Instagram
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 10:36AM
The world’s worst kept secrets, the new Nikon D800 and D800E, are now available fro pre-order over at B&H. I think the D800E has my name on it. :-)
Nikon D800 available for pre-order
Nikon D800E available for pre-order
D800, D800E, Nikon in Photo Gear and Reviews Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 08:25PM
I have to admit that I am salivating over the new Fuji X-Pro 1. Let’s look at the specs:
B&H is now accepting preorders for the X-Pro 1, and the choice comes down to which lenses to mate to the camera. Here are some options:
I think the 18mm f/2 is pretty much a slam dunk, at least for the kinds of situations I would want to use the camera for. The 35mm would also be useful, however I think the 60mm might not be for me. I will need to try it out first, though.
Are you thinking about buying into the system? Of all of the mirrorless platforms I have seen so far, I probably respond best to the Fuji X-Pro 1. I already own a Sony NEX-5 and like it quite a bit, however I am looking for more of a rangefinder product.
Fuji, X-Pro 1 in Photo Gear and Reviews Friday, January 6, 2012 at 08:52AM
Well, it has finally arrived. The new Nikon D4 is probably the best balance between file size, noise characteristics (just a hunch, based on pixel pitch) and video capabilities. I thought the Canon 1Dx was going to be tough to beat, but Nikon appears to have made many people happy with the feature set on their new flagship dSLR. Here are some juicy specs:
You should get on the list over at B&H if you are interested in getting on in February. Yes, I said February, which is a mighty fast delivery for Nikon. Typically Nikon makes announcements and you can’t get your hands on a product for 3 to 9 months.
B&H is taking preoders for the D4 right now.
Nikon in Photo Gear and Reviews Monday, November 14, 2011 at 01:21PM I have been wanting to put together a mega blog entry on all of the gear that I use and why, and for some reason I have never gotten around to writing it. Well, here it is, and if you have any comments or questions I would love to hear from you. I will be following up this post with a couple of videos that will illustrate what I put in my camera bags and how I place it all in the bags.
Let’s begin with the camera bags that I use, as these are the things that are usually at the top of my mind (I wonder why. Yuk yuk).
When I travel overseas with all of my gear, or if I need extra room in my bag for video products, my go-to bag is the Kiboko 30L. I designed this bag back in 2005, took the original one to market in 2008 and refreshed it in 2011, and the bag is still solving my main challenges of getting my gear on a plane and to my safari vehicle without hassles or issues. The 30L holds a TON of camera gear, yet only weighs 4 pounds (1.8 kg).
I use the Gura Gear 22L+ when I don’t need to carry all of my gear around, or when I don’t need my bag to be a staging area for 2+ cameras that are attached to lenses. I love the small and lightweight package, which makes it easy for me to get onto planes of any size without an airline employee freaking out. The 22L+ holds almost as much gear as the Kiboko 30L, but is 2/3 of the size. The 22L+ also has a more beefed up harness system than the 30L, so I may opt for the 22L+ if short hikes are involved.
I always bring the Chobe bag with me, as I prefer to separate my camera gear from my laptop computer. I use the Chobe daily, moving computer, iPad and camera gear between my home and my office. The Chobe is my go-to bag, no matter what I am doing, as it mixes business with photography, and does either or both very well.
Ok, this is where I want to weep. Not really, but this is the one camera that I have come to love the most. I rarely use it at or near my home, but it is my preferred camera when I am shooting wildlife or landscapes. The challenge with the D3x is that is doesn’t do well above ISO 1600, and even then I prefer to limit the camera to ISO 800. The resolution is absolutely killer, and I love my 40x60” canvas prints that I can create from the raw files. Autofocus is in the same class as my D3, however it is a small amount slower to acquire a lock on moving subjects.
The Nikon D3 is my go-to camera for fast moving action and high ISO situations. I love to use this camera at the beginning and end of each day, when the sun is low in the sky and I need to rely on ISO settings at or above 1600. I also use the D3 when I need more frames per second for things such as running mammals or birds. The D3, D3s and D700 files are the cleanest and best looking images of any camera, bar none. So what is the downside? Well, quite simply the file size. The D3 uses a 12.1 megapixel sensor, which isn’t bad, but I do have to be careful when wanting or needing to print larger prints. For most subjects this is ok up to about 20x30”, but I have to have the right set of circumstances in able to print larger than that. My print sales business is the strongest in the 24x36” and 40x60” sizes, as I sell my work thorough a series of interior designers. Often these prints are used in commercial settings, such as board rooms and office common areas. So I tend to be very sensitive to output size, and the D3 is sometimes not enough to get me there. With that being said most of my images that get printed large are elephant, giraffe and non big cat types of images, and for some reason I have more sightings in better light of these subjects. So the D3x is typically used in those situations anyway.
