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Did We Mention We’re Having an Expo?

Spring Expo 2009

Spring Expo 2009

So, I somehow miraculously keep not mentioning this, but the 24th and 25th this month at or two Indianapolis (area) stores is our annual Spring Expo. We’re going to have most anybody who’s anybody (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Mamiya, Leica, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Profoto, Induro, PocketWizard, FJ Westcott, RPS Studio, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Lastolite, and on and on and on…) out in our store, showing you the merch. If you’re within traveling distance, it’s really a good time to swing by and give us a visit, because there’re just too many toys to play with. It’s one of the two times a year I get to try one of the f2 constant zooms for my E-3, for instance. (Although, dyed-in-the-wool Oly shooter I am, I think I’ll step down and play some with the A900 and some Zeiss lenses and with Nikon’s under-rated D700, both of which are systems I’d have in a giant rolling case if my pay-grade allowed for it.)

I’m sure specials will abound as well, and for those of you who unfortunately can’t come out and see us I’ll be mirroring as much of them as humanly possible on our website as well, so remember to swing by the site that weekend and check on that equipment you’ve been scrounging for (and maybe some you didn’t know you needed, occupational hazzard).



Zoomity-Zoom

Zoom is the stuff. At least as far as convenience goes. When I hired in, it was Nikon’s 18-200mm VR. We just could not keep that sucker in stock. That’s an 11x zoom (welllllll…. 11.111111 yadda yadda, rounding is our friend here.) Last year Canon jumped onto that game itself with the EF-S 18-200. 11x, that’s not too darn shabby there. The average point-and-shoot for years has been 3x.

We should really stop to talk about how unuseful “zoom” is as a measurement. The x zoom of a lens is found by dividing the longest length by the shortest. So, it tells you how much there is, but now where it exists between. Is the widest point 36mm, or 28mm? How long is that telephoto? 100mm? 200mm? Who knows? Zoom is a handy quick measurement, but it’s useless if you don’t also check to see where the limits are at.

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Photowalk: Part Deux

Hey! There were folks out this morning! To meet Derek and me! Awesome! I can’t believe I’m still using exclamation points!

To those of you who showed up, thank you so much. As much as I enjoy Derek’s company in the streaming sunlight of early morning, it kicked my day up a notch to meet some other shooters in the area and to know people read the blog.

The farmer’s almanac says next week is going to start wet, warm up and dry out. The Weather channel is calling Wednesday the 8th as the next dry day. I’m eyeballing Tuesday (Apr 7) or Wednesday (Apr 8) for the next walk.

Lacking the software on my work terminal (and a long enough lunch) to process my photos from the morning (I shoot RAW to avoid worrying about white balance and the niceties of over/underexposure), I don’t have any to add right now but I will hopefully get some up later in the week.

Derek’s vacationing today, but nevertheless made an appearance for the Photowalk. This week I’ll try to work with him on coordinating a section of our Flickr account for participants in the weekly Photowalks to submit their catch.

Of those who attended, people brought a couple of Nikon bodies, a Canon Rebel XSi with the attached BG-E5, and I think a Tamron lens or two.

Neat!

Keep an eye on the Indy Photo Calendar for updates, and feel free to email me any photo-related events to add to the calendar. nhenry (at) robertsimaging.com.



Lenses are expensive

So, here’s one of the more common sentiments among those unfamiliar with the camera industry: man, those lenses are ridiculously expensive. Heck, I can remember a time when I couldn’t conceive paying more than a couple hundred for a lens (and now my favorite one is valued at around 800-1000 bucks.)

So, to help put things in perspective, I stumbled across this video which I’ve encountered a couple times in my stint here, and thought I’d share it with everyone. It’s a short segment on how lenses are made (in the general, so it applies no matter if we’re talking Canon lenses, Nikon lenses, Sony lenses, Oly lenses, Sigma lenses, Tamron, Tokina, blah-de-blah-de-blah). Seriously, basically any camera lens going these days is a flat-out marvel of engineering. Just check this cut-out version of Olympus’ revised “standard” zoom, the 14-54:

Cut-Away View of the 14-54mm f2.8-2.5 Mark II

Impressed? I sure am. I certainly couldn’t have engineered something like that, and yet hundreds of people take that lens for granted every day. And it doesn’t even have any fancy tricks like ED glass.

And, if that’s not enough, here’s that video to show us just what it takes to make each of those actual glass lenses inside that sucker:



Tamron 18-270

Exhibiting perfect timing, yesterday Phil blogged about the Tamron 18-270mm VC (VR for you all used to Nikon lenses and IS for those used to Canon lenses). Today, I get a rebate form from our rep where you can save $50 off that particular lens. Can’t beat that, folks. Ser-en-dipity.



Tamron 18-270 VC

Looking for a lens that is a REALLY all in one solution?  Look no further than the new Tamron AF 18-270 VC.  The range of this lens is amazing.  Wide angle, super macro, telephoto, and vibration reduction all in one lens.  The VC is very good.  It is available for Nikon digital cameras and Canon digital cameras.  This lens has gotten some great reviews from customers and is very competitive in price.  Come into Roberts Imaging and check it out!



