Perfect Futures

Nikon's Pro DX Zoom

                                                             Summer Colours and Green
                                                           
Nikon's elaborately named AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 DXG IF-ED DX (phew!) is probably the best zoom lens ever made for an APS-C sensor (where it functions as a 26-83mm lens), designed especially for the demands of professionals using it on older generations of pro bodies. Now that the prices of full-frame sensors have come down and pros are gravitating towards them them, anything but consumer-level designs for APS-C are unlikely, so this lens is probably the last of it's kind. This fact though makes them much more avaliable second-hand though, with a newly affordable price.

What makes it stand out as a pro-grade lens is the build and fact that it gives a sharp, contrasty picture at any setting or length, with a certain richness to the images that you otherwise need a prime lens or another pro-level zoom to achieve. The high-grade AF-S focusing is also uncannily fast and near-silent.

                                                             Moth by Day

It produces amazing images, images that really 'pop' and stand out with a kind of 3D quality only great lenses have. I have some other really great lenses- the Sigma 50mm f1.4 HSM, the older (but amazingly still produced) Nikon AF 35-70mm f/2.8D, the Tamron 90mm Di f2.8 macro, which can all take great photos, but the range and usability makes this the most versatile by far. It's like it's part of the camera and just doesn't want to get off! I'm glad because I know that it's about as good an image as a lens could give me, with a wedding you kind of feel bad if you know you could have used something better (even if no-one will notice the difference). For me, it means I can shoot the entire wedding without changing lenses. I used it just the other day and it worked out great! It also looks pro, which helps the general impression.

It cost me about $900 second-hand, but a new one would be more like $1,600. Another other cost is the size and weight, due to all the metal and glass, though for me this makes it steadier to hold or balance. Maybe after many hours of carrying it around it would weigh me down and this alone would put a lot of people off it. It should be added that the full-frame equivalents are much heavier and more expensive, without having quite as much reach, (usually being 24-70mm). This shows the convenience of the cropped format for many users. The fact that the images generated are 'good enough' means it will probably live on for many years. Also, the sensor on the D3X is so high resolution it can crop DX at 10MP, ample for most uses and even equal to the D200, which is still in wide use. Whilst the D700 only gives you a tight 5MP, a potential D700X or D800 might give you a lot more, making the use of this on FX cameras quite feasible.

Here's a review that was just recently published in, of all places, Poland. The fact that reviews are still being professionally made for this lens just goes to sho it's enduring value. In fact, I would hazard to say that it now has a new lease of life as a much more affordable lens on DX.

Let's look at some pros and cons, now as who knows, maybe someone will actually think about buying one based on the strength of this review!? These are all based on my real-world usage, no measurebating or any exact accessment claimed, yet it's quite possible such research would come to the same conclusions through it's own route. Lens quality really does vary, no matter what anyone says and you usually get what you pay for, or in this case what you would have paid for if newer models hadn't emerged (in this case the D700 and the siren cry of full-frame).

Pros

-Beautiful rendering of colours, contrast, skin-textures backgrounds
-A very pleasing bokeh considering the relatively short focal length
-Sharp and with little noticable distortion, even at 17mm
-Semi-macros are possible with excellent close-up performance and minimum focusing distance (14.2 inches)
-A good choice for portraits on DX (though I'd say Nikon's 35-70mm f/2.8D is even better, for a number of reasons)
-The perfect event lens on DX- one lens and you're done!
-The zoom is very well-damped, making settings at particular lengths (ie 24mm, 35mm) quite convenient
-Makes up for the lack of quality wide-angles on DX and covers significant prime lengths- some of which don't even exist in -Nikon's lineup, such as 19mm, which is about 28mm in FX (one of my favourite lengths and a fact not lost on Pentax)
-A pro implementation of AF-S, offering very fast, smooth and near-silent focusing
-Good prices on the second-hand market
-A true pro zoom- in terms of both performance and looks, ensuring people will realise you are, or mistake you for, a pro!

