What color is your background? APO lenses

Do APO (apochromatic) lenses make a difference? (An apochromatic lens focuses all colors equally, avoiding axial and lateral chromatic aberrations eg color fringing). See for yourself in my update to the Coastal Optics 60/4 UV-VIS-IR APO macro review. Expect more on this topic in the future using additional lenses.

Even my cherished Zeiss ZF 100/2 Makro-Planar shows the ugly magenta/green discoloration common to non-APO lenses. Shown below is an actual pixels crop. Of course, in most images the background blurs in such a manner as to mask the problem, but it is an unnatural effect with images containing high-contrast details, one the eye picks up on.

Magenta/green color fringing @ f/2
(Nikon D3 + Zeiss ZF 100/2 Makro-Planar)

In the real world our eyes don’t see these “bad trip” color fringes, so why is it acceptable in a lens? Alas, cost intervenes—the Zeiss 100/2 Makro-Planar would likely sell at 2-3X the price were it apochromatic, because achieving apochromatic performance not only requires exotic glasses (eg fluorite), but also extremely high precision during lens coating and assembly (see also my blog entries on the Leica 90/2 APO).

It is not by accident that the Leica 90/2 APO Summicron-R ASPH, 180/2.8 APO Elmarit-R and 280/4 APO lenses are so expensive—achieving APO performance is very difficult; Nikon and Canon cannot claim a single APO lens between them (though many of their lenses are very well corrected for color).

Nikon D3 and Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III settings files

A nice feature of the latest Canon and Nikon DSLRs is the feature of saving and loading camera settings to/from the flash card; if you just bought a new camera and/or you switch between camera bodies this can be very helpful.

A reader who just bought a Nikon D3 requested that I post the settings file I use for the Nikon D3. I’ve done so for the D3 and also for the Canon EOS 1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III in Camera Settings.

Nikon D3 color rendition

My Nikon D3 is back from repair, and I took a few snapshots on the way to a conference today in San Francisco. Having been shooting the 21MP Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III for the past 3 weeks while the D3 was away, I had gotten used to the dullness of the 1DsM3 images (well, not really). Examining the D3 images this evening, I was once again struck by the dramatic difference in the vibrancy in both color and tone. Viewing D3 images is like viewing the original, looking at the 1DsM3 images is like looking at a copy. At least that’s the way it feels to me, though I admit to the idea that different raw-file conversion could narrow the gap. But I don’t think it would close it.

Judge for yourself below, keeping in mind that smaller images and JPEG compression don’t aid the comparison. The image has been processed straight from Capture NX (“Standard”, -0.17EV) with no effort at further post-processing. It exemplifies the color and tone I see from the D3.

Nikon D3 + Zeiss ZF 28/2 Distagon @ ~f/8
(click for larger image)

On my to do list: side-by-side comparison to prove what I’m seeing. And please don’t misinterpret my remarks: the EOS 1Ds Mark III is an outstanding camera, with much higher resolution than the Nikon D3—a different “animal”.

Nikon D3 has been repaired

Well, I wasn’t crazy after all, at least not about my Nikon D3. Nikon has replaced the entire focusing assembly on my D3 (according to my local camera store), which called me to tell me it’s ready for pick-up. I pick up the repaired D3 tomorrow. How does this stuff get past quality control? Now I must test the camera, because there is no guarantee they fixed it properly (versus just putting in new parts and praying)—never take such things for granted.

Anyway, it’s not every day that one observes a house cat catching, toying with, and then devouring a gopher—I could use several such devoted cats in my yard! The D3’s focusing problem ruined most of my shots of this series. A tip for any cats reading this: brains are the tastiest part, then work your way down, the feet can be discarded, but the rest is yummy.

Natural consequences

Get rid of that OEM strap

Ever walk around with your heavy DSLR strapped around your neck? After 30 minutes or so, it’s not so fun with the big pro cameras, especially with a big zoom lens—the package can weigh 5 pounds (2+ kilos) or so. Nikon and Canon continue to ship the world’s most uncomfortable camera straps, made of rigid material that offers no “give”, but on the plus side they do offer blatant brand-name advertising to impress your friends. One wonders why every aspect of a product isn’t scrutinized for constant improvement, including the strap.

