philgoble

<p>I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my "collar" question with some information on the Nikon 70-200 f4 lens.</p>

<p>I picked up the Nikon 70-200 f4 lens on 12/1/2012 as a replacement for my old Nikon 80-200 2.8 AFS lens I purchased in April 1999. My old 80-200 served me well and is a nice lens, but my D800 has identified sharpness issues that weren’t obvious to me before. Since I shoot primarily landscapes the lack of a 2.8 aperture isn’t a problem and the reduced size and weight is actually a big advantage as I sometimes hike a bit to get to destinations I want to shoot. The VR will also be nice in those situations where I shoot sports activities, which is infrequent.</p>

<p>The temperature here in Illinois was 63 degrees today (12/2/2012), pretty nice for this time of year, so I went outside and took photographs using a D800 with a Kirk L-bracket on a Kirk BH-1 ball head and a Gitzo G1329 tripod. No collar on the lens. I actually turned VR off when I shot from the tripod. Used mirror lock up and a camera release (my standard practice).</p>

<p>A summary of what I saw follows. I have been looking at 1:2 and 1:1 magnifications on a 30” Dell in Lightroom. Note that I’m not a professional photographer or reviewer, so take that into consideration. I don’t think any of these statements will surprise anyone.</p>

<ol>

<li>Pincushion distortion on the long end, barrel distortion on the short end. Obvious on the obligatory brick wall photos I took.</li>

<li>Vignetting at f4 at all focal lengths. Not bad, but noticeable. Not as bad as my old lens.</li>

<li>Good at f4, best at f5.6 and f8.0, softening up at f11. Softness at f11 was more noticeable to me on the long-end.</li>

<li>Corners are pretty sharp at all focal lengths I shot.</li>

<li>Color rendition seems good.</li>

<li>More contrast in general. Pictures just seem to have a nicer quality to them (over my older lens).</li>

<li>The lens is solidly constructed and attaches nicely to my D800.</li>

</ol>

<p>Where I notice the huge advantage of this lens over my old one (from a photographic quality perspective) are:</p>

<ol>

<li>The corners seem better at all of the focal lengths. From 150mm on this one is much sharper outside the central area.</li>

<li>Sharpness seems even better in the central area when looking at 1:1 and 1:2 crops. </li>

<li>Photographs just seem to pop more.</li>

</ol>

<p>I also took a handheld shot in my house without the tripod. Not having had a VR lens before, I was impressed I could handhold at 200mm and 1/15^th a second and get a pretty decent shot. Similar results to what Shun got.</p>

<p>I’m definitely keeping this and selling my old Nikon 80-200. I’m very impressed with this lens.</p>

<p>Hope this helps someone. I would supply photos, but don't want to drop them on my website.</p>

<p>I preordered one of these and have the option of picking one up immediately. I can get the lens but the Nikon collar is unavailable and I called Kirk today and they aren't sure they will even make one. They have to get the lens in and make a decision. They did indicate they would make a foot for the Nikon collar to attach it using an Arca mount.<br>

I would use this primarily for landscapes with a D800 on a tripod. My question is whether the collar is even required. I would prefer to have one, but think the 24-70 I have weighs 50 grams more than this lens.<br>

This is the language on the Nikon site. Thoughts?<br>

"The RT-1 is an optional accessory tripod collar ring designed specifically for the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens. When shooting with a D-SLR and the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens, the RT-1 can be used to attach the lens to a tripod instead of attaching the camera's body directly to the tripod. Attaching the lens to the tripod instead of the D-SLR body can be done when additional support is desired, such as when shooting with a teleconverter."</p>

<p>I preordered one of these and have the option of picking one up immediately. I can get the lens but the Nikon collar is unavailable and I called Kirk today and they aren't sure they will even make one. They have to get the lens in and make a decision. They did indicate they would make a foot for the Nikon collar to attach it using an Arca mount.<br>

I would use this primarily for landscapes with a D800 on a tripod. My question is whether the collar is even required. I would prefer to have one, but think the 24-70 I have weighs 50 grams more than this lens.<br>