Cons

-Very heavy, like most true pro-zooms
-Still very expensive despite $900 'bargains' being so avaliable
-Performance gains compared to buget alternatives may seem subtle to many users, especially when both are stopped down (though I'd say for me they are very significant)
-Optomised for wide open, close-up usage, making it unsuitable for landscapes in many people's eyes
-Short reach, even on DX, where around 70mm is needed for the 'optimum' portrait length of 105mm (this gives around 83mm being 'uncomfortably close' for many)
-Could be redundant if you move to FX and aren't happy with using it cropped there

Notice that some of the cons aren't real cons, they just go with the territory. This is for sure an excellent lens (have I already said this?) and one you just will not regret buying!


What Does it all Mean for DX?

Even though full-frame 'FX' has finally come to Nikon's DSLR's, the options for serious amateurs on DX have never been better. The D200/300 are cheaper than ever and offer fantastic picture quality and ergonomics. Also, along with the price drop of the 17-55 is the emergence of other lenses especially designed with DX bodies and their frequent lack of an in-body motor (in the case of the D40, D60, D5000, all very affordable and even competetive with compact pricing). I speak of the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX, the 50mm f/1.4 G and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 HSM- two of which I have actually aquired for both wedding and home use (though I'll leave you to guess exactly which two for now!) In short, excellent lenses are now widely avaliable for DX use, compromises and beer-bottle zooms are less neccessary for the average user. Of course, the whole format is oversized in a sense, leaving the way open for minaturised 'rangefinderesque' versions like micro-4/3 and potentially a micro-APS... but that's another story...

For more samples, please see my 17-55mm Pbase gallery.

Some Samples

Kashiwa Noha


Feeding the Pigeons


Hydrangeas and Snail-Shell


Silent Rush Hour

Someone asked me how I printed the B4-size prints that I carry around to show people. Whilst years ago that would have been very expensive to print, prices have come down a lot. Here is what I had to say-

My B4 prints were made on Fuji Frontier printers at Camera Kitamura, which I believe uses colour lazer printing so it is very fast and detailed. I think just about all camera shops have the same process here in Japan, Fuji dominates and I use the regular quality, though higher qualities are avaliable (such as was used for the exhibition prints). In Japan B4 print size is called 4W, the w meaning 'wide' and uncropped, 6W being an A4 print. If you don't get the wide size, you need to crop, which is neccessary for many frames and is something to think about.

A3 prints are about twice the price here, so for me it's not worth it and believe it or not, A4 are more expensive, as I was printing 2 for the price of about 1 (2 for 990 yen). They make great presents as well as ways to show your photos. Though email, web galleries and iPhone-type screens are good for convenience, you have to remember that they are like small prints in terms of resolution, generally around 1/2- 1 and 1/2 mp. Even a 1080p TV set is only 2 mega-pixel worth of detail. Unless you have a very expensive 30 inch, 2560×1600 WQXGA monitor, you have a vastly reduced resolution, despite the brightness and vividness of LCDs being so attractive.

In terms of colour, generally they are pretty much like what I see on my monitor. I make sure that any file I use is in SRGB colour. Whilst Adobe RGB or even better Pro-photo RGB have a wider gamut (range of colours), this is more useful for editting than printing on these types of printers- though really high-end ones can make use of the more exact hues. On a standard printer or the internet, though, not being able to display the hues properly can lead to washed out colours appearing in their place- so SRGB is still the usual standard for this. Also, remember that they will probably lighten and warm up the pictures automatically. If you want to get more exact, then you need to communicate with the printer's operator, by showing a sample printed the way you like it, small (which you can experiment with to get just right), or try making a darker and colder-coloured one to compensate. Even then, print it small first as a test print before making the big ones. Why do they do this? It's because photos are usually too dark for printing, much darker than the monitor appears, which is tremendously backlit. Also, especially for portraits or sunsets in particular, warmer colours are more pleasing. I should add that the ones I just got are pretty much the same brightness as on as my monitor, though when I printed from home I had to make them brighter to compensate. Some of them came back a bit warmer, but not so much as to be a distraction.

*Note- having just shown some to a friend whose father won numerous photo comnpetitions, he said in each case that the store printing, with it's lighter shadows and warmer hues, looked better to him. I am inclined to agree- especially on prints, they do look more pleasing than a more 'accurate' photo in much cases. I was pleased to hear that my printing choices are working out.

