Velbon Ultra VOXi L Tripod Review

One of the fundamental components of the photographer's gear bag is the beloved tripod. Some "authoritative" figures out there on the web like to lobby for the "with improved high ISO performance and stabilized lenses, one doesn't need a tripod nowadays" theory. In my humble opinion, and of course the opinion of anyone who shoots in a variety of settings with a variety of settings, this mentality is simply problematic. There are situations where there is absolutely no substitute for a good tripod and this review will look specifically at the compact traveler companion rather than the industrial studio rail or the heavy-deuty landscape trekker's sole mate.

Criteria: I want to state up front that your tripod needs depend on many things. The two most important things to consider when purchasing any tripod are 1.) the size and weight of your camera equipment and 2.) your intended use. For example, if you are using an 8x10 large format camera a $28 tripod from WalMart isn't going to cut it no matter how hard you try. The opposite is not necessarily true. There's no such thing as "too much support," but you probably wont want to carry a 20 lbs. set of legs out into Yellowstone to mount your pocket point and shoot camera. Therefore, consider your needs carefully before purchasing your legs and you will often find, depending on how versatile your shooting and the conditions in which you shoot, that you need more than one set of legs.

I already own a conventional tripod that I love, but wanted something light weight, compact, versatile and as close to normal shooting height when fully extended as possible (50"+ in my case) for travel and street photography with my Olympus E-PL2 camera. I was willing to compromise on some features if necessary, but was really wanting to get as many of these features in a tripod as possible...oh, and I needed it to be as inexpensive - within reason - as possible. My budget for legs and a ball head was about $200, but I was willing to be flexible - a BIT - if something significant came down the pipe.

Therefore, this review will compare my ultimate choice, the Velbon Ultra VOXi L, with some competition and will ultimately look at the key features of this excellent little stabilizer.

Alternate Tripods: Whether you've been a player in the tripod game for a while or are new to the arena, several brand names are very likely already familiar to you. Gitzo, Manfrotto and even Benro have been around for quite some time and have an almost cult following among shooters today. Personally, I've worked with Manfrotto of and on through the year and love their gear. But when it comes to something as specific as the traveler companion I was after, huge brand names were shifted to the back burner as far as being mandatory. If I could find an affordable winner among the popular brands then that would just be a bonus. Quality was definitely an important component in my search, but was willing to go with an "unknown" if the product could meet my needs.

The Players: Although there are several other tripods out there that could fall into the traveler category, I was specifically looking at the sub 3 lbs units which ultimately evicted some would-be companions right out of the gate. Ultimately, my search generated the following legs: Gitzo Traveler 1541T and 1550T, Manfrotto 190CX3 and 732 M-Y, Feisol CT3441S and SB, Benro A0680 Travel Angel, Horusbennu M-2530TT, Tamrac ZipShot and the Velbon Ultra VOXi L. The Feisol and Horusbennu are most commonly acquired through eBay.

To keep the body of this already lengthy post somewhat condensed, I've attached the chart of the specs and sort of my mindset when narrowing down my choice. Several of the units scored higher than the Velbon in certain areas, but as a whole they didn't quite level out due mainly to a severely week point in the criteria or an absurd price. The later really took a toll on the Gitzo and Feisol offerings even though the units themselves had very strong marks in some of the necessary areas.

To sum it up, the Velbon had the most bang-for-the-buck out of the models I compared by my standards. This review is to help you in your decision making or introduce some players you might have overlooked and NOT to tell you which tripod to get. You can look at the chart and see how I rated each element on the list and how I came to my conclusion. I tried to be both flexible, but fair. For example I didn't even score the Velbon in the weight category as a Top 3 pick even though it missed the cut by just 0.2 lbs! I tried not to lean in any particular direction. I did however, give some leniency in my ratings. For example, in weight, I marked 1.98-2.2 lbs all as second place units because the weight was virtually the same.

At the end of the day the Velbon had the best height-to-folded length-to-weight balance of any of the devices that were under $300. And with a max recommended load of just shy of 8 lbs, I was home free. 

