Starline Photographic

The Virtues of using older lenses

Author: RobertD January 25, 2016 0 Comments

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This photo of the Ohio Club, in downtown Hot Springs, was shot using my old and trusty Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AI non-cpu manual-focus lens on a D800. It produced a beautiful color image with no barrel distortion or vignetting. This 20mm lens series is considered by many to be one of the best lenses Nikon produced. However, those that have only been in photography for a few years tend to over look these older AI (Auto Indexing), AIs manual focus prime (Non-Zoom) lenses when considering a lens purchase. There are many great values out there to be had.

Grant you, the budget level Nikon DSLRs are not equipped to handle these lenses, the D3000 – D5000 series cameras to name a few. To use AI lenses your camera will need the AI Tab, these cameras will also have the older style Auto Focus Pin, see photo on left below.

There is also a menu item to enter your non-cpu lens info.
It tells the camera what the focal length is and it’s maximum aperture. This info is then conveyed to various camera functions.

Non-cpu lens do not have the contact pins as pictured below.

Fun, How To

Lenses, Photography, Techniques, Wide Angle

Photo Award

Author: RobertD March 1, 2015 0 Comments

It was announced recently that one of my photos, of the 9th Annual ‘Stueart Pennington Running of the Tubs’ race, won an ALFiE award for Best Event Photo for 2014. The ALFiE Awards, “Arkansans Love Festivals & Events,” honor the best and brightest of Arkansas given by the Arkansas Festivals & Events Association.

In all, Hot Springs won 8 awards this year. Way to go Hot Springs!!

News

Action, Award, Events, Hot Springs, Photography

Panning Continued

Author: RobertD February 26, 2015 0 Comments

Nikon D300, ISO 1600, 1/30 @ f3.5 and SB900

Continuing with the Panning Technique theme, from the last blog post, We’re going to add a flash to the mix. The purpose of the flash is to light the subject and stop motion in a night time setting.

Some modern electronic cameras include the ability to fire the flash just before the closing of the shutter known as Rear-Curtain Sync or 2nd-Curtain Sync. Your camera will need to have this function in order to achieve this effect (check your owners manual).

With the flash freezing the action of your subject, slower shutter speeds can be used to blur the background even more. But keep in mind, the shutter controls the available or ambient light exposure and the aperture controls the flash exposure. Adjust your ISO to give you a workable shutter speed and aperture that will give you a good overall exposure.

How To

Action, Panning, Techniques, Tips

Panning

Author: RobertD January 30, 2015 0 Comments

Nikon D300 with an 80-200mm f2.8 lens. ISO 1600, 175mm @ f6.3 1/200 sec.

I had the opportunity to get behind the scene at the local race track and get some shots during the morning training session.

This shot was taken using the panning technique in which one follows a moving object along a horizontal plane so the subject appears sharp and the background is blurred. In this example, I moved the camera in a left to right direction to keep the horse and rider in the frame.

Panning requires some practice to get the feel for how fast the subject is moving and what shutter speed will blur the background. Also, as in golf, follow through is key to a higher success rate. It’s important to maintain the horizontal motion as you click the shutter and afterward.