Try a couple first and see what you think, I'm happy with it but probably for an exhibition print I would need to get it just right and pay more for the very best quality- though I don't make those much. My home printer is actually capable of finer quality, especially since I can chose the papoer and have it just match the ink being used. Unfortunately, the ink is too expensive to print much large and after all, the Fuji Frontier prints are already so high quality people are amazed. The quantity offered by their affordability helps, especially at large sizes.

For the future, I have plans to print A4 size from home at super high quality on my Canon MP 980, on special paper. I'll use those for exhibitions and perhaps another kind of portfolio, encouraging people to look very closely at them. I am already making postcards for people on it, which are incredibly sharp... but that's another story!

Quality and quantity are the principals to balance here, as with anything else.

Hello!

I'd like to invite you to my latest gallery show in Matsudo, this time with some of my most remarkable images yet. I can almost guarantee you've never seen anything quite like it! Whilst my former shows have concentrated on the natural, the subtle, this is dedicated to the immense and extraordinary, printed out very large to show every last detail, every last star or city light. Of course, there are lots of other photos to be seen there too by other photographers, of all sorts of scenes to be enjoyed.

This is especially for all of you who found getting down to Tokyo too hard- though I know you are all busy, I hope you can take some time out to make it to this.

The Time- 5/12-5/17 10:00am-6:00pm, though the first day 5/12 starts after 1:00pm. 5/16 and 17 (saturday and sunday) finish at 5:00.
The Place- Matsudo Isetan (near the west exit of Matsudo JR station on the Joban Line, 4th Floor)

I'll aim to be there for sure on Saturday and Sunday after about 1:00 pm. Maybe I'll be there other times too... but if not, there are plenty of people to show you around, who will be very happy to see you and show you their photos as well!


Featuring-

Dawn Approaches
 


Cloud of Becoming



City Lights



Note- Here is the original invite, with map-



Hope you can make it and to see you there!

Gideon

Now, I'll admit that I haven't been the best at keeping this blog up, especially since the last entry was on August 21st, but fear not- a revival in a big way is in the works! The past months I have mostly been concentrating on my photography- which very much includes research, editing and spending whatever I have on top-notch equipment. I feel it has all paid off, as my results are much more consistant. Does that mean I'm taking better photos? Well, not neccessarily, as that would be a statement inviting a lot of subjective evaluations as to what makes a photo 'better'- perhaps 'more interesting' is a more appropriate 'aim' here.

A photo with some small problems can nevertheless be a great photo, as some of the most famous ones ever taken can show, so ones I took years ago on inferior equipment can still hold their own. As I change as a person, presumably my photograpic aims also change. In short, having better equipment and techniques can guarantee more consistant results, but not neccessarily better ones. Vision, imagination, empathy with the subject all provide the magic that great photography requires to stay relevant and this is ultimately what it all revolves around... but I digress...

Along with some new photography articles, I'll be including some more 'tech talk', including some feedback on my 'new' (read one-year old) Denon D5000 headphones, definitely the best I've ever owned and quite probably the end of the line in such purchases for quite a while, such is my level of satisfaction. I am still looking into what would be best for portable usage though.

Of course, what would Perfect Futures be without travel accounts? Better late than never is our motto here and there will be stories from various trips, ranging from the other side of the world to the microcosm outside my front door. It is all travel, after all, all journeys to be where I have been!

Summer Events

It has been a great summer here in Japan. I decided that if I was to be here, I would have to not let the infamous humidity get in the way of having fun and going on travels. In fact, summer is in a way the best time to be here, what with all the festivals and fireworks to be seen, though it is a season I usually escape as being away from air-conditioning in this region makes you sweat in minutes. Now I'll tell you a little about some of the things I've been lucky enough to see- it'll be a long one-

Star Wars Celebration Japan

Some of the main stars from the original trilogy and far more of the lesser-known contributors made it all the way to Japan for this celebration of 30 years of Star Wars here (coming on to 31 for the English speaking countries), as did Glen and me, diehard Star Wars fans as we are. It was also a chance to see some exclusive footage of the upcoming 'Star Wars' movie- Clone Wars, actually an animated piece directed by the man who brought us Ghost in the Shell. It seems that computer animation and unrealistically drawn characters are the way the series is heading now, what with a similar TV program coming.

