Abdullhameed says:

Just wanted to be the first to comment and say to you thank you so much guys for all these episodes.
we still need more and more about Lenses.

thanks to you all,,,

Jen says:

Great show! Love what you guys talk about. One question specific to this episode… Isn’t it ‘aperture’ not ‘aperature’? they spelled it with an extra A every time it was written lol.

Jim says:

Regarding filters – there are those photographers who maintain that putting a low cost piece of glass (a U.V. filter) in front of a very expensive lens reduces the sharpness of the photograph.

Have Scott or Matt either noticed any difference in quality or sharpness of the photo when using (or not using) a protective filter?

Dan says:

Hey guy,

What a grate episode to wrap up the lens series. I can not wait to get my hands on Scott’s new book, I have volume 1&2 and I recommend them to everyone and anyone looking into learn more about photography.

Don’t forget to stop by and take a look at my work. http://www.redbubble.com/people/EctoOne

Barbara Okun says:

Your shows are awesome! I’m learning so much. With the filters that you mentioned. Which brand is the best one to get?

Philip says:

One thing I think y’all should have mentioned about the 50mm f 1.8 lens is that if you own a D60, D40, or any other DX camera, you can’t auto focus with the lens. Only the 50mm f 1.4 will auto focus on a DX body. I was dissapointed to find that out when I whent to buy that lens for my D60. Great lens otherwise!! Got some great photos in low light with it.

John Bamber says:

Great series on lenses and earlier on wireless flash. Thanks for all your hard work. For those of us who don’t use a studio how about a basic tutorial on using an attached Speedlight?

Daf says:

Quick note on loosing lens hoods. Came across this site a while ago – print out + cut out lens hoods! Lens specific too.
Not tried it myself yet but should do – lost the hood to my Tokia 12-24

http://www.lenshoods.co.uk/

Ricardo Baez-Duarte says:

Hello guys, I appreciate these wonderful Nikon tutorials, they clarify much more the confusing contents of the manuals.

I would like to ask if you would consider a tutorial with the SB 800 flash, it would help a lot!

Thanks!

Ricardo

Paul Friedman says:

Hey Scott and Matt,

It’s Paul from LensProToGo. Thanks a lot for the shout out! If anyone wants to reserve some Nikon gear or has any questions feel free to give us a ring at 877-578-4777.

And remember that NAPP members receive 10% off all camera bodies and super telephoto lenses.

Thanks,
Paul

Todd says:

I am not a real fan of UV etc filters for the protection of the lens because of how it can alter the color of the image. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the Nikon NC (No color) filter. It is an optically clear screw on filter (just like UV) but it does nothing to the image. You can find it a B&H as well.

Zdravko Stoimenov says:

The last show was absolutely superb. Very interesting info about lenses and filters. I would really like the lenses series to continue. There so much to cover. Keep up the good work guys!

Tom Hargreaves says:

I second Mike J’s hope for some info on taking pitchurs while wearing glasses. My correction is greater than what is available with the diopter adjustment on my D200 so I have to wear my glasses. This pushes my eye away from the viewfinder enough that I can’t see the entire frame at once. I make do, but it would be nice to see the (almost) full frame, especially when I’m doing product work in the studio.

Y’all do absolutely superb work!
Tom

Andrew says:

It’s more than double the price one has to pay for a 50mm f1.4 lens as compared with a 50mm f1.8 lens.
The advantage of a slightly faster lens can be offset by the wide range of ISO provided by new generation Nikon digital cameras!

Owen says:

In the Lens podcasts talk you about the new Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens. I have the older Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Len. Do I need to upgrade or can I continue with the older len? What advances do I get with the newer len? Are the advances worth the cost? I really don’t use the 50mm len that often perfering the 85mm 1.4 instead.

Love the podcasts.

Khalid says:

hi

nice vid .. i want to ask how to keep my from Moisture ..

case every time i go out the lens become a big drop of water !!

Walter says:

Can you guys review Carl Zeiss lenses? I want to know if they are worth buying and what you guys think. Thanks.

Daniel says:

Hi, I´m 15 and I´m from Germany and I want to say THANK YOU for these great shows. In the last episodes you spoke about lenses, maybe you could say more about the bodies and which “pro´s and con´s” they have in the next shows! You could also talk about camera bags and maybe show your own ones and how you´ve packed it, that would be great!!

- Daniel

Paul says:

Just discovered D-Town. As a very long time Nikon user and fan I appreciate your opinions about all things Nikon.

Here’s my question. I have a D80 with the 18-200 VR lens. I, like you, love this lens and use it almost exclusively. I have noticed on my open sky pictures a noticeable amount of vignetting when the lens is wide open and know that this can be corrected by stopping down or in post production. However, when I am in Automatic mode or P mode, Nikon wants to open the lens up and favors a higher shutter speed over aperture priority. Therefore, the only way I can correct this is to go into Aperture priority mode and set a higher aperture to prevent the vignetting. Of course when I do this, I lose the metering and focus benefits of shooting in Auto mode.

