Photo Techniques - David Mathre Photography

Saturday (30-March-2013) — New Jersey

Backyard Spring Night Sky in New Jersey. Wide Angle Lens Options for Nikon 1 Cameras.

One of the issues I have had with the Nikon 1 “mirrorless” cameras is the lack of wide-angle lens options. The widest angle available with the initial set of lenses was 10 mm f/2.8 prime. This has a 77° field of view (FOV) equivalent to a 27 mm lens on a full-frame (FX) DSLR camera. I like taking wide-angle panorama landscape images when traveling. In order to do this with the Nikon 1 camera requires taking several images and then stitching them together during post-processing. Before going to Norway, I saw a note on the internet that the Olympus FCON-T01 Fisheye converter uses the same 40.5 mm thread that the Nikon 1 10 mm f/2.8 lens uses. The 0.74x adapter increases the FOV to something like 20 mm on a FX DSLR camera. I took this combo with me to Norway, and published an image of Greenland from 36,000 feet using the combo. (19-February-2013).

Since returning from Norway, Nikon released a new wide-angle telephoto lens for Nikon 1 cameras – the 6.7 – 13 mm f/3.5-5.6. At 6.7 mm this lens has a 100° FOV equivalent to a 18 mm lens on a FX DSLR camera. The following three images were taken with the Nikon 1 V2 camera 1) with the 10 mm f/2.8 lens; 2) with the 10 mm f/2.8 lens and the Olympus fish-eye converter; and 3) with the 6.7-13 mm lens at 6.7 mm. The wide-angle image with the 6.7 mm does not have the fish-eye curvature effect. Indeed, when in Norway I found that when I used the Olympus lens I would need to keep the horizon right at the middle of the image. I think that I will be adding the 6.7-13 mm lens to my light-weight travel kit.

Note: Nikon changed the threading on the 6.7-13 mm lens to 52 mm, so I can’t use the Olympus adapter with this lens 😉

New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/2.8, 10 sec). (David J Mathre) — New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/2.8, 10 sec). (David J Mathre)

New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 and 10 mm f/2.8 lens + Olympus Fisheye adapter (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/2.8, 10 sec). (David J Mathre) — New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens + Olympus Fisheye adapter (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/2.8, 10 sec). (David J Mathre)

New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 and 6.7-13 mm lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/3.5, 20 sec). (David J Mathre) — New Jersey Early Spring Night Sky with Moon and Clouds. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 6.7-13 mm lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/3.5, 20 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (29-March-2013) — New Jersey

Backyard Spring Nature in New Jersey.

Some images taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and the new 80-400 mm VRII lens (with the FT1 adapter). The lens is much bigger than the camera, but still easy to use hand-held. The field of view (FOV) with this lens is equivalent to 216-1080 mm on a 35 mm (FX) DSLR. The base ISO for the Nikon 1 V2 is 160, and at the base ISO the image of the spring daffodil shows good colors and saturation. At an ISO of 1600, there is significant noise, and the colors and saturation are reduced as seen with the image of the Doe.

Yellow Daffodil in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens with a FT1 adapter (ISO 160, 240 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). Field of view equivalent to 650 mm with a 35 mm sensor. (David J Mathre)

Scrawny Doe, Early Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2, FT1 adapter, and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1600, 310 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre) — Scrawny Doe, Early Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2, FT1 adapter, and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 1600, 310 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). Field of view equivalent to 840 mm with a 35 mm sensor. (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (01-March-2008) — Colorado

Elderhostel “Photography in the Southwest” Workshop Day 5. Flying Egyptian Goddess

Prior to departing Kelly Place B&B I saw this wooden model of a “Flying Egyptian Goddess” hanging from the ceiling of the activities lodge. I did a number of shots, trying to bounce the flash in a way to minimize shadows. I liked this one the best. Then a long drive back to Boulder.

Flying Egyptian Goddess at Kelly's Place B&B near Cortez, Colorado. Image take with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec) and SB-800 flash. (David J Mathre) — Flying Egyptian Goddess at Kelly’s Place B&B near Cortez, Colorado. Image take with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec) and SB-800 flash. (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (28-February-2008) — Colorado

Elderhostel “Photography in the Southwest” Workshop. Day 4: Mesa Verde National Park.

Wild Turkey in Mesa Verde National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + 1.7 TC-E II (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec).

Wild Turkey looking for food at Mesa Verde National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + 1.7x teleconverter (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (24-February-2007) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Turkey Vulture and the Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec).

Turkey Vulture and the Moon. New Jersey Winter. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre) — Turkey Vulture and the Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)