For this comparison I used the Nikon 105 VR f2.8 G lens. It’s my first shot at a Macro Lens. This lens is a great portrait lens on a full frame camera and very handy for long range on a crop sensor as it’s the equivalent of a 157mm on it. As to the settings for this comparison, they varied slightly but generally between f4.5-f.8, speed 1/100-125, ISO 400-1000 despite being taken right by a huge window in full daylight.

You can read my verdict below the images.

Nikon D700 daffodil shots

Nikon D7000 daffodil shots

Nikon D700 rings/watch shots

Nikon D7000 rings/watch shots

My verdict:

First impressions: I wanted to get in as close as the lens and camera would allow as what would then be the point in using a Macro? I have to say I’m a little disappointed I could not get close enough with the D700 as easily as with the D7000 with its crop sensor. It was incredibly difficult to get the point of focus really sharp ; the moment I moved by a centimeter I’d lose focus – that’s how sensitive the lens is. I tried to support the camera on a chair but I still had to tilt the camera handheld when composing – I know now I would need a tripod next time.

I’m a little pleased with the last ring shot taken with the D700. That took a few really hard tries. I often had to resort to Manual focusing if I wanted to get really close especially when trying to focus on the inscriptions on the inside of the rings.

The D700, once again proved to have fast and sensitive focusing – zippy! But on both cameras, it was very tricky to get sharp focus on the daffodil with its softer edges and subtle colour differences. I had to be very still otherwise I’d lose focus. The transition from point of focus to depth of field was more pronounced on the rings with their hard defined edges as single focusing was easier to pinpoint and hold. It was real fun trying to compose and choose focus points, despite my sore neck and achy arms!

The images above have not been cropped or cleaned up in any way. However, I have had to edit them in ACR and brighten them up a bit more in PS because even with the fairly high ISO in daylight, they still came out dark. Plus the fact that I shot in RAW meant they were always going to be a touch darker when opened on ACR because the camera’s LCD screen shows a Jpg version which is always brighter. I digress here but that is why it is more accurate to check the histogram rather than relying on the LCD preview. With the rings on a white chair though, it was difficult to gauge accurate exposure whilst trying to hold focus with hardly any blacks in the set-up and so much white area.

No noise reduction was applied on any of the images. Despite some noise inevitably being introduced by brightening up in post processing, both cameras still look very clean and noise-free even at ISO 1000.

I’d say my first attempt at Macro is very poor indeed. Since writing this post, I ‘ve had more practise with it and I think I’m happy with the progress I’m making. Macro photography takes a lot of practise. But one thing is for sure: I have a new respect for Macro shooters – it’s not an easy task, even with a good lens! I guess if I use a tripod, remote trigger and ringflash amongst other Macro accessories, they would help eliminate the problems I have so far encountered and make good Macro photography not just more fun but also easier to achieve.

I love editing and I find it a creative outlet especially that I haven’t painted in a looong time. So showing you unedited images {SOOC} was for me a big and brave step. Hence, I’m very excited about part four! I will be showing a set of fully edited images I have taken with the Nikon D700 in pretty challenging light using the same 3 lenses. So stay tuned! If you found his helpful, please share it. Thank you!

You can find my first impressions review of my Nikon D7000 when I got it nearly a year ago on this link.

In case you are looking to get any of the equipment I have used on this blog, you can find them here Nikon D700 and Nikon D7000 Nikon 50mm 1.4 G Lens Nikon 105mm VR 2.8 G Lens Nikon 35 mm 1.4 G Lens Nikon D90 Body Only

All images are SOOC.

