It’s finally here – my Nikon 500 PF review and full field report! And let me tell you, it’s a doozy!
In fact, I may have to apologize for the length. This review is really detailed and goes on for a bit longer than I wanted. I’ve had so many questions about this lens and there are so many different facets to it that it was difficult to keep it …
Question – What happens when you have multiple heads that you want to use with multiple support methods?
Maybe you have a gimbal head and want to use it on a tripod, then later want to use a ball head on that same set of legs. Or perhaps you want to use your gimbal head on both your tripod and monopod. For that matter, you may have other swaps you want to …
So…
A few months ago I released a video where I discussed my various tripods, heads, and how I use them. It generated a lot of comments and a few really stuck in my mind – they were about using a gimbal head with a monopod.
At first, I sort of dismissed the idea. I mean, why would you want to place a giant gimbal head on a monopod when …
“Wow! That’s a big bear,” I exclaimed as I pulled the truck off the road.
As I brought the pickup to a halt, my wife was quickly scanning the nearby woods, “Where?”
I pointed at the 2 o’clock position from the windshield, “Down there, on the ground.”
As I opened my door and climbed out of the truck, I heard her make an excited religious reference – something about a …
So, there you are, face to face with a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but your AF seems less than confident. As you attempt to focus, it tries, misses, tries again, and finally, reluctantly, latches on. However, as you study the image in the viewfinder, the “sharpness” of the subject leads you to suspect that maybe the solid green focus confirmation dot is overly optimistic. You pop off a few shots, and a …
“Hey! You’re doing it wrong!”
That’s what I want to shout pretty much every time I’m out and spot other wildlife photographers with gimbal heads. It seems that well over half of them believe they have their gimbal properly balanced when they really don’t. It’s a shame too – a properly balanced gimbal head is so much nicer to work with than one that’s only half way there.
In the …
(NOTE – when I refer to “fast glass” in this article, I’m referring to the maximum opening, not AF speed.)
Do we really need fast glass anymore?
After all, with all that fantastic high ISO performance we find in modern cameras, should we all just agree to relegate fast glass to the Jurassic section of the Camera History Museum? Is it time to stop spending crazy amounts of money on …
Nikon just released a new firmware update for the D5 that, at least at first, seemed somewhat minor. There were a couple of bug fixes along with a new feature called “Recall Shooting.” (Get the update here if you have a D5.)
The name of this feature may lead you to believe that it’s somewhat trivial – until you see what Recall Shooting actually does! For me, this looks like …
(Note – if you already have my Secrets ToThe Nikon Autofocus System e-book, you don’t need this book – you already have all the info 🙂 )
Have you ever wondered how back button autofocus works?
Have you ever wondered how to set up Back Button AF (BBAF) for your Nikon?
Well, you’re not alone! My inbox overflows with questions about Back Button AF all day long, so I decided to …
I have to admit, I always believed I was alone when it came to my love of tripods. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I use them for nearly every shot I make. Still, I never thought anyone else really cared all that much about our three-legged photographic friends, especially based on the lack of discussion found on internet forums and such. The fun stuff – bodies, lenses, and such …
