What should I upgrade my kits lens to?

I’ve been looking to upgrade my kit lens recently and it’s really difficult to find a suitable lens amongst the many many lens available from Nikon (I’m a Nikon user) and from third party lens manufacturers.

Digital Photography School has an article summarizing the recommendations from Digital SLR user magazine about upgrades for Nikon lenses.  Here’s what Digital SLR User magazine recommended:

1. Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens - Rated at 4 out of 5 Stars
2. Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens - Rated at 4 out of 5 Stars
3. Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens - Rated at 4 out of 5 Stars
4. Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens - Rated at 3 out of 5 Stars

As an existing owner of a 18-135mm Nikkor lens, I wouldn’t want to “upgrade” to the 18-55mm and 18-70mm. The difference is minimal and probably unnoticeably to my untrained eye. However, the 18-200mm is a possible choice for me. The great focal range will be excellent for travelling without having to constantly change lens.

Another lens I’m considering is the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon Mount. A friend of mine recently bought this for his Canon 40D and works beautifully. Fairly affordable too when compared to the Nikkor lens at f/2.8

Here’s my list of choices to upgrade my kit lens:

1. Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
2. Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon Mount
3. Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom Nikkor Lens
4. Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

I can only dream about the last 2 options. They are quite far from my budget right now.

For Canon users, fret not. Here’s a video from CameraLabs.com on some upgrades for Canon kit lenses:

Thanks to Digital Photography School for the great articles! One of my favorite photography blogs!

The Art of Food Photography

Food photography is one of my favorites type of photography. You can see some of my (bad?) attempts on my talented wife’s blog, lilkoala.com. She’s a great aspiring chef!

To be honest, food photography is ALOT more difficult than I initially expected it to be. Have a look at this great video for some ideas on how the professionals do it:

 

Did you see all the lighting, reflectors and other equipment that was necessary to produce the top-notch results? Lighting, food styling and effects (smoke, seared marks, etc.) are all important to get great food photographs.

Is it a little “deceiving” to use artificial effects to make food look more appealing and attractive in photographs? I guess if you look at it from a portrait photography angle, you often apply make-up to your subjects too. What do you think?

60 seconds - That’s all you need

The Hidden Pond by Stuck in Customs

iDigitalPhoto has a great compilation of tips to improve your photos. Here are some of the tips that I find extremely enlightening:

Lighting

Light from the side brings out shapes, textures and structures. That’s why early morning and evening are rich times to photograph.

Color

Our eyes naturally adjust to colored or tinted light sources to make them appear white and so will your digital camera but only within certain limits. (Ahh, so that’s why!)

Flash

Balance the flash with day light for stunning results. Your camera may offer a ‘slow flash’ or ‘synchro flash’ or ‘daylight synchro’ setting.

Direct flash on groups of people produces better-looking images than direct flash on a single person.

Read more >>

Make a Remote Shutter Release with your Old Mouse

Here’s a spiffy DIY project for all you photographers who’d like a weekend project. Transform your old mouse that’s collecting dust into a Remote Shutter Release! This little DIY is from Dave Schlier.

You’ll need to have the following things for this project:

1. Soldering skills
2. Spare mouse
3. 2.5mm Stereo Jacks with solderable contacts
4. 3 or 4 wire cable (I.E. Telephone Cable)
5. and of course, some elbow grease

Thanks to LifeHacker for the tip!

Choosing a tripod? Here’s some tips!

I’ve been shopping around looking for a tripod to add to my growing list of equipment. Photographers simply swear by having a tripod. The photos taken with a tripod are just so much sharper and crisp compared to hand holding your camera. Landscape, still life, night or low light photography all requires a tripod to get sharp images.

There are just too many tripods available in the market. Which tripod is the most suitable for you? Here are some tips:

1. Price - This is the most important factor for me personally. Finding a tripod within your budget will narrow down the choices. Don’t buy anything that you can’t afford or you will break your bank account.
2. Material - There are 2 good choices, Aluminum and Carbon Fiber. Aluminum tripods are generally more affordable. However, they are also considerable heavier than the Carbon Fiber tripods . Carbon Fiber tripods cost almost double of the aluminum alternatives.
3. Weight - Will you be traveling alot or bringing the tripod for photo shoots in many locations? If you answer yes to any of those, you may want to consider Carbon Fibre tripods. They weigh from under 0.7 kg (1.6 lbs) to 2 kg (4.4 lbs) . If you’ll only be needing the tripod in your studio, aluminum will do the job just fine and save you a bunch for other accessories. Aluminum generally weighs from 2.3 kg (5 lbs) onwards.

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