Daytime test

Distance from the subject 1.5m
Settings: 1/160, f3.2, ISO 400

Nikon 35mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 50mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 105mm 2.8 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Distance from the subject 0.7m
Settings: 1/160, f2.8, ISO 400

Nikon 35mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 50mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 105mm 2.8 G {this lens is also a micro/macro lens and forces the aperture to stop down when too close to the subject}

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Non-still subject, distance 1.5 meters

Nikon 35mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 50mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 105mm 2.8 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

My verdict:

On the camera’s LCD screen the images look way better on the D7000 than the D700. Not surprising as the D7000 being only over 1 year old, has newer technology. Compared to the D700 screen, the D7000 screen looks like it’s HD. But don’t be fooled, on closer inspection on my computer screen, images from both cameras are very similar and I’ve had to look long and hard to see which is better. I thought the 35mm and D700 is a fantastic combination but less so with the 50mm 1.4 G. In my opinion, the images taken at closer range gave the D700 the edge despite older technology, albeit only by a touch. Although the D7000 is meant to have more dynamic range, from the images above, it looks like the D700 images have slightly more dynamic range.

From the sensor point of view, the D700′s huge sensor compared to the D7000 is, needless to say far superior, despite the 95% viewer coverage. But a professional body with a sensor so much more sensitive to light and over the double the price, one expects it to be so. This less than 100% viewer coverage however does have an impact on the way I normally shoot; I compose in camera for 90% of my shoots so I have to take this into consideration when composing. Focusing is also faster and more accurate on the D700 and the D700 has less shutter lag – this I noticed straight away. This meant I am happy with 2 out of 3 of my photos compared to 3 out of 5 on the D7000 or lesser on the other crop bodies I’ve had {the D90 and D40}. The 51 focus points on the D700 compared to D7000′s 39 make precise focusing in difficult situations a lot easier.

While the D700 is proving to be as expected an amazing camera, I am very impressed at how well the D7000 fares compared to it at half the price. Having used the D7000 extensively for 9 months and knowing it performs so well, I still feel the need to be 100% convinced that the D700 is worth the money – and I think I’m getting there – so I’m going to be doing more test shots. Had I not tried the D7000, this would not be an issue at all. There is more to come and I’m hoping I’d be able to write a summary of my review after a week of putting the D700 to the test.

In part three I will be showing the images I took using both cameras and the the 105vr macro lens. Stay tuned! If you found his helpful, please share it. Thank you!

You can find my first impressions review of my Nikon D7000 when I got it nearly a year ago on this link.

In case you are looking to get any of the equipment I have used on this blog, you can find them here Nikon D700 and Nikon D7000 Nikon 50mm 1.4 G Lens Nikon 105mm VR 2.8 G Lens Nikon 35 mm 1.4 G Lens Nikon D90 Body Only

My settings were exactly the same for all the shots. I was 2 feet away from the set-up and did not change my position at all. For my own personal purposes, I wanted to test two differences: angle of view and noise. So while the following settings are the same, it has to be said that the different sensors make the lenses behave differently on each camera so that the results are not really 100% comparable. But for my purposes, I wanted to see the visual differences.

The constants: Speed 1/160. Aperture f3.2. ISO 2000. Spot meter. Exposure Compensation +0.7. White Balance Auto. Single Focus set on the archer figure at the bottom of the book’s spine. All images are SOOC. All I did was to resize and sharpen for web using the same settings. The set-up I decided on was deliberate: evening, indoors with just a lamp and normal room lighting and objects with light and dark areas.

Nikon 50mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 35mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 105mm 2.8 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Noise visible at 100% crop

Lens: 50mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 35mm 1.4 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

Nikon 105mm 2.8 G

Nikon D700

Nikon D7000

My verdict:

The D700 is still much better at handling noise despite being a few years older. I didn’t use a grey card for these shots so I didn’t expect the colours to be accurate. My wall isn’t white, it’s more of a light beige {hessian to be exact}. Neither camera got the colour right. The D700 images are too green while the D7000 images are too pink; the actual colour is in between, but the D700 is closest.

Up next is part two – more comparison shots taken during the day, 2 different distances, 2 different subjects and the same lenses as above. Stay tuned! Here’s a teaser:

Top image D700 and 50 mm 1.4 G
Bottom image D7000 and 35mm 1.4 G {equivalent to 52mm on a a crop body}

You can find my first impressions review of my Nikon D7000 when I got it nearly a year ago on this link.

