The Disappointment of the "New Shiny"
I'll admit that I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that "if only I had a new xxxxx" I could be a better photographer. We all probably do. This week's adventure was using the newly acquired Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 zoom lens on the E-1 to photograph auto racing.
Before I go any further, let me just say this: This lens fills a gap in my coverage and has been much needed for a long time. The price of acquisition was low enough to not be an issue and I consider it a bargain at twice the cost. It has tremendous strengths, as well as a few weeknesses.
In auto racing, the typical problem facing most people is getting close enough to the action. Without being able to get trackside access the need for long lenses is desirable. However, in my case, I was able to get trackside access. This presents a couple of problems. One is being able to adjust focal lengths quickly and being able to handhold the camera.
My lenses I've been using have been the 14-54 DZ as well as a couple of old Zuikos, the 100/2.8 and the 200/4. Both of these old lenses are very good performers wide-open, contrasty and have lovely bokeh. They are also compact and lightweight. This last characteristic is probably the most useful feature.
I found it difficult to hold the Tokina steady. It just seemed a bit awkward to hold and get sharp images with. I know the lens WILL perform fine, the tests prove that, but getting it to perform is a function of how it is used. For the entire weekend I got only a handful of images that I'm truely satisfied with in terms of sharpness. And the bulk of those images were taken between 100 and 200mm. In comparison, the Zuikos yielded vast quantities of sharp images. The picture included with this post is one of the sharp ones. (Taken at 300mm, F5.6, handheld at night--maybe I'm expecting too much?)
On Saturday I mentioned to another photographer how I was struggling with the new lens and that I was tempted to come back on Sunday with my old ones. He discouraged me from doing so because what I most likely was suffering from was just getting used to the new lens. He was probably right and I did leave the old lenses home.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do the next race event. I'm tempted to bring my old lenses along just-in-case, but in the meantime, I probably should go photograph passing cars on the interstate to practice more.
At least the AT-X satisfies the "glass-envy" situation in the media center when the biggest lens I had was smaller than the smallest one they had.
Before I go any further, let me just say this: This lens fills a gap in my coverage and has been much needed for a long time. The price of acquisition was low enough to not be an issue and I consider it a bargain at twice the cost. It has tremendous strengths, as well as a few weeknesses.
In auto racing, the typical problem facing most people is getting close enough to the action. Without being able to get trackside access the need for long lenses is desirable. However, in my case, I was able to get trackside access. This presents a couple of problems. One is being able to adjust focal lengths quickly and being able to handhold the camera.
My lenses I've been using have been the 14-54 DZ as well as a couple of old Zuikos, the 100/2.8 and the 200/4. Both of these old lenses are very good performers wide-open, contrasty and have lovely bokeh. They are also compact and lightweight. This last characteristic is probably the most useful feature.
I found it difficult to hold the Tokina steady. It just seemed a bit awkward to hold and get sharp images with. I know the lens WILL perform fine, the tests prove that, but getting it to perform is a function of how it is used. For the entire weekend I got only a handful of images that I'm truely satisfied with in terms of sharpness. And the bulk of those images were taken between 100 and 200mm. In comparison, the Zuikos yielded vast quantities of sharp images. The picture included with this post is one of the sharp ones. (Taken at 300mm, F5.6, handheld at night--maybe I'm expecting too much?)
On Saturday I mentioned to another photographer how I was struggling with the new lens and that I was tempted to come back on Sunday with my old ones. He discouraged me from doing so because what I most likely was suffering from was just getting used to the new lens. He was probably right and I did leave the old lenses home.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do the next race event. I'm tempted to bring my old lenses along just-in-case, but in the meantime, I probably should go photograph passing cars on the interstate to practice more.
At least the AT-X satisfies the "glass-envy" situation in the media center when the biggest lens I had was smaller than the smallest one they had.
No comments:
Post a Comment