The $6200 Question…

When it comes to photography, I am all about the image. Whether I choose to create in the moment or have some pre-visualized intent, I strongly believe in the relentless pursuit of a personal vision. Faced with questions about my tools, you’d likely hear some flippant remark like, “it’s me... not the camera!” Having interacted with many serious amateurs and pros, I know that I’m not alone when it comes to professing the importance of “practice” and “being there.” However, this reality does not diminish one key fact, quality equipment is a pleasure to use and it increases the chance of realizing one’s vision.  So I now unapologetically admit that this pre-amble is a poorly veiled way of saying... today’s post is about gear.

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Burrowing Owl 1 (Athene cunicularia)

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f5.6VR (No Cropping Required)

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Burrowing Owl 1 (Athene cunicularia)

Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR (Cropped to tighten the composition)

I am one of the lucky ones, as my wife and partner shares my obsession for nature, travel and photography. We spend the majority of our disposable income on adventures abroad and the gear we use to meet our photographic goals. Yet, we are not wealthy people, we are just a pair of worker bees. Often considered among the lowest ranking professionals, I am a biology teacher and Tamy is a nurse. While the work is personally fulfilling, we do it so we can afford to travel and make images of lesser-visited places. 

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Burrowing Owl 1 (Athene cunicularia)

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f5.6VR (Cropping Slightly)

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Burrowing Owl 1 (Athene cunicularia)

Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR (No Cropping Required)

So, how do two middle income professionals allocate their resources so they can make compelling photographs of wildlife? Anyone who is a serious nature shooter knows that wildlife photography is among the most financially taxing disciplines in the photographic arts. Much like the serious sports shooter, the wildlife photographer is dependent on fast cameras, the best autofocus systems and ultra-expensive super-telephoto lenses. To some, it is the latter that is a key impediment to joining “the club.” 

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Burrowing Owl 1 (Athene cunicularia)

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f5.6VR (Cropped Vertical out of the Horizontal w/ pixels to spare)

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White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f5.6VR (Cropped Vertical out of the Horizontal w/ pixels to spare)

Because there are two of us, the price to play is quite prohibitive. Until recently, we both compromised by shooting lesser glass or shorter focal length lenses. This all changed when Nikon introduced their AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens. For the first time, there is a professional grade super-telephoto optic that can be had for less than $1500 US. Not only does this lens shoot at an impressive 500mm, but it is a zoom lens with a non-variable aperture. At f5.6, the lens is relatively fast and can be used under most shooting conditions. Tamy pairs her brand new 200-500mm f5.6 with a Nikon D7100. The D7100 is a 24mp DX camera (1.5 times crop) that creates a viewing perspective of 300-750mm with her lens. With 51AF points and a shooting speed of 6 frames per second, the lens and body can be had for about $2200 US. 

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Osprey Nest Building  (Pandion haliaetus)

Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR... here AF speed and 10 frames per second help catch the peak moment

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Osprey Nest Building  (Pandion haliaetus)

Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4VR... here AF speed and 10 frames per second help catch the peak moment

While $2200 US might seem to be quite expensive, let’s compare Tamy’s wildlife kit to the gear I use. At the time of this post, I shoot with a Nikon D4. The D4 is a 16mp full-frame (FX) camera capable of capturing 10fps. Introduced in 2012, I purchased mine in used condition for $3000 US. I pair the D4 with Nikon’s premium AF-S 200-400mm f/4G VR super-zoom. While the newest VR II lens can be had for about $7000, I found a relatively clean and older model for $3000. In order to approach the magnification of the less expensive zoom, I pair my lens with a Nikon AF-S TC-1.4E II tele-converter. With the additional optical elements, I can produce a 16 MP image at 560mm for the “low-low price” of $6250. 

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Great Horned Owlet (Bubo virginianus)

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f5.6VR (Cropped 24MP file at 750mm, not possible with the D4 and 200-400mm VR)

As I began writing this post two days ago, I intended to claim that one combination of body and lens was superior to the other. However, after processing the many images displayed throughout, I will leave that decision to you. As you examine each photograph, I would like to encourage you to read the the subtext added, as this should offer a bit context. While there is a definite benefit that accompanies the additional allocation of resources, it would be hard to justify busting a budget to buy a $6200 wildlife kit when $2200 can produce images like those illustrated here. 

©2000-2016 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.

Field Report and Review : Nikon D7200

Background

Frequent visitors to this blog know that I rarely review camera gear. In fact, most of the 500-plus posts on my site fall into one of two general categories… the process of seeing or the biology of what is seen. While I’m not known for reviews, there are times when I feel compelled to share my thoughts about a piece of photographic equipment. Prompted by the dearth of field reports on the Nikon D7200, the following might be useful to those contemplating its purchase.

