Choosing Macro Lens

I stumbled across a post in strobist forum on flickr earlier which somebody asked for advice in choosing macro lens while she had the Tamron 90mm in mind. Just thought I'd cross post my response here since this might benefit others who may be interested in the subject and elaborate a little. Below is my post:

Be advised... all 3 versions of these 90/100/105 versions of macro lens made by Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina are non-internal-focus lenses. You'll notice the barrel moving in and out and takes a little while for the barrel to travel. Focusing with these macro lens even with the built-in focus limiter would be slower than normal lens or the Nikon/Canon internal focus versions. This down side magnifies into a much bigger problem if you're shooting under low light conditions or subjects that's hard to focus because it would take forever for the lens to hunt back and forth to lock the focus. Manual focusing ain't easy either if your subject is in motion.

If you're looking for a special effect lens or want to explore the macro world, you wouldn't be disappointed with the sharpness of all 3 flavors no matter which one you choose. However, keep in mind that the focus speed would pose problems when using them as "walk-around lenses".

Note: I find myself sticking the with 50mm F/1.8 more than whipping out my Sigma 105mm F/2.8 for closeup shots, and almost only use the macro lens for what it's made for - macro.

Frankly, if I were to choose all over again, I might go with the Tokina regardless of image quality 'cause all 3 flavors are extremely sharp. And for the 2 lenses I have purchased with Tokina - 12-24 F/4 and 16-50 F/2.8, I frankly have nothing but praises for them especially with the smooth operation and build quality. But of course, if budget isn't in the equation, I would absolutely go with the Nikon AF-S 105mm IF-ED VR. The added cost goes towards the Nikon quality, great customer service/warranty, internal focus, Silent Wave Motor (SWM), and Vibration Reduction (VR). All these would make the lens MUCH more usable and desirable on the field. But for now, my Sigma 105mm F/2.8 does the job just fine. :)
More on this subject later, and I'll be writing a little more in depth in gear selection next.

Flickr Explore Tips and Tricks

I joined flickr for about half a year, and have 57 pictures on Explore (71 as of Mar'08). I once strategically made a few of mine to show on Explore... although I can't force them to get up there, I do have a pretty good idea how it works. Here are some pointers and cruel truth about it:

#1. Faves, Comments, and Views are basically the things that account for the positive score (interestingness) that count towards Explore.

#2. Adding to groups account for negative points (interestingness penalty) .

#3. Source of views/comments/faves matter; and the person who views/comments/faves your picture also matters. e.g. A newbie who just signed up today without an icon and has 0 pictures in the stream is worth less than hermanau for example, giving you a fave. Also, getting 1,000 views from outside links probably give you different scoring as well.

#4. Repeated comments from the same person are not worth as much as comments from different sources, if not actually penalizing the shot itself. Think about it, some people use certain pictures to carry on discussions. Explore has to screen those out...

#5. Joining many groups, and leaving the groups and rejoining tactics simply don't work... trust me it doesn't. This shot on the right was submitted to too many groups after Explore dropped it the first time, and it never made its way back regardless of how many views/comments/faves I got afterwards. It just lost too much grounds to be covered.
*note* months after I wrote this post, the picture on the right received a much needed boost of visit, and I finally regained enough to make its mark on Explore, proofing my theories are quite accurate.

Now that pretty much sums up the basics of the scoring system... note that if you place your shot in too many groups to begin with, your shot better gain a huge flow of traffic and faves, or else it will never cover the lost grounds and make its way up to Explore. How do you get the views/faves without adding to too many groups you say? Yea that's what makes it difficult... I'll sum up a few points here:

A). Sex sells. It's universal... a picture of a very pretty person will definitely have it easier than a picture of your living room. But beware, R rated pictures that are marked would probably be removed, or you may be penalized...

B). If you're a female with a pretty picture as your icon, congratulations... you'll have an easier time than me, or Joe next door... :) Flickr is pretty much web 2.0... and it's a social network. Like I mentioned above, since views and faves matter, you might notice that certain types of people get it easier than others due to obvious reasons.

C). Your subject matters. Some subjects have it easy because they draw people to click on the thumbnail to view a larger size. Our curiosity always gets us, because a bigger picture and the full details are just a click away.

D). Pictures with really eye popping effects or stunning visuals or jaw dropping elements always work. People would also generally fave those shots because they'll want to be reminded of the originality or the technique. Be generous and share the details behind your shots, because it helps others and also provide your viewers a platform to discuss, resulting in comments.

E). Get your shot technically right - Have it properly exposed, color balanced, focused correctly, etc. I don't think we need to go too far on this topic, I'm sure you all know this is important.

F). Be truthful to yourself. If your shots really aren't as good as those up there on Explore 500, maybe you need to improve before trying to push them up on the list.

G). Build up your contacts and social network, because those who like you or appreciate your shots would usually be kind enough and come back and view your latest work, and possibly earn your more views/comments/faves.

H). Yes, there appears to be a time zone on Explore. Afterall flickr is a worldwide network. From what I've heard, it is based on Pacific time zone, but I find flickr updates many times every day and so it probably doesn't matter when you submit your shot really.

I). Don't underestimate your tags, descriptions, and titles. They are the fields that allow your shots to be found when people use the search feature. That's one good source of allowing people to find your shots among thousands and thousands of pictures uploaded to flickr every second. Also, keep your pictures well organized, and navigation-friendly.