What was one of the biggest hits here were all the fans dressed up as their favourite characters, many of them hailing from the so-called '501st Legion', who are strangely enough celebrating an imperial movement that surely was thrown into the dustbin of history many years ago (in a galaxy far, far away) by one Luke Skywalker? There were also a few wookies, a scantily-clad Leia longing on a full-size dewback, bounty hunters and galactic emperors, not to mention what seemed to be (but probably wasn't) a real-life R2 unit!

          

Luke himself was there, well Mark Hamil was, sitting in a conference he quite clearly didn't want to be at,as he would rather be known for his present (relatively unknown) projects, such as the 'Spore' graphic novel and a part as The Joker in Batman on radio than his early adventures. Apparently, he said he'd only go if they flew his entire family, business class and gave them a luxurious hotel room to stay in. Still, when the questions from the fans did come, I was overcome with an emotion that only Star Wars can give me, as he recounted how he'd asked Lucus if Luke could go to the dark side- "No- that's just not Luke, that isn't what he does. You're thinking as amn adult, but this is a movie for kids" was the reply- ironically so, given that a very much for kids set of prequels would explore that very theme in the case of Annakin.

Yes, I did get to socialise with some of the lesser stars. I took a photo with, Raymond Park, who played Darth Maul and got a photo signed by Jake Lloyd, who played the childhood Anakin. "Iconic of the series" was how he described it and I couldn't agree more. I also got to see Peter Mayhew , who played Chewbacca (yes, he is tall and, actually hairy, on his head at least), but who i didn't see were Anthony Daniels (C3PO) and Mark Hamil (except in the conference), as they stayed hidden in booths people came to autographs in.

     

Fireworks by Teganuma Lake

We found a good spot to put our mat down on to reserve it and then went off to get some food. Barbequed corn on the cob, yakitori, fried potatoes and of course some drinks were all there, not to mention some pineapple on a stick. Having set up my tripod, I tried for some shots.

     

Afterwards we met my old friend Micheal and his other half, for some izakaya drinks and chat.

Sankeien Garden, Yokohama

Going to visit my old friend Matt in Yokohama, we went to the Sankeien Garden. The site of an old samuri ruler (I think!), it had a great museum detailing how life was before cable TV and air-conditioning and you know, it wasn't half bad! People paddled their feet in water instead, or sought the shade of a tree- remember those green leafy things that used to grow where the parking lot is now? Well, by being in that museum, we had the best of both worlds, and I even got to try my hand at making some macha myself.

Outside, some beautiful lotuses were in bloom.

      

The garden itself is lush and shady, with the regular rythmn of insects and birds.

       

You can even see my YouTube video of the place.

We decided to make our way to the garden's famous pagoda, but the signposting had made it inaccessible to anyone but a Zen Master. Fortunately, we received enlightenment before the place closed, but ultimately, there wasn't all that much to see up there!

       

 

Kashiwa Matsuri (Festival)

For some reason there seemed to be more people than ever there this year. At times you could hardly move, which put a lot of people off staying there for too long.  It also had a wild and vibrant atmosphere that I never encountered before, especially around the area of the taiko drumming and floats. Swept up in the crowd, who could feel separate from it all?

      

         

I went both days, going with Yoko on the first day, where we both met our students, which was actually a nice feeling as I felt less like a stranger in the crowd. I stayed later that day, to see the night-time dancing. The next day I went with Yuko, just for a few hours, but enough to have some Tai curry, watch some local dancing and finally narrowly avoid a tremendous thunderstorm crashing and rumbling through the night. It led to a detour in which we got my first ever dehumidifier, which has made sleeping a lot easier in my air conditioner-less bedroom.

 

Sendai's Tanabata Matsuri

Thanks to a suggestion from Matt, and now having caught the festival fever, I made my way all the way to Sendai on the Joban line to catch this timeless display of art and energy. Tanabata is a festival in which people generally hang prayers or wishes on a small branch of bamboo, to celebrate the union of two young stars in the milky way, who according to the legend only get to see each other this one day a year. Talk about a long-distance relationship! I personally think it is a way to introduce the concept of 'cosmic time', as for a star our year is but a second, but that's just me.