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California Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)  - Eating Mussels Moss Landing

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 800

For the sake of some background, readers need to know that I am a fairly recent convert to Nikon DSLR’s. Having been a shooter since the film era, most of my digital work has been with Canon cameras. In September 2014, I had the opportunity to acquire a Nikon 200-400mm f4.0 VR at an incredible price, and used this as justification for switching brands. Prior to moving to Nikon, my primary wildlife kit included a Canon 1D MkIII or Canon 7D paired with a Canon 300mm f2.8L IS and converters. The combination of this gear served me well throughout the United States, Canada, Central America and Africa. My decision to change systems was solely based on a desire to work without tele-converters and gain the flexibility that a high-end “super-tele zoom” could offer. 

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Hummingbird feeding - Rincon de La Vieja, Costa Rica

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 400

The transition from Canon to Nikon for landscape work was surprisingly smooth. Trading a Canon 5D MkIII for a Nikon D800E was a win, as the Nikon has more resolution and a wider dynamic range. Having spent most of the equity in my Canon gear on lenses and the D800E, relatively little was left for the purchase of a high-end wildlife camera. For the better part of eight months, my wildlife photography was done with a pair of 12MP D300’s. Revolutionary at the time of its introduction in 2007, the D300 now seems somewhat primitive with respect to modern DSLR’s. Although the build and frame rate of the D300 and D300s make these cameras relevant in 2015, the relatively shallow dynamic range, low sensor resolution and high ISO noise are sources of angst for wildlife photographers seeking a Nikon DX (crop) camera option. In May 2015, I decided to give up the rugged build and fast frame rate of my D300’s in favor of a smaller and less robust “prosumer” camera. 

Enter the Nikon D7200 - The Good

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Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) - Moss Landing, CA

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 

Rather than a review, mine is a wildlife photographer’s reflection on the D7200’s strengths and weaknesses when pursuing active subjects. If you are interested in a list of specifications, new features and the function of buttons, I suggest you follow one of these links: review by dpreview or review by Thom Hogan.  

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Hummingbird feeding - Rincon de La Vieja, Costa Rica

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 400

In mid May I traded two D300’s towards Nikon’s latest DX offering with an equal mix of pro and consumer features. Designed around a Sony 24mp sensor, I knew that the dynamic range and relatively low high-ISO noise of the D7200 would best my prior Nikon wildlife cameras. The need to move and bin 24mp files was a serious problem for Nikon’s prior model (D7100), which famously had a very shallow buffer. Now that I’ve use my D7200 to photograph flying birds, aquatic mammals and rainforest wildlife, I can safely say that the D7200’s buffer is capable of holding and moving files rapidly enough to photograph active subjects. In nearly three months of fairly heavy shooting, I have only hit the buffer limit on two occasions. By relying on high speed and modern SD cards, the D7200 matches the processing speed of my prior D300 bodies. 

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Summe Snow Monkey (Macaca fuscata) in Black and White (c) - Minnesota Zoo

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 400

The autofocus performance and accuracy is a definite upgrade from the Nikon D300. Like the D300 and other professional Nikon bodies, there are 51 AF points that stretch across most of the viewfinder. With so many autofocus points, I have little difficulty placing an AF target on the spot that meets my compositional goals. The AF system is fast and accurate, especially when set to Autofocus Continuous Single-point mode (AFC-S). For moving subjects like flying birds or running animals, I will I set the camera to AFC-S, and use the joystick on the back of the body to follow my subject. Whenever I am faced with an erratically moving animal like the elegant tern pictured below, I’ll migrate from AFC-S to AFC-9. By doing this, the autofocus system uses nine autofocus points in a 3x3 grid to maintain critical focus. While this sounds useful in theory, I rarely shoot in expanded AF mode because the focusing speed slows and critical focus is easily lost. In expanded AFC-mode, the user selects a specific target with one AF point, and the surrounding eight points assist to maintain focus. If the chosen point drops off, one the surrounding eight points re-establishes focus on the subject. Unfortunately, those surrounding points might lock onto a wingtip, beak or whisker rather than the eye that was originally selected. It is not until you begin your edits on a computer will you realize that most of your images are not as sharp as you expected. Admittedly, the deliberate decision to rely on a single AF bracket results in some missed opportunities, however my in-focus rate increases dramatically by shooting in this more conservative and less automated manner. To summarize, when shooting in AFC-S (single point continuous autofocus) mode, the camera readily locks onto a moving target and maintains focus at the cameras maximum frame rate as long as the autofocus bracket is accurately placed on the intended target. 