In Store Rep Days

Well day one of the pre-holiday demo is in the books. It is a great advantage to the customer to have access to representatives of all the major companies. Yesterday and today if you’re looking for a camera you can talk reps about a Nikon digital cameras, Canon digital cameras, Olympus digital cameras, Nikon Coolpix cameras, Powershot digital cameras, Sony Alpha cameras and Cybershot digital cameras even High Def camcorders, and camera tripods and all sorts of digital camera accessories are represented by representatives. The action starts at 10:00 and goes until 3:00.
sales rep demo photoThe photo above is from Friday before the official starting gun went off at 10:00. In the foreground is our Tamron rep putting out the latest in lenses, behind him is Jason from Nikon already in action.



Designed for Digital

Lenses work differently with digital than they did with film. Not on the functional level, mind you (although the mechanical aperture ring does seem to have become a niche and not a given), but optically. Digital is apparently more demanding of lenses, for a few reasons.

1. Sensors are flat. Film was, well, mostly flat, but all of you have handled negs know it wasn’t entirely flat.The completely flat digital sensors reportedly have a way of pointing out optical flaws film never would have revealed. At this point, however, these problems seem to have largely been remedied by all the major lens players.

Digital Design vs Film2. Sensors don’t like oblique light.Thanks to the way pixel wells work, the more light that hits the bottom of the well the better things go. This has lead to a new range of designed for digital or digitally integrated lenses (Tamron, for example, makes these in a selection of Canon lenses and Nikon lenses, and Olympus digital cameras had their lenses designed ground up for this). Basically, they’ve got reworked optics that try to project the light as perpendicular as possible onto the sensor. My diagram there gets the idea across, but please don’t consider it a technically accurate diagram.

There’s one more point, and that’s resolution, but that’s a big topic that I’m not willing to tackle inthis post. It has to do with pixel concentrations and lens resolving, but the general walk-away idea is that the higher your pixel count per area the better the lens you’ll need.



Tamron 70-200 2.8 DI; Fast Lens, Great Price

The key to low light, fast action shooting, is usually found in the glass mounted on the front of your digital camera.  The big hurdle for a lot of folks is the price point.  Plunking down $1500 + on a lens is tough deal for most.  There are alternatives to those expensive Canon lenses and Nikon lenses that you need to get the job done.

Tamron has recently come out with a new 70-200 2.8 lens that is great answer to the big glass from the big three.  The only gripe I can really come up with on the new lens might be the speed of the auto focus.  Nikon lenses have silent wave motors and Canon lenses have USM motors to give them a little speed advantage over the Tamron.

But the image quality is what most people are really concerned about.  That is where the Tamron shines.  When you consider that the Tamron is half the price of the competition, it really becomes an attractive lens to add to your arsenal.  Come in to Roberts Imaging and check one out today.  We have them available in Nikon, Canon, and Sony/Minolta mounts.  They are priced at $699.97.

Tamron 70-200 2.8



Coming Attractions

Tamron 18-270VC imageTamron, long a leader in lens design and technologies announced an astounding 15x range zoom 18-270mm lens in development on July 30th. Yesterday our Tamron lens rep was here at Roberts Imaging with a little more news. The first 18-270 lenses shipping will be for the Nikon DSLR bodies, including the D40 and D60 series bodies. That’s right the AF 18-270mm Di II VC lens will also carry the BIM designation, so it will mount on all Nikon Digital Cameras. (Note: the full frame sensor cameras will not reduce the file size and coverage area as they do Nikon’s DX lenses, and  Tamron does not recommend their use. If used the resulting image will have to be cropped to eliminate vignetting).
Tamron’s Canon EF mount lenses will follow shortly after the Nikon’s and don’t be surprised to see the Sony/Minolta mount soon too.
If you are unfamiliar with the vernacular of the lens world  I will  give you a brief  jargon translation.
DSLR: Digital Single Lens Reflex. A camera with a mirror box and prism for viewing the image through an eyepiece (or now on live view); the mirror pivots (reflexes) out of the way allowing the light path to reach the sensor. AF: Auto Focus; just like it sounds the lens and camera can focus automatically (there is always the option to manually override if desired).
Di II: This is Tamron’s designation for a lens designed to work with the smaller APS-C sized digital sensors, some higher end DSLR’s will have a full size sensor the same dimensions as a 35mm frame of film (you remember film, right?).
VC:  Vibration Compensation; built in stabilization features that help reduce user shake,allowing sharper photos in challenging conditions. Nikon Lenses and Canon lenses offer their own version on some of their lenses VR (Vibration Reduction) is Nikon’s terminology, and IS (Image Stabilizaition) is Canon’s. Remember: vibration reduction, compensation, control or stabilization  reduces but does not always eliminate the need for a camera tripod.
BIM: (Built-In Motor) a motor on-board the lens instead of a mechanical connection to the camera body. Built-In motors are nothing new, Canon Lenses have been equipped with internal motors since the first EOS lenses. Nikon came on board several years ago as well with their AF-S series of lenses. Now Third party lens manufacturers like Tamron, Sigma and Tokina to name just a few are building the more efficient internal motors in some of their offerings too.
With new longer range lenses cropping up all the time the options for the casual photographer are much greater. A lens with a 15x zoom would be an all-in-one solution for a lot of users. We don’t know the delivery dates yet but you can pre-order this lens on-line or you can contact me at 800-726-5544 or [email protected]



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