100mm v 400mm Lens Photography Challenge | with James Popsys
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- A photography challenge with James Popsys and this time one of us has just 100mm and one 400mm. We have an amazing sunrise and some fog so what could go wrong?
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I’m thinking of releasing a course on how to use a tripod. Should be a good seller…
Amazing shots as always mate! Fun to catch up 😃
😂
is that a joke, or do you mean it? (tripod course)
Just be sure that it includes sections on remembering an allen key, and how to avoid getting a wet backside even if you have a seat pad ;-)
aaaaah, I had commented BEFORE seeing the video, knowing how much you love tripods...
I get it now 🙃
🤣 I can’t wait
Clear winner is the audience Nigel. I can’t argue with that location, it’s fantastic and you had the best conditions.
Hope recovery is going well, looking forward to seeing you behind the camera soon Nigel.
Stay safe 🇦🇺
Would really like to see you do one of these where you also take the photograph you would have taken if you got to choose your focal length.
That shot at 12:05 is gorgeous! The rest also, but that one stood out to me! Although James' photos were great too, I think the 100mm would be my preferred focal length here! Conditions like those are what I love the most, I just SO miss some proper hills here in Denmark!
Absolutely love it when you and James get together, stunning shots (even at a fixed focal length) please do more soon as I can’t afford your amazing trips
Amazing shots Nigel. What a morning is that! The fog and light combination is amazing. I believe 100mm would be the best for me, to show a more "global" atmosphere to the scene. I would rather use 400mm for minimalistic pictures like the tree lost in the fog (for that one, James' is definitely more adapted).
It's again a pleasure and lots of fun to see you both again! For me, 100mm is the best focal length. 400mm is maybe a bit too much minimalist.
Love when my two fav youtubers pair up for videos. Great stuff guys.
Beautiful location (and what a sky)! I literally can't imagine living anywhere near such scenery. That's like the far side of the moon for me. Very nice shots, too.
I love it up there, haven't been for sunrise though, so I'll have to change that soon
The shot at 12.22 is amazing, that dark line of the hill at the top is striking.
I've recently started up photography again as a hobby after a hiatus of about 8 years. Using a new 24-105 lens, but also my 100-400mm lens that's about 20 years old. I'm finding I'm loving the clarity and sharpness of the new lens, but much preferring the focal range of the older one. I tend to end up cropping a lot of my shots taken with the 24-105 lens.
Love you guys! Amazing photos, Nigel, and stunning drone work.
I hope you are healing well.
Love it @11.00 when James comments about the shadows of the trees and that quick look at the camera of 'i just said that...'... :-)
Love how you framed your piece to camera at 3:45!
Lovely images of a beautiful morning. Thanks!
I just love the videos you two do together. Such beautiful conditions! Glad you had fun and created some amazing images.
I'm not an early bird so your conversation about the sun climbing and the effect of the fog/mist changes has my armchair response here. As the moisture in the air diffracts the light, its effect changes when the light source changes its angle of incidence (or the subject on which it shines causes this). The question is if using a good UV filter can take some haze out in the far blue and UV, and then the question is too, if the depiction of the refracted light from the moisture in the air can be influenced/managed with a polarization filter.
There is another aspect still and that's in the 2-base log character of exposure and camera sensitivity (density in film and on paper would follow 10-base log i*t - intensity * time).
This log base means that to expose to the right (in cases where the dynamic range of the subject is narrower than the camera's) causes gradation compression, when exposing to the left will open gradation up. You can recover some seeming gradation-loss in Photoshop by converting your image to 32bits, but that does not create what was not implied in the raw data (try it with a couple images and you may be astonished what becomes visible of that gradation improvement even on an 8-bits-per-channel monitor).
But, as you expose more to the left, you may introduce a bit more grain.
So, for diehard early birds loving some misty fog in their pictures it seems there are a few experiments here.
Both are stunning. Love shooting in mist and fog.
Great images from both of you! Thanks!
Gorgeous! And the music goes so well with the misty conditions. Well done.
Great images form both of you!
Cool Video Nigel, quite like your guys challenges. It's super interesting to see what is possible with different focal lengths.
Really like your rolling hills vibe in this one!
I appreciate this comparative approach - the esthetics of both f-lengths are fantastic and do offer substantial difference in mood/emotional draw. My personal preference under such a case example is 1st have a go with my 200-500mm - I tend to gravitate to 'isolating' landscape elements at the upper end of my zoom. From there, I work backwards to shorter and shorter f-lengths. Enjoying your output as a newbie to your channel! And....wishing you well in post-surgery recovery!