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Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) - Moss Landing, California

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 800

The sensor in the D7200 has exceeded my expectations for resolution, noise control and dynamic range. When compared to the D300, the seven-plus years of technological improvements are quite clear. The D7200 produces detailed pictures due of its 24 megapixels packed into a 1.5 times (DX) cropped area. The result of this high-resolution cropped sensor is many more pixels per feather than the D300. These resolution gains allow for flexible cropping and greater compositional control. Comparing this sensor to the one in the D300 seems unfair. Both the dynamic range and relatively noise-free images allow me to comfortably shoot between ISO 100 and 800 without substantially degrading the image. Usable at ISO’s of 1600 to 3200, the D7200 produces high ISO photographs that clean up nicely with just a bit of noise control. The latter is in stark contrast to the D300, where I find that any image shot beyond ISO 400 was unacceptable due to noise which causes the image to degrade substantially. When compared to the Canon 7D’s that I once used, the key difference is the absence of pattern noise. The 7D always had difficulties with blue skies, blacks and fog. When photographing animals against a reduced color palate, bands of noise and unnatural splotches were common artifacts in my files. The Nikon D7200 has far better noise control at high and low iso than did my Canon body, all of which allows for more flexible shooting, as well as processing in underexposed regions of an image. To me, the sensor improvements alone are enough to justify my purchase of this camera.

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Geoffroy's Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) - Rincon de La Vieja, Costa Rica

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 800

The Nikon D7200 - The Bad

All is not ice-cream and candy with the D7200. In many ways, the camera is a placebo for what many Nikon wildlife photographers want… a D400. As it stands, given the opportunity, there would be a small army of us who would gladly adopt a Canon 7D MkII if it were made with a Nikon mount. Where the 7D MkII is a clear replacement for the original 7D, the same cannot be said for the Nikon D7200 when compared to the D300. Ad a wildlife photographer, there are two downgrades in the D7200 that directly impact me in the field. The D300 has a robust weather sealed body that follows the design ethos of Nikon’s professional cameras. Picking up the D300 feels good in the hands and its mass balances nicely when mounted to a high-end telephoto lenses. Changing ISO, white-balance and shooting modes on the D300 is essentially the same as on my D800E. In contrast, I often find myself fumbling or looking through menus to make these same basic changes on the D7200. Furthermore, the D7200 feels light in the hand, lacks a deep grip and does not balance well on my ball head or gimbal when mounted to the 200-400mm f4.0 VR. While I do not have the confidence that the D7200 can withstand the abuse of a D300, I do know that it performed well in the humid and often heavy rains of Costa Rica. At one point, I was stuck in a downpour and did not cover the camera or lens adequately. As the rain pounded on the body, I did what I could to shield vulnerable spots. The D7200 survived the experience and was ready to use in spite of the rain. So, while it might not be as weather tight as a D300, so far, the camera’s weather seals appear to be adequate.

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Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) - Moss Landing, CA

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 

My second key concern with the D7200 is related to its frame rate. The camera has the ability to shoot five 14-bit images per second (5 fps) or six 12-bit images per second (6 fps). When compared to the D300s, my current body body has a slower frame rate. Using the D300s with an MB-D12 grip and the high performance/high capacity EN-EL4(a) battery, this 6 year-old camera still manages to shoot eight 12-bit images per second (8fps). This difference in frame rate can be substantial if you are hoping to photograph the nuances of a subject. A burst of 8fps creates the opportunity to catch a bird landing on its nest with the feathers displayed just right, or a brief expression that might be otherwise lost when the frame rate is slower. 

The Nikon D7200 - The Ugly

There is not much “ugliness” to the D7200, however there is a characteristic in the autofocus system that is a source of great frustration. To be clear, I am not sure that Nikon produces a camera that would resolve my issue, but after 25+ years of autofocus technology, the solution should not be unobtainable. Specifically, I find that the D7200 and other Nikon bodies have a high AF-failure rate when photographing low-contrast subjects. Because most wildlife is active at dawn and dusk, low-contrast conditions is much of what I see. When trying to lock onto a dark eye against relative dark fur, as in the beaver pictured below, the autofocus failure rate is very high. In fact, a careful look at my files will reveal that less than one-half of the images meet my sharpness criteria. The inability to lock-on or maintain critical focus of moving subjects under these conditions just drives me crazy!

