The wide angle lens if you're on a budget and the the sharpest ultra wide lens for a DX Nikon camera. It's rated better than the more expensive Nikkor 12-24mm.

Great for landscapes, architecture and anything inside or close range and low light.

Why 2.8 ?

The maximum aperture of the lens can have a significant impact on the types of photos you can take.

Smaller Aperture number (2.8) = Wider Aperture (the hole) = More Light

Larger Aperture number (22) = Narrower Aperture (smaller hole) = Less Light

If you want to take photos indoors without a flash, on overcast days, for sport or anything you need to use fast shutter speeds to freeze motion you need a fast lens (2.8 or better)

You can also get a shallower Depth of Field (DOF) DOF is that amount of your shot that will be in focus. With a large aperture you get a large depth of field, that is most of your image will be in focus whether it’s close to your camera or far away. With a small aperture you get a small (or shallow) depth of field and only part of the image will be in focus and the rest will be fuzzy (bokeh) but this separates the subject from the background (as long as IT is in sharp focus) and give a 3D effect to images and smoothes out busy backgrounds. - see RedBubble Flickr

iPhone app for remote control of Nikon DSLR

iPhone app for remote control of Nikon DSLR coming soon By [NR]

For iPhone users - soon you will be able to control your Nikon DSLR through your iPhone, including LiveView (camera must be connected to a computer):

In a blog post about the Apple approval, onOne Software's Mike Wong says a Nikon version of DSLR Remote will be next. To Nikon users, Wong writes:

“I’ve got good news for you - we will be adding support for Nikon DSLRs as well which will be available in an update to the app in the very near future. A special thank you goes out to some good friends at Nikon who were kind enough to send some cameras and accessories out to us today for testing. We expect to get the Nikon DSLR cameras in our office tomorrow and we’ll begin testing. Stay tuned to this blog for the most up-to-date info on when the Nikon support will be available.”

Pdnpulse via Crunchgear

Source: nikonrumors.com

How David Hobby created a his 'coming into a shaft of light' look

I just purchased the book 'The Hot Shoe Diaries' by Joe McNally and after browsing it for a little time somewhere there was a mention of stobists blog, a blog about learning how to use off camera flash. McNally apparently reads it too. So I checked my links in the right hand side of the wfrblog under 'BLOGS I READ' and saw a new entry 'Variations on a Two-Light Theme, Pt.2'. Reading David Hobby's entry I was interested in trying to re-create his lighting. Especially when I looked at another example by photographer Peter Yang (here).

So here is my self portrait version . . .

If you read how David Hobby created a his 'coming into a shaft of light' look, what I did was mount my SB900 flash off camera on a manfrotto light stand about two feet, and above, my face. Held up a piece of black card with my left hand acting as a gobo (a card that blocks light) I also had my D300 on a tripod with my (eBay) Phottix Cleon Wireless Remote Control and Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens on auto focus. I really want to master off camera strobes, they give you such great lighting possibilities.

Manfrotto 486RC2 ball head

Manfrotto are very well known for their tripods, I had been using a Manfrotto tripod and a 804RC2 head. The 804RC2 is a traditional 3 way pan tilt head has the three handles and adjustments. Recently while trying to get my camera to point directly up for some star shots at night, I discovered why these types of heads are only for video cameras. I did not understand what the big deal was until I tried a ball head myself and then decided to upgrade. If you have never tried a ball head for photography, you should know that most serious photographers use a ball head.

Here's why, using a ball head on a tripod lets you frame your shots quickly and easily and provides great support for your camera. It has a single locking knob and can do a 360° pan and +90° -90° tilt movement. The the double 90° grooves on each side of the head means switching from landscape to portrait is convenient however you're set up. I checked the manfrotto's product configurator on their web site for ratings for maximum weight and what lenses you use to get a head properly matched to my tripod (A 190XPROB). The 486RC2 is rated to hold up to 6kg. The ball movement is pretty smooth, and the locking mechanism seems strong. The Manfrotto quick release plate is easy to work with, it's easy to screw on to the camera and is simple and quick to release and snap back in place onto the head. It was only $125 form Discount Digital Photographics in North Sydney.

An adage that comes to mind: A mans greatest fear is that when they die, their wife will sell all their stuff for less than what they told her they paid for it :-)