Nature and outdoor photographers will tell you that you can never have too long of a lens – the more millimeters, the better! I’m one of those photographers.
For me a single lens that has wide angle settings for inclusive scenes and can zoom out to capture distant subjects is preferable to carrying multiple lenses. The lens that attracted my attention was an 18mm to 300mm zoom. However I was only able to find one made for APS-C sensor cameras.
My main camera has a large full-frame sensor with a resolution of 9504 x 6336 pixels. Luckily it can accept APS-C lenses although the sensor resolution is reduced to 6240 x 4160 pixels.
Here’s a small gallery comparing the relative image sizes when using the APS-C lens and full-frame lens. While these samples are not subjects from the outdoors I hope that they illustrate the concept of mm reach.
Below are side by side sample photos taken at various lens setting. The photos on the left were all taken with the Tamron APS-C lens. The photos on the right were taken with the Sony full frame lens.
Keep in mind that although the subject size is smaller on the right, there are more pixels available if you crop the image in post processing.
For me, the bonus in using the Tamron lens is the addition of reach up to 300mm which gives me the ability to capture more distant subjects from a single lens.
I just returned from a recent trip with my full frame Sony camera and the Tamron lens. The two photos below were taken from a distance and the extra mm’s gave me a more detailed images of the two birds.
My back was grateful too since I was weighted down with only a single lens instead of two lenses that could offer me the same range.
As a bonus I can use the new Tamron lens with my older and smaller APS-C size Sony A6000 camera.
Written by:
Arnie Lee
Nature never ceases to amaze me.
Death Valley National Park is the driest, hottest place in North America. Although its climate isn’t very hospitable, wildflowers do appear each Spring. However this past October, a series of rainstorms set in motion the favorable conditions for a literal explosion of colorful wildflowers that blanketed the normally harsh landscape of the park.
This phenomenon happens seldom, perhaps once in every 10 or so years and arrived in mid-February. When I visited Death Valley in early March, I was fortunate enough to see many fields still shimmering in the SuperBloom.
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I’ve visited Death Valley more than a dozen times previously, but I’ve never seen as many visitors taking in the colorful wildflowers as I saw in March.
Click here to see a description of this “once-in-a-lifetime” visit to Death Valley.
How lucky I was to be able to see this unexpected event.
Written by: Arnie Lee
For those of us who spend their winters in the frigid cold, surrounded by ice and snow for months at a time, a visit to the tropics is a blessing. To me, the mention of the tropics brings warmth and water to mind. And that’s precisely what we were after when we booked a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.
The weather there is predictably warm so it’s easy to pack: a couple of bathing suits, a few pairs of shorts and several shirts. And don’t forget the snorkeling equipment! As an avid picture-taker, my luggage also includes a camera or two so that I can record the events that we may encounter.
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The least enjoyable part of the trip is getting there. It’s an all day affair starting with a short hop from our home in Grand Rapids to Chicago followed by a very long, 9-hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu. Clouds covered most of the flight path to the islands. These sparkling beaches of Oahu (to the right) are about the only sites that we see along the way and this only upon leaving Honolulu on a 45 minute connecting flight to Kona. And owing to a six hour time difference, we arrive in time for dinner. |
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Being in the middle of the Pacific, there’s water galore everywhere. The next morning, with our snorkeling gear in tow we head down to one of the local beaches. |
For this trip, I’ve taken a camera that can be used underwater. I’ve never invested the thousands of dollars needed for a “real” underwater outfit, but this Olympus Tough 6000 will do the trick. |
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The Big Island is surrounded by shallow reefs lined with coral. Many of the popular beaches attract bathers for this exact reason. The coral is teeming with tropical fish and wildlife just a few feet below the water’s surface. Without heavy scuba equipment and expensive deep water photo gear, my small, relatively inexpensive camera makes it possible for me to record these amazing wonders of the ocean. Here’s some of my “catch” made simply by gently kicking my flippers, goggles and snorkel facing downward and camera in hand. |
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So I returned home with a slight tan, a relaxed body and a nice set of photos of some spectacularly colorful fish. Of course these photos aren’t of the same quality that you’d expect from a full-blown underwater outfit. But I’m happy just the same having recorded some of nature’s gorgeous water landscapes with a very affordable camera.
Written by Arnie Lee
