Nikon 55~200 AFS

[Quovadis]

Yes since last night I switched to the 18-55 and have been using it on 55MM standing back a few feet. I find the results in sharpness pretty similar to the 55-200, maybe a tad sharper.
Remember all these shots are around f11-f13 100 ISO at the wrong S value because of the poor lights. On that web page you gave me of all the lenses why do they not have AF-D lenses?
Do i need AF-D or AF-S? I thought AF-d was better? Sorry im really bad with all this.

 

[Quovadis]

Actually i do have another question.
I will never be able to use low f values (2.8 or whatever). I will always need to be in the f8 and above? surely at f2.8 only a minuscule portion of the bag will be in focus? There will be a lot of unwanted bokeh? Is my thinking correct? If my thinking is correct why purchase a f2.8? I am so confused

 

[Braineack]

most zoom lenses with a constant aperture throughout the zoom range result in higher IQ (mainly cause they are large and expensive so they need to be worth the cost).

fixed focal length lenses (prime), by design, have a fixed aperture. If they built fixed f/11 lenses, they'd be unusable to a majority of users.

just because a lens can go op up to f/1.2, doesn't mean you have to shoot it there. You'll still want to stop it down when you want to increase DOF and/or decrease light.


if you shoot mostly at 55mm, then it probably makes more sense to buy a 50mm 1.8G -- if you decided to go with a new lens.

also keep in mind that shooting at 55mm is the extreme wide focal length in 55-200 lens -- that's typically the softest focal length to shoot at on a zoom.

 

[Dave442]

I usually put the 60mm f/2.8 G micro lens on my crop sensor Nikon for product shots. Very affordable for what it does. Manual focus is much better than any of the kit zoom lenses.

- Focus stacking is also an option for greater DOF and lets you use the best f-stop for the particular lens.

I'll usually shoot at f/8 to f/11 for product shots.
A lens may be f/2.8, but you can stop down for the extra DOF.
Continuous lighting often works best for me, especially with reflective subjects.
You can use a slow shutter speed, your on a tripod and subjects are not moving.

Do i need AF-D or AF-S? I thought AF-d was better? Sorry im really bad with all this.

What camera do you have? The "D" lenses require a camera body that has the focus motor for the auto-focus to work.

 

[Braineack]

also keep in mind that shooting at 55mm is the extreme wide focal length in 55-200 lens -- that's typically the softest focal length to shoot at on a zoom.

actually doesn't seem to be the case in this lens:

but you can see that f/11 is where this lens is sharpest, the more you stop down from there the softer it's going to be.

now look at measured values from one of Nikon's best bang-for-the-buck lens:

this measures out to be about double the resolving power.

Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED DX - Review / Test Report - Analysis

 

[Quovadis]

I usually put the 60mm f/2.8 G micro lens on my crop sensor Nikon for product shots. Very affordable for what it does. Manual focus is much better than any of the kit zoom lenses.

- Focus stacking is also an option for greater DOF and lets you use the best f-stop for the particular lens.

I'll usually shoot at f/8 to f/11 for product shots.
A lens may be f/2.8, but you can stop down for the extra DOF.
Continuous lighting often works best for me, especially with reflective subjects.
You can use a slow shutter speed, your on a tripod and subjects are not moving.

Do i need AF-D or AF-S? I thought AF-d was better? Sorry im really bad with all this.

What camera do you have? The "D" lenses require a camera body that has the focus motor for the auto-focus to work.

D3300.
I do not understand "I usually put the 60mm f/2.8 G micro lens on my crop sensor Nikon for product shots." Could you please explain this differently?
I need to stand back ...bags do not look natural if you shoot them close, normally i stand back 6-10 feet

 

[Quovadis]

Here is a photo of my set up. We all understand there is not enough light. My questions is:
Do you see the two unprotected 105 watt fluorescent bulbs in the picture? They are in front of my camera lens. Is this bad? Should they be covered with a box? Will they interfere with my shot?
Do direct lights have to be behind the camera?

 

[robbins.photo]

Yes since last night I switched to the 18-55 and have been using it on 55MM standing back a few feet. I find the results in sharpness pretty similar to the 55-200, maybe a tad sharper.
Remember all these shots are around f11-f13 100 ISO at the wrong S value because of the poor lights. On that web page you gave me of all the lenses why do they not have AF-D lenses?
Do i need AF-D or AF-S? I thought AF-d was better? Sorry im really bad with all this.

Ok, well you can use the 18-55, change the fstop to say F8 and shoot at 1/30 or 1/60 and up your ISO for proper exposure while changing the JPG settings to use large/fine settings. Once you crop them and reduce them in size to what will be shown on Ebay they'll probably look great.

Not much point in viewing them full sized in photoshop because that's not what your customers are going to be looking at.

If F8 doesn't give you sufficient depth of feild, stop down until you do... this whole process would only take a matter of minutes to test and would likely yield very good results with no additional investment.

 

[Quovadis]

also keep in mind that shooting at 55mm is the extreme wide focal length in 55-200 lens -- that's typically the softest focal length to shoot at on a zoom.

actually doesn't seem to be the case in this lens:

but you can see that f/11 is where this lens is sharpest, the more you stop down from there, to softer it's going to be.

now look at measured values from one of Nikon's best bang-for-the-buck lens:

this measures out to be about double the resolving power.

Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED DX - Review / Test Report - Analysis

We already discussed this is a soft crappy lens...lets move on to something I can buy today. Take a look at how I am set up...5 to 7 feet back...for get any F stops lower than f8-F11

 

[Quovadis]

Yes since last night I switched to the 18-55 and have been using it on 55MM standing back a few feet. I find the results in sharpness pretty similar to the 55-200, maybe a tad sharper.
Remember all these shots are around f11-f13 100 ISO at the wrong S value because of the poor lights. On that web page you gave me of all the lenses why do they not have AF-D lenses?
Do i need AF-D or AF-S? I thought AF-d was better? Sorry im really bad with all this.

Ok, well you can use the 18-55, change the fstop to say F8 and shoot at 1/30 or 1/60 and up your ISO for proper exposure while changing the JPG settings to use large/fine settings. Once you crop them and reduce them in size to what will be shown on Ebay they'll probably look great.

Not much point in viewing them full sized in photoshop because that's not what your customers are going to be looking at.

If F8 doesn't give you sufficient depth of feild, stop down until you do... this whole process would only take a matter of minutes to test and would likely yield very good results with no additional investment.

You clever man...let me try

 

[Quovadis]

Huge improvement in sharpness
Shot at f8 1/60 and 400-600 ISO
I shot these not at 55mm rather around 40mm.
Ok now we are finally getting somewhere...this is the starting point.

 

[Quovadis]

let me take raw shots, because on a Jpg I cannot see the values

 

[Quovadis]

what should the exposure compensation be set at? I have mine on +2

 

[Braineack]

0

 

[robbins.photo]

what should the exposure compensation be set at? I have mine on +2

You can experiment with it a bit and see what works best for your lighting. If they come out a bit too bright you can always reduce exposure in post.