Is there any other way I can shoot with this lens and stay in auto mode and prevent the vignetting?

Finally, perhaps you could explain what vignetting means and other lens aberrations as part of a future show.

Keep up the great works guys.

nick says:

Great sight,
I don’t understand why doesn’t Nikon just list the focal range of their DX lenses using the 1.5 crop factor. Nikon digital cameras all have a 1.5 crop factor (unlike Canon digital cameras, which have about three different crop factors depending on model), therefore a 18-200 would be listed as a 27-200 and only FX lenses need to be factored by 1.5. (I can’t imagine why you would use a DX lens on a FX body). Now you have to multiply all their DX lens listed focal ranges by 1.5.

thanks for the show

Kishore says:

This is a great show, have been following this since episode one.
Got a question – what about the 80-200 AF-D for a d90 , because its much less than the 70-200 AF-S VR at the loss of VR and AF-S but give the fast 2.8.
would you consider it better than the 70-300 AF-S VR.
thanks

Michael says:

Great show, guys, BUT you misspelled “aperture” at least 3 times on this show. Shame

Anthony says:

I still don’t understand how the two of you, (Scott and Matt) have the time to do these shows every week! Between your PS/LR books and blogs alone you are a wealth of information. Thank You for all of your hard work. Others have mentioned ‘real world’ examples outside of the studio. That is too time consuming. Maybe just an extra: “We do this for that, this way, and here’s why” would satisfy them. Great series!

Josh says:

I am a Canon shooter and I love watching and learning all the tips and information you guys give. I take in the information you give for the Nikon side and I translate it to the Canon side. A lot of the things you guys discuss can be applied to the Canon. Also most of the features of the Nikon camera that you discuss i’ve actually found in my Canon. Maybe under a different name or menu but i’ve found it. Thanks guys awesome!!!!!!

Mel Wilner says:

Can you mention the use of the NIKON DC lenses. I believe one is still available at B&H. 105 f2.0 DC and the 135 f2.0 DC.
Thanks,

DR. Mel Wilner NYC

Marcelo Rescala says:

Guys,

Great show, thank you very much for so many great tips and for sharing all your knowledge.
I’ve got two questions for you related to filters:
1.I always have my UV filter on my lenses. If i want to put on the circular polarizer, do i have to remove the UV filter or can i leave it on?
2. While using the circular polarizer i noticed dark areas in the corners (vignetting) in same photos without being able to relate this with any particular shutter speed or aperture used. Any idea?

Thanks again,
Marcelo

Rogier Bos says:

Oh man – Nikon just came out with some updates to some of their more popular lenses… Now you guys need to do a lenses-part 6 episode!

On a more serious note (and I realize this may be a little specialized), but I would love for you guys to demonstrate how you use a Perspectice Control Lens well. I am considering buying the 24mm version for architecture and product photography, but find myself hesitating because I am not sure how to use such a lens, and if it will do what I am hoping it will.

Peace,
Rogier
Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Aclim says:

I have dificulty to watch this episode cause it stop at around 8 mins after playing… I try this few time, but problem still persist, anyone can help?

Brad says:

Jim,
Fred Picker of Newfane, Vt. did extensive tests with a view camera & lenses with and without filters. His findings were that the use of filters, such as a UV filter for protection, increased the chances of introducing lens flare, reduced sharpness, and chromatic aberration since the filter adds two more surfaces of glass to the lens. Hence he uses Kodak gels for filtration effects. Ansel Adams also felt that the use of glass filters increased the chance of adverse effects showing up in the negative. The only filters I use are a polarizer and a Variable ND filter. I don’t keep a UV filter on my lenses for protection but instead rely upon a lens shade (I always use them), common sense, and being aware of my surroundings to keep my lenses in great shape. So far (after 35 years of shooting), I’ve never had a problem – never dropped a lens or camera, never banged one into the side of a building, never used one as a weapon. Other folks swear by a UV filter for lens protection. My advice – try one. Take a bunch of photos with and without a filter, enlarge the images and compare them. As I said, speaking for myself only, I don’t use them and always felt this was more of a salesman’s ploy to relieve me of some of my hard-earned money rather than being a necessity.

Philip says:

I used the 52mm Quantaray Skylight 1A filter on my 50mm f 1.8 lens during a shoot the other night, and though I had to manually focus because that lens was not built to auto focus on my camera, the images that did come out nice and sharp and in focus didn’t seem to be any less sharp than the images I’ve taken before with my other lens (that will auto focus on my camera) while not using a filter. And it only cost me $12.00 at Ritz camera.

Walt says:

Phillip,
Nikon now makes a 50mm 1.8 that auto focuses on the D40/D60 and it runs about $199. I believe they also make a 50mm 1.4 that will autofocus on the D40/D60 but it’s got a hefty $499 price tag.

