I had the opportunity last evening to try some sample images of the festive lights at Dufferin Islands in Niagara Falls Canada.
While I was able to get a few, usable images I will definitely need to refine my technique with future visits.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
I will absolutely bring a tripod with me on future visits along with my Manfrotto pistol grip.
With distant subjects I’ll likely have to focus manually with my Nikon 1 gear as I found my V2 struggled with auto-focus at times given the very dark conditions.
I used my 10-100 mm f/4.5-5.6 PD zoom and shot hand-held to capture all of the images in the article.
After spending quite a bit of time with the 1 Nikon 10-100 mm f/4-5.6 VR zoom lens I have become a convert and have ordered a copy.
Even though my PD version of the 10-100 mm is a bit sharper and the VR is slightly better I really like the small size and light weight of the 1 Nikon 10-100 mm f/4-5.6 lens.
I also found the shorter minimum focusing distance to be extremely handy with the non-PD version.
Niagara Falls is all decked out this time of year with festive lights and the falls themselves are also lit up during the Winter Festival of Lights. You can follow the link to see the complete schedule of fireworks events.
If I am successful getting back to the falls and Dufferin Islands to shoot some additional images I’ll post a follow-up article.
Nikon 1 V2 + 1 Nikon 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 PD @ 10mm, efov 27mm, f/5.6, 1/100, ISO-4500My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to make a modest $10 donation through PayPal to support my work it would be most appreciated. You can use the Donate button below. Larger donations can be made to tom@tomstirr.com through PayPal.
Article and all images Copyright Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication of any kind, or adaptation is allowed without written consent.
Hi Tom,
You seem to be enjoying the 10-100VR ! I noticed in a later article that you have decided to purchase one for your business. It is a great lens – reminds me of the old 18-200VR I used to leave on my D90 (same EFL). Like that, it always delivers reasonable quality with tremendous convenience – and half the weight and size!
I just hope your work is filtering through to Nikon head Office so they begin to understand just how to correctly market the N1 system. Thanks for being our unelected ‘leader’ Tom and have a happy Christmas!
Hi KSPGM,
Thank you for your most generous comment, it is greatly appreciated!
When I obtained a review sample of the 1 Nikon 10-100mm f/4-5.6 from Nikon Canada I really didn’t know what to expect and initially I didn’t think it would make sense for me to add it to our business gear. After shooting several thousand test images with it I certainly gained a much better appreciation for its capabilities, and differences with the 10-100 PD zoom that we already own. As you mention the focal length is very convenient and the size/weight of the lens makes it a great, portable solution. While it is a tad softer than the 10-100mm PD zoom, and its VR isn’t quite as good, I really enjoyed using it. With a bit of work in post I found the images captured with the 10-100mm f/4-5.6 were perfectly usable for my purposes. The final, deciding factor for us purchasing a copy was the comparatively short minimum focusing distance of the non-PD lens. This is something often overlooked and seldom mentioned but it gives the 10-100mm f/4-5.6 some unique functionality which will be very handy for our client video business.
I am in regular contact with the folks at Nikon Canada and they have been supportive of my work, featuring it on the Nikon Canada Facebook site at least a half dozen times to date.
Tom
Tom,
As always, the photography and helpful explanations in this article were wonderful. Like many of the others, my favorite image was the last one of Noah’s ark and the animals parading down the plank :)) Outstanding.
Great work, and though you say there’s room for lots of improvement, I think it was all very well done…
Have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
Terry
Hi Terry,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article and the images – thanks for the supportive comment! While I did get a range of images that I could use for the article, I did miss a lot of other opportunities because I did not have a tripod with me and my V2 struggled to auto-focus under dark conditions. There were a number of scenes that I simply was unable to capture hand-held. I am hoping for a return visit, tripod in hand, to see if I can use my V2 differently (manual focusing for example) and get the images I missed during my first visit. I must admit that I really love pushing my Nikon 1 gear to see what it is capable of doing and discovering ways of working around initial challenges.
Best of the season to you and those you love Terry!
Tom
Hi Thomas,
Always a pleasure to see your work and I will say again how much I appreciate your honest approach, calling out challenges and enjoying successes.
I’ve just finished an eval on the OM-D E-M5 Mark II and sending it back to Olympus was a sad event. Article will be posted later today on thephotovideoguy.ca if you are so inclined.
Nice work across the board, I too like the ark, particularly with the insight into the challenges of making it.
Cheers buddy,
Ross
Hi Ross,
Always great to hear from you – thanks for the kind words! I went on your site but the OM-D E-M5 review was not up yet. I’ll be sure to have a look at it. I take it from your comment that you quite liked the camera!
Tom
As usual I love your pictures. The one I appreciated most was Noah’s Ark with the lights reflected in the water. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the positive comment Kathleen – most appreciated! I particularly value your comment about the Noah’s Ark image as I had to hike a bit from Dufferin Islands and shoot through a chain-link fence to get that image.
Tom
Awesome shots Tom, and under very hard conditions! I love the animal themes too. Great stuff…
Mike
Thanks Mike – I appreciate the positive comment! I will need to adjust my technique as noted in the article to see if I can get some of the more distant images.
Tom
Fortunately the picture problem appears to only be with this article (I checked an earlier article and it worked properly). Nice pictures, and it appears to be a good location for shooting. A bit of a drive from Florida, however.
WEJ
Hi William,
WordPress updated to a new version recently and since that happened the functionality of our photo plug-in hasn’t been operating properly. We’re still trying to figure out how to get it to work like the other articles. Glad you liked the images!
Tom
Mr. Stirr,
Thank you for some wonderful Christmas lights. I always look forward to your adventures. Your insights on the Nikon 1 system are always extremely educational.
I am also looking forward to trying my luck at capturing some of the season’s wonders as I have just moved away from my Nikon DSLR (D7100) to a mirrorless system (OMD EM1).
I find that the smaller M43 system gives me the kind of freedom that I also get with my V2.
To me the M43 and the V2 systems are like having 2 children, you love them both the same even though they are quite different.
Hi Bob,
I’m glad you enjoyed the images – thanks for the positive comment! Something is a bit screwed up with my blog as these images will not open up in a larger size. We’re still trying to figure out what happened. The pics do look better in a larger size.
I’m hearing of more and more folks moving away from DSLR’s these days – many like you have gone to Olympus and seem to really like the camera and lenses.
Tom