Great vid with some wonderful shots. Love it.
Hope your op went well - best wishes for your recovery. We need you out there inspiring us!
I like the composition discussions. Have the two of you ever tried the ‘Chain gang’ challenge, you use the same lens range ( hopefully between 24 and 200mm ) but stay 2 to 4 meters from each other.
Great photos as usual. Hope everything is going well for you after surgery. I really enjoy these challenges
Some lovely shots there Nigel. Particularly liked 12:05 & 12:23 - beautiful pastel green colours which are quite unusual I think. Just missing a pylon 😆
Beautiful shots fog, mist, rain and snow add so much to shots in my opinion. I was recently out in a blizzard shooting a marsh and distant trees shooting through the snow and howling winds. I have limited kit so I try to make what I have tell a story.
Just look at that mist. Think I would prefer the 100mm, I learn such a lot from you two. Just love your discussions & challenges! Love the shot of those two trees with the mist behind.
Fabulous shots - the kind of landscape scenes that really make me miss home! Best wishes and get well soon!
Watched James’s Vlog last week and you both got great images, personally 400mm just nicked it for me with the conditions you had, being able to isolate single trees in the fog worked nicely. I go armed with every lens I have (only 3 covering 18 - 300mm) just in case an opportunity arises but it is interesting to see two different photographers having to stick to one focal length and your lines of thought 👍 hope you are recovering well Nigel 🤞
Excellent video, as always. I hope that you’re currently on the route to recovery from your op.. Take it easy!
Don't forget, you can always zoom in and out with your feet. :-) Loved No 6 in the thumbnails.
12:10 - these comparison shots really hammer home the importance of hanging around in a spot sometimes as conditions change
Always enjoy these collabs. 👍🥂
you hit on why I use my Sigma 18-250 lens for landscapes I can go from zoom to telephoto without changing lenses I like the100 mm better than 400 mm for landscapes as you get more of the vista in the picture
I think you both got amazing results with both lenses. I personally like these more intimate scenes that James shot better. Specialy that lone tree shot with the mountain was great from him. But you captured some amazing shots aswell. I would never do such a challenge. Knowing I could take an epic shot with a different vocal length would kill me 🤣
Great shots both of you, was that up Bamford Edge?
Nigel, a very informative set of videos (watched James' last weekend). You said it best, have a 100-400 zoom (or like me, a 100-500 . . . a Canon shooter). Overall, I enjoy your analysis in the post processing where you work cropping and other aspects. From that point of view, in the 100 vs 400 debate, shoot wider and crop in post is the best option (resolution permitting). I wish Toutube had a tool where we could click a "like" icon at the point in the video we really liked. Sure, I can click the thumbs up, but in a 20 minute video, what part am I really liking? It's easy to pause and capture the time stamp, then put that point in a comment, but that's a lot of work that most folks won't bother with. A small icon (perhaps an image of a bullseye with a green checkmark in the center??) just to the left of the "thumbs up" icon where viewers can click as they watch the video to convey to the video's author what portions in particular were the best. Just a thought, but you might have more influence with the UA-cam developers than rookies like me. Overall, love your work. May your knee heal soon, as I always enjoy your wide ranging expeditions capturing the images of places I only wish I could go to . . .
I do enjoy these challenges. Maybe interestingly enough, my 50-200 is almost always on my G9. I love the 100-400 FF equivalent for just about everything. Thank you for the content! I hope you'll be feeling better soon!
Hi Nigel, another interesting video, made more comical by James trying to resist his aversion to tripods. I really must send James an Allen key for Xmas too! I really can't make my mind up as to exactly which focal length worked best as its a bit like comparing apples with oranges. I do lean towards the 100mm shots in general, but James got a few good ones at 400 despite fighting for focus to begin with. More importantly, I hope the op went well and your recovery is going OK. Just remember its a marathon, not a sprint. All the best.
I would have preferred using the 400mm during the shoot. You can isolate the subject especially with a morning mist. James mentioned below that he is thinking about a course on how to use a tripod. I would recommend that he reconsider and make a video on tripod repair. Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Hope the operation went well and we see you back soon. Take care. James
Lovely morning, great shots!
First picture I think you meant 24-120 f/4 lens right? Great vide, hope your recovery from surgery is going well.
Yet another excellent video full of helpful information. Personaly , preferd 100mm images. Take care.
