Big thanks to Fan Pai for sharing this Nikon lens compatibility chart with us. Great stuff this chart is. Makes you know if that old AI-s 20 plus years something lens of yours can actually meter and focus on your D300 or what ever digital back by Nikon which has a lens mount on it. Now the file is at the bottom of this article for you to download as a PDF file.
The cameras start off with the basic digital DSLR’s D40, D40x moving on to D3. D700 and D5000 isn’t in the charts so the D700 belongs in the D3 category and D5000 in the D80 category.
What the chart compares, lens against cameras. Easy enuf to understand eyh?
How the chart works, the naught (o) represents “works with” and the dash (-) represents “not working with”.
Download file here : lens-compatibility
Related posts:
]]>
Sorry canon users, weve been slightly skewed on Nikon lately and so here we are, new article on Canon Lens Jargon Buster. Just so you guys keep your hat on ; p . So for all you Canon gearheads! This is for you.
EOS –Electro Optic System: Canon’s current SLR camera system which was introduced in 1987. I seriously like this name. Sounds cool.
EF – Electronic Focus: Canon’s current standard lens mount designation. Compatible with all EOS bodies
EF-S: Lens mount designation for Canon’s APS-C DSLRs (EOS 300D-Digital Rebel, 350D-Digital Rebel Xt, 400D-Digital Rebel Xti, 20D, 30D, 40D). EF-S lenses are not compatible with film SLRs and DSLRs that that don’t have EF-S mount (full frame and 1.3x crop sized sensor)
IS – Image Stabilization: Canon’s optical based stabilisation system that reduces the vibrations, works similar to VR – Nikon, OS – Sigma, VC – Tamron, O.I.S – Panasonic.
L – Luxury: The designation that Canon gives to its professional range of lenses. Almost all L-series lenses have white color bodies and the red ring around the barrel. But seriously, Luxury? then the rest of us buying all these normal lenses must be “P” (poor).
UD– Ultra-Low Dispersion Glass: Special glass used for correction of chromatic aberration. ED in Nikon.
USM – Ultrasonic Motor: Auto focusing motor that offers fast and silent focusing using piezoelectric elements. There are two types.
E-M – Electronic Manual Focusing: Old type of USM lenses which deploys USM motor for electrically manual focusing.
FT-M – Full-Time Manual Focus: Manual focus is possible with lens in AF mode for fine adjustment of focus.
There you go. Your Canon Lens education in an article.
Related posts:
]]>
Lying here on my couch at 3.15 in the frickin morning, up to my neck in work, sick of smelling UHU glue, probably drugged by it a bit. Such is the life on an architecture student. Now attending to urgent Lensa stuff, haha. Anyways, alot of people has asked Lensa to write an article on FX and DX, or differences between Fullrame (FX), non-fullframe (DX) and I’ll also include 35mm film format just to clear everything out. So guys, please pay attention to this details, it’s going to come out in the exam! : P
Photo by Pieter Baert
First things first. You gotta know your basics. Lets go back to the realm of film photography. Now a normal film SLR uses 35mm film. Your normal Kodak for family photos. Yup, that one. Fullframe DSLR simply means that the digital sensor in FX DSLR,s is equal to the size of 35mm film SLR sensors. So a Nikon D3, or Canon 1Ds Mk2 is equivalent to an old Olympus OM10 or Nikon F series, (sensor size that is, film SLR’s are in a totally different league than DSLR’s and should never be compared ; p).
Leica M4 film rangefinder. Photo by J. & G.
Going into the digital realm which took its baby steps somewhere in the early 2000’s. We have to realize that the digital technology at that time was not enough to conceive a digital sensor the size of a 35mm film. At that time 4MP DSLR was a big thing. Pricey too. Thus was born the DX format sensor. It is essentially a smaller sensor about 1.5 times smaller than a sensor of a 35mm film SLR. SO you get the term 1.5x (time) crop factor on a DX, and Canon even has 1.3x crop factor. FYI, an APS-C type sensor is what they use in a DX format DSLR. Remember that APS-C=DX format.
Digital Full frame format was born as a Canon EOS 1Ds in 2002 (Yup they succeeded in cutting Nikon on this). By this time camera technology had developed by leaps and bounds and still is. It’s much more expensive just because the sensor size is bigger. Just imagine, two wafer biscuits, similar in material, but one of them almost twice the size. Surely the other one would be a wee bit pricey because of the size. The same goes for digital sensors. You’ve got a much larger sized wafer of Silicone for Full frame, so what were you expecting for the price?
So if they got the technology to build full frame DSLR’s, why are there still DX cameras?
Good question my dear Watson. And the answer would be to attract the large consumer market in buying DSLR’s. You can build a small sensor, which is housed in a smaller camera body, having lens with a smaller glass diameter = CHEAP or much less than you would have to pay for a fullframe camera. Plus DX cameras are lighter, not to mention cheap. Owh did i mention cheap already?
