The D60's Cross Screen filter adds a bit of flare to an otherwise drab night shot facing uptown on 5th Avenue from 30th Street. The lens's Vibration Reduction let me shoot handheld with a much slower shutter speed than I would have without it. Shot details: Nikon D60; ISO 1,600; 1/50 sec.; f/5.6; Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoomed to 170mm (255mm equivalent in 35mm format) Vibration Reduction enabled; 6-point Cross Screen added in camera, Slight curve adjustment to bring up shadows in Photoshop CS3.
Perhaps realizing I was going for a silhouette, or perhaps because the sky was the dominant part of the image in terms of area, the D60's matrix metering sacrificed shadow detail on the branches to expose properly for the sky. Shot details: Nikon D60; ISO 100; 1/320 sec.; f/5.6; Nikkor AF-S 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoomed to 85mm (127mm equivalent in 35mm format)
This 100-percent crop of the bird in the previous slide shows that despite the somewhat high-contrast scene, the D60 retained a decent amount of detail in the shadow areas of the image, while also illustrating the resolving power of this step-up lens (note that this, like some of the other images in this slideshow, was not shot with the 18-55mm kit lens). Depending on your monitor, you might not be able to see the same level of detail in this example as you could on a high-grade, properly calibrated monitor. Shot details: Nikon D60; ISO 100; 1/320 sec.; f/5.6; Nikkor AF-S 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoomed to 85mm (127mm equivalent in 35mm format)
Here, the sky represents a much smaller amount of the image's area compared to the previous shot of the bird. This time the D60's Matrix metering system chooses to blow out the sky and save detail in the shadowed area of the tree and its tiny, orange fruit. Shot details: Nikon D60; ISO 800; 1/400 sec.; f/5.6; Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoomed to 200mm (300mm equivalent in 35mm format)
The small inset section at the bottom right of this red pillar in Penn Station shows the more-accurate, slightly more-orange red (note: compare up and down, since the left side of the pillar has a darker red paint) as captured by the Canon 1Ds Mark III, while the 100-percent detail crop on the left shows the remarkable amount of sharpness and low noise the D60 can achieve at ISO 1,600. Shot details: Nikon D60; ISO 1,600; 1/30 sec.; f/5.6; Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoomed to 18mm (27mm equivalent in 35mm format)
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