Got some new gear!!!
The ol' D200 was starting to show some age and get long in tooth (the in-camera meter wasn't metering properly anymore and exposures were no longer accurate unless in spot-metering mode) so I decided to see what the internets had in store, and found a pretty sweet deal on a certified refurbished Nikon D7000 body on Amazon, as well as a frigging awesome discount on the new Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0 HSM OS "C" Contemporary lens. Would have loved to put the hammer down on a D610 body and maybe a 24-70 Tamron VC but that was out of my reach and this D7000/Sigma deal was too sweet to pass up (despite it being a DX / APS-C format lens and not FX/Full Frame).
Here's me new toys:
and here it is compared to the ol' D200 with the Tamron 70-300 f/4.0-5.6 VC lens mounted:
So far loving the handling and performance of the D7000. Was also tempted by the D7200 as it came out just as I was in the market for the new body, but the D7000 holds its own and from what I have seen online, in the hands of an experienced shooter it can do wonders (and with great glass too!). Dynamic range in the lower ISO's is fantastic, miles ahead of the ol' D200, and the High ISO performance and noise levels up to 1600 are more than sufficient for my needs - esp. compared to my old D200 and D40 bodies. Button placement is great, and the grip is well suited to my hand and quite ergonomic in the typical Nikon fashion. I'm sure the newer D750 body with its deeper grip would feel like heaven to hold but I'm more than satisfied with my new purchase and could walk around all day long with it (as I've already done in a few events).
The new Contemporary "C" lens from Sigma in 17-70mm f/2.8 OS HSM is an excellent match for the D7xxx series of cameras. These bodies demand good glass to really shine up their performance levels and for a DX lens, the Sigma might very well be the new benchmark. I believe it even outperforms the usual kit lenses from Nikon, namely the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR and the newer 18-140 f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR that come with the D90/D7xxx series. For my purposes, the 17-70mm focal range is perfect and quite versatile as a walk-around and general purpose shooting. I've done a couple events and promotions with this lens and it hasn't skipped a beat. Sharp, bright, with great image quality and low colour fringing and artifacts, it's produced images for my clients that are well suited for print media. The very-capable Optical Stabilizer (which Sigma boasts a very-believeable 3-stops of Stabilizing) is a huge bonus and would make anyone a lot braver in doing low-light photographer or indoor photography (once you know how to handle shutter speed and your moving subjects). One more thing - the macro feature! Though not a true 1:1 reproduction as a real macro lens would make - this frigging lens can focus so frigging close that i sometimes knocked against the subject with the lens hood!!! You can use this lens for close ups and an unsuspecting viewer might be fooled into thinking you used a dedicated macro lens!
I suppose a faster lens like the Sigma 17-50 F/2.8 OS HSM or the Tamron 16-50mm f/2.8 VC would be better suited for portraits and weddings - but for the everyday photographer the combination of the D7xxx series of sensors and Exspeed processors and the new Sigma 17-70 "C", its very difficult to beat esp. for value-for-money.
Here's a few images from the D7000 / Sigma 17-70 "C".... I frigging love how sharp and bright this lens is (and would probably love it even more on the D7100/D7200 without their optical low-pass filters and sharper images).
(ISO 320, f/3.3 and 1/2 second exposure.... HANDHELD!!!)
Dinner courtesy the wifey the other night...
Almost burned the lens hood while trying to get this close up of a barbecued salmon burger....
The auto white balance on the D7000 reproduced colours quite faithfully even with a mixed lighting scenario like the belly dancer on stage in these two photos. I was quite pleased. Didn't even have to use flash - the f/4.0 at the far end of 70mm zoom was sufficient for me to get good sharpness with each pose she did, with only stage lighting and no flash-fill. (ISO800, f/4, 1/250 shutter, Optical Stabilization - ON)
This one was a bit tricky to capture right - I wanted to freeze the flames and single out the fire dancers, so I switched to center-weighted metering, pre-focused on the fire-dancer closest to me (i use the focus-recompose method, still don't trust the fancy-schmancy new 51-point 3D focusing and wrap-focusing AF of these new bodies - still too slow for for my tastes. Note that the D7000 has 39-points and the D7100 & newer has 51-points) and waited at just the right moment to get this shot. Turned out better than I expected!!! (ISO 800, f/3.5, 1/640 sec, 45mm, center weighted meter).
Attended the 2015 Nissan Sentra launch and international training session at Massy Morvant. This lens shines in bright daylight, but if you're not careful it can tend to over-expose so make sure you've got your camera settings right (esp. the metering setting and exposure bias in bright overhead midday sun).
So that's it folks, I'm very happy with my (new) D7000 and Sigma 17-70 "C". My only two gripes are actually quite minor compared to the gains over my old equipment:
- the focus ring spins when focusing and doesn't have a clutch, so you can't spin it freely to re-adjust focus. You have to be careful in how you hold the lens to avoid cramping on the focus ring's spinning motion
- the zoom ring turns in a clockwise rotation to zoom in, and anticlockwise to zoom out. This is the same direction most Canon lenses turn, and the opposite direction in which Nikon lenses turn in order to zoom in/out. It's a bit disorienting at first but after a few hours and a couple of sessions of shooting with it, you can get used to the opposite turning (although I still occasionally turn it to the left to try to zoom in like my old Nikkor 18-70 AF-S and end up zooming out instead). I guess this is a feature that Sigma built in so that Canon users can get a chance to try out this awesome lens on a superior Nikon body every now and then!! (lol JK).
Next upgrade will probably be a couple more iTTL/ Nikon CLS compatible speedlights to get back into the off-camera flash scene (missed that style of shooting ever since the flash on the D200 died 2 years ago).
Hope you guys enjoyed the pics, please let me know if there's any questions/comments/critiques!!
... the tennis court..... many memories.
