some photos with the nikon 28-200mm f/3.5~5.6G

[fks]

i usually do street fairs and festivals with the 70-200mm VR. there have been monents when i wish i had a bit more FOV, but i've survived by carrying a canon S400 at the same time.

i bit the bullet and got a 28-200mm from cameta (demo unit). initial observations are it's very, very small and light, though a bit slow to focus. the plastic lens mount is probably going to be a concern later on in the life of the lens.

took the lens out for a spin last saturday at the nihonmachi street fair in the city. focusing wasn't that good at 200mm, probably from a combination of the slow speed and the f/5.6 aperture at that range. otherwise, the lens is sharp and contrast is good. i think i've found a replacement for the 70-200mm for those times when i need something more on the wide side.

photos taken with a nikon d2h + 28-200mm G + sb-800

eye of the dragon

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sleeping dragons

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trombone for a face

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natalise

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more photos at http://ottosphotos.com/gallery/050813_nihonmachi

on a side note, i played with focalplot (http://www.cpr.demon.nl/prog_plotf.html), and confirmed what i've always known: i use a zoom at the extremes of the range, rarely in the middle.

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ricky

 

[JayR]

Ricky,

Nice pictures.

I wouldn't call this usage chart "rarely in the middle".

I have done similar analysis with my zooms. I get similar graphs too. If you count the number of shots in between 28 & 200mm, you would see that your usage is not ALL at the extremes. Atleast in my case, such graphs were kind of deceptive when you initially see it and think that you are always at the ends of the zoom range.

 

[fks]

hi jayr-

thanks for the compliment

i didn't mention that i ran focalplot only on the photos that are posted on my website. i forgot that the software only works on jpegs, and i'd already deleted the jpegs of the images that i didn't post. if i have the time, i'll run the lot through capture again and re-run focalplot.

with this lens i should have a lot more in-between shots, given that the focal length range is much wider than any of my other lenses. so your observation may prove to be correct for later shoots.

ricky

Ricky,

Nice pictures.

I wouldn't call this usage chart "rarely in the middle".

I have done similar analysis with my zooms. I get similar graphs too. If you count the number of shots in between 28 & 200mm, you would see that your usage is not ALL at the extremes. Atleast in my case, such graphs were kind of deceptive when you initially see it and think that you are always at the ends of the zoom range.

 

[saturnine]

Hi Ricky,

Thanks for posting pictures using this lens. I've been looking into this one or the 80-200mm f/2.8.. Upon looking at the rest of your images, it seems as if all of them are undersaturated...the colors seems a bit bland. Were these straight out of the camera or did you do some post processing? It also looks like throughout the day it was very overcast..

 

[Chris101]

What a cool idea! I should look at my own zoom usage. I'll bet it's all skewed to 120mm!

... it seems as if all of them are undersaturated...the colors seems a bit bland. ...

They look well saturated omm. Deep rich colors, but yes, it does look like a cloudy day. Isn't it always overcast in San Francisco? Grace, have you calibrated your monitor lately? Or maybe mine (it's at work, a Dell LCD, uncalibrated.)

In any event, these look good Riki!

 

[saturnine]

... it seems as if all of them are undersaturated...the colors seems a bit bland. ...

They look well saturated omm. Deep rich colors, but yes, it does look like a cloudy day. Isn't it always overcast in San Francisco? Grace, have you calibrated your monitor lately? Or maybe mine (it's at work, a Dell LCD, uncalibrated.)

In any event, these look good Riki!

Yes, I believe my monitor was calibrated recently... So, it could be that these just aren't as saturated as I like them :lol:

By the way, I forgot to mention, that these photos are still wonderful! I love the closeup of the dragon eye in your gallery. Beautiful!

 

[Chris101]

Yes, I believe my monitor was calibrated recently...

My work monitor probably needs calibrated then. I suspect they preset them to make colors pop, so we go oooh, aaah. I don't process here often, I prefer my eMac at home.