This is the language on the Nikon site. Thoughts?<br>

"The RT-1 is an optional accessory tripod collar ring designed specifically for the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens. When shooting with a D-SLR and the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens, the RT-1 can be used to attach the lens to a tripod instead of attaching the camera's body directly to the tripod. Attaching the lens to the tripod instead of the D-SLR body can be done when additional support is desired, such as when shooting with a teleconverter."</p>

<p>I've had both. Get the f100. Focuses faster, handles better.</p>

<p>I can certainly understand recommendations for Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii. They all have something to offer. If you could, visiting all of them would be nice although it would be tough to do that on a single trip and do them all justice. Since you've chosen Maui some more advice.</p>

<p>If you fly through Honolulu, which is certainly a possibility, you may have time to see some of the attractions there without laying over. Someone already mentioned this. Another possibility is to plan your stay so you lay over a day or two on the way in or way out depending on your flight times.</p>

<p>In terms of photography, Hana is my favorite part of the island. I have considered staying in the Hana area to avoid the long drives to some of the attractions in that area. There isn't much lodging there and dining options are limited, but it is something to consider. In terms of the drive I can see how someone could get sick or want to avoid it. I followed a local driving it in the dark two hours before sunrise and we made amazingly good time, but I felt like I was on an amusement park thrill ride.</p>

<p>If you are going to rent a car, there are 2 of you and you are in a position where you do not have to leave valuables in it, rent a Jeep Wrangler. You can put the top down and get a nice perspective on some of the drives.</p>

<p>If you were going November through March, going on a boat out to view Humpback whales is a neat experience.</p>

<p>Have a great time. I wish everyone had the opportunity to visit one of the Hawaiian islands during their lifetime. It has a vibe I enjoyed and provided great stress relief at a time I really needed it.</p>

<p>If you only visit one island I would suggest Maui. It has a nice combination of activities, beauty and photo opportunities. Rooms in general can be expensive so that would impact your lodging opportunities. If you can afford it, I suggest the Wailea area. Of those hotels, the Marriott is usually the most affordable. There is a series of travel books named Maui Revealed, Oahu Revealed, etc. I would recommend you purchase. They have a lot of great information in them.</p>

<p>Specific locations I would recommend include:</p>

<p>Haleakala NP summit. It's great at dawn but can be very cold and windy, especially during winter. If I recall it's a 2-2.5 hour drive to the summit from Wailea.</p>

<p>The drive to Hana is very scenic but there are a zillion hairpin curves (about 2.5 hours one way pre sunrise from Wailea if I remember correctly). I usually drive it before dawn to insure I'm at decent photographic spots at dawn. There is also little traffic then. You can check out the sights on the drive back. Stop at the Keanae Peninsula at some point on the drive. Drive beyond Hana all the way to Oheo Gulch (Haleakala NP along the Hana highway). Take the Pipwai trail back to Waimoku Falls.</p>

<p>There are several beaches in the Wailea area that are nice. Drive south to Secret Beach from Wailea.</p>

<p>Iao Valley is an option.</p>

<p>Visit Lahaina and do a luau (I recommend Old Lahaina Luau).</p>

<p>If you look on the NPS Grand Teton map you'll see the Moose Visitor Center. The Moose-Wilson road leaves Teton Park Road very near it. After getting on Moose-Wilson road from that point drive to the second turnout where there is a stream you can see. I saw moose there three mornings in a row. One day there were five of them. As I mentioned in my blog, the ranger said they are there frequently. That was in late June / early July, so they may move later in the year, but I suspect they are there a lot of the year. People frequently park up a little further, but it causes a lot of road congestion if you do.</p>

<p>I just went to Grand Teton and Yellowstone in late June / early July 2010. I wrote a blog about it that describes the places I went and there is link to the decent photos from the trip from the blog page. Most of the photos are the popular places you would want to visit.</p>

<p>See http://www.philgoblephoto.com/Blogs/Blogs.htm for the places I visited and press on the portfolio link to see the photos. The site uses flash and if your monitor isn't color corrected it may not look good.<br>

