In the Field

Is It Worth It? Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. April 1, 2007.

I find squirrels absolutely fascinating and at one time considered doing a PhD on squirrel behaviour. They're aggressive, feisty and behaviourally diverse animals and entertaining to watch for hours on end. Plus, they can be great photographic subjects - I use them not only as subjects on their own merit, but also to test various bits of gear. In this case I was experimenting with various flash-setups and balancing flash fill of multiple wireless flash units. This little devil was just in the process of stealing and gulping down a nut from a stump I use as a jay feeder when I snapped this image.

I receive a lot of email that contains the simple question "Is it Worth It?" Fortunately, most of the time the sender is NOT referring to existential issues or anything of the like - it's usually about camera gear and, most commonly, about whether it's worth it to shell out the extra money for "pro" lenses compared to the more economically priced "consumer" lenses. Unfortunately, due to the number of variables involved, answering this question for others is probably more difficult than answering "What is the meaning of life" (it's obvious that the meaning of life is to have time to photograph things - duh!). Anyway...here's a few technical generalities to keep in mind when trying to make the decision (and ones that many shooters seem to forget)...

1. Optical Quality isn't JUST about sharpness. While it's normal to expect that a pro lens costing 10x that of a consumer lens SHOULD be sharper, often the difference at selected apertures isn't THAT huge. But, an optically excellent lens often produces better (more saturated and richer) colour and higher contrast. AND, equally as importantly, those high priced lenses (especially telephotos) usually have much better bokeh (i.e., better quality out-of-focus zones and a smoother transition from in-focus to out-of focus zones). Most pro lenses also tend to have less lens flare when shooting into the sun (this is caused by light reflecting and bouncing back and forth in the lens barrel). Arguably colour and contrast are variables that can be reasonably easily adjusted after the fact (when converting a raw file or in Photoshop), but this adds time to image processing. Even altering/improving the out-of-focus zones can be done after the fact on a computer, but mimicking good bokeh can take a lot of work (and time) and is beyond the capabilities of many photographers.

2. Edge-to-edge sharpness vs. dead centre sharpness. Many consumer lenses are quite sharp (at the right aperture) in the central portions of the image, but often show sharpness fall-off as one moves away from the centre of the image (and this tends to be especially noticeable if one is using "full frame" digital cameras). How important edge-to-edge sharpness is to you is largely dependent on what you photograph (critical in landscape photography, less so in much wildlife shooting, etc).

3. A much wider "Sweet Spot." I've mentioned above a couple of times that "consumer" lenses are often quite sharp at selected or certain apertures. Almost all lenses are designed to produce maximally sharp images at f8. And, at f8 many consumer lenses approach pro lens sharpness. But what you'll almost always find is that as you start moving away from this aperture (especially when opening up the aperture), pro lenses retain much more of their sharpness than do consumer lenses, i.e., they have much wider "sweet spots." This allows users of pro lenses to shoot sharp images at higher shutter speeds AND also to shoot sharp images with beautifully blurred out-of-focus much more easily than users of consumer lenses.

There are other differences between pro and consumer lenses (e.g., autofocus speed, VR/IS performance, build quality, etc.), but MOST people considering a lens purchase are aware of these differences, so I won't discuss them here...

So...is it worth it for YOU to buy pro lenses? You know, I can't answer that question, but I can say this: it's completely worth it for ME. I haven't purchased a consumer lens yet that I've been happy with, and have always ended up selling them. In that regard, I've probably ultimately wasted more money on consumer lenses than on my pro lenses!

Behind the Camera

Is It Worth It? Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. April 1, 2007.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 100.

Nikon D2x with Nikkor 200 mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR lens (300mm EFL) - supported on Gitzo 1348 carbon fibre tripod with Wimberley head. VR off. Two SB-800 flash units used for flash fill - one located on-camera (with Really Right Stuff flash bracket) and second at 90 degrees to squirrel (right side of image).

1/125s @ f5.6; No compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting of camera. Both flash units set to matrix-balanced flash fill; on-camera flash set to -1.3 stops compensation, second set at -1 stop compensation.

At the Computer

Is It Worth It? Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. April 1, 2007.

RAW Conversion to 16-bit TIFF, including first-pass/capture sharpening using Phase One's Capture One Pro.

Further digital corrections on 16-bit TIFF file using Adobe's Photoshop CS4 and Light Craft's LightZone. Photoshop adjustments included selective saturation and de-saturation of colours and selective sharpening for web output. Final tonemapping, balancing and tweaking performed using the Tonemapper/Re-light tool in LightZone.

Conservation

Is It Worth It? Findlay Creek, BC, Canada. April 1, 2007.

Ten percent of the revenue generated by this image will be donated to Wildsight.

Species Status in Canada*: This species is not designated as at risk.

The North American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is a small, rusty coloured squirrel distributed throughout most of Canada and in both the western mountains and Appalachian mountains of the United States. While the Red Squirrel is not considered under any threat as a species, some local populations are declining as the larger and more ecologically aggressive Grey Squirrel expands its range. In Calgary, Alberta, for example, the Grey Squirrel has replaced the Red Squirrel throughout most of the city over the past 30 years or so.

This Red Squirrel was photographed in the Columbia Valley of the East Kootenays. While this species is not currently not considered at risk in the Kootenays, it is vulnerable to habitat loss due to logging activities. Many ecosystems within the Columbia Valley face development pressure, including pressure from logging operations. Wildsight is an effective conservation organization that protects biodiversity and promotes sustainable communities in Canada's Columbia and Rocky Mountains. Support for Wildsight, through donation or becoming a member, will help ensure that they remain effective in their efforts to conserve threatened or endangered species and ecosystems.

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.