paired with a Minolta SR-T 102. I burned plenty of Kodachrome with that glass.
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​That 90mm macro lens focused to half life-size (1:2 reproduction ratio) but required an adapter—a multi-element extension tube in this case—to go to life-size (1:1). What’s more, the Vivitar lacked internal focusing, so as you focused closer, the lens barrel extended out awkwardly.
Many newer macro lenses thankfully offer internal focusing, making them easier to handle. Case in point, the Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 VC macro model F004 and the brand–new F017 90mm macro.
When the new Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 Macro (Model F017) arrived, I was really eager to see the what this updated model brings to the table. The new lens is currently available for Canon and Nikon, with the Sony Alpha mount on pre-order at retailers.  READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Call them what you will – ultra-wides or super-wides – I love ‘em. By covering a breathtaking expanse, these types of extreme wide-angle lenses are not only capable of capturing most landscapes, they also help sweep you into that landscape, making you feel a part of the scene in the process.

Of course, not every ultra-wide shot has to be expansive. Sometimes we just want to capture the full scope of a structure or geologic form or even a tree without having to step back more and more until we find ourselves on the edge of a precipice—or standing in the middle of traffic. And of course there’s always that in-your-face forced perspective that lends a dramatic flair to any subject photographed close up with these lenses.

Normally, I’d say, go with an ultra-wide zoom. But zooms, even at f/2.8, can be considered slow when we’re shooting at dawn or dusk, and especially after nightfall or in a dimly lit interior, without cranking ISO all the way up. What about using a tripod? I often prefer to leave my tripod at home, opting instead to shoot with the camera handheld. This way I’m free to move about, without worrying about the attached tripod bumping into people on a crowded street, or catching it in brambles or scraping against rock along the side of a trail, or having to take everything apart and set it up from scratch each time the tripod is needed.

Enter the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art lens. This lens, which Sigma is calling "the world's first" 20mm f/1.4 lens for full frame digital SLRs, is eminently suited to handheld photography. That said, it would work just as nicely seated on your favorite pod. In fact, it has one advantage for tripod users. You know how you always forget to disengage the image-stabilization (IS) mechanism on a lens equipped with this tech when the camera is on a tripod? Well, I always do. (That can result in blurred shots.) This lens does not feature IS, or OS (optical stabilizer) in Sigma parlance, so no worries. Now, is that entirely a good thing? Let’s find out.
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Read the full review here, at shutterbug.com.

Posted 7/22/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

I’ve worked with Adobe Photoshop since it was first introduced. While it wasn’t my favorite image editing software initially, Photoshop grew on me as its capabilities grew, and it has become my go-to editor outside Lightroom.

In fact, Photoshop has led the field among image editors for as long as I can remember. It’s a robust package with an array of tools that far surpasses what many of us would normally use—although, granted, it’s nice to know they’re there when needed. And no pro photographer I know would consider abandoning Photoshop in favor of a fledgling software application. Not just yet, anyway.

However, for the many photo enthusiasts who have yet to dabble in Photoshop or who find it too unwieldy or intimidating, or downright too expensive, something new is always an enticement. This is especially true in light of Adobe’s recent and controversial subscription-based Creative Cloud service, which many photographers balk at. Even some pros I know prefer to stick with the tried-and-true, standard desktop versions to the Cloud-based subscription versions.

Well, Affinity Photo from Serif Labs is here to address the naysayers among us. First of all, it’s available at a one-time price, and a very inviting one at that: for $49.99, you get not only the software, but also all future updates and releases. Affinity Photo is available from the Mac App Store—currently (and likely for the foreseeable future) Mac OS X only, 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor—courtesy of Serif Labs. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 7/7/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

Lightroom has always been available as retail standalone software that you buy, install, update, and pay to upgrade when applicable. Well, that has changed, in part, thanks to the Adobe Creative Cloud, which unleashed a torrent of cloud-integrated apps, among them Lightroom CC.

