The essence of photography

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iaudio said:
ajay, thanks for sharing the link. Thats some really good work there. I wonder if there's post processing involved.
Click to expand...

Yes, there seems to be quite a bit of post processing involved. But I can't figure out what kind it is. The pics are great not only because of post processing. But also because of excellent technical and composition abilities. Some photographs have a painterly feel. And some seem to be like stills taken from a film by Tarkovsky, Jancso or Tarr.

One more really good photo-stream on Flickr:

Clair de lune | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
My new go-to lens is the Tokina AT-X PRO AF 28-70mm 1:2.6-2.8. A joy to handle because of its top flight build quality. It is as sharp as Nikon glass and renders beautiful colors. Better colors than any Nikon lens I have used till now. Tokina has made 4 versions of the 28-70 2.8 Nikon mount. The one I bought is the Pro 1 version based on the Angenieux design. It cost me substantially less than a Nikon 28-70 2.8/24-70 2.8 would have :)

NIKON GLASS: Tokina AT-X Pro 28-70mm f/2.6-2.8

three is company | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
in a mellow tone | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
lady's day out | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
morning light | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
qutab minar | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
ajay124 said:
My new go-to lens is the Tokina AT-X PRO AF 28-70mm 1:2.6-2.8. A joy to handle because of its top flight build quality. It is as sharp as Nikon glass and renders beautiful colors. Better colors than any Nikon lens I have used till now. Tokina has made 4 versions of the 28-70 2.8 Nikon mount. The one I bought is the Pro 1 version based on the Angenieux design. It cost me substantially less than a Nikon 28-70 2.8/24-70 2.8 would have :)
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you on Tikona having a tank-like build quality, being as sharp as Nikon and rendering vivid colors compared to Nikon glasses. I used to own 50-135 f2.8, it was a DX lens and was almost like a 70-200 on my D90.

Out of curiosity, how much did you get this lens for?
 
jitubisht

I paid 20K for it. Earlier there was a Nikon 28-70 2.8 available for 55K but I could not muster the courage to spend so much on a 'normal' range lens. I am planning to buy the Nikon 14-24 2.8 soon and that is going to be an expensive option. The mrp is 113K and even with a 15% discount the price is close to what one pays for a decent amp, cdp or towers! I am planning to sell both my 18-35 and 50mm 1.8D to partly finance the purchase of the 14-24. My final kit (hopefully) is going to be Nikon 14-24 2.8+Tokina 28-70 2.8+Nikon 80-200 2.8 :)

For wide angle I am actually mulling over 4 different options:

Nikon 14-24 2.8 (app.70-75K used)
Nikon 17-35 2.8 (app. 50-55K used)
Nikon 16-35 f/4 VR (app. 50-55K used)
Nikon D300+Tokina 11-16 2.8 (app 30K for D300 and 25K for 11-16 both used)

Instinct tells me that D700+14-24 2.8 will yield the best results. Buying a D300+Tokina 11-16 is also a good option as I would acquire a back up camera along with a 16-5-24mm lens. A back up camera which is virtually a D700 with a cropped sensor. Tokina 11-16 2.8 is probably the best option for wide angle photography on cropped sensor Nikon or Canon DSLR's.

Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G Lens Review by Thom Hogan

Tokina 11-16mm Review
 
Ajay, great find..I was in Goa last week and really missed a wider angle. Need at least a 24. but i will go prime.

Some pics here
Regarding a Backup. does it not make sense to put the Zoom in the cropped sensor camera ? gives you a better sense of composition and the crop acts in your favour.

Since D300 is DX and needs a separate set of lenses, I would feel make sense to go for Mirrorless here. at least you have a very small Camera foot print. also good for those days you want to go light
 
Nice pictures Arj. You seem to have done a lot of travelling this year - Munich, Paris, Rio !
....and Goa of course. What lenses do you use ? I have also given up my FF for a micro 4/3 with two primes.
 
Staxxx said:
Nice pictures Arj. You seem to have done a lot of travelling this year - Munich, Paris, Rio !
....and Goa of course. What lenses do you use ? I have also given up my FF for a micro 4/3 with two primes.
Click to expand...

Thanks staxxx, last 6 months have been a real killer. Had to shut down and dismantle my music system..hence only the camera for company. Goa was the only pleasure trip.

I only have the 50 and 85 1.8 primes now. Once I get a 24/2.8 prime and a 70-300 I would be done with the range I need.

