Every DSLR Lens I have ever purchased has come with a Lens Hood. The Lens Hood serves a couple of different purposes. First and foremost it helps prevent lens flare when you're shooting towards a light source and secondly it provides a little extra protection from the occasional bumps that your lens may encounter as you walk around. These are reasons alone enough for me to always shoot with mine attached.
If your lens comes with a Lens Hood then why would you buy one?
Although the Lens Hoods I've gotten with my various Nikon lens have all been decent, there are a couple of 3rd party lens that I'm not as happy with the supplied Lens Hood. Even with that being the case I was never in the market to actually "buy" a different lens hood. The ones that come with the lenses good or bad, do what they are supposed to do. However, at the last Photoshop World Conference I saw a couple of my buddies using the Mamiya Lens Hood and at first glance I even questioned whether or not they if they were shooting with a "NEW" lens. I asked because for some reason the Mamiya Lens Hood looked more (and I don't know how else to put this) "professional". It looked as if they were using some new high-end lens that I hadn't seen yet. When I found out that it was the same 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens that I already owned, my next question was "hey where did you get the cool lens hood?" NAPP had featured this lens hood on D-Town before and they told me that every time they do, it sells out! I had always intended on ordering one, but like many things in my life I got busy with my day to day work and completely forgot about it. That was until I ordered my NEW Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens. I figured that was the perfect time not only to get a new Lens, but also a New Lens Hood.
What makes this Lens Hood so cool?
I'll be the first to admit that functionality should be FIRST on your check list for anything you buy. After all if it doesn't work, then what good is it to you? With all things being equal, the next thing that sways me (many times even before price) is aesthetics and the user interface. Yep, I'm a sucker for a "pretty gadget". When I got my Mamiya Lens Hood I quickly found out that it was MORE than just a pretty face! Aside from doing the obvious, which is reducing lens flare and providing added protection, this Lens Hood actually works a little differently than the Nikon supplied one. First off the color is "rubber", not hard plastic. So it actually collapses around the lens so that you can both leave it on the lens for travel AND protect it a little more in your bag. You screw it on directly to your lens and then add any filters you have on to it. So once I put it on my Lens I then put on my UV filter. Also it's nice not have one that can get knocked off with a bump.
The Bottom Line
This Lens Hood goes for $36.50 (for the 77mm size). Also at focal lengths less than 50mm you may see vignetting. You don't "NEED" this lens hood. Nope, you sure don't. The one you got with your lens works just fine. You don't need to buy this. However, here's the link anyway 
Written by terrywhite on May 18th, 2010 with no comments.
Read more articles on Digital Photography.
It wasn't long ago that I declared the Solmeta N2 GPS as my choice among Nikon DSLR compatible GPS units. Solmeta has stepped up its game to win my heart over even more with a new "Pro" model. Their NEW Solmeta Geotagger Pro offers the same features as the N2 model that I've come to love, but it adds something that I wasn't even thinking of and that's an LCD to display the information that it's tracking. At first I thought, "do I really need that?" After all, the current model Nikon DSLRs have a great GPS menu display that shows this information whenever you need it. So at first glance I wasn't impressed that this info would be on the GPS itself until I actually got one in to test. I'm totally hooked now! It's soooo much nicer NOT having to navigate to the GPS menu on the back of my Nikon camera and instead concentrate on shooting. I can see at a glance that not only has the GPS unit acquired a signal, but exactly what my Longitude, Latitude, Altitude, Heading, Time, Battery Level, etc. are. Do I need to know what my longitude and latitude are on screen? Nope! I really don't. At that point they might as well just be random numbers. However, it's the other stuff that's helpful like seeing the battery level and the fact that I do have longitude and latitude (even though I don't really care what the numbers themselves are) to let me know that it's functioning properly. Having the heading info is also important to see sometimes. So yes, it's GREAT having an LCD on the GPS itself! Oh and yes, the LCD also has a backlight feature so that you can see it in the dark if need be.
Field Tested in Singapore
I wanted to give this new unit a real world test so i brought it with me to Singapore and India. Satellite acquisition time was great and accuracy seems to be dead on. The shot above was taken in…… why not just Click it to see it on Google Maps?
Any other reason you like this new one?
Like I said, the feature set is pretty much the same as the previous model:
Used with a Nikon camera, the Geotagger Pro provides real time position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and UTC time information to your DSLR camera and records the locations to each digital image files taken by your camera.
- Equipped with 3-axis electronic compass which can record the heading and pitching angle and roll angle. Its magnetic delination is adjustable.
- LCD display to show position information, date & time, moving speed, memory size.
- Built in internal rechargeable battery, lasting up to 10 hours. Automatically switch over to Nikon camera for power source when the device is in low on power.
- "Auto "Power on/off design. The Pro will turn on when the camera is turned on and will turn off when the camera is turned off. Thankfully you can turn this OFF!
- "Indoor Lock"GPS signal fixing ability.
- Built in a 8MB flash memory, can be used as a GPS Data Logger.
- Also for use with other digital cameras with hot shoe, each time the camera takes a picture with the Pro attached ,the device automatically records GPS data in its memory, the GPS data information can later be matched with the photos by software.
