written by: Lloyd ChambersIntroduction The fast-paced digital photography market kicked into high gear beginning with cropped-frame sensors (Nikon D1, 1999), and then quickly moved to full frame (Nikon and Canon). But disruption is in full progress, and if Canon and Nikon aren’t careful, companies like Sony and Olympus could eat their lunch. Hugely improved sensor quality coupled with market demand for smaller, lighter and more convenience now drives a move back to smaller sensors, accompanied by an impressive assortment of lenses, including support from stalwarts such as Zeiss and Schneider. No longer are smaller sensor cameras mediocre solutions for amateurs; professional photographers are Read more »
written by: Lloyd ChambersEspecially with high-resolution digital cameras, full-image sharpness is limited to a narrow zone even when stopped well down, demanding careful attention to detail for best results. My recent PHOTO Techniques articles have explored how diffraction, focus shift, and field curvature all can lead to blur. The focus shift and field curvature issues can be mitigated by increasing the depth of field, so long as diffraction is held at bay by not stopping down too far. Depth of field means “the zone of reasonably sharp focus,” with the term “sharp” being both arbitrary and ambiguous. The word “zone” is truer to reality, Read more »
Many think a higher f-stop automatically means greater detail; they're wrong
written by: Lloyd ChambersTo fully exploit the sensor resolution of today’s high-resolution digital cameras, photographers must arbitrate the conflict between diffraction and lens performance/depth of field. Understanding how diffraction affects image quality will enable you to extract the best results possible from your camera. Today’s digital cameras offer steadily improving color accuracy, dynamic range, and bit-depth, together with the crowd favorite— ever-higher megapixel counts. Yet actual image detail is constrained by optical performance: overall sharpness and depth of field require stopping down, but stopping down too far degrades image quality due to diffraction, an optical effect that puts an upper bound on resolution. Even worse, Read more »
written by: Lloyd ChambersCanon and Nikon both offer GPS units for both stills and videos. What are the practical aspects of using these units during shooting and what uses and considerations are there for GPS data? Introduction Both Canon and Nikon offer GPS units that can be connected to their respective brand DSLR cameras, with recent-models having built-in menu support with recording options. With both brands, the GPS units are add-on devices that are designed to mount in the hot-shoe of the camera, though both can be mounted to a belt or otherwise with a cable. With the Nikon GP-1 a cable is Read more »
written by: Lloyd ChambersThe new Carl Zeiss ZF.2 / ZE 15mm f/2.8 Distagon for Nikon or Canon offers unprecedented optical performance in an ultra wide angle lens, with superb build quality and ergonomics. Introduction As digital camera sensor resolution increases, the demands on lens performance rise, with many lenses inadequate to the task of ultra high resolution DSLRs like the 36-megapixel Nikon D800. The exciting and newly developed optical formula of the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 Distagon for Canon or Nikon DSLRs is an answer to those demands in the ultra-wide realm. The Zeiss 15/2.8 Distagon offers an unprecedented level of performance that makes Read more »
written by: Lloyd ChambersShallow depth of field by means of a wide aperture emphasizes a landscape in compelling ways, stepping outside the everything-sharp genre, while encouraging spontaneous creativity and freedom of movement without a bulky tripod. In daytime lighting, our usual inclination with landscape photos is to eagerly stop down for increased depth of field, to equalize sharpness everywhere. But equalizing sharpness near-to-far places the same sharpness emphasis on everything in the composition, which does not by itself make a stronger image. Eliminating the powerful tools of sharpness and blur by always stopping down makes one’s imaging toolkit less flexible, promoting reduced creativity. Read more »