Walt

Daf says:

There are numerous differnt eye-cups you can get – from both Nikon and other suppliers.
e.g. http://www.europe-nikon.com/family/en_GB/categories/broad/133.html
If you get a larger, softer one – it might be better for you.

Matt Kloskowski says:

Hey Ricardo. Check out episodes 4-6.
- Matt K

Matt Kloskowski says:

Russ. We could tell you but then we’d have to kill you. Sorry
For obvious reasons, even if we did know something (which we don’t) we wouldn’t be able to share it anyway. I’m sure you can understand, and its really the same with any company out there. They’ll never publicly announce new products until they’re ready to stop making money with the old ones.

- Matt K

Philip says:

Realy? I didn’t see that 50mm 1.8 listed on there site and ever stor I’ve talked to tells me Nikon dosn’t. Do you know where I could get it?

Walt says:

Phillip,
I apologize The lens i bought was a 35mm 1.8 sorry.
Walt

Suzanne says:

I ’second’ the motion to do an espisode on the SB-800….thx, am enjoying and learning from the episodes…

Philip says:

I apologize for that. I couldn’t remember witch camera worked with that lens, out of all of the dx bodies the guy at the store tried it on. But after looking at the lens as it’s listed on B&H photo’s web page, you are right it won’t work on the D40, D60, and as I remember from the store the D5000. You have to get the 50mm f 1.4 in order to have the auto focus ability. But I did find out that at least with the D60 you can turn on the rang finder option and when the bar at the bottom of the view finder is centered you’re in focus for your main focal point and will get a nice sharp image.

Al Marsh says:

Please stop the killing. I’ll tell you everything. Just don’t kill Russ. First Chase Jarvis outed the possible Nikon future product list on Wired at this URL ( http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2009/07/nikon-roadmap-d4-d4x-d700x-d3000-others.html ). He was referring to either one or both blog entries on Wired here ( http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/nikon-d300s-and-d3000-photos-possibly-leaked/ ) or perhaps the one here ( http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/entire-nikon-2009-2010-dslr-product-roadmap-leaked/ ). Bottom line is a D300s with video unless someone made it up.

I’m sorry, Wired. I had to protect some guy named Russ. Lock your doors because Matt is on his way with his Nikon Deputy badge and a license to kill (D007). Actually, Matt can go right through those doors with his polarizer. He ADMITTED on the video that he always carries one! Now you know why.–Al

Walt says:

Khalid,
Just a couple of questions out of curiousity. Are you keeping your gear in a highly airconditioned space and then going into a very hot/humid enviorment? What kind of case are you storing your gear in?
These may play a factor with your problem of moisture.
Walt

Roger says:

I Matt,

It’s mostly the ‘drum playing’ by Scott…:-))

Roger

Matt Kloskowski says:

Hi Markku,
I commented on this earlier in the comments (from Roger), but the gist of it is, we’re annoying people. If its not the color of our shirts, its the way we say something. If its not the way we say something its the banging on the desk. We just can’t help ourselves. My best suggestion if these things get annoying is to turn off the volume (so you don’t hear the banging) and turn off the video (so you don’t see the black shirts – even though you don’t mind them). Trust me, we’re much less annoying if you do those things

- Matt K

George says:

I purchased the 50mm 1.4 plannar for my D3 and its amazing, so crips and the bokeh is beautiful, take note that all are manual focus

Walt says:

Matt,
Love that attitude. You guys put out so much good info, you’d think people would overlook bull#$%$. Keep up the great job. Did I spell
bull#$%$ correctly?
Walt

Kishore says:

Hey Bogdan,
I am in the same confusion as yours, after reading several reviews i discovered that the 70-200 has the inbuilt motor and comes with VR ( 3 stops ) vr and af-s come very handy and they are a wonderful feature to have. however if budget is the concern then the 80-200 af-d will do the job perfectly and you will surely find a way out to handle the vr by using a tripod

Michael says:

Check out http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

Scott Diussa says:

Well… Scott does play drums, too. So I guess he just can’t help himself!

Ken Elliott says:

Polarizers work best when you are 90 degrees to the sun. At that angle, light is highly polarized. When you are pointed directly toward the sun, or directly away, the polarizer is less effective. Normally, this is not a big concern.

But a wide angle lens may have a problem with this. Some of the super wide lenses can cover a wide range of the sky. Let’s say you have the sun at your back and use a 18mm lens. In the center area, the light is not polarized, so the filter can’t really darken the sky much. But the sky near the edges of your image might be highly polarized and this will let the filter darken them greatly. You’ll also notice a difference top-to-bottom. So it might not be vignetting. Try taking a series of shots, moving in a full circle. If this is the cause, you’ll see the north and south sky looking different from the east and west sky. Altering the aperture will not have an effect on this.

But the other issue is this could be caused by stacking filters, or using filters with “thick” (long) mounting rims that extend into the picture area. When used with a wide angle lens, you may need a thin (short) mount filter. Stopping down the aperture (bigger number) will also reduce this effect.

Marcelo Rescala says:

Thanks, really helpful tips.