If you want to quickly assert if your lenses are focusing properly, my friend Carsten recommends the “Newspaper Test”. This works very well, he says, because we are so used to letters that we can judge “readability” much better than a certain degree of blur. It is also the method of choice to test longer lenses at different distances, because for that both the ruler and the domino test are a bit tricky; it may be quite difficult to judge the results at a focusing distance of – say – ten meters. If you want to quick assert more »

Now that even the most modest Nikons feature 24 Mp. sensors, optical quality and lens performance are increasingly coming under pressure. It is no coincidence that many of the latest Nikon mid-range and top-of-the line cameras include a feature called “AF Fine Tuning” which allows users to adjust the auto focus of their sample of a particular lens to their particular camera.   Now that even the most modest Nikons feature 24 Mp. sensors, optical quality and lens performance are increasingly coming under pressure. It is no coincidence that many of the latest Nikon mid-range and top-of-the line cameras include a… more »

Today, Nikon launched their long awaited D3000 entry level and D300s semi professional cameras. I resume the specs of both cameras, as taken from their respective US product brochures. more »