On November 25 last, Tamron announced the launch of the successor of its very respectable 200-500mm f/5-6.3 ultra tele-zoom, the Di SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 VC USD, the first afficionado super tle at under $1500   On November 25 last, Tamron announced the launch of the succesor of it's very respectable 200-500mm f/5-6.3 ultra tele-zoom (test here), the Di SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 VC USD. What does that letter-soup stand for, you wonder? Di means “Digi… more »

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 replaced the Nikon D5200 – launched on November 5, 2013 – with the D5300.The D5300 is a far more significant update than it’s predecessor, which was – as I pointed out in a previous article, virtually indistinguishable from the D3200.   Today, Nikon replaced the Nikon D5200 - launched in November 2013 more »

With the launch of the D610 Nikon replaces the D600 after a mere 13 months, allegedly to finally solve the oil and dust problem that has been plaguing the latter virtually since its introduction. The new camera’s “suggested” retail price of $ 2.000 is slightly inferior to its predecessor, which launched on September 13, 2012 with a SRP of $ 2.100. With the launch of the D610 Nikon replaces the D600 after less than 13 months, allegedly to finally solve the oil and dust problem that has been plaguing the latter virtually since its introduction. The new camera’s “suggested” retail price of… more »

Nikon are the hallmark of engineering prowess. In terms of IQ they have been beating the competition for the last half decade, or so. There are 9 Nikon cameras in the DXO top-20 and Nikkor lenses typically get raging reviews. So why the company has been scrambling around new product strategies, recently, and why have the shares dropped off so dramatically? The answer is as simple as complicated. more »

One of the first things I did upon the arrival of my D7100, was to check if it would properly work with my GPS, because the one thing that I have been missing dearly during my recent travels was the ability to properly geo-locate my shots. Here’s what I have found. One of the first things I did on the arrival of my D7100, was checking if it would properly work with my GPS, because the one thing I have been missing during my recent travels was the ability to properly geo-locate my shots.   Co… more »