f/4

All posts tagged f/4

Series-E Lenses Listed for Sale

Posted by Matthew Durr on January 22, 2013
Posted in: For Sale. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

If anyone in the continental US was interested in purchasing my Series-E zoom lenses that I have extensively reviewed, I now have listed all three on eBay. This is the site that I have done literally all of my used lens transactions, both buying and selling. I have yet to run into any real problems, as the buyer protection policy is superb for deterring scammers. I enjoyed all three lenses in varying degrees, but the two telephoto zooms in particular were optically superb. The only reason I’m selling the entire set is that I am a prime guy, and have faster prime lenses that cover all these focal lengths. Here are some links if interested:

Nikon 36-72mm f/3.5 Series-E (Review)– (UPDATE: SOLD)

Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Series-E (Review)– (UPDATE: SOLD)

Nikon 70-210mm f/4 Series-E (Review)– (UPDATE: SOLD)

Have a great week guys and gals, looking forward to writing my weekend update already. 🙂

Lens Review–Nikon 70-210mm f/4 Series-E

Posted by Matthew Durr on December 22, 2012
Posted in: Lens/Camera Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 25 Comments

For a detailed comparison of all of Nikon’s Series-E lenses, click here!

Whew…it’s been awhile since my last lens review—I’ll admit to that! The rigors of school this past semester have just been too much to handle when combined with the upkeep of personal photography and this website. Even on this short break of mine, sports assignments and a faulty internet connection do their best to keep me from posting new content. I do try to still find free time. 🙂

If you are unfamiliar with my review methods, please see this post first!

The 70-210mm f/4 E by Nikon is the last “consumer” zoom to be reviewed in my long journey of working with this series of lenses over the past months. As some readers may know, I have a general negative bias towards zoom lenses. This is not from an image quality standpoint (though prime lenses tend to perform better anyway)—rather, when artistry is taken into account. A photographer can easily get lazy with composition when all they have to do is zoom in and out with the lens rather than their feet. This is more true with the 70-210mm with its 3x zoom range compared to the 2x zoom range of the 70-150mm f/3.5 and 36-72mm f/3.5. Generally speaking, however, this lens is by all means a telephoto (especially on APS-C or smaller sensor-cameras), so its use still is limited.

Supposedly this lens’ optics were used in Nikon’s first autofocus telephoto zoom, the Nikon 70-210mm f/4 AF. Does this mean its performance was superb even by non-Series-E standards? Let’s take a look! Continue Reading

My Mind’s Eye: #7

Posted by Matthew Durr on December 9, 2012
Posted in: My Mind's Eye. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

The home stretch is now over. This coming week I go into full-on finals mode. With that comes the promise of few photographic opportunities. I do have one assignment that I look forward to taking and hopefully sharing with you all, though I have to keep my mouth shut on it for now. 🙂

But back to this post! I return to a familiar subject for manipulation today: cloud formations. It seems every time I look up in the sky, the combination of air and water vapor always manages to form different shapes and colors—no two days are alike. But as I’ve mentioned before, clouds can be extremely difficult to photograph properly. Usually when they fill the frame the end result is just a dull wish-washy mess with no sense of direction.

Just a bunch of grey...

Just a bunch of grey…

I know what I saw in this strange sunset cloud formation, forming a natural pattern in the sky. I envisioned a natural cotton blanket in the sky lit from below by the warm sun. Some contrast and saturation adjustments later…and…

Blanket in the Sky70mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/800

Blanket in the Sky
70mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/800

That’s it for this look into what my mind sees guys and gals, thanks for dropping by! I hope to have one more post this week before the series of steady posts returns for Christmas break (70-210mm f/4 and 50mm f/.95…I’m looking at you). Should be fun, and I can’t wait to get back into it!

Weekend Update: Busy, Busy, Busy!

Posted by Matthew Durr on December 2, 2012
Posted in: General Photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

I’m nearing the home stretch. This coming week is the last week of classes, and the next week consists of one final exam after another. After that? Christmas break! I hope to use this time not just to laze around for three weeks straight: I have all the technical pictures needed for writing the 70-210 f/4 E review, I have been shooting with the 50mm Noktor f/.95 for a while now and hope to thoroughly test it out, and I will post pretty regularly for the duration of the break.

That said, here and now I am still taking photographs, albeit not too many of the “artsy” style I like to capture. Here’s some from this past week I’d like to share. First up, from a Jazz/Percussion concert. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that my 180mm f/2.8 was set to f/4, but the stage was lit well-enough:

180mm, ISO 1600, f/4, 1/100

Them ‘Bones
180mm, ISO 1600, f/4, 1/100

Continue Reading

First Impressions–Nikon 70-210mm f/4 Series-E

Posted by Matthew Durr on October 14, 2012
Posted in: Lens/Camera Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

Nikon 70-210mm f/4 Series-E

Arguably the most versatile zoom, and lens, in the “consumer” Series-E by Nikon, the 70-210 f/4 also weighs in as the biggest and heaviest. At 25 ounces/730 grams, it’s over twice as heavy as the NEX-7. With that weight comes a useful 3x zoom, a fast f/4 constant aperture, and even a macro mode at 70mm (focusing down to 2 feet/.56 meters). With those features it becomes harder to complain about the front-heavy balancing, but it’s still there.

So far, I’m generally pleased with the optical performance. I haven’t had a chance yet to do any critical testing (or, photography in general) yet, but in real-world use, the f/4 aperture provides adequate depth-of-field control, and images appear pretty sharp straight from the start. With some chart shots, we’ll see just how much pixel-level detail gets resolved.

Until then, I took it out for a photowalk recently around town. I’ll finish up these quick impressions with 9 samples. 🙂

Parkour

Parkour
70mm, ISO 100, f/4, 1/1600

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Nikon’s Series-E Lenses Compared

Posted by Matthew Durr on July 20, 2012
Posted in: Lens/Camera Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 32 Comments

There are 8 lenses total in the “consumer” lineup of Nikon’s Series-E’s. You can take this post as a bit of a guide for help choosing which lens may be right for your photography. Lenses are arranged from wide-angle to telephoto. Links to the full reviews are located in the headings. Also, below two pictures are in a much bigger size than they are displayed here. Click on them to see more detail. First up, the 5 primes in the series:

Left to right: 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 100mm, 135mm

Continue Reading