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

Cold Morning Photo Expedition

City lights in the early morning from Yurulbin Point in Birchgrove.

Birchgrove is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, just 5 kilometres from the Sydney CBD on the Balmain peninsula, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

I had left home early to try to get a sunrise behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge there, but the sky was cloudy and washed out, so I went to Sydney's Luna Park to see if there were any image possibilities there.

Luna Park was open but deserted at 7:00 am on a cold Saturday morning.

Some colour isolation experiments.

Urban renewal or prestige wasteland?

Urban renewal refers to efforts to revitalise aging and decaying inner cities including its demolition, clearance, and general rehabilitation. Jackson's Landing is the name of a residential and commercial property development located on the northern peninsula of Pyrmont, an inner Sydney suburb.

The area played a pivotal role in Sydney life in the 19th century as a shipping port, sandstone quarry, sugar refinery, slaughter house, iron works, rail interchange and industrial hub, and at its peak was home to 30,000. From 1853 to 1931 the cliffs of Pyrmont were quarried for ‘Sydney Yellowblock’, the world’s finest sandstone. ‘Hell Hole’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Purgatory’ were the nicknames given by stonemasons to three of the quarries.Government House, Sydney Town Hall, Sydney University, Sydney Hospital and the QVB are some of the 19th Century public buildings constructed of sandstone from Pyrmont. But by the early 1990s residents had dwindled to 3,000, most industry had relocated and the area had become an eyesore.

Today it is a highly compressed mish mash of modern apartments set in an urban village style with shops, restaurants, cafes, library and a cultural centre. I have been down there several times at different times of the day and the thing that strikes you as you walk around, is the lack of any people. It seems almost deserted at most times although there are thousands of apartments just overhead.

Some relics from the past with some apartment blocks in the background.

More relics

Where are all the people, Jacksons Landing 11:30am Sunday. . .

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

Hermione

It’s time to get excited, Apple has made your iPhone a lot more useful

It’s time to get excited, Apple has made your iPhone a lot more useful. The iPhone OS 3.0 Software update, do you have it yet? It includes new features,and also lets you run the next generation of iPhone apps, like peer to peer games.

Cut, Copy & Paste

Quickly and easily cut, copy, and paste text from application to application. Select entire blocks of web text with a tap. Copy and paste images from the web, too.

Landscape Keyboard

Rotate iPhone to landscape to use a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari.

MMS

Send MMS messages and include video, photos, audio, and contacts. Just tap to snap a picture or shoot a video right inside Messages.

Spotlight Search

Find for across all of your iPhone. Spotlight searches all of your contacts, email, calendars, and notes, as well as everything in your iPod music and more.

Voice Memos

Capture a memo, a meeting, or any audio recording on the go. Voice Memos works with the built-in iPhone microphone or with the mic on your headset.

Improved Calendar

Create meetings via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and subscribe to calendars with new CalDAV support.

Buy Movies, TV Shows, and Audiobooks

Download movies, TV shows, music videos, and audiobooks from the iTunes Store on your iPhone.

Enhanced Stocks App

Get more information and view charts in landscape.

Safari Improvements

Faster performance, autofill user names and passwords.

Internet Tethering

Share your Internet connection with your laptop with internet tethering via Bluetooth or USB.

Stereo Bluetooth

Connect compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones, car kits, or other accessories.

Automatic Wi-Fi Login

Log in to a Wi-Fi hotspot and iPhone automatically logs you in when you connect again.

Sync Notes

You can sync all the notes you write on your iPhone back to your Mac or PC.

Parental Controls

Decide what music, videos, and apps your wife can access.

iTunes Store Account

Create and log in to one or more iTunes Store accounts directly from your iPhone.

YouTube Login

Log in to your YouTube account to save and sync bookmarks and rate favorites.

Shake to Shuffle

Give iPhone a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.

New Languages

Supports 30 languages and more than 40 keyboard layouts.

MobileMe Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe

Find your iPhone if you lose it and protect your privacy with Remote Wipe.

Run the Latest Apps

Run the next generation of iPhone apps.

Also iPhone 3G Speed, the new generation of iPhone it’s biggest changes from the 3G are increased computing capacity, video recording, increased battery life, a true compass, and higher photo quality, iPhone 3G S lands on June 19th this Friday.