I wasn’t convinced of the necessity to dive into the cloud when Photoshop CC was first introduced, choosing instead to remain firmly grounded with CS6. But things took a turn that would force my hand when Adobe chose to no longer support Lightroom 5 with updates. When testing new cameras and lenses, I found myself resorting to Photoshop CS6 so I’d have access to the latest Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). I was at a crossroads. Creative Cloud, show me what you’ve got. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 5/28/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

Shutterbug was fortunate enough to secure a loan of a pre-production version of the much-anticipated EOS 5DS R DSLR for testing and we were off and running with it as soon as it arrived. You’ve no doubt read our earlier report about this camera and its nearly identical twin the 5DS, each boasting a whopping 50.6MP full-frame sensor, which makes them the world’s highest resolution full-frame DSLRs

And undoubtedly your mouth started watering.

Face it, everyone is always clambering to buy the latest and the greatest, but you should also ask yourself, what will I use it for and what will it add to my photography? And perhaps the bigger question, is it time to switch (or switch back) to Canon?

Ever since medium format digital cameras and backs have been hitting us with pixel counts in the stratosphere, the DSLR world has been scrambling to catch up. But those medium-format backs have a purpose: they meet client needs, usually high-end advertising. And it’s not only the high resolution, which sits on a larger sensor, no less. These larger cameras also offer 16-bit color depth, in contrast to the 14-bit capture typically available to our higher-end 35mm style cameras.  But there are many more applications that are not as demanding or that require high mobility, and that is where a 50MP DSLR will find its niche. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 5/20/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

There was a time when I’d avoid a zoom lens as much as I’d avoid a swarm of midges. But in the digital age, the zoom lens has taken on new purpose, at least for me. Midges, however, are still a pest that is best avoided—especially when you’re changing lenses. And if you’re out in a marsh shooting spectacular scenic views, the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens gives you the needed range of focal lengths so you can reign supreme over any landscape, as you avoid changing lenses while sidestepping concern that those midges will infiltrate your camera. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 5/13/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

I thought that Tamron had outdone itself first with its 70-300mm lens and then with the 24-70mm f/2.8  and 90mm f/2.8 Macro lenses: all bearing the SP (super performance), VC (vibration compensation), Di (digitally integrated primarily for full-frame sensors), and USD (ultrasonic silent drive) monikers. There are of course other noteworthy lenses in the lineup, but these are the ones I tested for Shutterbug. Now comes the impressive Tamron SP15-30mm f/2.8 Di FC USD, which the company first previewed way back at photokina 2014. With this lens Tamron has created a near-flawless masterpiece in optics that simply blew me away!

I tested this full-frame Tamron SP15-30mm f/2.8 lens on a Nikon D610, with Picture Control set to Standard (default settings). Raw images were processed first in Adobe Lightroom and, because Lightroom 5 doesn’t yet directly support this lens with a specific profile, I post-processed the files in Adobe Photoshop, which does offer a profile for this glass. Processing was carried out with sharpness at the default settings in each application. (Note: Lightroom CC now supports this lens.) READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 5/11/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

I’ve often wished I had a camera that could go from 24mm to 2000mm at the touch of a button and without being weighed down by a ton of glass. Okay, maybe not all the way to 2000mm and perhaps not in a power zoom, but you get my point. The Nikon Coolpix P900 superzoom (super-duper-zoom?) camera gives you that reach in a fairly compact body, relative to a lens with such a broad range of focal lengths.

And the Nikon P900 does so in a camera build that looks and feels like a lightweight DSLR, more or less. This combination is what initially enticed me to take a closer look at this new Cooplix model from Nikon. But are the Nikon P900’s eye-popping zoom specs just glitz or is there a substantial picture-taking machine underneath this façade? READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 4/1/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

If you’re going to test a new camera, I can think of few places better suited than the Big Island of Hawaii. And that’s precisely what I, and a number of my colleagues in the photo press, had a chance to do recently with the new 28-megapixel Samsung NX500 camera. We put Samsung’s newest mirrorless compact system camera (CSC) through its paces in diverse settings on the island, each designed to challenge the NX500 and ourselves. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 4/15/2015 on www.shutterbug.com.

The first question I’d ask of any camera is this: Is this camera a good fit for me—for my hand, for my style of shooting, for what I want to shoot?

I’ve been looking for a compact interchangeable-lens camera that I could easily carry around when I didn’t need my full-bodied Nikon D610. Yet, I don’t want to compromise image quality or the versatility that my D610 system affords me. So the obvious choices are a mirrorless compact system camera or just a smaller DSLR.