 

[Pa]

I appreciate your posting these. They are quite impressive.

I got this lens about three weeks ago, and have been pleased so far. Your samples look much better than mine! Could it be the D2h vs. my D70?

On the other hand, I haven't had anything so colorful to photograph.

 

[fks]

hi grace and chris-

my monitors at home are calibrated, and the saturation is normal, so i'm not sure why grace is seeing less saturation. i'll re-check the images when i get home, and double-check my calibration.

it was a very cold, foggy and overcast day, typical of summer in san francisco i bumped the ISO up to 400 to get reasonable shutter speeds since i've forgotten how to handhold without VR (VR tends to spoil you).


hi grace-

i would still recommend the 80-200mm f/2.8 faster focusing speed, and great for getting thin DOF if that's what you're after. what the 28-200mm has is versatility and a cheap price. i forgot to mention that the zoom ring rotates in the opposite direction of the nikon standard; i found myself zooming in when i meant to zoom out and vice-versa. it's an inconvenience, but one that you get used to as long as you don't switch between lenses in the same shoot.


hi chris-

the one drawback for me with focalplot is its inability to read NEF files. other than that, it's a great piece of software at a great price.


hi pa-

the d2h is known to have a bit more saturation than the d70. i prefer the colors i get out of my d2h than those i got out of the d100 i used to have. you can always bump up the saturation if you like it that way.


thanks all for your comments,

ricky

 

[saturnine]

Thanks for the advice, Ricky. The thin DOF on the 80-200mm is definitely appealing to me. I found one for a pretty good price, but not sure if I should jump on it yet! =}

 

[stm69]

Reminds me of Chinese New Year with all that lion dancing. Nice colors, impressive for that lens.

Sam

 

[dbirdsong]

I bought a 28-200 G about 3 months ago and while I don't use it as much as I should because of all the pro glass I have, I do enjoy using it as a walking around lens. In no way does it compare to my 24-70 and my 70-200 Sigma HSM EX lens' for speed and quality but it weighs a lot less and is a lot smaller which has it's advantages.
I must say I like it a lot better than the original 28-200 D lens I bought last Christmas.. Glad I sold it and bought the new one.

Dave

 

[Steve S]

Good shots Ricky

Love the dragon eye and the singer. This lens is definitely a great walkin around, good light lens. I used it exclusively on vacation in Tampa, when the sun was always shining, and was very satisfied with it's performance, esp considering it's diminutive 2 3/4 in size.

 

[MontyDog]

#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax;

 

[fks]

thanks all for the compliments

sam- although the nihonmachi street fair is set in Japantown in SF, it celebrates the asian american community as a whole. this is the first time i've seen the lion dancers at this event, which was fun to watch, until they kicked a head of lettuce in my face :shock:

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dave and steve- the size of the 28-200mm is a major attraction when i get tired of lugging around the 70-200mm VR. so far i'm pleased with the performance, especially given the price of the lens. i did feel a bit envious when i saw one guy shooting with his 70-200mm VR and a d70, but i'm happy with the results i got from this event.

paul- focalplot is a fun tool to use, and it's pretty fast in crunching the numbers. i need to get my photos onto my HD so i can do a more comprehensive plot. now if you can find something that'll graph aperture and shutter speed, that would be interesting to try.


ricky

 

[MontyDog]

#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax;

 

[JayR]

ExfStat is what I use and it works pretty well for analyzing focal lengths, aperture, and shutter speeds.

 

[Catz]

I have my monitor calibrated and I can see the well saturated colors. I bet these look great printed with all of the fine colors in them.

Sorry to hear about the lettuce. Hope you didn't have the camera up taking a picture at the same time

 

[fks]

hi melissa-

luckily none of the lettuce got on my lens or camera. it did get in my hair though (and i don't like vegetables!)

ricky

I have my monitor calibrated and I can see the well saturated colors. I bet these look great printed with all of the fine colors in them.

Sorry to hear about the lettuce. Hope you didn't have the camera up taking a picture at the same time