Nikon, Tamron, or Rokinon - Best Lens for Astro?
June 26, 2017
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This week I finally had the opportunity to test the Nikon 14-24mm, Tamron 15-30mm, and Rokinon 14mm against one another. Cherry Springs State Park, in Northern PA, provided the perfect testing environment with its incredibly dark sky. I had a couple goals with this test: determine how vignette effects amp glow, test coma, test vignette, and see how...
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Sigma 35mm Art - Astrophotography Performance
June 25, 2017
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The Sigma 35mm Art is renowned for its sharpness and the Sigma Art series lenses are supposed to be some of the best on the market. I purchased this lens back in 2015, hoping it would make an excellent lens for Milky Way photography, with its f/1.4 aperture. On my 2016 roadtrip, I was able to capture some stunning Milky Way photos with the Sigma!...
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ISO Invariance with a Nikon D750
April 22, 2017
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What the heck is ISO Invariance? To put it very simply, an ISO Invariant sensor will allow you to increase the 'Exposure' in post-processing with minimal quality loss. An ISO Variant sensor will show severe image degradation if you try to increase the 'Exposure' in post-processing. Therefore, an ISO Invariant sensor gives you a lot more flexibility...
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Rokinon 14mm vs Nikon 14-24mm
February 19, 2017
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February 2018 Update: Milky Way Tests
First Look - RAW Examples These photos were taken straight out of the camera, as RAW images, and converted to JPEG. No editing has been done. The camera settings stayed identical between shots, I simply swapped lenses.
Nikon
Rokinon
Nikon
Rokinon
Vignette and Color Balance My biggest problem...
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Living on the Road
January 06, 2017
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Before You Go If you don't have one yet, get a Rewards Card. Every major credit card company has multiple cards you can apply for, each with different bonuses. I opted for the Capital One Quicksilver Card, which gives me 1.5% back on all purchases. I used this card for 90% of the purchases I made over the course of my roadtrip. When I finally got b...
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Joshua Tree
November 30, 2016
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13,000 miles. 4 months on the road. 1 final location left, Joshua Tree National Park.
I soon realized that Victorville California was on the way to Joshua Tree, of course I had to stop. If you remember my California Coast blog post, I was spending 16 hours a day stuck in my car watching YouTube videos. I had gotten hooked on the On Cinema series...
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Yosemite
November 27, 2016
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With only 1 week remaining, I made an abrupt turn East. I now needed to drive across California to Yosemite National Park, only 255 miles away!
As I drove up the coastal hills I got one last glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, a little sliver of blue nestled between the mountains. I soon found myself in an arid, flat expanse. This was one of the most...
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The California Coast
November 19, 2016
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The Storm Keeping up the tradition of never checking the weather forecast, I headed to the California Coast. I was planning to drive down Highway 1 for over 600 miles, from Crescent City to Cambria.
When I arrived in Crescent City I heard that a massive storm was headed towards the coast. According to the reports, a remnant of Typhoon Songda was...
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Mount Rainier
November 14, 2016
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With the North Cascades behind me, I began the long drive to Mount Rainier National Park. October was well underway and I knew the snow would not hold off for much longer. As I was driving a little Chevy Malibu, I could not risk getting caught in the mountains during a snowstorm. It would be a death sentence.
I made it to Paradise (aptly named),...
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Dharma Bum
October 09, 2016
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As I was exploring the North Cascades it soon occurred to me that my trip was turning out surprisingly like "The Dharma Bums". In the book, the main character eventually makes his way to the North Cascades to spend a few months living / working in a firetower. The other characters in the book tell him of the jagged high peaks that he will soon see.
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A New Beginning
October 02, 2016
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After spending two weeks in Port Angeles, waiting for my broken phone to be repaired, I received an email that my phone was being shipped to Seattle. I had actually become quite comfortable in Port Angeles, it had almost started to feel like home. I even had a schedule for the first time in months. I spent my last night in town Couchsurfing with my...
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The Coast
September 17, 2016
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I ended up staying in Astoria for a few days, this was easily my favorite city I had visited on the roadtrip. But I knew I had to get moving, so I drove down to Ecola State Park one last time. I wanted to get some cool shots of the coast here, before heading up into Washington.
I think I did pretty well! I even met a girl who worked at a nearby...
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Goonies
September 17, 2016
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As I walked through the rainforest I could hear the waves crashing against the shore less than a mile away. A heavy blanket of fog had fallen over the coast. The forest was completely covered in ferns and moss, even the branches had ferns growing on them! I soon reached Indian Point and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It stretched out to...
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Headed to the Coast
September 17, 2016
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With Glacier National Park behind me, I was excited to finally reach the Pacific Ocean. Of course, things didn't work out quite as planned. When I arrived in Spokane, Washington I realized that Palouse Falls was not too far away. I also learned that Steptoe Butte, which offers an incredible view of seemingly endless farmland, was on the way there....
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Glacier National Park
September 01, 2016
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Arrival After a beautiful morning drive through central Montana, filled with storms and rainbows, I saw the mountains of Glacier National Park on the horizon.
I approached East Glacier by 7:30am, the early morning light slowly fading as dark clouds began to fill the sky. The weather was damp and cold in East Glacier, no warmer than 50 degrees. A...
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© Peter Zelinka