Tokina Announces 11-16 f2.8 II with Built-In Motor For Nikon

Tokina's 11-16 f2.8 II lens, due out later this year.

Tokina has just announced (you'll need to scroll down a little) that it will be launching a 'II' version of its highly-praised 11-16 f2.8 model, which is the only lens in the world that provides such a fast aperture with an extreme wide-angle perspective. Generally speaking, most ultrawide zooms start around f4 on the wide end. With its f2.8 maximum aperture and extremely wide field of view, some truly stunning low-light pictures can be shot without flash, provided one isn't afraid of cranking the ISOs up into the four digit mark.

If you want to see just what a f2.8 zoom can do under low-light when partnered with a modern digital camera, go to my Tokina 28-70 f2.8 review and scroll to the bottom.

For owners of low-end Nikon dSLRs, this is great news as this lens has a built-in motor, which will allow for AF on all current Nikons. The current lens employed the old-fashioned slotted screw drive, which will only allow AF on cameras with a built-in focus motor (D7000 and up). The lens also features what Tokina claims are improved optical coatings and a new AF mechanism, designed to boost AF speed.

As for pricing and availability, the lens should start hitting stores in April for the Nikon mount version and August for Canon. Price? Well, that's set at 94,500 Yen, which translates to about $1,200. Scared yet? Don't be, MSRPs are often greatly inflated from actual street prices.

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

'Solar Hurricane' Blasting Earth Right Now!

Astronauts could be in for a real treat these coming days!

 

Here we go again, but this time, it's the big one: another CME hit Earth thus morning, some forecasters are expecting a one to two day solar storm. Needless to say, be alert for Northern Lights if your sky is looking to be clear tonight. Read all about it!

 Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

Nikon 85 f1.8G vs. 85 f1.8D, Solar Storm Update

Nikon's new 85 f1.8G replaces the old '85 f1.8D.

Two new things this Sunday:


Thing 1: I just did a write-up on the new Nikon 85 f1.8G vs. the old 85 f1.8D lenses. Be sure to check it out.


Thing 2: The CME that was predicted to collide with Earth's upper atmosphere yesterday evening wound up traveling more slowly than expected and actually hit early this morning. Result: the folks at spaceweather.com are now forecasting tonight to be the night to look for aurora.


Best wishes for clear skies!

Humble requests:


If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

What Are the Northern Lights?

The Northern LIghts: enchanting yet mysterious.

The Northern Lights: virtually everyone has heard of them and probably almost everyone who has seen pictures and/or video has been enchanted by them, but very people know what they are. So, what exactly are the Northern Lights, also known as aurora?

The aurora are caused by an interaction of energized particles from the Sun interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. When the Sun is active, it is more likely to emit a burst of charged atoms into space in a n event called a coronal mass ejection (CME). In technical terms, CMEs differ from the solar wind in that the CMEs are stronger. Think of it this way, if the solar wind is a breeze, a CME is a wind storm. Once launched into space, it will take between 2 and 3 days for the particles from the Sun to reach Earth.

Upon hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, the charged particles are funneled toward the polar regions thanks to the Earth's magnetic field, where they ten interact with atoms high in the Earth's atmosphere. When charged ions from the Sun hit atoms, they give off a distinct glow that varies by atom and also altitude.

As for colors, here are what they mean:
Deep red: caused by high-altitude (175+ miles up) oxygen
Green/greenish yellow: lower altitude oxygen
Pale red/pink: low nitrogen
Blue/purple: high-altitude hydrogen and helium


The most common color is a greenish shade, with ruby red aurora being the most rare.. Aurora can be as low as 60 miles and as high as 350.

When it comes to form, the aurora can take on many guises, which can resemble silk curtains, a cricking whip, or an amorphous glob. As for why the aurora look the way to do, it all has to do with how they hit the lines of Earth's magnetic field. The closer to a line, the more curtain/whip-like they will be.

When it comes to seeing aurora, for reasons that are still not completely understood, the best seasons to watch are the spring and fall, though they can occur at any time of the year because their origin lies with the Sun. As for frequency, aurora re more commonly seem when the Sun is at or near maximum in its 11-year cycle. For the record, the next solar maximum is forecast for 2013/14.