The 200-400mm is my longest lens that I own. I used to be a Canon guy, and back then I used a 500mm f/4 as my longest lens. These days I tend to prefer my images a little more zoomed out, and 400mm is working for me right now. I do sometimes with for more when I am in Tanzania and Kenya, as the areas are much more wide open and the wildlife can be farther away, but that is when I might use a 1.4x teleconverter to get me a temporary reprieve. Optically the 200-400mm is pretty darned good, but it isn’t as good as a prime. The lens works best when stopped down to f/8 or f/11, which is where I call ‘home base’ for my shots.
I haven’t upgraded to the VRII, primarily due to cost, and perhaps I will get around to it someday. Oh, and I use a Really Right Stuff LCF-14 replacement foot, as it integrates an Arca Swiss compatible dovetail for easy use with either a ballhead or gimbal.
The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.7 VRII is likely the one lens that I like to use the most, but don’t find enough wildlife situations to use. I use it 50% of the time on game drives in Botswana and South Africa, and probably 25% of the time in Kenya and Tanzania. It is the longest lens I use for mountain gorillas in Rwanda. I love this lens because it focuses quickly, it has great performance wide open and it is easy to hold without any support. This is the one lens that every nature photographer should own, whether you are a landscape or wildlife photographer.
I have a love/hate relationship with this lens. I love that it can be a single lens that I take with me on a family trip, but I don’t like that the zoom and focusing rings are inversed from all of my other lenses. The zoom ring is on the outside and the focusing ring is on the inside? What gives, Nikon? Sheesh. The lens hood needs work as well, because there are some very thin parts of the plastic that are easily broken (this has happened twice). Optically it is a decent lens between about 50mm and 200mm, but longer than 200mm and it starts to get soft. If stopped down to f/11 it gets good, but then again I am not likely to use this lens on a tripod to begin with. I have used the lens for all of my Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta workshops for the past 3 years, and have enjoyed working with only 1 lens.
I used to use the 24-70mm all of the time with my family, but in recent years have preferred to use faster primes for ultimate quality. For landscapes I am more likely to shoot with a 16-35mm or a 70-200mm, so the 24-70mm rarely gets used for those types of trips. I do use the 24-70mm as my widest lens when in Africa on safari, whether for landscapes or for general people shots. I do wish that Nikon had a 24-105mm f/4 type lens, and the 24-120mm isn’t a viable option for me. I have tried it a few times and I won’t purchase it.
Now this is a lens that I absolutely love. I sold my 17-35mm f/2.8 to afford this lens, and optically it is a much better product. I never need f/2.8 for this type of lens, so I was ok with moving to an f/4 lens. I use the lens for doing camp interior shots in Africa, either for stills or video.
Here is where the fun really starts. The 85mm f/1.4 (the last generation) is my go-to lens for doing family shots in the backyard. I don’t use it wide open very often, as I am always fighting depth of field, but am usually shooting between f/2 and f/2.8. One drawback to this lens is that it isn’t as fast at focusing as the latest ‘G’ version. Another downside is the threaded screw-on lens hood. It is made out of metal, though, which is a nice tough. Old skool, and I like that.
I think this is the one lens that all of us has owned at some point, yet most of us don’t use often enough. It is the least expensive lens in my bag, for sure, and I don’t use it often enough. My goal is to mate it with my D3 for a month and only use the combo for my family photographs and see how I like it after that. I have never taken this lens overseas, but that will change when I start running more cultural trips in Africa. I have visited many cultures throughout Africa, and it was just a matter of time before I put trips together to photograph some of these amazing people. Stay tuned.
Other Camera Equipment
I also own a Sony NEX-5 with 2 lenses: the 16mm f/2.8 and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. I also have the accessory flash unit as well as external microphone. I love the NEX platform, and I take the NEX-5 with me on all of my trips, domestic or international. The size, weight and image quality are perfect for my needs, especially for people or group ‘grab shots’. I would love to upgrade to the newer NEX-7 when they area available.