Hi Nigel Hi James. Cracking video... I think both lenses were good. Got some amazing shots tho my overall favourite was the drone shot at the end. Hope your well Nigel after your op.
Fabulous work both. As always with these things, the best lens is the one you have with you! On balance I think I'd rather have shot at 400mm in that location and in those conditions. Hope your operation has gone well, and wishing you a speedy recovery. All the best, Phil
I really like these challenges with James. I have to agree with you though that something in between 100 and 400mm would be better. It´s also funny that you don´t like man made objects, but for James it´s almost a must 🙂 Hope to see more challenges in the future.
I think I liked the 100mm shots better, but James had some stellar ones that could have only been captured at the 400mm focal length.
Wow some great shots with the 100mm
already watched James channel about this challenge .. just want to wish a success operation to you and get well soon
Beautiful shots on both sides. Love when you and Jes get together. Very fun.
Great video. What a wonderful location to be able to just go out and shoot! I think the main different between the 100 and 400 shots was that the longer focal length gave more "abstract" images, without the context of what is around them. I just got the 24-120 lens for travelling, so I'll likely be giving it quite a workout this month. I assume you are pleased with its performance?
105mm and 135mm are my favorite focal lengths, so I have to give the nod to the 100mm, but either way, I love these match ups. Would love to see you both get out of your tripod zones and do a portrait shootout.
Very nice video. Your "audio" is superb, Nigel, since you introduced the Sennheiser AVX Lavalier Set of a lavalier microphone, transmitter and receiver. With James "in the mix", I wonder how you did the two microphones. I got the impression that you need two sets for stereo but it seemed only one receiver was mounted on the camera.
Is this the Cloud in Cheshire? I grew up in Sandbach (I live in Canada now) but it's really great to see those vistas again. Brought back lots of memories. Thank you.
Yes
Great video! I often wonder whether you ever go out for photos only, not making videos. You must do, right? It feels like it would be so difficult and stressfull to take photos, fly a drone for videos, shoot videos, shoot narration, etc. I wonder if you ever feel like it's harder to get the perfect shots then? Although, just looking at the photos, it certainly doesn't seem to be an issue ahah!
You say it is not far from where you live ? Lucky man!! I wish I had such stunning, and not urbanize place less than 100km from me !! ;-)
Nonetheless, very nice compositions and climatic photos. Well done !!
Keep healthy, and wish you your knee/back recovery progress fast !!
I think the 400mm worked better …. I think the landscape was a bit bland without any standout features for the wider focal lengths, so the tight focal length was able to simplify the composition and make it stronger. At 100mm I imagine it was hard to get a clear subject. That said you did get a couple of very nice images. I loved those images from James that you showed …. The compression and isolation of the trees against the mist was great. It certainly reminds us that a telephoto lens is essential for landscape photography.
Amazing video as always. Can I ask, which mouse do you use on this video? I’m looking for a good editing mouse, not too expensive. Thank you.
Possibly a strong argument for zoom lenses? Great shots from both focal lengths, but guess that location and weather conditions would change the bias towards either focal length. A big bias for me is the weight of both lenses, so Id probably go with the 100mm unless I was absolutly sure that I could get a specific planned photo with the 400mm - preferably very close to the car!! Hope your op. Has gone well and you are 'enjoying' your recuperation and remember not to push too hard with the recovery - maybe small camera with a light macro lens in the garden for minature landscapes!
Wishing you a speedy recovery from the back surgery. Curious where is this location?
I think 100mm would be more versatile. However, I think James got my favorite photos of this challenge at 400mm. Being able to isolate that tree in the mist was key. I'm attracted to shooting with long lenses anyway. I Finally got the 70-300 that I ordered months ago for my new Fuji system. 1.4x teleconverter on the way. Can't wait to go shoot with it.
Amazing shots! What shooting location is this? Would love to visit there
I note that you refer to your lens as a 24-105 f/4. It should be 24-120 f/4 as Nikon do not make a 24-105 lens.
Just wondering if he was secretly shooting with a Canon?? ;-)
I was wondering the same thing, thought perhaps it was the Sigma 24-105 f-mount, or typo.
I spotted it in the "head-on" shot of Nigel where you can clearly see the labelling on the front of the lens as 24-120 :)
Great to see you two working together again. I think I would prefer 100mm. James, why do you not own a 70-400?
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
I think 400 probably was the best choice for this day, location and conditions. I hope your surgery has been successful
Look at James with that giant full frame kit, I miss MFT James.
