D700, 70-200 f/2.8 @ 160mm, 1/200th @ f/5.6
The fine weather this last weekend brought out all the kids from the street on to the patch of grass we call the green. A perfect opportunity when they're such willing models too!
The autofocus combination works really well between the D700 and 70-200, I had the continuous mode set for when the kids were on their bikes and hurtling towards me with no sense of fear (or lens cost). The majority of the shots were shot on single point AF, in shutter priority set to 1/200th sec to avoid camera shake. I know the VR should save me a couple of stops as well - force...
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Interesting bit of viral marketing on Twitter - an Australian photographer called Cameron Laird (@cammo) is giving away his Nikon D2H body to one of the people who follows him on Twitter.
It's a great way to get more followers, how many will abandon him after the draw I wonder - especially as this is on April Fools day! To be in with a chance of winning you'll need to follow the instructions for the competition here. Good luck!
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D700, AF-S 70-200 at 175mm, 1/80th at f/4.5, ISO 200
As I haven't been to the gym for a while it was high time I got out with the Nikon AF-S VR 70-200 f/2.8 zoom that I acquired recently. It's brilliantly balanced on the D700 and feels great, but it isn't half heavy. On the plus side, a couple of hours of wandering around with this lens makes the 24-70 f/2.8 seem as light as a feather! Mental note: leave the 50mm f/1.4 off for a bit...
First impressions - the AF is insanely fast. It tracks well in low light and is pretty quiet too, but you can hear the VR servos fire in from time to time. On that...
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I've got some bad news if you've been saving up for the monster Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 zoom lens pictured above. Just as you managed to scrimp and save the last of the £15,999 recommended retail price it's now gone up an incredible £8,000 during February! £23,999 for a lens? I think I'll lose that extra few stops and go for a teleconvertor thanks all the same.
According to Amateur Photographer's report on the price increase, there are customers for this lens - military and nature shooters apparently. How you could move stealthily with this is a bit of a mystery, but with the mysterious "attachment"...
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Nikon D100, 24-85mm @ 85mm, 1/60th at f/4.5, on camera flash
We're expecting our second child in the next couple of weeks. With our first, my Wife packed her bag for the hospital a couple of centimetres dilated - she's prepared a little earlier this time. It's got me thinking as well. With Harry we got transferred from the birth centre at Lymington to Southampton, and I had to switch cars to follow the ambulance. Typically my D100 was in the other car... The shot above was the first picture I took of Harry the next day - I did take shots on my phone but it's not quite the same! You'll have to excuse...
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