Amateur Nikon is a process that began after I realized two things:
a) I learned all the important lessons in photography all by myself, by trial & error
b) There is an excessive amount of cold facts about cameras and lenses, and very few about real-life use.
To clarify:
I did find plenty of interesting information in all sorts of places (books, forums, websites), but this information cannot be anything beyond theoretical. There are so many things waiting to be discovered that you must simply learn by doing. After learning those things, I did realize that I would have needed less time to learn them if someone had told me in a simple, no-nonsense way. So, I decided to offer you what I never had.
Here's an example: the internet is full of the "1/fl" mantra. That is, if you want to shoot handheld, use a speed 1/fl, where fl is the focal length of your lens. Well, I wish someone had told me that the crop factor has to be always taken into consideration. If you use DX (crop factor 1.5), it's not 1/fl what you should use. It's 1/fl*1.5
(not to mention tons of other details and disclaimers, but that's beyond the scope of the present page)
Another thing that bugs me a lot about the information on the internet: Too many numbers. Charts, lab results, numbers, 'marks', oh my. By the way, do you know that an MTF chart is not exact science either? It's only a theoretical performance chart.
So, Amateur Nikon comes here and says: Why confuse people with numbers when we can teach them photography instead? Forget about MTF charts, lp/mm, 'marks', and what not. I have worked as a professional photographer* and I am an artist. I want to make photos that make people happy and express emotions and thoughts. I don't care the least bit about whether lens "A" has this many lp/mm sharpness or lens "B" has that many more marks than lens "C".
*I'm an amateur photographer too. Amateur=someone who loves something. That's how Amateur Nikon got its name.
Of course, equipment quality is important. Part of Amateur Nikon is, after all, dedicated to reviews. But, and here is the crucial factor: On Amateur Nikon you will read straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense data having to do with real-world uses. I will tell you stuff like: "This is an OK lens for portrait use, it's sharp and contrasty in the center, less so in the FX corners. The bokeh is acceptable. But avoid for landscape or other highly textured use". I will not force you to read pages upon pages of diagrams and pixel-peeping details. I will also reveal things that, in my experienced opinion, matter more than sharpness or autofocus speed.
In other words, if you want to learn about photography, welcome to Amateur Nikon, you'll enjoy yourself here! If you're interested in 100% crops of black-and-white lined diagrams and resolution charts, you'll probably not like it here. You see, we're not interested in diagrams; we're interested in life.
Thanks!
Chris
