A camera with balance

Of all the cameras I have kicking around the house, and there is a few, my wife likes the Nikon D90 with the Nikkor 35mm f2 combination the best.  Why?  For her it is the best combination of light weight and compact size, fast auto focus, good low light performance, ease of use with optical viewfinder I have.  

I have cameras that will better the above criteria, but none with that combination.

What about with the 18-105mm zoom?  Too bulky and low light performance is an issue.  D600 and Sigma 35mm f1.4?  Far too heavy.  Fuji X100 or Sony NEX 5n?  AF is too slow, especially in low light.  Leica M3?  Why would you want to shoot film?

Sometimes it's your most unloved camera that some else thinks is gold.

Nikon D600 and Tamron 180mm f3.5 macro

Up in the Attic - Results

This is the first year I have not had the D700 and shot with the D90 instead.  For this type of photography, the D700 is a far superior tool.  Better metering, MUCH less noise, faster autofocus and generally faster to respond.  I found that I needed to use ISO 3200, and this created significant noise in most scenes, whereas the D700 would have had almost none.

As for lenses, I shot the portraits and wide angle stage shots with the 18-200mm, which worked out OK, and most of the play with the 80-200mm f2.8.  This lens is a bit too long for stage photography on a DX camera, especially at 80mm, but 200mm does allow some great upper body portraits.  The 35mm f2 and 85mm f1.8 weren't used at all, apart from a brief try out.

The 18-200mm wasn't any good for the stage shots as the slow shutter speed blurred people if they moved, though the VR did keep shake in check.

Conclusion: Only use full frame for stage shoots.

Up in the Attic

Tomorrow I am shooting Romeo Ciolfi's latest play "Up in the Attic".  Most years I shoot the final dress rehearsal for Romeo, but this time is the first without the excellent D700 and 80-200mm f2.8 combination that I have had in the past.

This year I have to make do with the D90 and I am a little worried about light as the D90 is really only OK up to ISO 1600, and from there gets too noisy.  I am not really sure which lens I will use, but I have decided to take the 35mm f2 for general pre-performance portraits, and the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 and 80-200mm f2.8 along for the performance itself.  I suspect that the 80-200mm may be a little long, but I've decided to take it anyway.  The 85mm should be fine, but I won't be able to get close headshots with this lens.

I also taken a weird back up lens - the Nikkor 18-200mm VR.  I can use this lens for pre-performance stage shots at 18mm, and I am somewhat curious to see how it performs during the performance itself.  Sure I won't be able to isolate subjects as well, but VR will be good in low light.

Also in the bag is spare batteries, the SB-800 flash for pre-show portraits and the grip for the D90.  A complicating factor is that I recently injured my shoulder mountain biking, so I am wondering how I will be for shooting, especially with the heavy Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8.

To see "Up in the Attic" see times and location at http://www.studiosperanza.ca/

Here's some shots from "Born for This" from late 2010.

Nice, but why?

In the “Nice, but why?” category are the following manual focus lenses:

Nikkor 20mm f2.8

Nikkor 28mm f2.8

Nikkor 35mm f2

Nikkor 50mm f1.8 / f2

Nikkor 85mm f1.4

All these lenses are great, but you can buy the AF versions with full electronic metering for not a lot more than the MF ones on the used market.  The optical formulas in 4 of the lenses are the same or better in the AF versions, so unless you stumble upon a bargain, hold out for the AF lenses.  

Interestingly though, the manual focus Nikkor 85mm f1.4 is sharper than the auto focus version, though some would argue that the trade off for AF is probably worthwhile for a lens capable of such shallow depth of field.  The expensive new AF-S version however, beats both by a mile.  

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 200mm f4 manual focus