Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Binoculars make great gifts, but navigating the styles, descriptions, specifications and nomenclature can be dizzying. How does an 8x42 compare to a 7x50, and why are some models $999 while others are $99? Here’s a sensible (and short) guide to buying binoculars. 

Just bought a 200mm f/2.8 lens for my Nikon D300s for $99! Incredibly it’s only 3.1 inches long and it’s as sharp as a handful of carpet tacks. It’s used, sure, and it’s manual focus. But hey! It was made by Nikon. It’s a real Nikon lens and it’s just one example of the fantastic bargains that are available to those who know what to look for.

I used to believe that the Auto setting on a camera was something to be avoided the way a tired waitress avoids eye contact when you’re signaling for a coffee refill—she can’t deny that you’re there, but she can ignore the hell out of you. I still feel that way about fully auto exposure, but my maniacally stubborn attitude toward Auto ISO is softening like marshmallow Peeps in a microwave.  

President Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” I get that. It’s a truism that applies to things much lighter than D-Day, too. So as I watch March melt into April, I summon my highly analog paper Day-Timer calendar and begin plotting my summer. In pencil, of course. Here are the seven “must-do” activities I’ve strategized so far. 

There’s something here for everyone this week. We look at a retro tripod from a famous filter maker, a messenger bag from a famous tripod maker, a lens case from my favorite photo backpack maker and a new circular polarizing filter from a not-so-famous accessory maker—plus a knockout protective case for your MacBook. 

Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March throughout most of the US. Despite the nonsensical grumbles about losing an hour of sleep, this annual event is a reason to celebrate. It heralds the first hint of spring—and if that’s not enough—it brings us an extra hour of useable light before dinnertime. It also stands to remind us to clean out the tackle box, as it were, to get things in order for another wonderful summer of photography.

It was portrait shooter’s paradise with two new Sony lenses this week. The 100mm STF is a veritable bokeh machine, while the FE 85mm f/1.8 is a budget-friendly, professional quality portrait lens. Sony invited a small group of editors to a private studio and assured us that we were the first journalists in the world to shoot with this new glass.