Nikon D750 & AF-s 80-400mmVR-ED II

With the latest market influx of fullframe Mirrorless from Nikon, Panasonic , Canon and Leica, I also went back to Fullframe. However, I still chose the DSLR Fullframe due to affordability. I recently got a D750 Nikon, upgraded from  my old 8-9 year old D7000. My last DSLR was the D600 bought in 2013.

D500 is one of my choice but I find it too expensive for a DX camera and I do not really need the pro layout body of D500 and fast FPS. 

D750 body layout is very similar to the D7000/72000/75000  but with a FX sensor. 

With D750 24MP sensor and choices of 1x, 1.2X or 1,5X crop mode, it is like a 3 in 1 camera system. I am still able to use my sharp nice 35mmf1.8DX lens at 1.2x (40mm) or at 1.5x (53mm). I tried to use the Tokina DX 11-16mm at 16mm on this FX DSLR with no vignetting. 

The next lens i plan to get for this FX DSLR is the 24-120mmf4 VR to cover a range of needs.

I also replaced my sharp 300mmf4 AF-S D lens with a more versitile AF-s 80-400mm VR2. Although i prefer the 300mm in term of photograpy output, there is no VR in the lens. The 300mm cannot be use for video without a tripod or monopod due to the extreme shake during video (Handheld). The 80-400mm VR is one of the best I have tried. I can handheld at 400mm with no shake visible during video filming.

The 80-400mm is a modern zoom lens and need to stop down to f8-f11 (at 400mm) to get a super sharp image. The above is shot at f11 and is very sharp for my eyes.

AF-S 300mm F4 IF-D

The Nikon 300mm F4 AF Gen1 and Gen2 

This is the 2nd Generation Auto-focus 300mm F4 for Nikon's line-up. This lens replaces my older AF-300mmf4 Screw-mount lens. 

In term of image quality, I cannot tell the differences. But in terms of handling, this newer lens has many advantages. 

There is a much newer 300mf4 PF verison with VR and is smaller in size which is almost twice the price of this one.

 But do note that this 2nd generation 300mmf4 AF-s lens is still in production.

This is a tack sharp lens just like the predessesor. However when it comes to focusing , this newer lens focus real fast and silently due to it's built-in motor in the lens. The retractable bulit in hood on the new lens can be "locked" compared to the 1st gen lens.

I feel this lens is lighter by a fraction compared to the older one.

The min focus of the newer lens is also closer thus i am able to focus to some wildlife which I can approach nearer. Whenever i spot a subject, static or moving, my success rate of locking it and getting pin sharp is much higher.

This lens also works well with my older Tamron 1.4x SP teleconvertor with auto focus remain smooth and well focus.

All in all this lens is an enjoyable lens and worthy upgrade from the previous generation lens. Here are some samples.

Little Pups Series (Otters)

During the months of March & April 2018, I was blessed to have opportunities to follow 2 families of Otters in Singapore. Namely the less famous Siglap Otters and the Pasir Ris/Changi Otters.

I was informed by a few Otters watchers who I knew on the locations. I usually go to these place during the early hours of the day before my work. Armed with a Nikon D7000 or D90 with 300mmF4, I will observe and shoot these otters behaviours.

During this project, there are many sad moments where I witnessed the otter's pups being attacked by wild animals (Monitor Lizards) and recently 2 sub adults otters being killed after being trapped by the fishermen cages.  The Siglap Otters recent 6 newly born pups, only 2 are left now.

Every time I see these pups and otters, my heart melts and wanted to capture their moment. 

The life of the Otters in Singapore is not as rosy as most people thought.  They have to also constantly moved to avoid other families of otters as fights will occur between different families.

With this series, I hope that if you happened to come across a family of otters, do keep a safe distance as they are wildlife (although they may look cute and harmless). Their set of teeth can tear a live fish head with one bite! And learn to share the sea/ water ponds with them.

The followings shots are from my Nikon D7000  and AF-S 300mmf4. I recently replace the d90 and old AF-300mm (screw-mount) with the "newer" tech equipment.

Siglap Otters with 4pups. They began with 6 pups but currently left 2 pups. Due to death and predation. The family here is a small family with 3 adults. Not easy to care for 6 pups. The area they stay are not abundant with fishes too unlike the famous Bishan Family.

Pups learning to swim on their own without the parent's supervision. They slipped and fall is a common sight during this period.

