the last word

I’m trying to find a zoom lens that works well for distant landscapes, sometime stitched, sometimes not. My initial experiments with the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-400 mm 1:4G were unsuccessful. However, after testing the known sharp Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 under similar conditions and finding blur traceable to thermal atmospheric turbulence, I was ready to… [Read More]

Yesterday, I did some testing of the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens on the Nikon D810 with and without EFCS, and didn’t see much difference. I went back and looked at the MTF testing I did with the D810 and the 400/2.8, and there wasn’t much difference at shutter speed faster than 1/125 second. So I… [Read More]

I’ve been making images like this lately: This is a 20-image stitch made with a Sony a7II and a Leica 280mm f/4 Apo-Telyt-R. I decided that I wanted to try a zoom lens, so that, when I’m not stitching, I could frame by zooming. Many people say you should “zoom with your feet” but that’s… [Read More]

You talk to many who consider themselves serious photographers – not the commercial ones – and bring up flash photography. The noses turn up. Distain drips from their responses. Using flash is something one might do in private for utilitarian purposes, but it’s not a way to make important photographs. This attitude has percolated from… [Read More]