Next week I’ll make an experiment. I will use only one lens (OK, I do that all the time), and it will be one unruly monster of a lens, the Sigma 150/2.8 Macro, a lens that has found an almost permanent residence on a shelf in Villach 🙂
You see, I’m back to longer focal lengths, and in the meantime I use the Nikon 70-300 VR. It’s fun to be where I was in SoFoBoMo.
I always use this lens at a minimum of 1/200s. With VR I could go further down, especially when I am at the short end, but at the long end, at an equivalent of 450mm, 1/200s is a speed where I can be sure that I am able to hold every image.
Of course you need a lot of light to do that, but summer is the season of light, if I can’t do it now, I can’t do it at all.
The Sigma 150/2.8 is a different thing. It has no VR, at 895g it is heavier than the 70-300, but I really look forward to use it wide open.
Long lenses make photographing really easy, because they eliminate all the context. It’s more a matter of getting used to the frame, of seeing in terms of long lenses, but once you are over that, it becomes pure bliss.
If that sounds strange, try it at one time. If you don’t own a long lens, consider buying a stabilized 70-300. Ted Byrne has the Canon version on his 40D and he is excited about its performance, I can say the same about the Nikon 70-300 VR, you really can’t go wrong, and especially when you use it on a crop factor camera, it is a bargain entrance to long reach.
The Song of the Day is “The Chain” from Fleetwood Mac’s mega-seller “Rumours”. I have the remastered album with an extra CD of rough versions. That’s what I’ve linked to, but if you’re not a real fan, the normal CD for half the money will suffice. Isn’t it amazing how inventive this industry is, when it comes to selling ever the same things once more? See a video, live in 1979, on YouTube.