- A user-friendly software utility is provided with the following functions:
–Firmware upgradeable.
–Download recored data to PC.
–Erase recorded data.
However, what I do like about this "Pro" model over the previous one besides the LCD is the fact that it seems a little more rugged. It's a more solid build and feels more like a "pro" model than the previous one. Since you're going to be outside with these things more than inside you want one that looks like it would hold up a little better in the elements. Is it waterproof? Absolutely not! However, it seems like it would not be as easily damaged by a splash or occasional rain drop as the previous model would be.
Two Important Things To Note
1) First off this GPS works DIRECTLY with current model Nikon DSLR cameras because Nikon builds GPS support right into their camera operating systems. There's a GPS menu right on my Nikon D5000 and D700. However, since this is also a GPS logger it can be used with ANY CAMERA if you are willing to merge the data from the GPS with your images after the fact in post production.
2) Every time I do one of these reviews someone complains or asks why does it tie up the hotshoe? Or what if I want to use a Flash or something else in the hotshoe and geotag at the same time? Although these units sit right in the hotshoe for best position, they ALL CAN ATTACH TO YOUR CAMERA STRAP. So if you don't want to use it in the hotshoe, just use the supplied camera strap clip and away you go. The only thing that it might throw off is the compass/heading by not being level.
The Bottom Line
You can't go wrong with either model (the N2 or the Pro). So it really comes down to is the Pro worth $105 more than the the N2? That's the question that's not as easily answered. Honestly, having worked with both models I would have to answer it this way: If you're an occasional shooter and you want to have a GREAT GPS for your camera, then go with the N2. It will probably more than meet your needs. If you're a PRO shooter and you spend MOST of your time shooting landscapes or other things outdoors and you want the best GPS you can buy with the most options and functionality (or you're just loose with your money 
), then go with the Pro model. There isn't another one on the market that offers more! You can buy either model here direct from Solmeta.
Written by terrywhite on May 11th, 2010 with no comments.
Read more articles on Digital Photography and GPS and review.
I'm often having to balance my "hobby" with reality. That reality is that although I LOVE photography it's not my day job. It's not even my night job. I shoot for the sheer joy of shooting. So when I think about spending $2,400 for a lens I have to really really really think about it. When the NEW Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII Lens came out last fall I put it on my "that would be nice to have if the opportunity comes up" list. After all I already owned the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR Lens. This was lens was an "update." It was also much more than the original lens that I bought. I think the original 70-200 was around $1,800 or so and this one was coming in at $500 MORE! Like anyone I wanted to know what would I get for spending MORE than the original costs?
The New Lens Promised 3 Things
The first and most obvious is that the NEW 70-200mm lens offers VRII. This is Nikon's updated image stabilization. This update promises to give you better hand held shots. OK great, but still not enough. The second thing that this new lens promised was to fix an issue with using the original lens on Full Frame cameras like my Nikon D700. The original 70-200mm would cause some veinetting at certain focal lengths when attached to a full frame camera. Yep, that is something I wanted, but still not enough. Lastly, the new lens promised to have better autofocus than the original. Now I'm interested! With my original 70-200mm the autofocus was "good", but depending on the available light it could be tricky getting it to lock on to your subject and since I do a lot of portrait work it was sometimes frustrating. While no one thing that I've mentioned above was motivating enough to get me to upgrade, the three things together made it tempting.
I was in no hurry
Yes, I would love to have a lens update that resolved the three things above, but not enough to hurry up and upgrade. I was very happy with the shots I was getting with my current 70-200mm lens. Then I met a nice guy by the name of David at Photoshop World and we of course got on the subject of photography. He was looking to make his "next" lens purchase and was seeking advice on what to get. My buddy Rick and I advised him on various choices and he decided that he wanted a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I told him that I would sell him mine whenever he was ready to move. Again, I was in no hurry. We exchanged contact info and David contacted me recently indicating that he was now ready to buy. As luck would have it I was headed to Chicago that week and it just so happened that David lived nearby. So we met in person and I sold him my lens.
I upgraded
After selling my 70-200mm lens I was OK with upgrading to the new one (paying the difference in price) since the 70-200mm is the lens I use the most. I ordered the NEW from the good folks over and B&H and I got a chance to use it just last week. On the outside this lens is practically identical to the previous model.
There is one new option on the side for the type of focusing you're doing, but that's about it. I felt right at home with the weight and size since I shoot with a 70-200mm all the time. The autofocus is very responsive and fast of course the vignetting issue was gone. I can't really say that I notice much of a difference yet with the VRII vs. VR.
The Bottom Line
I'm not really sure how Nikon justified the significant bump in price of the new lens. I'm glad that I got in while the getting was good on the original one. With that said, I LOVE this lens and if something happened to it, I'd have to replace it with a new one. No question about that. Should you buy the new one or get a deal on the old one? If you've got the money to spend AND a full frame camera I'd opt for the new one. If you're on a cropped sensor like the D300/s, D90, etc. then I'd probably look for someone like me who is wanting to upgrade. B&H has the New lens for less here.
Written by terrywhite on May 10th, 2010 with no comments.
Read more articles on Digital Photography.
« Older articles
No newer articles
