behold my arsenal – which i might add is making my bag a little tight with all these lenses and accessories. these lenses cover the ‘ultra-wide-angle’ to the ’standard zoom’ range of photography. none of these lenses (maybe the 50mm prime?) are considered professional grade lenses. they work with virtually all nikon camera bodies (film or digital) with nary a hitch. nikon uses its standard F-Mount for its bodies and lenses to allow any nikon user to use its other lenses regardless of production year. this is nice! canon on the other hand had made a change in their lens mount (year i’m not sure of) and hence, compatibility between lenses are sometimes a hurdle. this is one of the many reasons why i prefer nikon over canon.

the 18-70mm standard zoom lens came with my nikon d70 kit. it’s a very useful lens – good wide angle and decent zoom ability. the drawbacks are the plastic construction and the small aperture. the lens works great in outdoor and indoors provided there is a decent amount of light. as light diminishes, i need to raise the sensitivity (ISO) to keep the shutter speed within a reasonable amount to prevent blur. as you zoom (increase focal length), the maximum shutter size (aperture) reduces. i.e. – at 18mm, the corresponding aperture is f/3.5 and at 70mm, the corresponding aperture is f/4.5.

* most seasoned photographers know the three basic parameters of photography which are – shutter speed, aperture, and sensitivity (ISO). there are other names for each of the three parameters, but for the most part these are the most commonly used ‘names’. for an EXCELLENT explanation, check out kenrockwell’s site –> here. *

the 50mm standard (a.k.a. prime) lens is wonderful for low light use. where the 18-70mm lens has a variable aperture from f/3.5 to f/4.5, this lens has a fixed aperture of f/1.4. this means that the lens has the ability to open up further to allow more light into the camera. what does this mean? it permits the artist or photographer the ability to select his/her depth of field. a short depth of field (D.O.F.) results in well focused subjects and blurry foreground/background subjects. a long D.O.F. results in more clear focus of all subjects regardless of the distance of the lens to the objects in view. think portraits for short D.O.F. and landscapes for long D.O.F.

last but not least, i have the 12-24mm ultra-wide-zoom lens (it was not cheap!). this handles the up close and personal photos. it has a very unique ability to add perspective to photos. it is a fun lens to use…albiet a challenging one to use well. this one has a fixed aperture of f/4.0. decent aperture for indoor use but not spectacular – for a better solution, yet for more okane or $$$, you can opt for the nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. only for pros though…

well, here they are…a quick rundown of my lenses. i’m not sure what lens is next! see the photos and links below for reference. jaa mata ne!

AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D

AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED