1/400
f 5.3 200 asa Sigma 70-300mm
220mm (330mm equiv)
1/640
f14 800asa 12-24 Sigma
At
long last I have gone completely digital finally parting with 2 F4's and getting
a D 70 body. As I had a large collection of Nikon fitting lenses this was my best
option to start with. The day after I got the body coincided with the last day
of the Premiership Football season and as I normally take images for my City web
pages using the Minolta Dimage A1 I thought it would be interesting to see how
the D70 coped in an action situation. I have included three images from the Manchester
City v Everton game. For those interested in more images go to www.rtfract.com/citmay204.htm.
Most pictures have been shot at full resolution and saved as 'fine' jpegs unless
stated differently. They were then cropped to 800 x 600 and saved for the web
in Photoshop for quick loading . Click on most images for a 800 x 600 version.
1/2000
f 5.6 800asa Sigma 70-300
220mm (330mm equiv)
The
initial feel of the D70 is very good with most controls near to hand. As it was
my first day with the camera there was a lot to take in but it was fast to use
and focus using the Sigma 70-300 was OK. It was nice to get back to an optical
finder after the EVF of the Dimage and I set the LCD to show the histogram so
I could quickly check to see if exposure was OK. Whenever there was a break in
play I soon got used to the quick magnify technique to check the results although
in bright light the LCD is difficult to see. The weight is just right - a damn
sight lighter than my old F3 with motordrive - though the balance will depend
on what lens is being used. I have some real old heavies! While prosumer cameras
like the Dimage A1 have a fixed lens the digital SLR can cope with a variety of
lenses and Nikon DSLR's in particular allow you to use lenses going back years
( some of mine go back 20+ years) - albeit you have to use many of them manually.
One thing to remember though - with the D70 to get the 35mm equivalent you multiply
the focal length of the lens in use by 1.5. So a 70-300 becomes a 105 - 450mm
. Now this is great if you are shooting sports or nature but not so good if you
like wide angle images.
The
two images were taken from the same spot. The image on the left was shot with
a Sigma 12-24 at 12mm (18mm equiv) and the image on the right with a 500mm Tamron
(750mm equiv).
So you can have quite a wide range of angles if you are willing to carry the lenses!
My
local pond once again came up trumps as the models performed admirably so I could
check out how the D70 coped with highlights. It did pretty well though I must
confess to underexposing slightly to avoid washing out any whites.
The
two images below show the difference between the Dimage A1 and the D70. Both were
shot on the programme setting at 200 asa at a focal length of about 200mm. the
D70 was a fine jpg and the A1 was a Raw file. Each was given a small amount of
unsharp mask in Photoshop. The lighting was the same for each. and exposure for
the D70 was 1/250 f4.5 on the Sigma 70-300. Exposure for the A1 was 1/250 f5.
Original resolution for the A1 was 2560 x 1920 and 3008 x 2000 for the D70. Cameras
were hand held. Anti-shake was not on for the A1
1/500
f13 200asa Nikon 105mm 2.8
157mm(equiv) Jodrell Bank
Time
Lapse
As a big fan of time lapse I soon tried out the D70 and used several
methods.
1. Using Nikon Capture on a laptop and taking an image every three
seconds at the lowest resolution and basic jpg. However Capture needs a USB2 port
on the laptop and as mine only has standard USB I was losing frames so that was
not fully succesful.
2. Then I just pressed the button every three seconds
and that can be quite tiresome after 30-40 minutes! But it workd well.
3. I
then got the infra red remote but the main drawback in using this method is that
the sensor on the camera is on the front and can be masked by the body and lens.
Not much thought has gone into this design. However I have now found I can bounce
it off a piece of silver paper stuck on the body - not the most elegant of solutions
though. I have posted an example just to the right. The AVI uses the DIVX codec.
The
advantage of the 'higher low res' 1500 x 1000 of the D70 rather than the 640 x
480 of the Dimage is I can now zoom into sections of the image whilst rendering
the time lapse in Adobe After Effects without losing quality.
Pictures
here show a view comparison between the 12mm (18mm) and 24mm (36mm) of the Sigma
12 -24 zoom lens
Remember the difference between focal lengths at wide angle
is far greater than at longer focal lengths
12mm
1/200 f20 400asa
24mm
1/200 f20 400 asa
Sigma
12 -24 12mm (18mm equiv) 1/1250 f7 400asa
Sigma
18-125mm 18mm (27mm equiv)
1/320 f9 200asa from NEF
100% crop from original on right
Having
bought just the D70 body (using existing lenses) I held off buying a 'standard'
lens until recently when the Sigma 18-125 became available. This focal length
range is similar to my previous Dimage A1 - 27mm-187mm. Below are a few test images
to give you some idea of the quality. All three images are taken from the same
spot
D70 settings - low sharpening - low contrast - normal saturation - Adobe
RGB - programme mode multi-pattern.
Images taken at Biddulph Grange, Derbyshire.
Sigma
18-125mm 125mm (187mm equiv)
1/400 f5.6 200asa from NEF
100%
crop from original on right
The
above three images also shot at Biddulph Grange also shot from the same position
using three focal lengths of the 18-125 Sigma. Note the slight change of exposure
of the multi-metering as you get closer. While sharpness is pretty good overall
I have seen some softness at the very edge of the frame and on some images a small
amount of vignetting at the corners can be noticed.
The
18-125 Sigma zoom does have some close-up ability - the three above images showing
what you are likely to cover at the widest ,middle and longest focal lengths.
You
will find another set of soccer action images taken with the 18-125 lens at http://www.rtfract/citaug.htm
These are images taken at Manchester City home games.
Three
images taken at the Test match at Old Trafford between England and the West Indies
illustrating the scope of the focal lengths of the 18-125 zoom. You can see more
at http://www.rtfract.com/d70crick3.htm
Sigma
18-125 18mm (27mm equiv) 400asa 1/400 f10
Sigma
18-125 50mm (75mm equiv)
400asa 1/500 f11
Sigma
18-125 125mm (187mmequiv) 400asa 1/800 f7
A
couple of shots taken with the Sigma 18-125 and the Nikon 28-80 taken in the same
lighting conditions ( shade). The Sigma is a fraction warmer and the Nikon is
a touch more contrasty. No sharpening in PS.
The
above four images show the comparison in sunshine
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