2020 can definitely be described as a year of change. There are so many things that we took for granted that we can no longer do anymore, or have had to alter to fit the new reality of daily life. We have all had to learn to adapt.
Like many New Yorkers, part of that adaptation has been finding ways to avoid mass transit. Nobody here wants to be packed into a crowded bus or subway car anymore if we can help it.
Because of this, New York City has seen an explosion in bicycle usage. I personally have never seen so many people riding bicycles around town as I have seen this summer in NYC. A significant and growing number of these bikes are electric bicycles or “e-bikes”. E-bikes have batteries and motors and can usually reach top speeds of about 20 miles per hour (32 kph).
Most beginning photographers will have a crop-sensor camera, such as the Nikon D3300 that I recommended in the article. Without getting crazy technical here, using a crop-sensor camera always means that the millimeter number on the lens (in this case 35mm) is multiplied by 1.5. That means that this lens will give you the rough equivalent of a classic 50mm field of view.
The Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX lens looking all sexy on my bed. Photo taken with a Samsung Tablet.
Sharp, Light and Small
The Nikon 35mm is a lightweight lens. It’s perfect for carrying around all day long and using in a variety of situations. It’s useful for photos of people, close-up shots of objects, and even landscapes. The lens is very sharp and delivers images with quite a bit of detail.
Keep in mind that the lens is a prime lens with a fixed focal length – meaning that you can’t zoom with it. If you need to get closer to your subject, you’ll have to actually walk towards it!
Yes, you can fit everything in the shot even though it’s not a zoom lens!
Cheap and Popular
The lens is also inexpensive. Brand new, it shouldn’t cost you more than $200 from any major internet camera retailer.
Even better, this lens is so popular that one of your Nikon-shooting friends probably owns one, and may let you try it out – at least for a few shots.
Good for Low Light and Night Shooting
The f-number of a lens tells you how much light the lens lets in, or how “bright” it is. Once again, I won’t get too technical here, but the lower the f-number, the better a lens will perform in low light situations or at night. This lens has an f-number of 1.8, which is a very low number (for comparison, a typical zoom lens has an f-number of 3.5, which is why most zoom lenses are not so good for low-light shooting).
What this all means is you can finally shoot clear, detailed pictures of your friends drinking in dimly-lit bars, or capture scenes on the streets at night that don’t look dark and grainy.
Were they running from the rain – or from me & my camera?
Blurred Background
Another great aspect of this lens is the ability to shoot photos with that “blurred background” look that everyone loves and craves. This makes the lens useful for casual portraits, or to isolate a subject that’s in front of a distracting background, such as a busy street.
A blurry bunch of flowers, just for you.
Nikon created a gem with this lens and even more amazing is how inexpensive it is to own. I highly recommend you go buy (or try) the Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX. Do you have this lens and enjoy shooting with it? Or are you a beginner that has more questions about it? Leave a comment below or feel free to message me on Instagram.
All photos in this article were taken with a Nikon D5100 and Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX lens. Except for the photo of the lens itself, which was taken with a Samsung Tablet & Snapseed.
I really like using older cameras and gear and trying to squeeze the best results I can out of them. A while ago I picked up a used Nikon D90 as a “backup” camera (as if I need any more cameras). What’s it like using a camera that came on to the market in 2008? Honestly, not that bad.
If you shoot RAW like I’ve suggested, you can get some pretty good results out of a camera that’s considered staggeringly obsolete in today’s fast-moving world of technology.
Food, glorious food.
The D90 has a built-in focus motor, which is great because you can use almost any Nikon or third-party lens on it. I typically pair it with an old Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM, a quirky lens that sometimes doesn’t focus on anything at all, but renders beautifully when it does.
Oh, you got my fresh and juicy right here? Why I oughta…
Another great thing about the D90 is the controls and handling. It has dual-dials and many buttons, making using the camera in manual mode very easy. You’ll probably want to shoot in manual mode, pick the lowest shutter speed you find acceptable, and keep your ISO under 800 to get the best results.
See a pattern to these photos? I guess I was hungry that night.
The 12.3 megapixel images definitely have a distinct “look” to them, and that’s due to a lack of dynamic range and what I find to be duller colors in general. With a good amount of post-processing effort on the RAW files, particularly in terms of color correction, you can bring them almost up to par with more modern cameras. On the other hand, it’s very easy to get a lo-fi “film look” out of the images if that’s what you’re aiming for.
Okay, not food-related. Then again, there is popcorn in there…
One last interesting thing about the D90 is that it seems to currently be very popular in other countries. Perhaps this is due to a lack of availability of other models at reasonable prices. I’m just guessing, I don’t really know. But if you hop on the #nikond90 or #d90 tags on Instagram, you’ll likely be treated to some very cool photographic scenes from all over the world.
Would I recommend that you run out and buy a D90? Honestly, no. You’ll get way better images out of a used entry level DSLR like a Nikon D3300 for around the same amount of money. Even with a lot of post-processing, the D90 images still won’t look quite as good as those from a newer camera, particularly when it comes to high-ISO shots.
