Nikon recounts design and introduction of the Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IFED

Image courtesy of Nikon Corp.

Nikon USA has added an interesting and candid introspective on the development of the Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IFED. The company describes how a 'competitor' (Canon) had introduced a 1200mm f/5.6 specifically for shooting pictures from the photographers' seats at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan and that the Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm had been built in direct competition.

Interestingly, Nikon refer to the Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 optic has having a built-in (1.4x) teleconverter (operated by a lever), in effect offering a 1700mm f8 option (actually 1680mm f/8), but Nikon wanted to outdo Canon and offer a zoom covering the same range.

What's interesting? Well apart from the fact the Nikon zoom was a manual focus lens and the Canon was a AF lens, I don't recall the Canon having a built-in converter at all and I've seen one up close with a camera attached (though, admittedly, I didn't have the opportunity to actually take pictures with it).

Second, I've not heard that version of the events before. Indeed, I heard the lens was introduced for the 1992 Olympics (with the lens going on 'sale' in 1993 for approximately $78,500 - just think how many affiliate links you would of seen if the net and the rumor sites existed back then), but that doesn't appear to be the case, at all.

Ironically, several Canon-equipped picture agencies (including Reuters) bought the lens and adapted it for use with Canon cameras (it was a MF lens after all). But, Nikon may be having the last laugh now, as I had heard Reuters were using 'the beast', as they call it, with the Nikon D3X*. As one of only two-or-three AI-P lenses (as opposed to the earlier AI-S type), the 1200-1700mm was equipped with a CPU and corresponding electrical contacts for multimode operation (Tv, Av and Program exposure modes). Even now the D3X, D800 and D4 would work perfectly with it, albeit without AF of course.

*Amendment: 02 October, 2012. I've heard from a friend of mine at Reuters, and he says that while they did some in-house testing with the D3X and D4, they continue to use the Canon EOS-1D Mk IV, and now the EOS-1D X with Novoflex converters citing workflow reasons (they are a Canon-based agency after all).

How to choose a Gitzo tripod

UPDATE 26 Feb, 2012: Gitzo has dramatically updated the Systematic Tripod range, replacing all the models with a new improved body casting, and by adding a safety mechanism to the removeable top-plate. Please see here for details. This article is still relevant but please be aware that model numbers have changed slightly (the last number has changed from '1' to '2').

Gitzo tripods are owned by the same company that owns Manfrotto (formerly Bogen in the USA) and are now no longer made in France but in the Italian Manfrotto factory, just a short trip from Venice. That same company also owns Lastolite, Avenger, OConner, Vinten, Kata and Sachtler, the preeminent tripod of choice for video and movie cameras. But this isn't about the company (a British company as it happens), this feature is all about how to choose from the bewildering array of Gitzo tripods.

These tripods are amongst the best that money can buy* for stills cameras, but like any "tool" you can't really just buy one and expect it to "do everything", just like you can't buy one screwdriver and expect it to fit every screw. Buying your first Gitzo, therefore, is the most difficult decision, as you'll want to get the most use for your hard-earned cash - that's only natural, but you've got to think long-term too.

There are all ready excellent features on the net that explain why you should chose Gitzo over other makes, and I'm not going to reiterate any of that here, there's really nothing more to add. However, I'm going to suggest specific models for certain applications, along with genuine Gitzo accessories and make recommendations for third-party products.

Why am I doing this? Well, I find Gitzo's website a little perplexing and I often refer to it. I know what they're trying to achieve, but they're trying to sell all the models, obviously, and that only adds to the confusion.


Small - Gitzo Series 2 Explorer 4-section GT2541EX 

Unless you have a specific task outlined, for which you'll need to refer to the rest of the article, your first Gitzo will need, for practicality's sake, to be a good 'all-rounder'. That's to say this tripod will be the most used, for traveling, backpacking and every other time that you're not using one of the other more specialized tripods (listed later) for a specific purpose. This then will be your main tripod. The four-section Explorer GT2541EX costs a little more than the three section (GT2531EX), but it packs down another 10cm (to 54cm) and can easily accommodate a pro-DSLR with a lens up to 200mm (or up to 12kg, say Gitzo but that's not realistic). Read our review of the earlier (essentially the same) model, the Explorer GT2540EX here.

Don't choose the aluminum version, after all what you want here is the smallest and lightest. The Explorer is more versatile than the others in the range thanks to the pivoting central column. This makes it ideal for macro photography as well as landscape, architectural and the rest. The weight for the legs is 1.84kg, we'll talk heads later, pretty light considering the overall flexibility. If you simply must have the lightest, go for one of the Travellers, such as the GT-1542T, but the Explorer still offers more all-round flexibility.