As you can see in my ratings the Manfrotto 732 M-Y and the Benro Travel Angel came in second and the relatively unknown Horusbennu ranked third. In fact, had the Hoursbennu not had a ridiculously unusable max height of just over 46" then I would have definitely given it a shot. But, I really wanted a normal height option and the 60" offered by the Velbon as well as it's versatility in setup ultimately won the day.

THE REVIEW

Now that I've described how I made my decision, I'll take you through a guided tour and wrap up with a quick list of pros and cos as I find them.

The above images show the VOXi alongside a Velbon El Carmagne 630 - a more standard 22.5" tripod for size comparisons. The VOXi stands at just a peep over 14" long when folded. The top image shows both tripods standing closed and the second shows them at their base unfolded length. As you can see the VOXi is significantly small both in length and width at its base settings.

However...

...when fully extended you can see how comparable the two become. The Carmagne does have more height, but for a compact unit, the VOXi is capable of running as a standalone device if needed. This was a HUGE plus for me when I was considering my options and it s major factor in going with the VOXi. It reaches to just over 5' tall with column extended!

Although not the most "ideal" option for a full size DSLR, it can handle the load if you want it to. Here I've mounted my D700 with grip and extended battery, RRS "L" plate and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I put the ball head - a Velbon 41Q - at an off center alignment to illustrate the holding power of the LEGS. They are not going to tip over on you. I would recommend a stronger head for cameras north of perhaps a Rebel or D3100 or so, but honestly the legs are fine. You will get less vibration and more overall stability and peace of mind if you opt for standard legs, but in a pinch or on travel, the VOXi is a great alternative to a standard pod. It's rated at 7.7 lbs, but could easily hold more with the right head - though as usual, you are running a risk whenever you exceed the manufactures specifications for anything.

Above are the various leg angle settings on the VOXi. I removed the base portion of the center column (it unscrews) for these illustrations. These positions allow you to get lower to the ground without having to inver the column. If the lowest leg spread is not low enough you have the option to inver the center column and either rotate a telephoto tripod collar to an upside down position or, simply mound your camera upside down and rotate the image in post. The image below is an example, again with the D700 and telephoto mounted from the lens' tripod collar.

Remember, I'm going to be using the VOXi with a micro 4/3 camera, but used the D700 to illustrate the abilities of the tripod. Smaller cameras are even easier to manipulate on the unit for obvious reasons.

The platform is well designed, but only has a small thread for a head. So your RRS BH-55 ain't gonna work here. But then again, the 55 weights more than this thing! It's designed to work with smaller, more modest heads and the pairing is not an issue for the weights it's rated for anyway.

The leg angle adjustment switch has been moved over on the front leg for illustrative purposes. Doing so allows the leg to be fully extended out for the lowest shooting angle. As you bend the leg back toward the center column the switch 'clicks' and locks into each subsequent setting with needing to reactivate the switch. The joint has been very strong, quite and fluid thus far.

The two photos above are to illustrate relative size. I have short, though fat fingers and as you can see the, though small, the legs do have some admirable girth to them - unlike say, the Tamrac ZipShot. The rubber leg locks are a decent size too and the bottom lock doubles as the leg foot. NOTE: One of the upper rubber grips did come loose while shooting at the beach over the weekend. Some super glue will fix this issue. I think there is an urge to really tighten the legs when a modest amount of torque will do the job fine. I am uncertain if the issue was a result of tension on my part, lack of the necessary glue in production or the very damp conditions I was shooting in. Either way, it's not a deal breaker for me.

The unit is rated at just over 2.4 lbs, but our postage meter clocked it in at just over 2.6 lbs. Either way, it's tiny and light by virtually any standard.

Above you can see the thickness of the leg sections. The top sections has the gray rim all the way to the left. The second section connects to the first lock, then three more sections extend to the foot. The following video is a brief look at how the legs work:

The unit measures just over 14". I tried to shoot it from a low angle because of glare.

