Nikon D810

H’s Hockey Card.

2016, Favourite, Hockey, Inspiration, Nikon, Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR, Nikon D810, Portrait, Q&A, Sports, Teaching point

This image is from this morning’s game.

(I decided to turn it into a “hockey card” for my daughter.)

On a technical note, it was nice having a 300mm lens today.  Telephoto reach was one thing I’ve missed while using my rangefinder cameras all of these years.  As my children have gotten bigger, so have the playing venues… hence the need.

On another note, I’ve gone from begrudgingly accepting my Nikon D810 to deeply appreciating it.  I can’t say that I’m passionate about it (yet) like I am with my Leica M3 (or, previously, my M9), but I am shocked to state that I actually enjoy photographing with it.  I’ll be damned.  It’s interesting how the incremental improvements over the D800 (the quiet shutter being one of the obvious changes) have transformed the user experience.  Good work Nikon.

Also, I’ll have to comment more on the Nikon 300/4 lens (used for this image) on a future post.  I’ll say this much now though:  I’m very pleased with it.

—Peter.

H's Hockey Card

Sparkle.

Inspiration, Nikon, Nikon D810, Portrait, Q&A, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART, Teaching point

There’s something about the way the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART renders… photos from it just sparkle, for lack of a better word.

At this point, I think I may even prefer it over the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART, but I haven’t shot enough with either to draw any definite conclusions (though the fact that I might be favouring a 35 over a 50 is saying something, given I’ve traditionally been a 50 shooter).

Either way, both of these Sigma ART lenses are phenomenal.  I can’t wait until springtime to get outside in good light and really play with them.

—Peter.

Sparkle