Links

Adorama | B&H Photo | WEX (UK)


Medium - Gitzo Series 3 Systematic 4x section GT3542LS 

Our next Gitzo on the list is aimed users wanting something with greater load carrying capacity, while maintaining versatility. That means only one range, the Systematics. They all have a removable top-plate for a choice of columns, should you decide you need one. However, unless you intend to use it occasionally in the studio then it's not really needed. Gitzo make both geared and what they call 'rapid' (lockable sliding) columns for the Systematics, but you must buy the right size for your tripod, either series 3, 4 or 5.

Gitzo no longer make the superb (but seriously heavy) Series 5 Systematics in aluminum, unfortunately (get them now before they sell out: G1500 and G1505). They were the staple for studios, but unless you need that in particular, the material to go for is carbon-fibre - it's pricey but light, rigid and pretty durable. As you'll most likely want to use this on location, that means choosing the four-section over the equally impressive (but slightly more stable) three-section version.

Carbon Fibre absorbs vibration pretty well, but some lightweight designs are susceptible to lateral movement and flexing - that doesn't happen with the 5-series though it does with some of the 3-series - particularly the 4-section models which have thin tubing for the last (fourth) section. I've noticed a few professional photographers use the tripods partly extended from the bottom. This is not the way it should be used. To reduce vibration, always extend the legs from the top down (using the fourth, and thinnest stage, as a last resort).

The four section carbon-fibre GT3542LS (above) doesn't come with a column, that's extra, however the platform is used to mount a head directly to it. If you need to level a head, for video capture or panoramas, then the you can replace the platform with either a video bowl adaptor (designed specifically for 75mm or 100mm fluid video-heads, which feature their own built-in leveling bowl) or the leveling base for panoramas.

This is the industry standard** tripod for sports and wildlife photographers using long-lenses up to 500mm, with something like the outstanding Wimberley WH-200 Head - Version II (pictured below). The GT3542LS is the long version (stands 146cm tall at its maximum, packs down to 55cm (nearly the same as the Explorer above) and can carry a load up to 18kg. It weighs just 1.72kg. The GT3542XLS is an alternative if you want a little extra height but there's quite a price premium, and it's susceptible to some flexing at the tallest setting, when it must be used with care. This tripod stands 198cm at its maximum and closes down to 70cm, quite a jump over the LS version (and may cause issues with Airline carry-on restrictions) but still weighs just 1.97kg.


Links

Adorama | B&H Photo | WEX (UK)

Neither model is quite stable enough for the 600mm f/4 lenses though. For that you'll have to read on.

Large - Gitzo Series 5 Systematic 4x section GT5542LS

The GT5542LS (shown above) is quite a brute with much larger leg-tubes, but it's more than capable of supporting the longest lenses with pro DSLR bodies. Four leg sections make it more compact (60cm) when folded, over the GT5532S three-section version (63cm) and it's reasonably tall at 153cm as opposed to 133cm, which is rather low for most users. As well as sports and wildlife, this tripod is ideal for medium and large format cameras in the studio as well as on location.

Links

Adorama | B&H Photo | WEX (UK)

I'll be looking at different heads next.

Balancing the Wimberley Head

It goes without saying that your tripod must be leveled before you attempt this and that I would suggest removing the lens when adjusting the height of the head to achieve the correct balance - the slightest adjustment can mean the difference between the correct balance or not.

Contact


For more information on Gitzo tripods, please visit www.gitzo.us

For more information on the Wimberley head, please visit www.tripodhead.com.

Related Posts


Gitzo officially announces new Systematic tripod range

Gitzo softly launches new Systematic tripod range

DSLRs: The end of the road?

In the days of film, the size of a camera was largely determined by the size of the medium it used. The larger the film, the larger the camera, and, generally speaking, the better the picture quality but the consumer is often willing to trade size for convenience. That’s not meant to be disparaging in any way, but there will always be those with unrealistic expectations. The diminutive 110 format cameras (do you remember those?) from the late 70‘s could never equal 135 (35mm) format for quality enlargements, but it was never really meant to.

Back in the late 50’s and early 60’s, rangefinder cameras using 35mm film were being replaced by SLRs. While this convenience actually added to the size and weight, the advances in technology derived from the viewing through the taking lens, such as zoom lenses, improved accuracy in metering and the addition of auto-exposure and later auto-focus, were all to follow. The switch by Japanese camera manufacturers to the SLR moved a whole generation of photographers away from rangefinders.

Similarly the change from film to digital cameras by the press with the introduction of high-priced digital SLRs, ironically by Kodak, in the late 90’s signified the beginnings of a paradigm shift in photography that would eventually see the yellow giant sadly shrink unrecognisably in stature in a few short years.