It's a bit harder to illustrate how the center column lock works with photos, so I've added a short video for that as well.

I plan on doing a quick video review of the VOXi soon (I hope - extremely busy right now) for YouTube. If and when I do, I'll embed the video in this post.

CONCLUSION:

In short, it's a wonderful tripod. If you own a PAS, micro 4/3, super zoom compact, 4/3 or even an entry level DSLR this could serve as your only tripod if you pair it with the right head. For the PAS through to the average sized 4/3 owner, you're home free with an inexpensive ball head like the Velbon 41Q - which I used for the Olympus Pen series. If you are using longer lenses however, like say, the Panasonic 100-300mm for micro 4/3 or any major telephoto, you should really consider a larger, sturdier head as the 41Q might display a bit of shake at longer focal lengths and it certainly isn't wonderful for manually focusing lenses in video mode when every bump or shake is recorded in all it's glory! But for smaller cameras and shooting that doesn't require tons of subtle adjusting or incorporate significant weight, the 41Q is plenty of support.

For the avid pro, this is a great auxiliary pod for travel or for your fun camera (as is the case here).

These legs are really brilliant. Though perhaps not as well built as the Gitzo Traveler series, it's also not $600+ dollars. It's certainly got stability to spare given the criteria I mentioned earlier. You can pick it up easily with a single finger when fully extended, but at the same time, not worry about it blowing over in a normal wind. It's fun and easy to use, packs easily and is indispensable for low light, macro shooting and long exposures. 

You get upwards of 8 lbs of support (rated - though it will hold more with the right head), 60.5" of max height, ground level shooting with an inverted column, 14" of compact length at just over 2.6 lbs. for less than $200 and that is a real bargain.

If you're in the market for a compact traveler and the specs meet your criteria, I highly recommend the Velbon Ultra VOXi L!

PROS:

Very light weight

Small folded size

Sturdy for size

Well built

Several shooting heights and orientations including a reversible center column for very low shooting

Good max load rating considering packed size

Well-designed center column lock

Excellent max height

Great for point-and-shoot, mirco and standard 4/3 cameras as well as many DSLRs

Comes with a decent bag

CONS:

Somewhat expensive for a 'travel' device if that's what you're going to use it for

Legs can be tricky

Rubber on twist locks can become loose with turning or extreme weather (super glue will fix that)

No foam grip/protection on legs to guard against dings and help in extreme temperatures

No "bag hook" on column to secure a small camera bag for better center of gravity and convenience

No head included in the price

I hope to add a review of the Olympus E-PL2 soon. I am waiting on an additional lens and a bit more shooting experiments with it first. If you are interested in that camera, check back soon.

Until next time, be safe and happy shooting!

- R

Apple launches App Store, mostly exciting...

Today Apple launched the much-anticipated App Store that offers users an iTunes-like venue in which to purchase some current and upcoming application titles. The idea is simple and brilliant - put software in a familiar, intuitive  and downloadable arena and users will flock to the water hole. That seems to be happening, so far.


If you use iTunes, then the App Store layout will be more than familiar with Top Paid and Top Free apps running down the right and side and top new titles in a slideshow-like window at the top. There also New and Noteworthy titles, Staff Favorites, etc.

The new Air, and why I'd love one...

Ok, for the two of you out there who are not Apple users - that's a joke, but seriously, if you're not an Apple user, and especially if you're in any type of visually-driven industry, give them a hard look - this is the new MacBook Air. So, let's start with the obvious. Reason No. 1 why I, and you, want one - look at it. That is reason enough for approximately 40% of future owners of this device. For the remaining 60%, lets take a closer look.

Reason No. 2: Instant on. Because the OS is embedded in the Flash based hard drive (see below) the system boots quickly. Closing the lid sends the computer into hibernate mode, as usual, and opening the unit powers it back up instantly. Much like the iPod/iPad. When not in use it goes dark and then when you need it, it's ready. There is no drive to heat up, and therefore, less moving parts and theoretically fewer drive failures and less lost data. Standby time is rated at 30 days in hibernate mode. Which is excellent considering my current Air is only good for a few days if it's not used at all. On the 11" this promotes 5ish hours of battery life and up to 7 hours on the 13" - both are excellent.