Hoping everything went well and you are recovering well.
A question Nigel: I noticed a little variation in your exposures from shot to shot. Sometimes it’s at f7.1, sometimes at f8, sometimes at f11 and I wonder why that is. You typically use ISO 64, especially for shots like today’s, where shutter speed doesn’t really matter. I know that you prefer using manual mode so I’m guessing that your are keeping the ISO and shutter speed fixed and tweaking aperture? That’s counter intuitive to me for landscape photography, where I would have given priority to the aperture. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
And a second question while I am at it. On the Z7, would you recommend using the “low”ISO settings vs ISO 64?
Hope the back surgery went well.
It was just that I had changed the aperture and didn’t change back for some reason. Don’t shoot in the lower than native iso as you lose dynamic range (unless you are struggling to get a low enough shutter speed)
Really enjoying these challenges with two of my favorite photographers. It is a great way to demonstrate the trade-offs inherent in the different focal lengths. I give the edge to the 400 for the conditions. As Nigel said, many of the shots at 100 needed a little more room. Great shots both!
I hope you can get your knee back 100% soon. If you haven’t checked out ATG programs by “the knees over toes guy” he is literally a master at knee rehabilitation. Great video. Cheers!
Great video again, this showed again that you have to have a range with you on a trip outside because the circumstances are not to predict completely, both of you have some great shots! I hope your recovery is going good! Get well soon!
James' 100-400mm is going to rip the mount right off the camera mounting it like that on the tripod. Use the lens collar.
Both focal lengths worked well.
For me 400mm. I frequently use my 100-400 which is a great versatile lens. Trust the op went well and thanks for the video.
I don't think you can say either one is better than the other. The mist, ambient daylight and direct sunlight were all changing variables, that, even with the same subject, the results would likewise change. At 400mm, a subject might appear flat, depending on the mist and light, but at 100mm, that same subject is potentially going have more objects in it that at least provide a cumulative increase in depth. But the reverse could also be true, as with James' photo of the three or four trees, where there's quite a bit of detail visible with the shadow they cast. At 100mm, that detail would not be as obvious.
So, if your mission was to lead us to that conclusion, that conditions and composition are going to impact our photos, so that we should take care to compose our images according to the conditions, then mission accomplished.
Or maybe you just wanted to know which focal length seems best. If you don't have a single lens with a zoom range of 100-400mm, then I would say that anything with less focal range than 400mm is best, assuming you have a camera with high resolution, because you can always crop in without losing too much quality.
great team you two! :D
You're suggesting you are using a 24-105 lens, not a 24-120mm Z lens.
I think I would choose 100mm lens as I would feel too limited with such a long lens as 400mm. Hope your operation went to plan and you are recovering well.
You both got some great images. Hope your operation went well. All the best.
I'm going out on a limb and calling it a draw. Good job by both of you. Hope the knee is coming along well.
Great images and great advice as always. Hope the op went well? Just need to ask ...how do you enter your world landscape competition to raise money for the Ukraine?
I have used my tripod to fend off llamas and also to help me get back up. Any other uses you can share in a master class would be excellent! (wink)
I actully believe both where great but it was so much depended on the situation but so many pictures show different type of views but both where great
Great video as usual. But I think your lense is 24-120 f4 and not 24-105 f4 as listed in the photos. I hope you are recovering well. Get well soon.
I wonder how the close out with you and James would have looked if you protected the highlights and allowed yourselves to be more in shadow. But as always thanks for the education!
I did protect the highlights?
@@NigelDanson Maybe I am not using the right term? In the shot I am referring to you are both standing in front of a building and I assume in shadow under the canopy of the trees. And at least on my screen, the sky is what appears to be solid white with no definition.
It took me a while to realize you were two different people
Can i ask what video editing soft wear do you use please
James doesn't 'trip' over tripods; it's just his subconscious way to show he hates them.
I can't pick between them, so I think that proves that you need the right tool for the job...unfortunately for photographers the job is every individual photo
This was so interesting - it’s natural to grab a wide angle when out looking at vistas, so I’m going to take the longer lenses out next time and see what I can get!
Your photos are really nice. Your captions say 24-105, but the lens is 24-120mm.
What's in the flash adapter?
I enjoy these challenges 😀. Hope you are doing well,
Tell you what I can’t stand - a two legged tripod.
SHEEP !!! Popsys... lol
I hope you are on your way to a complete recovery. Best wishes.