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Summer Beaver (Castor canadensis) - St. Croix Area, MN

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 800

The Nikon D7200 - The Bottom Line

As I survey the landscape of Nikon cameras that could meet my needs, most fall short in one way or another. I am a “simple kit” guy with a fairly limited budget. Buying the Nikon 200-400mm f4.0 VR was a stretch for me. With a maximum aperture of f4.0 and focal length of 400mm, this lens is the most affordable long fast glass available for the Nikon system. The Nikon 500mm and 600mm lenses are out of budget, while the Tamron or Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 lenses are too slow for my needs when extended to 400mm and beyond. My solution to these limitations is the use of a high resolution crop sensor camera. As a result, the faster full-framed Nikon D700, D3, D3s, D4 and D750 are unsuitable bodies that would require extensive cropping to meet my compositional goals. Because of these limitations and the lack of a modern high-end crop body (like the mythical D400), the Nikon D7200 provides the image quality that I am seeking with just enough speed to meet my wildlife photograph objectives.

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Three Otters (Enhydra lutris) - Moss Landing

Nikon D7200 + Nikon 200-400mm f4 VR1 @ ISO 400

©2000-2015 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.

Canon 40mm f2.8 STM Review

Gear reviews are a departure from my norm, but this little optic is such a good performer that is deserves a bit of love. I’m not one to shoot a brick wall or stuffed animals, so I can’t tell you how much sharper the EF 40 f2.8 is than “lens X,” but I do use my gear in the field, and if it survives the horrid weather and my abuse, it becomes a keeper.

I bought the Canon 40mm f2.8 STM from West Photo in Minneapolis, MN for about $175 and added the matching lens hood for another $20, or so. The purchase coincided with the onset of Fall and just prior to my trip to New York. I thought I’d use it for some street photography, but found that its also a superb landscape optic. Just to be clear, I had been using the Zeiss ZE 35mm f2.8 as my medium wide-angle lens, but decided to sell it shortly after shooting the far cheaper Canon “flat fantastic.”

Now if this doesn’t get your attention, nothing else I say will. While the Zeiss was sharper at f2.0 and f2.8, it lost its edge once I began shooting at f5.6 and f8. The Canon 40mm f2.8 is every bit as sharp as the Zeiss when stopped down, and its lighter, smaller and has autofocus.

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Spring? - Vadnais Heights, MN

Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 40mm f2.8 STM flat fantastic

If you are not aware, the Canon 40mm f2.8 STM is a “pancake-style” lens; this means that the optic is really flat. When mounted on a 5D Mark III, it’s barely bigger than the camera with just a body cap. Pancake lenses are nothing new to photography and were first conceived by Paul Rudolf in 1902 when he designed the Zeiss Tessar . I really love pancake lenses and have owned many in the past. My first was the SMC Pentax-M 40mm f2.8 that I purchased with a Pentax MX in 1979. This was followed by a Carl Zeiss 45mm T* Tessar f2.8 that I bought for my Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 in 1985, and a Nikkor 45 f2.8-P that I added to my kit when I was using Nikon FM’s and F100‘s. Regardless of the make, I always seemed to like the small profile and amazing quality packed into this simple optical design. While none of these pancakes are terribly fast at f2.8, they all were relatively sharp across the entire film plane.

Enter the Canon 40mm f2.8 STM. This lens was a surprise introduction in a somewhat feeble attempt to stem the movement away from small SLR cameras to Micro 4/3 bodies and Sony NEX camera systems. While I doubt the “new” Canon pancake will stop anyone from switching to smaller camera bodies, I do believe that this is a revolutionary lens. At less than $200, and often found for $150 after rebates, the Canon pancake is a bargain. It is solidly built with a quiet autofocus motor. Although not a USM style focus system, the STM focus motor is fast to autofocus and can be manually adjusted while in AF-mode. While the manual focus is slightly delayed due to the “focus by-wire” STM motor, it is just fine for a landscape shooter. Unlike the less expensive and faster Canon 50mm f1.8, the 40mm pancake has a metal lens mount and feels solid to the touch. I could never find any love for the “nifty fifty,” and now own the Canon 50mm f1.4 for my low-light shooting needs.

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Misty Morning - Vadnais Heights, MN

Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 40mm f2.8 STM flat fantastic

So What’s The Big Deal? 

There is something about the quality of this lens that continues to shock me. It is quite resistant to flare and seems to have amazing edge sharpness at f8 and f11. I never hesitate to use the pancake lens on my 5D MarkIII and have found it to be a surprisingly good landscape lens. In terms of quality, it bests the 17-40mm f4.0L at 40mm, exhibits no chromatic aberrations, and does not appear to vignette when stopped down. While shooting wildlife, I keep the 40mm f2.8 STM on a second body and can quickly capture snapshots of the landscape, setting and companions without feeling burdened by a heavy lens around the neck. In short, at $175 this flat fantastic has the best combination of price and performance than any lens I have owned in the past or present. 

My advice... try it... you’ll buy it!

©2000-2013 BTLeventhal.com / Bruce & Tamy Leventhal. All rights reserved. No image on this site may be used without permission.