I agree with Walt that Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Hayden Valley should be one of your destinations in Yellowstone. You can also spend the mid morning to late afternoon portion of the day and beyond shooting the geysers in Yellowstone.<br>

<br />Grand Teton is really a morning place (in my opinion), and its easy to get to the "classic" locations. On my best morning in the Tetons I got great shots from three different locations in the first 2 hours of the morning.</p>

<p>If I remember I will check back if you have any questions about anything in the blog.</p>

 

<p>You need to "Deactivate" the software on the computer you are no longer using it on. You get to this from the Help Menu item at the top of the screen. Make sure to do this before wiping that system or attempting to install it on the new computer. Adobe tracks how many machines you have the software installed on. I believe you can have it installed on 2 machines, but not use it simultaneously (at least you aren't supposed to). The idea behind this is a main computer and a laptop, which is exactly what my situation is.</p>

<p>Richard<br>

Could you indicate whether your wife would ever be willing to visit some place like Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, etc.? If she would be, then you should use this as an opportunity to do things you may never get the chance to do that you know she wouldn't participate in. A couple of examples of what I'm talking about are driving out to Toroweap for an evening shoot, sleeping in your vehicle and getting up in the morning to shoot. Or driving out to something like Fallen Roof Ruin, which is a couple of hours away from Arches and a hike down a wash many spouses wouldn't be too excited about (even though it isn't that hard, just not pleasant for some).<br>

I'll wait for your response before providing details, although I think you already have some good suggestions from other individuals.</p>

 

<p>Vuescan is something a lot of people use. I don't know whether it works for your OS / scanner combination but I would check this out. See this URL: <a href="http://www.hamrick.com/">http://www.hamrick.com/</a></p>

 

<p>John,<br>

I just drove back from the Smokies today. To be honest, the best color I saw was on Interstate 75 north of Knoxville for about a 45 mile stretch. I can't remember exactly where it started and ended, and this probably doesn't help you anyway.<br>

According to locals I spoke with up at Clingmans Dome, not a great color year. There is little to no color above 4,000 feet in the park right now. I saw some great color around the 3,000 feet level in isolated areas. Color is starting to show up at Cades Cove, but don't expect it to be great. I would still recommend Cades Cove in early morning for fog and animal life. There are deer in many areas, but a buck was hanging out right beside the fence on the second cross road. I got out of my car and the deer walked by on the other side of the fence within 25 feet from me. Traffic is a lot better at sunrise and the first 1-2 hours than evening. If you go in the evening, it takes 2-3 hours to make it around on the loop road. Also, avoid the weekend at Cades Cove.<br>

It snowed and the road was closed last Saturday. Has been raining frequently. Water is flowing nicely, so you can get some nice shots along the various creeks and rivers. Bring something to keep your equipment dry if the trend continues.<br>

Good luck,<br>

Phil</p>

<p>I looked at the terrain via wikimapia and its difficult to tell where the shadows will fall. I have been looking on the web for an answer, but as you said was hoping to get direct witness testimony. Thanks for responding.</p>

<p>I'd like to add another question:<br>

5. Will light reach Fisher Towers along the Colorado River at sunset on April 10th?</p>

<p>I had good luck photographing Arches years ago on a trip during January. I will be out in that area on business and am considering driving to Arches about April 10th. I have the following questions:<br>

1. My research indicates that Delicate Arch (not the bowl in front) will be completely lit at sunset on April 10th. Can anyone confirm this?<br>

2. Will Balanced Rock be getting light at sunset on April 10th?<br>

3. Will the tall fins north of the Fiery Furnace be getting light at sunset on April 10th?<br>

4. I read that they closed the area behind the North Window shooting toward Turret Arch. Can anyone confirm this?</p>

 

I have a Dell 3007wfp-hc on a Dell XPS410 running XP with a Nvidia GeForce

7900GS card. I have calibrated the monitor using an Eye-One Display 2. The

results after calibration are gamma 2.2, temperature 6500 and luminance 120. I

am using the latest versions of Photoshop and Bridge CS3. My default color

space in Photoshop CS3 is Adobe RGB.