For mirrorless I really believe theolympus is the way to go. The OMD5 is a great camera and had almost bought it before this thread by ajay made me decide to go FX. i guess it is just a matter of time before mirror less becomes de facto..and even full frame sensors take advantage of the tech,


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arj

A 24mm 2.8D will not be wide enough for all situations even on your D700. A 20mm 2.8D prime or 18-35mm 3.5-4.5 zoom would both be better options. To get a real feel of wide angle photography you need to enter the sub 20mm regions. The 20mm 2.8D is available on the jjmehta forum. I had a long chat with the seller on the phone once and he seemed to be a nice guy and an enthusiastic photo-phile. For the 18-35 you can pm me as I will be getting my 14-24 soon :)

Price Reduced: Nikon 20mm ultra-wide lens

Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF-D

Nikon 18-35mm AF-D

Flickr: The nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D Pool

Flickr: The nikkor 18-35 mm af ed Pool
 
Gerry_the_Merry said:
Wow. What happened to your system. Why a shut down?
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with the system ,just that I have been in the air a lot the last many months and so just dismantled it . Should have a easy time in nov-dec so will put it back and do some experimentation with setting it up as well !




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
ajay124 said:
arj

A 24mm 2.8D will not be wide enough for all situations even on your D700. A 20mm 2.8D prime or 18-35mm 3.5-4.5 zoom would both be better options. To get a real feel of wide angle photography you need to enter the sub 20mm regions. The 20mm 2.8D is available on the jjmehta forum. I had a long chat with the seller on the phone once and he seemed to be a nice guy and an enthusiastic photo-phile. For the 18-35 you can pm me as I will be getting my 14-24 soon :)

Price Reduced: Nikon 20mm ultra-wide lens

Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF-D

Nikon 18-35mm AF-D

Flickr: The nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D Pool

Flickr: The nikkor 18-35 mm af ed Pool
Click to expand...

Hi Ajay, I used a 11-22 earlier which was 22-44 effective with a crop. And that is a fabulous piece of glass by Olympus. I have mostly used it at 24 or more and never really gone fully wide in fact have usually found the 28 also very good.
The only issue I have had is barreling which can be cropped out. But these days there are so many corrective software that it is not really an issue.
Hence the choice of 24. Let me anyway check out the 20 as well..but for my liking I believe the 24 or even the 28 would be wide enough. I typically do not like too much in my frame and too many things confuse me.

But again I am very very amateurish and only ing I really focus on is composition and usually let the camera take care of the rest.


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arj

You have a great camera. And two great lenses. A 20/24mm Nikon prime would be a nice addition to your kit. If you are interested in acquiring a telephoto prime then look for a 135mm f/2 DC or a 180mm 2.8D.

The Nikon 80-200 2.8D has killed my obsession with primes. It is sharper and has better colors than any Nikon prime. It has a mind blowing bokeh. The only downside is that it does not have VR and weighs a hefty 1300g!

The Tokina 28-70 2.8 is equally sharp and renders the best colors I have ever come across on any lens. Its build quality is probably a little better than the pro grade Nikon lenses. For some reason it does not perform well when you directly point it towards a strong light source. I am willing to overlook (and work around) this shortcoming because it is a magnificent lens otherwise.

Tokina AT-X PRO AF 28-70mm 1:2.6-2.8: (Check out the colors and resolution. I could never manage to get these kind of results with a Nikon prime)

three is company | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
i shot these photos this morning. just half an hour walk uphill from where i live.
the photos are mediocre but the view was exhilarating and walk literally breathtaking.
some of the photos were taken with my old Minolta DImage.

Flickr: prabinkpg's Photostream
 
Last edited:
ajay124 said:
arj

If you are interested in acquiring a telephoto prime then look for a 135mm f/2 DC or a 180mm 2.8D.
Click to expand...

for tele i want a zoom with VR and not keen in Primes... and would settle for a 70-300 VR2 or Tamron at this point. i dont really like tripods/Monopods although their use cannot be underestimated hence need a VR..and my hands do shake just when i dont want them !

That lens is pretty sharp and really strong colours. good find !
 
I hope this is not OT but since this seems to be a nice thread about photography.....I am thinking of a 2nd more simple portable camera. The choice seems to be between a Sony RX100 and the cheaper but equally interesting Panasonic Lumix LX7. Any thoughts please? This is just for day to day unimportant shooting and some video work on my golf swing! Also, I may occasionally prefer to take this (rather than the Olympus OMD EM-5 with primes) with me when I go on day trips to various architectural heritage sites. Thanks.
 
staxxx, if you dont have an iphone, get one :) it takes pretty good pics
you can make HD movies too... (Or if you dont like apple , the galaxy S3)
and of course you can take calls.
 
moktan

Beautiful locations. Somewhere in the north east? Sikkim?

Underexposing the daylight shots would have made the mountain ranges more dramatic and contrasty. The simplest tool for underexposing is to reduce the EV value. In Nikon DSLR's EV can be increased or reduced in 1/3rd stops: 0.3, 0.7, 1 and so on. Most compacts have an exposure compensation option buried in the menu. Positive EV values boost the highlights and negative EV values boost the shadows.
 
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