Nikon 35mm F1.8 DX lens on FX camera body

I have a friend who has the nikon 35mm F1.8 (DX) lens and we were curious to know how it performs on a full frame(FX) camera, and whether the vignetting will be severe in FX mode. After testing it for awhile, yes, vignetting is indeed quite severe, though if shot at F2.8 and with the camera's in-built vignetting control set to "High", it can be quite acceptable, especially for close focus subjects. If you know the limitations of this lens on FX camera, I believe it can really take great pictures, especially it being a very sharp len. Its sharper I feel, than the 35mm F2(FX) lens due also to the very precise AFS focussing, and also has better corner sharpness. Using it at F1.8 or more than F8, however, creates the dreaded severe vignetting, so if you have full frame, using a FX lens is still more versatile. Here are some image samples from some casual snapshots with that lens, all shot at F2.8 and with Vignetting Control set to High. Pardon the uninspiring pictures, they were taken on a dreary and cloudy day, and were unedited straight out of the camera except for resizing.

Goodbye, My Old Friend, Nikon 50mm F1.4 AFD!

After serving me for a couple of years and producing some of my favourite pictures, I have decided to sell my Nikon 50mm F1.4 AFD to get the newer 50mm F1.4 AFS last week! Initial impressions of the AFS as compared to the AFD were slightly slower focussing(not really a problem for me) but higher accuracy(important especially wide open where DOF is paper thin!) and hence higher hit rates per shot! Optically wise they are very similar, from the initially impression I got, just maybe a little bit sharper and with less chromatic abberations... All in all, its a worthy upgrade if you use the 50mm range a lot like I do. Stay tuned in the future for some image samples. Cheers!

Singapore's Local Dishes

Walking along Arab Street, my friends and I tried out some of our local delightful dishes at the coffee shops along the road side. Yummy "Lontong" and Crispy Cracker "Gado Gado" with Peanut Sauce!

Murtabak

Hungry? How about some tasty Mutton Murtabak at Zam Zam? Yum Yum!

Happy Lunar New Year

Due to the dreadful rainy weather the past few weeks, I did not go to Chinatown for my usual street shoot around this time of the year, which is very close to the Chinese Lunar New Year! The recent barren spell was due to low morale induced by the heavy and continuous rains pelting down on almost the entire island, day in day out. No wonder minor floods were created and so many people are reporting sick at work! I'll update this blog with new pictures as soon as I get my creative juices flowing again. Anyway, I do wish that the Year of the Rabbit will give us reason to cheer this time. Gong Xi Fa Cai! Have a Happy and Prosperous Chinese Lunar New Year!

Front Lit Window Light

While browsing through some of my recent pictures that I have taken, I decided to post another window light shoot, this time the subject would be front lit. The source of light is behind my shoulder and illuminating the subject directly. There was a spot light shining on the wall behind the subject, giving a somewhat "vignetting" effect that was not really planned but which I included when I spotted it in my viewfinder. Of course I did add a little additional vignetting effect on photoshop! Once again, this shot was taken with, what else, my workhorse Nikon 50mm F1.4 AFD lens. Cheers!