 

After launching a photo via Bridge into Photoshop through Camera raw my color is

good.

 

If I soft proof to Monitor RGB from Adobe RGB it looks the same. My

understanding is this should be the case. Is this correct?

 

If I soft proof to Windows RGB from Adobe RGB I see a color shift to a less

saturated environment. My understanding is this should be the case. Is this

correct?

 

I then convert profile from Adobe RGB to sRGB IEC61966-2.1.

If I soft proof to Windows RGB from sRGB IEC61966-2.1 it looks the same. My

understanding is this should be the case. Is this correct?

 

If I soft proof to Monitor RGB from sRGB IEC61966-2.1 I see a color shift to

what I would describe as more saturated, but that is probably oversimplifying

it. Is this what I should expect?

 

My goal is to get the jpegs created for my website, so I can see that running

from the sRGB color space through Save for Web & Devices will get images that

look good on most non-calibrated Windows monitors. My concern is that those

same photos (which I actually reviewed on other computers that look good) are

not as pleasing on my calibrated monitor in non-color managed applications (i.e.

any web browser on Windows).

 

Is my monitor not accurately calibrated? Is my goal to have the images look

good on my calibrated monitor versus most people?s non-calibrated monitor

unachievable?

 

Thanks for reading this long post and for responding, if you choose to do so.

Tony:

 

Thanks for the warnings about the fire while I was on the trip. I wish I had checked my mail before departing Saturday morning. I thought I sent you an update but you may not have received it. I will repeat it here for everyone's enjoyment.

 

Basically, after driving all the way from Illinois (with a stop at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota), we were a couple of hours away from Glacier when I was talking with a biker at a gas station. He asked me where I was headed and I told him Glacier. He indicated the fire had caused St. Marys to be evacuated. Unfortunate, since that was where I was staying. We drove on to Browning, where I had the opportunity to talk with some fire & rescue workers. They confirmed the closing and indicated it could be a week before the east exit was open.

 

By then, there weren't any rooms (it was Saturday night around 7:30pm) within 4 hours of the park. My cell phone didn't work and I had a friend help me find a room from a pay phone. The room was in Canada, about 2.5 hours from Browning. We got into the room after midnight. I woke up the next morning and I tried to find a hotel close to the park. The closest one I could find was about an hour from the park (on the west side) and I strongly considered it, but I didn't want to spend all my time driving.

 

I checked and found a really nice room in Banff for the same price I was going to pay for the room in St. Marys. So we switched to the Canadian Rockies for five days. The weather wasn't great, but it was good enough for me to get some nice shots of Mount Rundle, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Herbert Lake. I got to other locations outside prime time or during rain, so not much else was very good.

 

We had a room reservation at the Prince of Wales in Waterton for one night, so when we hit that driving back we actually crossed the border into the United States and spent one afternoon in Glacier. We hiked the Hidden Lake trail and the wind must have been blowing 40 mph. I drug all my gear up but didn't get any good shots, although I could have spit on a mountain goat along the trail as I hiked. The flowers were out but they looked to be fading.

 

Got a nice shot of the Prince of Wales at dawn the next morning and started the drive home.

 

Some other fun had on vacation follows. Got a speeding ticket in Montana. Had the back glass in my SUV broken out (spent a day having that fixed in Calgary). Was unable to find a room along I90 in South Dakota driving home because of the bike rally in Sturgess (had to drive six hours past what I had planned to get a room at 5am in the morning).

 

I hesitate to take any more vacations. My last dream vacation before the aborted Glacier trip was 2 weeks in New England last October. You might recall they had some rain during that time. I was a personal witness to 10 consecutive days of rain in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

 

Anyone wants to bring a natural disaster to your area, give me a call and specify a time.

 

Thanks for your interest. If I ever get my website online, I will send you a link.

I really appreciate everyone�s responses. Tony, I appreciate you taking the time to repeat yourself again, as I know you have read recommendations concerning Glacier from you on this forum and others. Quang-Tuan, I have viewed your Terra Galleria site many times (great work) and appreciate your contributions.