I rarely use this baby out on safari, but I use it all of the time for family shots and portraits. I have a set of Pocket Wizard remotes, which I primarily use for product photography with SB-900 flashes (Gura Gear studio shots of our bags).
Parting Thoughts
I often get questions like ‘which lenses should I buy’ or ‘what is your best recommendation for a starter kit’, and these are difficult questions to answer. They are difficult because I don’t know what the budget it, I don’t know how much gear is too much for you and I don’t know what are you wanting to photograph. With that being said, I think that every nature photographer should own the ‘holy trinity’ of lenses that will get you started:
These 3 lenses will get you most of the way, if not all of the way, towards filling your bag up. Yes, these lenses add up to a princely sum, but there is a reason that most full time nature photographers own all three of them, and that is because they are wonderful general purpose lenses. Sprinkle in a few specialty primes and a long lens for wildlife and you are all set up.
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 12:06PM
Great news, folks. For those who have been waiting for the new Canon 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/2.8L IS II lenses, they are now shipping to select dealers. The new lenses have been redesigned optical systems as well as the latest Image Stabilization (IS). Get on the list ASAP if you ever anticipate wanting one in the next 3 to 6 months, as I anticipate a very tight supply.
Canon in News, Photo Gear and Reviews Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 08:51AM
Sony announced many products today, and without going into too many details the A77 is a product that may do quite well in the wildlife photography world. Why? Here are some quick specs to tease you:
What do you think about having a 12fps camera that also shoots high quality video for under $1500? Pretty cool, actually. Add in built in GPS, a moisture and dust resistant magnesium construction and it sounds like a great wildlife camera. I look forward to hearing reviews on it. Remember that Sony purchased Konica Minolta back in 2006, and they have a very nice set of lenses. Sony struck a deal with Zeiss shortly after their acquisition, and now they have a full range of lenses at different price points. The big question is regarding their 500mm f/4 lens that they have been showing at trade shows for the past couple of years?
A77, Sony in News, Photo Gear and Reviews Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 03:02PM
There are so many ways to present photographs, and I decided to put together a video here in the studio to show many of the different portfolio options that are on the market today. I see more and more people using the Apple iPad for the showing of photographs, however there is no substitute for a printed image on paper. A properly printed body of work shows more than just the work of a photographer, but it can show the mastery of the craft of printing as well as the vision of a photographer.
I am a stickler for well printed photographs on paper, and it is something that I spend much of my time working on in my studio. I even run printing workshops in my studio, because I enjoy printing my own work as well as looking at others’ work. I am not saying that an iPad cannot work, but rather a printed portfolio has the opportunity actually be the final step in the photographic process.
If you do a web search for portfolios, you will see many different products, however most of them seem to be targeted to a student’s budget. This is totally ok and valid, but the readers of this site may want something nicer and are willing to pay more than $10 or $20.
The idea for the video was to put forth some tangible ideas for your own photo portfolios, and the products in the video range from around $5.50 to around $400. I have items from Moab Paper, Lost Luggage, Portfoliobox.com and Dane Creek Folios. The video isn’t a complete roundup of all of the products on the market, however it is a video that shows what I have actually used myself.
Disclaimer: I do consulting work for Moab Paper, in that I create their ICC profiles for their paper.
External links:
Andy Biggs Portfolio Boxes for sale
Moab Paper Chinle Ice Nine Portfolios 8x8” is $40 and 12x12 is $55 (both include 10 sheets of paper)
Moab Paper Chinle Digital Books 8x8” is $40 and 12x12 is $55 (no paper is included)
Moab Paper Chinle Economy Folio 8.5x11 is $23, 11x17 is $31, 13x19 is $36 and 17x22 is $42.
Moab Paper Chinle Archival Box boxes start at $15 and go up to $58
Dane Creek Folios folio packages start at $5.50
Portfoliobox.com a custom quote is required. I spent around $3300 for fifteen 8.5x11 and fifteen 13x19 boxes.
Lost Luggage I paid around $400 for my brown leather portfolio. Prices vary, depending on product and size.
Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 04:46PM
Nik Software has given me a code that people can use for a 15% discount, which is ABIGGS. During the checkout process, just use ABIGGS to claim your 15% discount off of any Nik Software products. If you watched my webinar a few days ago, you probably know that I am a huge fan of Viveza 2 and of Silver Efex Pro 2. I do use both of these tools in my own workflow, as they both save me time as well as give me control over my images like never before.
