Author Topic: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun  (Read 4037 times)

Bjørn Rørslett

  • Fierce Bear of the North
  • Administrator
  • ***
  • Posts: 8252
  • Oslo, Norway
The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« on: June 19, 2015, 13:54:36 »
Shooting into the Sun is a popular passtime amongst nature photographers. We don't fancy the mundane sunsets, oh no, far from that, we show class by being willing to risk our eyesight and the off-chance of a sensor burnout in chasing a nice "sun burst".

The insider's trick is of course to close down the lens to its minimum aperture setting. If your lens goes to f/22, then you use f/22. You might experiment with alternate apertures just to learn how the sun area is being blown out of the ether by employing such heretical approaches, or act like a seasoned pro and push the lens aperture to its minimum f-number directly. A wide lens functions best for these shots, and it never hurts to select a framing that makes the parts of the scene which become dark to have a contrast or outline to the sky. Work with the preview button pressed in, if your camera supports stop-down viewing, or save your eyesight by using LiveView and looking at the display askance.

A typical example follows with this shot of a European Mistletoe (Viscum album) growing on a huge poplar. The mistletoe is at its northern limit here and the species is protected by law, much to the annoyance of people finding their garden trees infested by it as they are not allowed to cut or remove the afflicted hosts.

(Nikon Df, AFS 20 mm f/1.8 Nikkor, some fill-in flash with SB-800)



The strong light contrasts are handled in an exemplary manner by the 20 Nikkor. This is an outstanding performance and probably makes the new lens a winner in the 20 mm Nikkor class.

armando_m

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 3528
  • Guadalajara México
    • http://armando-m.smugmug.com/
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2015, 14:55:35 »
wow , how well defined is the sun burst !

looks like you had fun doing this one

I bet the flash was at or close to full power
Armando Morales
D800, Nikon 1 V1, Fuji X-T3

Bjørn Rørslett

  • Fierce Bear of the North
  • Administrator
  • ***
  • Posts: 8252
  • Oslo, Norway
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2015, 15:08:48 »
Probably running at 1/16 or 1/32 power. I didn't want the flash to overpower the scene.

Frank Fremerey

  • engineering art
  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 12334
  • Bonn, Germany
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2015, 15:48:08 »
I like the picture picturewise. The 20mm is very neat. I did a few test shots on Photokina and its ability to draw and define in the nearfield makes it kind of a wide angle macro. I would have one if I would not already own the 1.4/24mm for that purpose.
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

Me: https://youpic.com/photographer/frankfremerey/

Erik Lund

  • Global Moderator
  • **
  • Posts: 6480
  • Copenhagen
    • ErikLund.com
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2015, 18:31:10 »
I have shot the lens and it is up there in performance with the 1.4 series of AFS lenses - says a lot yes but it really does work well and for instance the 24mm 1.4 AFS is not easy to get sunstars out of...  :o
Erik Lund

Bill Mellen

  • NG Supporter
  • **
  • Posts: 332
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2015, 01:18:31 »
The 1.8 AFS is a definite improvement over my old 20mm f/2.8D.

I only wish I had more time to use it :-)
Everything gets better as we grow younger and thinner

James Fitzgerald

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 38
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2015, 01:36:57 »
A surprisingly nice lens.
Haven't tried into the sun yet, but the example from Bjørn shows it performs very well.

Although I didn't frame this one exactly as I wished, (being close to, and in some very cold water) I was still pleased with the result.


PedroS

  • NG Member
  • *
  • Posts: 412
  • You ARE NikonGear
Re: The new AFS 20 mm f/1.8 goes into the Sun
« Reply #7 on: July 01, 2015, 19:06:49 »
All I can say is I'm very pleased with the characteristics of this new 1.8 family...