18-55mmG VR-II

aroy · Mar 13, 2014

I got this lense as a bundle with my D3300.

The lense

Retracted

Extended for use. The lense extend to its maximum length at 55mm and 18mm. The lense has minimum length at 35mm.

Today I went out to Connaught Place, at one time the centre of Delhi and premier shopping centre.
Connaught Place (now renamed Rajiv Chowk) is a circular structure of around half a kilometer diameter, with shops at the circumference and a park in the middle. The park has multiple metro lines under it.

Most of the shots were taken at 18mm.

Shops in the inner circle

Lay out of Delhi Metro network

Vendors selling food

Items displayed on footpath

Imitation Jewellery

Vendor arranging imitation jewellery. On the right are hand looms and leather goods.

Battery powered rickshaws. They are slowly augmenting the petrol/cng powered ones, which may be phased out in near future.

Fast food Indian style

The next two shots show how much DR the sensor has. Details of shadows leap out by adjusting the levels in Software

What came out of the camera

A fast fix.Just fiddled with exposure compensation to get the data from shadows. With proper curve the shadows can be boosted, while the highlights are left alone. Will start working on setting up custom curves for high DR shots.

There are many more interesting shots, which I will upload later. My dog is nudging my elbow for his evening walk. Impossible to work when he is in that mood.

TedG954 · Mar 13, 2014

I really enjoy photos from places I'll never get to visit in person. Thanks for sharing your culture.

DraganDL · Mar 13, 2014

Useful lens, interesting places to visit and take photos of. Be it because of your dog's nudging or something else, your photos tend to elevate to the left (on most of them, horizon should be corrected for some 2-2.5 degrees clockwise -this often happens, especially when one is shooting at wide angles).:encouragement:

aroy · Mar 13, 2014

DraganDL said:
Useful lens, interesting places to visit and take photos of. Be it because of your dog's nudging or something else, your photos tend to elevate to the left (on most of them, horizon should be corrected for some 2-2.5 degrees clockwise -this often happens, especially when one is shooting at wide angles).:encouragement:

Yes now that you have pointed it out, I notice it. It may be due to the glasses I wear. I have to juggle a lot to get the full view including the bottom line. Will be more careful in future.

One thing I liked about the Nikon software is how easy it is to straighten the photograph - just run the Horizontal/Vertical tool line along the edge to be aligned and it is straitened, but I guess doing it right in camera is a better method.

aroy · Mar 14, 2014

I am having difficulty uploading more photos. Will do so once the problem is solved

carguy · Mar 14, 2014

Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator

This is what I see.

aroy · Mar 14, 2014

Problem solved. There seems to have been a glitch either with my ISP or the Nikonites server. The files just would not upload. In my quaint effort to debug the situation I inadvertently deleted all the files from my gallery. Now I am editing all posts where I have posted photographs by deleting the earlier insertions (they still show when I am in the edit mode, but do not display in the post)!

So here are more photographs taken yesterday. Please note that I have done minimum manipulation in post - mostly adjusting exposure compensation and D Lighting levels. At a later date when I have the time I will create a custom curve so that the shadows are recovered but the highlights are maintained at the original level.

Gujarati hand worked pieces

Embroidered purses

Wall hanging

Dhol the Indian drum. Here I tried to meter on the seller, but that blew the highlights. Now I will just meter on the highlights and then recover shadows. This works at 100 and 200ISO, but beyond that the DR drops fast.

Cobbler cum Boot Polish man.

Terracotta Masks

Lacquered bangles

More masks - Clay, Brass and Wooden

Pan seller. The shop keeper on the right is having a bad day - no customers!

This is where my wife started haggling and spent half an hour for 4 cushion covers.

From the look I think my wife got better of her.

Florist. I wanted to take shots of the flowers but by then my wife caught up urged me on.

aroy · Mar 14, 2014

Today I went back to see if the D3300 with the 18-55 will print big.

The original shot taken handheld.

Detail of the hoarding on the top right side. When viewed on the screen it was reasonably sharp. I estimate that this photograph will print sharp on A3 (12" x 18") and with some post work go upto A2 (18" x 24"). With a tripod the shot should get sharper and an A2 print of a landscape taken at around f8 at ISO 100 on a tripod will be display quality.

aroy · Mar 15, 2014

Today I visited the Temple complex next to our house. It consists of three temples, and has extensive gardens with flowers in full bloom. Most of the shots are at 18mm.

As I did not want to create one large post I have split it into three.
- External shots of the temple and its surroundings
- Internal shots
- Flowers

The external shots

View from the front across gardens

Front View

View from the rear

Close up of the Left Temple - Shiv Mandir

Close up of the Right Temple - Krishna Mandir

Close up of the Central Temple - Kali Mandir

As you would expect people to behave

aroy · Mar 15, 2014

Continuing with my temple visit.

Internal Shots

Central Temple (Kali Mandir) - side view

Central Temple- front view

Central Temple- front view at 55mm

Left Temple - Shiv Mandir

Right Temple - Krishna Mandir

Right Temple Details

Right Temple - left of the entrance

Details of the above

Internal Bass Relief work

Details of a pillar

Internal Bass Relief work

Internal Bass Relief work

Details of a pillar

aroy · Mar 15, 2014

Continuing my temple visit

Gardens and flowers

Overview of the garden in front of the Temple

On the whole I am satisfied with the 18-55 lense. Here are my observations

. The AF at close distance is a bit off, hence manual focus gives sharper images.
. The MF with this lense using the view finder is quite easy and it is possible to focus precisely on the screen it self. I use the green dot for longer shots only. At close range with the lense wide open the shallow DOF is all that is needed for spot on focussing
. The lense is a bit of a disappointment at the long end - a bit soft. So I will use this lense as a wide angle lense only. The longer end is for emergencies only. At long end I will use my 50mm F1.8 AF, even though with this body it supports MF only.

Lawrence · Mar 15, 2014

Too early to make a decision on using it only at 18mm. I have taken some really good shots with the 18-55mm at all lengths. Try some close ups of insects - I have had some good sharp pictures doing that.
These are a great series and really nice to see a bit of India through your lens. Keep 'em coming please.

aroy · Mar 15, 2014

Lawrence said:
Too early to make a decision on using it only at 18mm. I have taken some really good shots with the 18-55mm at all lengths. Try some close ups of insects - I have had some good sharp pictures doing that.
These are a great series and really nice to see a bit of India through your lens. Keep 'em coming please.

1. I shot quite a few at 55mm, but they all are softer than at 18mm. The previous lens was best at 24, I will try that next. For longer length I have 50mm f1.8 and 105mm F2.8.

I will try to present my shots on various aspects of life in India. I will have yet to decide where to post it. Ideas are welcome.

aroy · Mar 16, 2014

Today we had a party at one of my friend's place. I used the 18-55 extensively to take pictures of flowers. Then I though I should try the 55mm side. So I took a lot of portraits. Here are some examples