Finally, let me add one last thing to wrap this up... Flickr is about Photography, please be kindly reminded of that. Although I know you all want your shots to be listed on Explore or gain some publicity, it's also very important that Explore maintains the level of quality. So far I think it's got a very good algorithm in picking interesting shots. If you really want to make your way there, here's basically what you should do:

Improve your photography; learn how to positively critique; learn how to LISTEN to comments and critiques you receive; learn to appreciate great work of art; generously, nicely, kindly, and genuinely comment on others' work; be original, work hard, and enjoy the process.

Wine Bottle

Wine Bottle, originally uploaded by hermanau.

Thanks to Strobist.com, Flickr, and web 2.0 helping me solve a lot of reverse engineering puzzles in my head. With the limited resources, some very wacky setup, and the recent addition of some cheap umbrellas, I was able to produce the type of product shots I've long wanted to attempt. This shot of wine bottle is one of the examples that shows you everybody can do it... well, almost. :)

This is shot with my Nikon D200 with Nikkor 50mm F/1.8D hand held @ F/9.5 1/90sec. It's lit by 2 SB600 speelights - one below the bottle that sits atop of a piece of transparent Plexiglas, and a second one left of the camera shooting through an white umbrella. Background is simply a piece of poster board I bought from Office Depot. A picture speaks a thousand words, see the setup below.

Stay tuned - I'll demonstrate how I did some of my black background images next. :)

Thanks Ken Rockwell, but...

A lot of you who are into photography would have stumbled across Ken Rockwell's website one way or another. Before I begin, I should really thank him for contributing so much free and useful information to the Internet. His site is undoubtedly generating lots of traffic and probably earning quite a bit of advertisement dollars, and I really think he deserves the recognition and credit. It's one of the websites I always check to see "what Ken thinks" before making my purchasing decisions. It's especially a wonderful site if you're searching for old vs new Nikon equipment.

Alright, enough of giving him all the credits, let's go back to why I'm writing this. I'm writing this to contribute my share back to the online photography community to warn you guys to watch out for his website, and especially what he directs you to believe is the "fact". Ken mixes in a fair share of great information along with his very personal opinions when it comes to comparisons. That's what really makes him deadly. If you're simply starting out in photography and choosing equipment, and you stumble across his website and start learning everything there without a clear head with an open mind when you find other relative information, you'll simply start thinking "the Ken Rockwell way".

"What's wrong with that?", you might ask. I'll give you a quick example here.

On his Nikon SB-600 versus SB-800 Comparison page, you will find plenty of information that you will want to know about the differences between the two. However, if you read it with a clear head, you'll soon notice he's strongly biased against the 800 and presents to you almost no pros for choosing that over the 600. Pay attention to lines like these -

Illuminated LCD	Dedicated icons and 7 segment numbers: bold, easy to read	Coarse generic dot-matrix, harder to read

I don't know what your eyes are made of, Ken... but we don't really live in that 7 segment LCD calculator display age anymore. I really don't know why a dot-matrix LCD screen is harder to read for YOUR EYES.

Idiotic repeating strobe mode	no	Yes

What do you mean by IDIOTIC REPEATING STROBE MODE? For those who are interested in experimenting with flash photography, like capturing water drop sequence, freezing athletic motion, and all kinds of eye opening effects, the SB-600 simply lacks that capability. What you don't use doesn't mean it's "IDIOTIC"


14.) Wedding photographers carry fat external batteries for fast recycling and tons of shots. The SB-800 has a socket for this. The SB-800 even has a bizarre external single AA holder which lets you use odd sets of 5-AA cells for somewhat faster recycling compared to just using the 4 internal cells (It seems weird to me: my sets and charger come in 4s, not 5s.) Other companies like Quantum make big external batteries that plug right into the SB800 while the SB600 has no such connection. In the old days we just rigged up our own connections to flashes, usually with wooden dowels the size of AA batteries and thumb tacks, and used a 6V gel-cell around our waists. Personally I just swap alternating sets of Ni-MH AAs and I'm happy.

Ken, wedding photographers carry the external batteries for fast recycling time because they need the luxury for ultra fast recharge time so they minimize the chances that they miss THE shot. Yes, you can swap your Ni-MH AAs and be happy, but for those who need the flash and they need it NOW, they need that SB-800 and that big fat battery around the waist you describe.

Yes, his entire website is filled with great information about equipment, but also a whole bunch of very personal opinions based on his photographic style. As much as I enjoy reading his site, and as much as I look up to what Ken has to say about something, we should all proceed with caution and read his site with a very, very open mind. Be sure to watch out for those opinionated lines and see what others have to say especially when money in your wallet is on the line.

They're here! Nikon D3 and D300

It wasn't long ago when I upgraded my D70 to D200... and today Nikon finally released their top secret projects of the D300 and professional D3 to compete with Canon. I browsed the spec sheet briefly and I'm still digesting the information... here's the link to the 2 cameras for your information. :)

• Nikon D3

• Nikon D300

It appears that Nikon finally delivered their flavor of full frame sensor, and this new sensor design provides unprecedented noise control in Nikon DSLR history that may allow them to rival with Canon. This new FX format also carries on the Nikon tradition of compatibility to allow the use of DX lens with automatic masking. Both cameras utilizes a new 14bit EXPEED sensor that should boost tonal range. Both cameras offer the new 51-point AF system, and also a self sensor cleaning feature. They also seem to have put in more effort in defending the cameras against dust and moisture. The detachable caps seem to be improved... (yay no more losing plastic caps). Both cameras have 3" LCD monitors with wide viewing angle, and hopefully their new EN-EL4a would address the battery life issue.

At a first glance, the 2 cameras appear to be matching up quite well against the Canon 40D and 1D-MkIII. Now they're on even ground to compete... it will be interesting to see the upcoming image comparison. :)

More on this later.