Nikon Fullframe eyepiece. Photo by Pieter Baert
So why would people buy a Fullframe (FX) DSLR then?
For a number of reasons:
- High ISO-Noise tolerances. Because of the large sensor size, the pixels are bigger, thus gathers light more better especially in low light conditions. Making images much more detailed and with little or no noise in bad light conditions. Thats why cameras like a D3 can be pushed up to ISO 25 600 if needed.
- You can blow up large images without it “breaking apart”, meaning that it becomes pixelated or you can see the pixels when you blow it up. Much needed for fine arts photographer and usually commercial shooters or for photographers who display their works in galleries.
- On a Full frame DSLR, wide angle IS W I D E. The widest without going into a fisheye on a FX camera is 14mm. And that’s CRAZY wide. If you thought that a 10mm Sigma DX lens is ultra wide, well, you thought wrong my friend. With a crop factor of 1.5x, a DX lens when used on a Full frame camera is its focal length times 1.5. So its a 10mm X 1.5 = 15mm, still not as wide as true 14mm wide on a Fullframe. Landscape photographers consider this gold.
- Once you get a Full frame DSLR, your pretty much alright without changing your camera for a good 5-7 years. As compared to DX format cameras, you see new models coming out every 2 years with major improvements every time.
Hope that cleared up the difference between a FX and DX format cameras. I might have missed some stuff so if I do, please share it with us in the comments and please don’t hesitate to ask us anything. Enjoi_learning guys ; )
Related posts:
]]>
Please don’t be afraid when you come across the term Rule of Thirds. To be honest, it literally almost blew my socks off but I’m brave enough to do my own research and with a little bit of pedagogy techniques that I’ve learnt so far, I believe its time to reveal to you the Rule of Thirds For Dummies.
For your information, this article is placed on the Jargon Buster category as well as In depth photography category just in case you need to share with others or as your future reference. Cheers!
What is it?
It’s nothing big actually. If you have seen lots of pictures in your life and you’ve tried to mimic a few of those, you might probably have already applied the ’scary’ Rule of Thirds. To be specific, in most cases we will put the subject in the centre of frame (noted B in the diagram below), however the Rules of Thirds (simplified as ROT) defies that fact. It’s better if we illustrate it this way (see the picture below).
Diagram (above): Sample frame of a picture
So, with ROT, we now have the ability to change the way we present our pictures and our composition, by putting the subject around the section of A and C (noted in the diagram above). Here are two examples:
Credit: Photo by Mike Baird
Credit: Frangipani on polished stones by afby – Buy this picture
See, have not we told you that it’s actually nothing? And you might have already applied these rules prior reading this article : ) Now, what we need is to learn when to use it. This is probably the best part of it.
When to use it?
Since we had enough of memorizing much more important stuff in life, we have summarized the use of ROT. Only two, easy right?
1. Showing perspective
Perspective is defined as the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer. ROT comes into play when you want to show the depth of field and/or perspective element in a picture.
If you learn Technical drawing, in perspective section, you will at some point come across the term vanishing point. It is a point where all subjects will meet at one point at infinity (Wow, that’s heavy). Let us see an example by what we mean by using ROT to show the perspective elements in a picture.
Credit: Indian Railways by prakhar
The picture above shows a perspective view with a vanishing point (but less of a subject), where the railways start to disappear from the horizon. In order to combine ROT, perspective mode with vanishing point with an interesting subject is quite challenging.
It requires a bit of luck and skills to pre-imagine what the picture you would like to get. However, keep practising and we sure one day you will get what you want.
Oh, and please share with us if you have interesting pictures on LENSA flickr group or leave the link at the comment section below.
2. Showing a point of direction/interest
Again, from the picture below, it is a good example for the usage of ROT in showing a point of direction as well as interest. If you look at the picture carefully, it will tell you two things:
- something is going on the right side of the picture
- the photographer and his equipent is the main highlight of this picture
Credit: Photo by Mike Baird
Practical use
The picture below is taken by our editor, Rafie while a random band performing at the high street in Cardiff. Despite taking the picture from the front, what he did is to have a picture in his head what kind of picture he would like to produce. After that, he took a walk to the side of the band and took few shots.
This is another way to use ROT where you are showing lines of people or instrumentation in a picture. To the left of the picture is nothing while on the right, it is where the subject or point of interest in the picture. What don’t you give a try today?
What now?
Now you know what ROT is and its usage, it’s now time to put that knowledge in good use. Now rules are meant to be broken, and the ROT is just a helpful tool in composition, you are not dictated by it. Depending on your picture and subject, placing a subject in the middle of the frame may also work.
In the future, we will show you how to play around with the ROT vertically and horizontally. Share with us your pictures at our flickr group and we will find some time to comment on it. Until next time, happy snapping!