Those early DSLRs were based on 35mm film bodies from Canon and Nikon adopting the photographers’ (and news-gathering agencies) not insignificant investment in existing lenses. But while the camera companies were supplying SLR components to Kodak, both Canon and Nikon quickly recognised the long-term importance of developing their own digital SLRs.

That they did with great success. Witness the popularity of Canon’s EOS 300D, the first digital SLR to break the sub £1000 barrier and later the Nikon D70. At the same time, Kodak withdrew from DSLR manufacturing, but remain today as a supplier of imaging sensors to high-end makers, such as the M8 digital rangefinder from Leica, and medium-format Hasselblads.

Like film, the quality of digital images relies heavily on the size and design of the sensor and its image-processing pipeline. But price is a determining factor in the size used for DSLRs. A sensor the same size as a single frame of 35mm film is, according to Canon, one of the main makers of cameras and sensors, as much as 20x more expensive to produce than the smaller APS-S sensor. And at least twice as dear as APS-H, the size used by Canon’s EOS 1D without the S press models.

There’s something comforting about the familiarity of using the 35mm lenses as they were originally intended and all the signs are that full-frame sensors, like APS-C before them, may well eventually find their way into consumer level cameras. This familiarity with 'baby-boomers' isn’t the most likely determining factor, though. We’ve recently seen DSLRs offer live previewing on the integrated LCD monitor, like a digital compact camera.



This is all very fine, but in turn this has led to Nikon, and now Canon, recording this live image as an optional video clip in addition to stills. Nikon’s latest APS-C D90 is the first DSLR to record HD video at 720p for up to 5-minutes at time, while the slightly slower to market Canon EOS 5D Mk II, a full-frame (35mm) model, achieves full HD 1080p.

With the prospect of interchangeable lenses, some with large apertures for selective focus techniques and exceptional low-light performance, these new hybrid SLRs are a fraction of the cost of dedicated professional equipment and video enthusiasts and independent film-makers are falling over themselves to take advantage.

Seeing Red

The founder of the Red One HD digital video camera, Jim Jannard, the gifted designer and entrepreneur originally behind Oakley sunglasses, is seeing a similar level of interest with the announcement of their Epic and Scarlet cameras. Although originally intended for professional video capture, these compact modular cameras boast stills capability and compatibility with professional cinematography lenses as well as Nikon and Canon still lenses.

Jim Jannard’s client list for the Red One includes Hollywood luminaries such as Doug Liman, the Director of The Bourne Identity, Mr & Mrs Smith, as well as Peter Jackson, the Director of King Kong and The Lord of the Rings. Jackson shot a short WWI feature Crossing the Line in New Zealand back in 2007 with two prototype Red One cameras and the clips I’ve seen are impressive. Red One cameras have also been used on Liman’s Jumper, and Alex Proyas’ soon-to-be-released drama, Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage.

Although the Red One cameras aren’t targeting the average consumer, the Scarlet model may be configured to come closer in price to the Canon EOS 5D Mk II. But that is already in the hands of a wide-range of customers, including The Guardian’s staff photographers, news agencies and other imaging professionals.

The general consensus is the Canon produces the better video quality than the more affordable Nikon D90, but it’s early days and others with a vested interest in video, such as Sony and Panasonic, have yet to respond. What’s more, while the quality is high there’s little of the convenience found on the latest HD camcorders for the consumer.



One promising sensor format for the consumer has been available now for a couple of months. Dubbed Micro Four Thirds by Panasonic, the latest development in DSLR style cameras is the diminutive 12-megapixel G1. Like the original Four Thirds DSLRs from Olympus, Leica and Panasonic’s own Lumix L1 and L10 models, the Lumix G1 uses the same size sensor (slightly smaller again than APS-C) but, ironically, forgoes the traditional but bulky reflex mirror and pentaprism in favour of an electronic viewfinder. While not dissimilar to so-called bridge cameras, the G1 is the first of its kind to feature interchangeable lenses, and, without the camera mirror, they can be made so much smaller too.

Well known for their small 35mm SLRs in the 70’s and 80’s and more recently with models like the Four Thirds E-420 Olympus has shown a prototype compact camera based on the same format. It too will have a range of high-quality lenses, but will also share the same lens mount allowing compatibility with Panasonic’s mFT lenses.

Despite the economic meltdown, new models based on the format are eagerly anticipated by the retail trade. Both the Olympus and the G1 are aimed at the compact digital camera user who wants better (DSLR) quality from a larger sensor and because it works so well we’re likely to see other names enter the fray, using APS-C sensors perhaps. Unfortunately, the G1 doesn’t feature HD video but Panasonic say it will be a feature of new models to come this year.

For the past fifty years or so then, 35mm SLRs and more recently digital SLRs have offered enthusiasts and professionals alike a good balance between portability and picture quality that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. But for the consumer, the next step may simply be around the corner.