Reason No. 3: Flash based storage. This provides extremely fast and silent operation. Think of it as a built in thumb drive, but considerably faster since it's not communicating through a USB 2.0 interface. As of now, storage options are smaller than traditional laptops, but those looking at this device are likely not going to suffer from storage space as this will probably be a secondary unit or something for college or work in which case most information is saved to an external hard drive - or should be. The lower end 11.6" model sports a somewhat scant 64GB hard drive. Hilarious, given that my $4,000 Gateway (yes, after my Mac LC II, I went to the dark side, but have since repented and returned to the light) desktop that I purchased back in the late 90's had a whopping 10GB arena of storage, and now my iPhone has more than triple that. The only reason that 64GB would become problematic is if you do lots of high resolution digital picture taking and have an iTunes vault rivals that of the Library of Congress. So, if you are a media savvy college student, an engineer packing countless Auto CAD designs, an art director who likes to carry the entire portfolio, or filmmaker with the RAW footage of your next Sundance award-wining masterpiece, consider the MacBook Pro line - or at least the 13" with the larger storage options. For the user looking for the pint-sized 11.6" model, I doubt the 64GB flash storage will be a major deterrent, especially considering that you can double it for $200.

Reason No. 4: Screens and Sizes and everything else. For the first time ever, Apple is offering the Air in both a 13.3" and 11.6" model. This is a superb, and might I say, belated idea. So many users, even Apple lovers, have been looking for something that has Apple reliability, usability, functionality and performance in something along the netbook lines. With netbooks offering screens from 7-10" and units running around 2 lbs, it's easy to see why people on the move would be interested in such a device. Where the netbook line has been crippled, in my opinion, is in the following key areas: screen resolution and size, battery life, durability and feature set. The screens on some, but certainly not all of the models, are simply too small for practical use. Sure, a 7" screen is nice to carry around, but try typing a term paper on it or reading text on the web for long periods of time or even trying to organize and, dare I say, manipulate your digital images. It becomes rather obvious that this screen size sounds good, but for people that actually intend on using their laptop for productivity, it sucks! Then there is the resolution issue. Well, I'll keep it short. With the tolerable exception of a few Lenovos or some HPs and Dells, the resolution on most units leaves much to be desired, color is often poor and the lighting is dim. Next we have battery life. Some units have managed to pull off five hours or so, but usually that's with an extended life battery that is an add-on option. Some of these extended life batteries, especially offerings from Acer and Lenovo are also extended space and add as much as 2 inches to the back of the unit to gain that extra juice. Durability is usually terrible in the PC world overall. The good thing is that the plastic is so tightly restricted due to size that they seem to have better build quality at first glance than their bigger brothers. Companies started trying to disguise the fact that their gear is made out of loosely screwed-together plastic by decorating that plastic with pretty colors and various designs. The offerings from several netbook manufactures look like a Sherwin Williams exploded during the coloring process. This marketing tactic was really spearheaded by Dell. They offer more shell options than hardware configurations which is interesting for a company that is known for it's hardware mix-and-match availability. This is cool in one degree because it offers some variety in an overly crowded and boring market. On the other hand there's still a good chance that you'll run in to someone that has the same "personalized" laptop running the same outdated software. And that brings us to feature set. Lets sort out the first group of plagued netbooks right off the bat - the half-witted Linux-based OS as in the Acer Aspire One. This is a cool, easy to use interface. The problem is, it doesn't do anything. Nothing that you're used to doing on a computer can really be done on such a device. So, enter the Windows based models. Say what you want about Microsoft, I certainly will, but they are a lightyear ahead of the Linux units. They at least feel like a computer and you can install other normal software on them as long as your hardware supports it. So, you just need to figure out if you want Windows XP, XP Home, XP Business, 7 or one of the other 641 variations of the same inadequate OS and let 'er rip! Once you've spent $600-100o on your micro machine, then all you have to do is buy a competent photo manager/editor; a video production kit, if that's your thing; download iTunes because you know you have an iPod (Zune, really?) and then pick up Office - the most practical and, dare I say, quality product in the Microsoft lineup. Or you could go with an Air that has the highest resolution, instant-on super bright LED display on the planet. It also happens to be in the same weight category; is made of super durable aluminum; has a full, single-option OS that is so easy to use you'll be confused as to why you don't get a headache searching for your applications; has all of the best digital productivity software on the market INCLUDED (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Garageband, iWeb and iDVD); has excellent battery life and is backed by the best customer service in the industry. The only serious thing missing is an Office software suite. I love iWork. It's faster and more practical than Microsoft Office and is about half the price. It includes Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel) and Keynote (Powerpoint) and pretty soon it looks like these will be available independently through Apple's upcoming Mac App store which is sure to revolutionize the way we all get and use our desktop applications.

Reason No. 5: New Additions. I have the older generation of the Air and I love it, but these new improvements really push the device over the top and make it a worthy upgrade. Some other new features that the newer generation(s) sport are the addition of a second USB port, which is a huge plus, and in the 13.3" you get an SD card slot which makes importing photos from most consumer cameras a snap and it provides an alternate storage option if you don't want to use the optional Super Drive, an external USB hard drive or a thumb drive. They've also moved all of the connections to the sides of the device instead of in the bay door on the old model which was kinda cool until you had to use them while trying to work with the laptop on a flat surface. The keyboard remains full size and is, in my opinion, the best portable typing surface on the market. When OSX Lion hits, everything is going to get even better.



I love the new Airs. Bang for buck, they still aren't quite same deal as the impressive entry level MacBook Pro 13", but if you're looking for thin, light and very capable, it's the best thing going. Personally, I'd love to upgrade to the new 13.3" with the 128GB drive and bump it to 4GB of RAM for $100. It's got excellent battery life for something with a 13" screen that is so thin, it's whisper quiet, has decent expansion for a thin-and-light, has the SD slot, instant-on and a superb display. It will run $1,400 for that configuration, but I can run all of my most important applications on it with ease and it's an excellent travel companion. It wont fit on an in-flight tray table quite like the 11.6", but I have and iPhone for that. Or better yet, use an iPad! The funny thing is, I don't really see the two devices (Air and iPad) competing. They both really do different things. At the end of the day, I'd side with any of the Airs because of their versatility over the iPad, but I wouldn't hate owning both.

As a professional photographer and journalist of sorts who is on the go quite often, this is the ideal partner - for me. I have screen real estate and power in my office. When I'm covering events, traveling and writing articles on the move I want light, fast and versatile. I can shoot, upload, sort, select, drop, export and deliver the images along with my articles from one spot without any issues. If I'm doing a longer trip, I'll throw an external drive in my bag for storage. I almost never do hardcore editing in the field and always transfer the files to my main system anyway. The Air running iWork and Lightroom is, in my book, the perfect travel device for shooters on the go because it really gives you everything you need and doesn't lack much of what we want. If it had a Firewire 800 port for faster CF card file uploading, then that would be cool, but I'm a practical guy. I also have the Super Drive which is convenient for loading software and burning discs when necessary. You can certainly get more power for your money in a portable package, but if you want something sexy or are just looking to go as fully capable and as light as possible the Air is simply the only option in my book.

Again, all of this is opinion. Take it as such and enjoy.

- R

BTS Look at the 2010 Faulkner Football Poster Shoot

Here is a behind the scenes look at the development of the 2010 Faulkner University football poster. The end result is shown below and the video beneath that shows the photographic process and the compiling of the final product. I hope to have a video showing my work for the 2010 football media guide cover soon, so stay tuned.

Here is the youtube video showing the behind the scenes work...



Enjoy

- R

Nikon introduces a new flash and a host of lenses

Nikon has had two lens releases since my last gear review post and that's both a good and bad thing. It's bad because that means I'm behind on my posts. But it's good considering that usually such releases are only twice a year at best. So, without further delay, here is a quick look at the new flash and lens releases from Nikon.



Nikon SB-700: Think of this puppy as the SB-900's mini-me. It brings in the focusing power, the improved LED display, better build, better head rotation, over-heating tracking, FX/DX auto tracking, filter identification and more are all incorporated in this new body. The unit is not as powerful, of course, as it's big brother, but that's to be expected. The BIG thing that I feel Nikon really overlooked or just deliberately left out is the PC-sync terminal. For $325-350 it really should feature the PC-sync input. This allows for the addition of wireless receivers to trigger the flashes remotely. You can add such receivers via hot shoe adapters, but that is an extra piece of equipment to have to keep up with. Pocketwizard has released new Mini and Flex units that can be placed on the camera and flash to bring that communication in, but at $200-220 each, that's a step you have to really consider taking.

One new feature that the SB-700 inherits from the SB-900 that the SB-600 does not have is the SU-4 mode. This setting allows the flash to use an optical slave to trigger when it sees another flash fire. This is very handy considering the lake of the sync slot, but it might not be suitable for all shooting circumstances and environments.

Bottom line, if you are in need of a flash unit and can get by without the PC-sync terminal, then this is the most well-rounded unit currently in the Nikon lineup. The SB-600 is not quite as feature laden, but it comes in at more than $100 less. The big brother, the SB-900, has more power and features, but will run you $100 more. Flashes have never been, nor will they ever be, inexpensive and at $330 online, it's a good compromise overall.



Updated AF-S 200mm f/2 VR II N: This a beautiful lens that every wedding, event and sports photographer wants in his/her bag. This is one of the best optics on the planet. It provides superb bokeh, rapid AF, excellent VR control and razor sharp results. This is an update to the previous version. This rendition gets the nano crystal coating (N) and the new VR II system (versus VR). At $6,000 though, you might want to rethink things. The current, and equally excellent copy, retails online for $4,800 for the USA copy and $4,000 for the gray market version. The newer one likely has somewhat noticeably better results, but depending you your line of work, they might not be a few thousands dollars better.



NEW Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4  N: Finally after years of waiting Nikon decided to bring AF-S to one of the best lenses in its lineup. The current AF 85mm f/1.4 is superb, but it focuses slow even on the best bodies and does so with a bit of a grunt. The new nano crystal coating should help with overall image quality and the AF-S feature will allow it to be used in even more environments - like sports. The current AF version runs about $1,250 online and the new N coating and AF-S will bump the price $450 to $1,700. If you don't have this optic and you shoot portraits, weddings, etc. you should definitely consider it. It is my favorite Nikon lens of all time. For me, the ability to use it in the athletic world as well as the portrait world does at the moment justify the extra funds. But this is my take on things. I'm considering selling my AF for the AF-S, but we'll see.



New Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.4 N: Another huge finally.Why? Because there are a handful of 35mm options from Nikon, but none that quite hit the sweet spot. The current 35mm f/1.4 was non-af, making it virtually useless by today's standards. The AF 35mm f/2 was slow and load and despite a lot of great reviews was one of the worst lenses I ever used. I wound up sending mine back to B&H. The newer 35mm is the AF-S f/1.8, but it came in the DX flavor, rendering it pointless for FX sensors. For the money the 1.8 is an excellent optic and should be on every DX Nikon out there, but full frame shooters were stuck with no AF or slow AF with crapy results. Now we have something to consider. But consider it we must. At $1,800 it's the same as the 14-24mm f/2.8 N, a hefty amount more than the 50mm f/1.4 N (of course it's noticeably wider) which rings it at around $475 and is more expensive than the 24-70mm f/2.8 N. These optics are not all in the same category, but depending on what you need, you can see the overall cost. The Canon equivalent is only $1350, but it's a bit older. I'd love to have this lens, but only the 24mm f/1.4 at $2,200 scares me more for versatility for the price.



NEW Nikon AF-S 24-120mm f/4 N VR: Another lens that finally brings competition to the Canon equivalent. This lens offers a relatively wide to moderate telephoto option with a respectable constant aperture of f/4. The VR feature will help control vibration and the fact that it can be used on an FX camera is a big plus and the N coating will improve image results. However, if you can handle an f/3.5-5.6 variation the current version is a lot less expensive at $570 online. The new one rings in at $1,300, but should provide far better results. The reviews that I read on the current version were not so hot, but for $1,300, the older one at sub $600 might be a better option. This one might be more of a shelf-sitter than other new releases.



NEW Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR: This, to me, is a far more exciting introduction than the 24-120. Why? It's faster on the wide end - and is practically as wide - 100mm longer on the long end - and only a stop slower - has VR, is FX ready and is nearly $300 less than the 24-120! This is considered the 18-200mm lens for FX users. Nikon's popular 18-200mm has been an awesome "do all" lens for DX users, but FX bodies have had no such friend...until now. The 28-300 is a very good general "do all" focal range and the variable aperture is more than sufficient for most situations. It has a zoom lock switch so it does not creep open when held downward and is an all round nice little package. At $1,050 it's not for everyone, but considering that it could quite possibly be the only lens necessary for travel and adventure photographers, it's a steal in my book.

If I were going to be doing an international trip, entering a variety of shooting situations, packing an FX body and a few flashes, I would have to strongly consider weather I needed all the extra gear I would normally haul along. My current widest lens is 24mm and my longest without telephoto converter is 200mm. This trumps that and it's ONE lens. If I decided that I really would not need, or could, without penalty, forego apertures of 2.8 or faster, I would take ONLY this lens. If I had to pack something else, it would be my ultra light, inexpensive and fast 50 f/1.8. And I would ONLY use it for depth of field work and extreme low light shooting. My perfect - low weight, low cost travel/mission work/adventure/gone for the day/do it all setup for FX would be: D700 body, SB-800/900, 50 1.8, 28-300, a small transmitter and receiver - DONE. I love my MB-D10 grip and battery, but if I pretty much know I'm not going to be shooting a ton of action, I'd leave it (for pack space and weight) at home. If I had extra room, I'd toss in a clamp and another flash. When you own heavy, fast, expensive glass, you get used to the versatility and results, but many times, that much gear is simply not practical. When I went to Ukraine a few years ago to work with orphans, I decided that my point and shoot option from my previous visit was far too limiting considering that photography is my job and hobby. So, I took my backup body - then a D40 - a 55-200 VR lens, three Nikon flashes, two small light stands, a few collapsible umbrellas and a transmitter and my receivers. I was able to shoot a variety of things and only had the one lens! I set up some small "portrait" shoots outside with the lighting gear and the results were pretty good considering all of my limitations.

Today, I might consider the new Coolpix P7000 for it's quality, size and weight, but for double that price, I could get this excellent lens to pair with my D700.

I'm considering adding this to my kit for future travel use. I think it's a great solution.



NEW Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR DX: This will apply to cropped DX sensors only and is a new "kit type" alternative to the popular 55-200mm VR. When most people pick up a kit purchase it usually features the 18-55mm and if it has a second lens, it's the 55-200mm VR. They are both great lenses for general shooting and the new 55-300mm offering simply sweetens the deal further. The new 55-300 offers the same aperture values as the 55-200, but with 100mm more focal length potential. The lens is also a nice alternative to the excellent 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR. At $80 less than the 70-300 it's wider on the back end and definitely worth a look. At $170ish more than the 55-200 it's a bit of a leap, but it offers more focal length in a very similar package size. The 70-300 still has the advantage of working on FX bodies. Overall I think it's a great new choice for the D300s model and down.

Again, all of these points are my own personal ones and in no way reflect what each unique shooter/buyer will think, want or get. I simply post my ideas to help in your decision to expand or replace your gear.

- R