Related posts:
]]>
It took me some time to actually understand Nikons lens system. You gotta give credit when credit is due, so I owe it to my man Faez for giving me the info when I first started out photography.
Nikon lens system is fairly complicated, so I will only cover lens made in the past 30 years as they’re more relevant with our current usage. I’ll also be covering only some of the abbreviations you see on lenses.
Now most lenses made within the past two decades can be used with the new Nikon bodies without a glitch. Some bodies don’t have motors inside such as the D40, D40x and D60. But they’ll work fine manually.
If your a first timer trying to buy your new lens replacing that kit lens, you’ll find that there’s alot of abbreviations in the specification of the lens. Things like , now this is on an actual lens, < DX SWM VR ED IF Aspherical 72 > . If you look under the barrel of your lens this will be printed on it. So errr, what the hell does that mean?
- DX – The DX format sensor, employed in Nikon digital SLR cameras, is smaller in area than 35 mm format film. It simply means that it can only be used on digital bodies and not on full-frame cameras, which are the D3x D3 and D700. So besides the three, your all good to go.
- SWM - Silent Wave Motor >Nikon AF-S lenses employ SWM technology as a component within the autofocus system to ensure fast, quiet operation in professional and enthusiast lenses. As the name suggests, it makes focusing quieter than the older lenses, which were alot noisier, kinda like R2D2 whizzing about.
- VR - Vibration Reduction (VR) >Vibration-reduction techniques are intended to reduce the effect of camera shake that causes blurred images when a camera is operated at a low shutter speed. It counterbalances the shake in the lenses itself. Works best with still objects.
- ED -Extra-Low-Dispersion >Nikon especially developed ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass to provide pricise optical colour correction. To reduce chromatic aberrations. Its just a lens coating.
- IF - Internal Focusing (IF) > Nikon IF technology is designed to keep the length of a lens constant as it is being focused by employing a focusing lens group that moves entirely within a non-extending lens barrel.
- The number , exp 72, says the diameter of the filter needed for the particular lens.
Another thing i’d like to mention is the gold leaf writing in a box on top of the lens barrel. Yes the one with the golden Nikon. exp < AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED >
- AF-S – An autofocus lens with a Silent wave, integrated, coreless focus motor (1996 ). Some older bodies can’t autofocus with them (N60, N8008). Some newer bodies (D40, D40x) can only autofocus with them.
- 18-200mm – indicates the focal length range of the lens.
- This is important so take note, 3.5-5.6 – it implies that the maximum aperture it can open up is f/3.5 , but depending on the focal length, the maximum aperture varies. So at the 18mm end, the max aperture is f/3.5. While on the 200mm focal length, the max it can open up is f/5.6. This variation is due to the optics inside the lens. You can get a fixed aperture lens, say a pro grade 17-55 f/2.8 DX, but were talking about GBP 800 folks. So nows you knows. A lens becomes more pricey as it max f/stop increases.
- G - There use to be a time when aperture was set on lenses. Lenses use to have an aperture ring. U don’t need that with digital so all the lenses without an aperture ring is denoted by a G.
So what do these info have to do with you?? For those of you having a Nikon D40, D40x and D60, get lenses that have AF-S, if you want autofocus capability that is. Buy VR for better non blurry pictures. Get DX so your digital body gets the best. And thats it really ; ) hope this was helpful.
Related posts:
]]>
Good day everyone, few days ago we went to our affiliate’s shop Jessops and went to the Pro section. We were looking around for lens at that time. Just before we leave, they gave us a copy of the SIGMA Lens Catalogue which is very useful.
In this article, we will let you know the abbreviations that are used together with the lens. Hopefully it will be helpful when you are searching for SIGMA Lenses.
- OS – Optical Stabilizer : Also known as IS (Image Stabilizer) for Canon lens and VR (Vibration Reduction) in Nikon lens. It is used to reduce camera-shake effect, both vertically and horizontally.
- HSM – Hyper-Sonic Motor : Indicates that the motor is driven with ultrasonic waves (produce high AF speeds and quiet shooting). Known with USM for Canon lens.
- EX : Indicates that the lens design, optical technology and handling is at high level. It is said that lenses with EX title on it will meet high level of photographers requirements.
- APO Lens : This technology uses Special Low-Dispersion, SLD and Extraordinary Low-Dispersion, ELD glasses to reduce the colour aberration (phenomenon when different colours form images at differect points*) – Read more about colour aberration
- CONV – Teleconverter-Compatible Lens : Indicates that lens can be used with the APO Teleconverter EX.
If you can’t find it here, visit the lens technology for SIGMA. Thank you and happy shopping.
Note: SIGMA Lens is a third party lens which to say it is an option other than to buy the original Canon or Nikon (Nikkor) lens. Don’t get scared by the “third party” term, SIGMA is a worldly renowned lens manufacturer – View list of professional users of SIGMA lenses.
*taken from SIGMA Lens Catalogue
Related posts:
]]>