With mirrorless, I’d have to invest in a whole new system. And with DSLRs, well, we have the same cost involvement—unless I remain faithful to the Nikon system. Which led me to the Nikon D5500 compact DSLR. This camera features an articulated touch screen for Live View movie shooting and still captures, along with a typical optical viewfinder for the bulk of my still photography—I like optical finders.

And with its 24MP, albeit APS-C  (cropped), CMOS sensor, I have the real estate to crop or print large. Moreover, the D5500 lacks an optical low-pass filter, which is a step toward capturing sharper images, a feature found in much more expensive cameras, such as the D810, as well as the new D7200. And the D5500 has the grit to tackle low light levels with its top ISO of 25,600. What’s more, wireless enthusiasts will welcome the built-in Wi-Fi, and video lovers will appreciate its full HD capture. And all this and more is driven by the EXPEED 4 image-processing engine.

Still, that’s all well and good, but would the D5500 allow me to effectively respond to my subject and would it impinge on my shooting style? READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted 9/14/2014 on www.shutterbug.com.

(Editor’s Note: Shutterbug contributor Jack Neubart has been testing the new Nikon D810 pro digital SLR. Here’s his hands-on “first look” at the camera. His full review of the D810 will appear in an upcoming issue of Shutterbug magazine.)

I became a Nikon convert back when the D300 was first introduced in 2007. I appreciated the camera’s handling, but mostly they got me with the Creative Lighting System, or CLS. Specifically, on the D300 it was the fully integrated wireless Commander mode via the built-in flash that grabbed my attention.

But I wasn’t entirely happy in the APS-C sensor realm. I wanted a full-frame DSLR and the affordable D600 made that possible. With it’s built-in flash, the D600 let me continue to enjoy wireless flash photography sans peripherals, other than an SB-900 Speedlight.

The new 36.3-megapixel Nikon D810 ($3,296) full-frame pro DSLR builds on that, sporting its own pop-up flash. I even built up my arsenal of FX-compatible lenses. I was largely done with having to extrapolate focal lengths and handholdable shutter speeds around a cropped sensor.

More importantly, with the full-frame sensor, especially the one in the D810, I have the real estate to crop and still have plenty of image to play with. That’s especially relevant when correcting perspective in architectural shots in Lightroom. With the D810’s 36.3 million pixels occupying a CMOS sensor measuring 35.9 x 24mm (FX-format), you can take in the entire structure with plenty of room to spare to fully correct for converging verticals without fear of chopping off vital structural elements, such as the top of a bell tower. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Shoe-mounted flashes are handy tools. Where space or weight is a concern, a kit with two or three shoe-mounted flashes is much easier to carry than even the smallest power pack/head combo or a low-output monolight, and more versatile.

Case in point, on two separate photography assignments I employed no more than two shoe-mount strobes to light-paint the huge blue whale model exhibited at New York’s American Museum of Natural History (in collaboration with museum photo staff). In fact, there is an entire subculture among pros that favors shoe-mount strobes – aka “strobists” – over bulky and expensive studio lighting gear for location work and even in the studio.

The dedication to the shoe-mounted flash for other than run-and-gun photography is largely centered on finding portable lighting gear that will reliably deliver the kind of results we expect of larger strobes.

Among the “third party” shoe-mount strobes I’ve come to trust is the Metz brand. Reliable German engineering and a long-standing reputation reinforce that trust. And the company’s new flagship Mecablitz 64 AF-1 digital flash promises to keep that reputation intact. Metz also makes my favorite ring flash, the wireless and ultra-compact Mecablitz 15 MS-1, which also played a part in this review.

The Mecablitz 64 AF-1 retails for $449 and is available in versions for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and Pentax cameras. I tested the Nikon version of the flash. READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.

Posted Dec. 12, 2014 on Shutterbug.com.

I’ve worked with DxO's OpticsPro imaging software for several years and have watched this program evolve and make great strides as a Raw image converter. What the new DxO Optics Pro 10 version of the software brings to the table is a cadre of new features and improvements. But are these enough to catapult this software into the top tier, or is it still playing catch-up? READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW.