Tuesday 19 November 2019

Testing Nikon D750 in Kirillov.


Yeah, my new toy needed a field testing. No need to guess, Kirillov was the best of all obvious options.  

Equipment.

Nikon D750, standard kit lens AF-S Nikkor 24-85 mm 1:3,5-4,5G SWM VR ED (actually, not kit, it was purchased independently) and an old, judging by its serial number, produced in early 1990s, lens Nikkor AIS 28 mm 1:2.

A human factor intervened, of course, – as a result of lack of skills with full-frame cameras I made several mistakes, including errors with white balance settings, nonetheless results are sometimes impressing. In particular – and especially! – my old lens worked its best. Manual mode was the only option available with it and I see no problem with that, since this mode is used extensively, I should even state typically, in 95% of cases. 

Now let me tell you what happened. My first destination was a village situated right opposite of Kirillov, across Siverskoye lake, – alas, I forgot its name. Lazy to check on maps. A road, I should say, was far from being worthy of that name – good for biking, not for driving a city car. Be careful and listen if there is somebody ahead driving the opposite direction. The road is mostly one-way with very few places to diverge. At a village one is advised to park a car somewhere near postboxes – you will see them. Refrain from running a risk of driving any distance further, since there are no turning-points, except for one somewhere in the very end of a street. 

The locals are friendly. Despite all shoreline being in fact private (not legally, since the law stipulates that 10 m strip from the high-water level can’t be owned by private persons), photographers are allowed to take their shots from private mini-beaches. Just ask their owners. 

Now, the first attempt. St. Cyril of Belozersk monastery view from the opposite side of Siverskoye lake. Standard lens, f13, 1/30s, as for filters, I don’t remember now, probably, CPL+gradient grey, by the way, this camera and lenses are disinclined to let quirky stunts with two filters application. Earlier, on a DX-camera, I easily used a couple of filters, typically CPL+gradient grey, and had no problems with white balance, but either this full-frame device or its optics dislike this combination or new 72 mm filters are low quality, but here the combination of two filters inevitably gives out the same white balance mistake. Or I misunderstand something. Look at this one. White balance? Yeah. Well, may it be pastel-like. This trial shot is worth existing. 

Next, the old Nikkor AIS starts its play. F11, 1/50s, CPL+gradient grey, hence the same white balance mistake. But let’s leave it aside. How the old device draws! Look at those outlines! Good old-style drawing!  

The village seemed hospitable, thanks all who gave me their route guidelines. 

Our next destination is situated in the town. That place is popular among artists and photographers, so be ready to find it full of visitors like you. First, the kit lens. F13, 1/50s, CPL+gradient grey, And again the same enrooted error. No, it dislikes filters combination. 

Our good old friend keeps on surprising. It draws well, keeping its trademark reputation. F11, 1/30s, filters totally forgotten, of course. CPL was definitely there, may be, something else.


St. Cyril of Belozersk monastery, southern view. It’s a peninsula across a bay from the monastery, You should drive a bit southwards, when a hospital is seen on your right, take a right turn, again a right turn, then left, pass by the national park management office – cars may be left there, if the peninsula road is overcrowded – and you are here. Quite suitable for city cars. 

It’s a kit lens, f13, 1/60s, 24 mm focal distance. Well done, praiseworthy. Bot there is something more to achieve. 

The same lens, f13. 1/30, 35 mm focal distance. Cheers for myself, but that is not all. 

It’s coming in. Nikkor AIS outperforms all! Look at these drawing and mild colours! Well, it does its duty. Shots aren’t identical: f16, 1/30s and f16, 1/25s. As we see, the lens’ performance is best at f16, but don’t be allured: in a dusk this aperture value easily produces nasty polarization circles. 

Conclusions.

Except for the abovementioned human factor errors, the results were satisfactory. My old Nikkor AIS played its best. Old, but unsurpassable.


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