In case you are looking to get any of the equipment I have used on this blog, you can find them here Nikon D700 and Nikon D7000 Nikon 50mm 1.4 G Lens Nikon 105mm VR 2.8 G Lens Nikon 35 mm 1.4 G LensNikon D90

Please share this post too if you found it helpful. Thank you.

Yesterday her little friend came to visit. She talked non-stop at dinner time telling us she liked playing with her friend and they played with play-doh, pushing dollies in buggies, walking and rolling. Life is so simple and sweet. And made of special moments. Ah to be a small child once again…

Then one fine day in late September of last year, we came home from school and I knew the thinking had to cease and the doing to start. So within 5 minutes, I grabbed the things I knew I wanted to use and set-up the shots in a 2 meter square area.

It’s time to tell a story.

Back to School.

If you want to tell a visual short story creatively, for tips, I am going to walk you through my thought processes during this shoot which took less than 45 minutes from start to finish….

Tip 1: Plan ahead. Think through the story you want to tell. Decide on the details. Picture the sequences in your head. Feel the story. These are the things that during my thinking time I had already decided played a major role in the shoot:

Look – I only had three requirements…golden. sentimental. rich in bokeh. To achieve the latter, I shot open wide and in manual mode.

Light – I waited for good light. I waited for the golden hour – hard to find when you are in London and in the autumn. There is no consistent golden hour in England {imo} it changes most days. It’s elusive and I had to catch it. On the day of the shoot, the sun was shining and it had been a warm day, so warm for autumn that my nextdoor neighbour washed her white bedsheets and hung them in the garden thus making the light diffused and soft.

Colours – They had to coordinate. In this shoot, I went for blues and purples. I grabbed 2 small quilts with a blue and purple palette that we already have, put my kids in blue uniform and clothes, and used a cushion with blue patchwork pattern which I had just finished making.

Props – I used what I found in the fruit bowl, some books that my kids like – again carefully chosen to coordinate with the colour palette, a few sentimental items {such as an old Tom Sawyer book, a London map, an old car, a globe… and a bag I had made} and a single pea.

Plot – Although not always necessary, I wanted this story to have a beginning middle and end. But the middle bit is never easy so I kept it free-flowing and allowed some activity and fun to keep my kids engaged. During this stage, I aimed to capture special moments of my children’s interaction. Truth be told, I gave them plenty of instructions! But the beginning and the end are crucial because they bring the story together, so I had these 2 planned out. My first shot was the top one with the fruit and the last shot was the one with the single pea.

Tip 2: Start collecting props – they need not be bought new, they can be what you already have. Just make sure you know where to find them for when the moment comes.

Tip 3: Wait for the right moment. Everything comes together when the time is right. Putting things together usually becomes very easy and quick once the hard job of planning and thinking have been done.

Tip 4: Don’t forget to focus on details. Details always convey plenty of rich emotion.

Tip 5: If you edit your photos, edit according to your vision. I edited this set the way I wanted it to look; there was no other person to please, just myself, so I went all the way and tried something new to me.

Click here to view the complete set. I can’t wait to see your take. Post a link below when you’re ready!

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Things happen so fast in weddings. So, I’m not gonna lie; I find capturing these moments one of the most difficult things to do. It is the one thing that I keep thinking of, the very top thing that I feel I need to be really good at. It is what I want the core of my wedding photography to be.

I am very grateful to my associate and assistants who help me capture moments that I, as primary shooter who needs to capture the must-have and formal photos as well, miss. Together, we do our best to document the weddings as we hope our brides and grooms want to remember them.

Here are some of our captured moments from last year. If you missed the first 2 posts on the Best of 2011 series, you can find them here and here.

So let me introduce here on the blog a first baby. Oh so special. Those hands, feet, cheeky smiles, gorgeous blue eyes, first teeth, soft fine hair, countless facial expressions. The list goes on. And the parents. As doting and adoring as parents can be. Before long, baby B will be crawling, cruising, walking, toddling, running. In no time at all.