Hello everyone, for these next series of posts I thought I would just post a few quick thoughts and images on photography gear and techniques I’ve been tinkering with. Some of it is vintage gear that I’ve thrifted, or some odd combination of cameras and lenses that I think would be neat to share with other folks interested in photography. Again, part of my mission is to show the potential of anything that can take a picture and the endless fun and learning that can be had in the world of photography.
Nikon D4 5:4 Crop with 17-55mm f/2.8 DX Lens
In the DSLR (and mirrorless) platform Nikon makes lenses for 2 different sensor sizes, Full Frame and DX crop. Some of these lenses can actually cover the larger frame without too much hard shadow vignette. One of them is the 17-55mm. It was pretty expensive when it came out and I remember selling lots of old gear to get it. These days this lens is a bargain, a “mini 24-70mm 2.8” that is sharp and colorful.
What’s special about the pro Nikon D4 is that it can shoot a 4:5 aspect ratio to the images. Giving one the exact proportions that Instagram has now switched to (instead of 1:1 square). The cropping of the images is not simply a guideline that you can revert/re-frame in post in the raw software, no it’s a hard crop, which also gives you an advantage of slightly smaller files.
For some compositions in the real world the native 2:3 (4×6″ print) aspect ratio of FF sensors might seem a bit too tall. That’s definitely one of the more confounding things about being any visual artist, the myriad of choices in proportions of the canvas, sheet of paper, or social media we create within.
In the D4 OVF when the 4:5 ratio is enabled there will be a slight darkening mask to show how much of the frame will be lost. With a DX crop lens, it will basically trim off the shadow vignette for you, so it even makes a rinky dink 18-55mm kit lens somewhat viable for some situations.
4:5 aspect ratio does feel right for some product shots
Nikon D4 5:4 in Landscape orientation also gives you a closer ratio if you want a further square crop
The Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 was already usable from about 28mm onward on FF, but with the 4:5 aspect ratio it really gives a different spin on a “free” lens I have normally mounted on my D300 for studio shots.
Below: older photos with the 17-55mm on a D600 (also FF but it lacks the 4:5 ratio crop of the D4 and D800)
