Among the camera toys I picked up recently are the components needed to make a really great tripod. The components, from top to bottom, are:

Clamp -- Really Right Stuff PLC-1 Head -- Really Right Stuff BH-55 Column -- Gitzo GS3510S Legs -- Gitzo 3540XLS Quick release plates -- Really Right Stuff (not shown)

(mouseover the items above to highlight them in the image at right)

I'll talk about each of these below.

If you're new to serious photography, as I have been during the last few years, Thom Hogan's writeup on the psychology of tripod purchases is a must [...]

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I'm ostensibly spending the summer here in The States for Anthony's English development, but the real reason is to load up on camera toys. I do get things in Japan, but I prefer to buy some things here because of price, availability, ease, or just mental comfort.

It's been a while since I treated myself to some nice camera toys, so I've developed quite a list of fun toys to procure on this trip.

This post is about the GPS unit I got a few days ago, a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx, as a replacement for my Garmin GPSmap 60CS [...]

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Last November, I posted about the then-new 70-200 zoom I'd just received, and about how it had focus problems.

I actually got two lenses that day; here are some test shots I took with my at-the-time new Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8, after having headed back to the playground with Anthony.

This lens, officially the 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor, has by far become my most-used day-to-day lens, while my 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 collects dust.

When helping Anthony get dressed in the mornings, I mention to him when I notice that the shirt he just put on is inside out. Invariably, he [...]

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During the three-month ordeal of autofocus problems with my Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 zoom, between suspecting a problem and finally having it fixed by Nikon, I learned a lot about SLR autofocus -- how it works, and how best to test it.

There are plenty of autofocus test charts available on the web, but all of them were severely deficient in one way or another, so I ended up making my own. Its development progressed over time as I tried different approaches, discarding what didn't work and refining what did. (The chart I used in November shows elements of [...]

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I recently bought three new lenses for my Nikon D200. In my previous post, I told of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that had such horrible focus problems that I had to return and reorder it. Today I write about the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G IF AF-S VR that I finally received on Saturday.

I should mention my mindset before receiving this lens. Other than the short stint with the Sigma 30mm, I've had just one lens since getting the D200 in January, the Nikon 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR. It's quite a bit thicker and longer than a standard SLR 50mm [...]

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