One of the adult otters from Siglap family hunting for fishes in a canal. Fishes are hard to find here.

2 pups under the Threat of the Monitor Lizard. The 3 adults from this Siglap family were outing hunting for fishes when this happened. 

Pasir Ris/Changi Otters-Loving care displayed by the Otters. This is the sweet moment after waiting for them to come out after 2-3 hrs of waiting.

5-weeks old pup

Pups closely protected by parent

Pasir Ris Pup, learning to swim guided by attentive parents

A split second moment captured when the baby pup was about to trip and fall, the mum grap hold of him:-0

A almost 9 weeks old pup- Growing up well


A pup carried by his sister.

4 pups with mum during the early hours of monring. Shot with RAW setting and High ISO

Otter Pups learning to hunt

During the last few mornings, I am lucky to shoot the family of otters around the Marina Bay Reservior.

The adult Otters hunts and bite half of the prey before passing to the young pups. Seeing these co-operative behaviour is really a joy. The pups also learn how to grab the freshly killed prey and swim with it.

With my Nikon 300mmAF-D F4 and D90 DSLR, I am able to document the otters pups hunting behaviour with a better close-up view compared to my XT1 w 55-200mm. The Auto focus of the more than 20 years 300mm still shines and the 10 year old D90 still locks on 90% of the the time. I know mirrorless has come a long way since 2008 but the 2014 XT1 auto still pales against a 2008 D90 DSLR. It is a breeze to shoot with D90. Another advantage of DSLR- The battery for D90 can last like a 1000 shots compared to a 300shots for XT1 battery.

Singapore Air Show 2018

This bi-yearly airshow started this week. I was at the Changi Beach area to capture some of the Aerial Display. This year is also our Singapore Air force 50th year anniversary.

 The one complaint I have for our airshow is the lighting is bad. The Air display timing is in the middle of the day and the lighting is harsh.

Nevertheless, I shot these shots with a D90 and 300mmf4 IF-D

Singapore Airforce F-15 SG 50years anniversary painting. with 2 F-16s.

From Indonesia

Nikon AF-300mmF4 IF D and D90 DSLR Test on Otters

It has been 5 years since I last use a DSLR system. Used to be a fan of Canon DSLR system and briefly went to Nikon D600 Full frame system. I have enjoyed the Fuji Mirrorless system alot and really a lot. The image quality and lightweight setup was the reason I have more keepers and opportunity to shoot more as it is no burden to bring the mirrorless system out.

As I am into the Otters shoot recently, my current Fuji 55200mm is kind of short in focal length (at times) and was tempted to buy the Fuji 100-400mm to add into my arsenal of lens. However, I find the Fuji 100-400mm is too expensive (S$2700) and is quite a huge lens compared to my 55-200mm. The 55-200mm is much useful for different types of photography. I would be keeping the 55-200mm as I find this lens is light and more useful.

So for otters and maybe other nature shots, I started to plan to get another system. The Nikon 80-400mm D V1 and 300mmf4 D older lenses and Canon100-400mm v1 were my choices. I have budget constraints and choose the proven old lenses available.

I came across the old but good condition Nikon 300mmf4 D at S$400 and a Nikon D90 at $240. I bought the 2 of them and start to use it for the Otters shoot. Thank God that I came across them this morning and test the old telephoto lens. As this 300mmf4 Nikon does not have any image stabilization mechanism, I have to shoot with 1/640s and above to ensure image remain sharp as possible hand-held!

The legendary 300mm f4 is sharp and although the internet comments that the lens is slow to focus compared to the newer AF-s lens. It is still useable.

Action shot with old and slow 300mmf4 D lens on a 10year old D90. Still not too bad.

As Fuji Xt1 and D90 is a 1.5X cropped sensor camera, the 300mm on D90 became a focal length of 450mm compared to the 55-200mm (equivalent 300mm). An extra 150mm does make a difference in my shots. The 10-year-old sensor of D90 is still brilliant although I can see quite a bit of noise at ISO3200, it is still usable. Today's DSLR or mirrorless sensors are so good that we take for granted as compared to the older cameras.

 I find the DSLR D90 although is almost 10 years old in tech, it is still a very capable camera in 2018. There is one advantage I see using this DSLR is that there is an option to add a power grip and the power grip can use normal AA size batteries available in any convienence stores. 

Here are the shots from the Nikon 300mf4 AF-IF-D and D90 (12M) DSLR. 

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