However, if you’re looking for a creative challenge, really are looking for a backup camera that you won’t mind ruining, or just want to mess around with old technology, by all means get a D90 and go out and shoot with it.
The photos in this story were taken with a Nikon D90 and Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM lens.
I always recommend that all photographers, even beginners, shoot RAW instead of JPG. Here are my reasons:
Exposure
It happens: you were in a hurry and underexposed your image. It’s too dark. But RAW files contain so much information when compared to JPG files that you can lift the exposure without degrading the image quality. Depending on the file and camera used, you may be able to increase the exposure by two or three stops without ruining it.
Color Correction
Fixing white balance issues is very simple in RAW, as well as controlling the hue and saturation levels of individual colors. For example, after white balancing the image, if something in your image is still too red or too yellow you can specifically reduce the saturation levels of those colors, without touching the other colors.
Noise Reduction
RAW files have no noise reduction applied, so you can apply your own. We all hate noise, but sometimes when shooting in JPG, the camera will apply too much noise reduction and make fine details like hair or architectural lines look “mushy”. RAW lets you add just the right amount.
Sharpening
As with being able to control the amount of noise reduction applied to the image, you can also control the amount of sharpening. Some JPG settings cause certain images to look oversharpened. In certain situations, such as portrait photography, you may not want any sharpening at all.
Luminance Channels
My favorite aspect of working with RAW files, since I shoot a lot of scenes with city lights. You can boost or lower the brightness of certain colors of light. For example, if you want to make the red traffic lights in a street scene stronger while reducing the strength of the headlights of cars, you can do that specifically, without brightening or darkening the other light sources in the image.
Future Software
One last interesting thing about RAW is that the software used to edit RAW photos is often being improved upon by software developers. This means that you can go back to your old RAW files months or even years later and extract even more detail. Try loading that old, underexposed file that doesn’t look so good through a new RAW converter and play around with it. You may be able to pull out something amazing from it. I certainly have been able to. A JPG on the other hand is basically frozen in time.
The original file as rendered by the camera (that is to say, the unedited JPG).
This is the original file of the image at the beginning of this article — the JPG image that is automatically made alongside the RAW file. It’s not bad out of the camera, but editing the RAW version of this image really helped me bring it to a whole new level. RAW is particularly useful when using a camera with a smaller sensor such as APS-C or Four Thirds or when using an older camera — you can really get the most of out of your images with a little editing.
If you have any questions about RAW or editing, feel free to comment below or e-mail me.
So you want your very first “real camera” — you want a DSLR. You’re ready to step up from your point-and-shoot or smartphone. But you’re not sure what you should buy to get started, and you don’t want to spend too much money as a beginner. Here’s my advice:
Buy Used
There are some people that will scoff at the idea of buying anything used, but it’s extremely common in the photography world to buy used gear. Photographers are constantly selling their equipment for various reasons. Sometimes a photographer doesn’t use a camera or lens as much as they thought they would. Or maybe they are selling off equipment to buy something more expensive. Whatever the case, the used photography gear market is thriving and you’re sure to find whatever you want at a discount. It’s true that there’s always a risk that some used gear may be in bad shape or may not function properly, so use a reputable source like KEH or Amazon (both have generous and easy return policies) and you’ll be fine. You can also try ordering refurbished equipment directly from the manufacturer.
I personally rarely buy any of my equipment new; nearly every piece of gear I have was bought used. Many of my cameras and lenses are very old.
Buy a Nikon
For a beginner, choosing between Canon and Nikon is often an agonizing decision, so I’m going to make it easy for you: just buy a Nikon. Okay, I’m a Nikon fan, it’s true. But they really are great cameras, and any Nikon DSLR made after 2011 is going to give you very high-quality images. And when compared with similar cameras from Canon, Nikon cameras usually have more megapixels and better sensors.
Buy One Lens
When you’re shopping for your used Nikon, keep in mind that it’s likely just the body you’re buying. You’ll also need to buy a lens. But don’t buy a bunch of lenses. As a beginner photographer, you’re going to be figuring out your style and what you like to shoot. Get one general-purpose lens and stick with that for a while.
My Specific Recommendation
Buy a used Nikon D3300 and a 35mm f1.8G DX lens. The Nikon D3300 is a very good camera, with excellent image quality. It’s also small and light, which means you’ll be more likely to throw it in a bag and bring it with you everywhere.
The 35mm f1.8G DX lens is a great all-around lens. It’s inexpensive, very sharp, focuses quickly, and it’s small. It’s also good for low-light situations, such as night photography or taking pictures of your friends in dimly lit bars. The lens is also good for people shots since it will give you that nice “blurred background” look when you take a picture of someone’s face. Also, it can focus very closely on objects — great for food shots, for example. And you won’t have to buy anything else for a while.
Good luck getting started on your photographic journey, and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, message me on Instagram, or leave a comment below.