It’s amazing how much more comfortable the OpTech ProLoop system is; it stays put better, and the neoprene offers enough stretch and “give” to make a real difference in comfort. I can hike all day in Yosemite and stay reasonably comfortable with a Nikon D3 or Canon 1 series body hung around my neck. The OpTech ProLoop costs as little as $17 at amazon.com, and it’s worth every penny. The main loop can also be detached in seconds, a nice plus in windy conditions on a tripod. There are other good alternatives, but this is the strap I’ve standardized on for all my cameras. Why not try one today? Even if you shoot a smaller and lighter DSLR, you’ll not be disappointed.

Recommended camera strap

UV filters—Hoya vs B+W

The spectral transmission graphs discussed on May 2nd require some mental effort which is not really necessary for understanding the issues with UV filters. Let your own eyes be the judge instead, and see the Spectral Transmission page for more thoughts on the Hoya and B+W filters shown below. The the Hoya is not neutral should be readily apparent. That does not make it a “bad” filter, but it is a factor to be aware of if you are seeking to maintain the natural color balance of your lenses, especially the exquisitely color-matched Zeiss ZF line.

Hoya Ultra UV(0) at left, B+W 010 MRC at right

Article delivery

Today’s internet is hobbled by spammers. Personally, I’d like to make it a felony punishable by a year in prison licking envelopes 24X7, with breakfast, lunch and dinner consisting of the real thing, though I’m not entirely cold-hearted—Spam Spread and Spam Hot and Spicy could be allowed too, perhaps on holidays.

Though infrequent, I do sometimes receive indignant emails from buyers of my paid reviews, who unfortunately (for both of us) haven’t checked their “spam” box after paying for an article. Here is one recent email verbatim:

I ordered your Sharpness article 2 days ago thru paypao and have heard nothing back from you even though you say your response is 24 hours. Please tell me how to doenload the artlicle I paid for.

I take delivery of paid reviews very seriously. In this case, a response was sent 2 hours 5 minutes after receipt of the PayPal confirmation. In such cases, I respond (again) with multiple responses through multiple mail servers, hoping the buyer will think of checking the same spam box! (And it’s simply amazing how in most cases no further contact information is provided other than the original problem email address.) In the future, this web site will move to an online “instant access” approach to forestall such headaches.

Depth of field

I’ve added excerpts from previous work on depth of field.

See Depth of Field and Depth of Field—The Shorter Focal Length Advantage.

    
Two articles on depth of field

Spectral transmission graphs

I’ve updated the Spectral Transmission Graphs page with 7 new filters, courtesy of Coastal Optics (I sent them seven of my own personal filters for testing). See also the main review page of the Coastal 60/4 UV-VIS-IR APO macro.

The new spectral transmission charts confirm a nagging annoyance that several years ago caused me to give up Hoya HMC Super UV filters—they attenuate the blue end of the spectrum all the way to 500nm, yielding a non-neutral color balance. These days, my lenses nearly always image the world free of filters, but in dusty or salt-spray environs I do use a UV filter, always a B+W MRC.

Compare the Hoya transmission to the B+W UV 010 MRC; the Hoya rounds off the dark blue end of the spectrum. While this might be an advantage at high altitudes, a completely neutral filter is a better choice for most purposes—who wants neutered blues for sky, water, eyes, etc? Color rendition is frequently ignored when assessing optical quality, but it is one good reason the Zeiss ZF Lenses are so stunning by comparison to most lenses.

Visible light is approximately 390-700 nanometers, with infrared starting at 700nm.

B+W UV 010 — almost perfect transmission in the visible band

Hoya HMC Super UV (0) — blue light is attenuated

By the way, did you ever wonder if “neutral density” filters are actually neutral? When I was researching The Sharpest Image I used a neutral density filter with the Nikon 200mm f/2. I observed that it imparted an odd color cast, which should be clear from the spectral transmission graph, this one for a B+W 3-stop filter:

B+W 103 ND 0.9 3-stop neutral density filter