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

Incoming CME Could Produce Solar Storm Tomorrow

The CME that is heading for Earth right now.


Yesterday, the Sun blasted a coronal mass ejection (CME) straight in Earth's direction. According to the experts on Spaceweather.com, the CME is projected to hit Earth sometime tomorrow evening for people living in the Eastern United States. Needless to say, one should be alert for aurora tomorrow night, and this does not apply just to high-latitude skywatchers, either.

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

Examiner for Week of 1/9

Another week over, another Examiner roundup arrived. NOTE: this was a very news-heavy week (CES releases for photography, Phobos-Grunt for astro), which means that a lot of the same stories were covered by both columns, which is why i'm not posing what are links to essentially the same material twice.



Space News
Amateur video of Phobos-Grunt
iPad survives fall from space
Will Doomsday Clock move?
1 minute closer to Doomsday
Russia blames America for space failures?



National Photography
Nikon D4 vs. Canon 1Dx
What is a XQD memory card?
Fuji announces X-Pro1
Canon announces G1X
G1X vs. G12
Fuji: X-Pro1 just the beginning
Android-powered Polaroid announced



Cleveland Photography
Ditto National




Cleveland Astronomy
Jan. featured sight: seeing double

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.

Cell Phone Cameras vs. Digital Point and Shoots: Which is Better?

Camera vs. Phone: which one wins? Read on to find out!

As technology gets better, a legitimate debate has arisen in photographic circles: are cell phone cameras killing the entry-level point and shoot digital models that have been a staple of the photographic world for over a decade. Yes, there is undeniable proof that cell phone cameras are getting ever better by the year and that their popularity is increasing, but do they pose a legitimate chance at killing the pocket P&S?

NEWS: Polaroid announces phone-like, Android-powered camera

In a recent article published by the BBC that focuses on American camera sales, it has been reported that, in the first 11 months of 2011, basic point and shoot camera sales fell by about 17% while entry-level pocket camcorder sales took a 13% plunge. The culprit (according to an online survey): smart phones, whose cameras are ever-increasing in their capabilities, possibly to the point of equaling dedicated, entry-level photo gear. So, do phones pose a legitimate threat to cameras?

Hardly, if you ask me.

There are several things that make true cameras stand out: better resolution, better AF, more versatile optics (think zoom), external buttons that allow for quick changes to settings, and the laundry list of customizable options that do not appear on any cell phone. In addition, point and shoot cameras can be made to be water, freeze, and crush-proof, too.

For anyone who is serious about taking pictures, any smart phone's user interface is its biggest drawback. On a cell phone, you are forced to dive into menus and scroll around for every single setting change you want to make. On a camera, the basic setting controls are at your fingertips in the form of buttons, no menu diving required. With this vital attribute, someone with a real camera can be snapping a once in a lifetime photo while the smart phone user is scrolling through menus, trying to find the setting he/she wants to change.

However, the numbers don't lie, do they?

One important consideration in the survey was the nature of the question, which found that phones were more likely to be used in “fun, casual, or spontaneous” settings. Well, duh, of course they are! Question: how often do you have a cell phone on you? A camera? Chances are, unless you're serious about taking photos, you're not like me and don't carry a pocket P&S at all times, too. For this reason alone, cell phones are going to be taking more spontaneous snaps than true cameras.

Another key finding in the survey: dSLR sales are getting stronger, not weaker, and that for planned events where picture taking would be on the agenda, dedicated cameras and camcorders were still the favored medium for imaging. Again, duh. After all, who shoots their daughter's wedding with an iPhone (as cool as it may be)?

In the end, camera phones are creatures of opportunity as many more people regularly carry a phone at all times than a camera, which means more on the fly pictures will come by way of phones. Also, phones can have great cameras but lousy user interfaces, which means that, when it comes to serious shooting, real cameras are still the way to go. Unless you're only wanting the bare bones of photographic applications (namely aim and shoot) and are willing to settle for “good enough,” don't ditch your camera anytime soon.

Humble requests:

If you found this informative (or at least entertaining), help me pay my bills and check out my Examiner pages for space news, cleveland photography, national photography, and astronomy for more great stuff.

If you think this was cool, why not tell a friend?

For something even better, follow this blog.