      

Sendai, where it is held, is an impressively wide-roaded city for Japan, so it never felt all that cluttered, though it was certainly packed for the festival. The enthusiasm here, like many festivals in Tohoku, is unbelievable. It was clearly the event of the year for the region and with good reason. The creative displays and the sense of wonder of it all just sweeps you away in another world. There was also a great procession of dancers, from the modern cheerleaders and brass-bands to mysterious ancient creature-costumes from the depths of Tohoku's misty past. Whilst a lot of it was just a chance for mums to see their kids or for local clubs to have a 'happio' (performance), some of it was really good and it was all both sincere and sincerely appreciated by the crowd. The food was a lot better than usual, with some of the best yakitori and roasted corn I've ever had- though I was very hungry!

      

I stayed a few days, two of which had the festival (which only runs for a couple of hours each day, then the decorations get covered up to protect them). I made some day trips nearby, seeing a temple with a gorgeous garden, complete with coy fish, turtles and dragonflies, where I spent a few hours doing photography and videos, soaking in the serene atmosphere. There was also an unusual shrine, decorated for Tanabata and in a striking mix of black and gold, apparently a unique one. My other day trips were to...

 

Matsushima

Renowned as offering one of the top three views in Japan,  this certainly is a beautiful island to visit. Amazing temple gardens, including one in Entsuin, designed by a secret Christian, incorporating hidden crosses in the patterns and a rose garden made from flowers brought from Italy, there is certainly a lot to see here.

       

There are also the great views of the smaller islands nearby and the coast, all of them covered in matsu (pine) trees. Small bridges lead to other mini-islands, offering other perspectives and views of striking, sea-side sunsets. I was lucky enough to meet three girls in yukatas there who I photographed and hung out with for a time. Nothing like meeting the locals to bring a trip to life! 

I also went on a boat-ride around the islands, one of the more amusing things on this being the seagulls sweeping around the sky to scoop up tossed snacks midair. There is also one of Japan's first aquariums, featuring a number of items, including a large mambo fish, seals and penguins and my favourite, aurora jellyfish, which keep changing vivid colour in unison, for no apparent reason other than to entertain the likes of me.

Another thing here was the sea-food. I got sashimi oysters (kaki) that were so easy to eat, all my fears of them coming straight back up again (and perhaps those of the chef!) were averted in an instant. afterwards I felt full of the clean, endless energies of the sea, almost like i was walking on air- or water, I suppose, though I never tried. Coming back the next day to see more, I tried a sashimi bowl, which was just as incredible, including sea-urchins and fish eggs that usually I would have to leave behind, but when they are so fresh they taste of nothing but the sea, who can resist!?

Like any trip, there were all kinds of possibilities in the area, only some of which I experienced, though I would certainly like to go back, perhaps in the winter, as one of the chefs told me it looks great in the snow and isn't really too cold- at least by his standards.

 

Kisarazu Matsuri

Yuko told me about this one morning and I was off there on the train quicker than you can say, 'don't forget your camera'. It was another chance to use my '18 train pass' and see some fireworks, so there was no need to think about it all. There were some dances, mainly by the local hip-hop and Hawaii enthusiasts, but with a fun-loving atmosphere to it all. Some amazing taiko drumming was to be found and the rather cruel (I thought) trained monkey act, where the owner gets hard currency and his pet, well, peanuts I suppose! The crowd was full and vibrant and , as I had my trusty D300 along, I took quite a few candids for the collection- something these outdoor events are so good for.

            

The big hit was the seaside fireworks, and luckily, as I went over to see an incredible view of the sunset, so also did I spy the perfect spot- flat grass and a good(ish) view of the explosions to come. The whole event was pretty drawn out, due to the long, pregnant pauses between displays, which wasn't such a bad thing as it gave me time to get my camera ready. One funny thing was an elementary-school boy sitting near me asking if he could join his dad for a beer! Natural to want to be like dad, I suppose.

This year I've been enjoying the fireworks more than ever. They may be an old technology, but they can't be beat by anything else for the sheer 'wow' factor of colourful lights in the sky. Seeing the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony convinced me of this, even though some of the impossible bits were of course CG.

      

After all that, I was back to the packed station, but lucky enough to get on the first train back, so no waiting around for me.