 

My family and I will be staying at St. Mary for six days.

 

I had planned on taking the boat across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, and the web site said the earliest they leave was (I think) at 8:30am. But that was good advice. Depending on how things go, I may get over there by myself one morning really early and hike it to the lake. It appears to be three miles (one way), but looks pretty flat. My real concern is bears. I would be traveling by myself when they are more active.

 

I usually get to my locations about 45 minutes before sunrise (assuming I have already scouted them. I will shoot for about 1.5 � 2 hours after sunrise and get back to pick up the family for the morning / early afternoon. That gets me out in prime time photography hours without them having to be up too early.

 

Some sunrise locations I had planned on visiting (which I picked because they appeared to be relatively easy to reach) include:

St. Mary Lake (Goose Island overlook and others)

Lake McDonald (I intend to scout the lake during the day but would take advice on good locations to shoot from there)

Swiftcurrent Lake

Logan Pass (Triple falls � which I gather is about .25 miles off the Hidden Lake trail about .25 � .50 miles before Hidden Lake pass)

 

I realize this means some really early mornings and driving (in particular the drive to Lake McDonald � but I kind of like the serenity I experience on these little drives). Other sunrise location recommendations would be appreciated.

 

By the way, isn�t sunrise going to be about 6am on August 1st?

 

I have a little more trouble with photography at sunset because the family is ready for photography (and the day) to be over by then and there are typically many more people still out at that time photographing. I still intend to be up on Logan pass for 2-3 evenings for sunset. I still need to pick some other sunset locations, so sunset location recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Other places I intend to visit at one time or another (besides the ones previously mentioned) include the Trail of Cedars / Avalanche Gorge, St. Mary and Virginia Falls, Sundrift Gorge and McDonald Creek on the north side of the lake.

 

Again, thanks for your help!

Thanks for your response Tony. I don't want to endanger my family, and getting started before 7 or 8 am isn't too likely, so photography on these trails may not be possible.

 

What time of day is best light near Grinnell lake? Is there any beargrass there this time of year? I thought I read a post (perhaps by you on another forum) which indicated the good beargrass year was last year.

 

I would really like to get a shot with beargrass in the foreground and peaks in the background. Where might my best chance for this be in 7 - 10 days time?

I will be travelling with my wife and daughter to Glacier NP around the

beginning of August, 2006. The three of us will be hiking and I will be

carrying my gear with me.

 

I am interested in knowing what the best time of day is to hike the following

three trails from a photographic perspective, since getting my family on these

trails more than once is unlikely.

 

Grinnell Lake trail (from the end of Lake Josephine to the Grinnell lake)

Grinnell Glacier trail (from the end of Lake Josephine to the Grinnell glacier)

Iceberg Lake Trail

Highline Trail (from Logan Pass to Haystack Butte)

One of the reasons I went Nikon eight years ago instead of Canon was because Nikon offered the Photo Secretary software to do this very thing. I just sold my Nikon N90S and F100 bodies, but I still have the Photo Secretary software for both and the MC-35 cable. The software still runs on Windows 2000, I haven't tried it on XP. I'd sell the software and cable for $100, which is a lot less than I paid for them. If you think that's unreasonable, make me an offer.

 

Of course I don't know how to do the exchange since I normally use my local camera store to sell my used stuff.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I may provide updates while visiting the various locations on my trip.

Thanks for the response. I already have links to various sites and know when peak is.

 

I was just wondering whether those familiar with weather conditions like rain or temperature in these areas could make any predictions about what kind of color year it might be. Living in Illinois, I haven't been tracking things there. I already intend to visit in October regardless. Just curious how things might be looking.

Any projections on fall foliage this year in Maine, New Hampshire and

Vermont? Is it too early to tell whether this will be a good year or

bad?

While White Sands is great at sunset, I would recommend paying the $50 to get in early in before sunrise. I did that two years ago and it was well worth the money. As was indicated, you arrange this with the park rangers office. A ranger meets you at the gate at a prearranged time.