Nikon Unleashes Web-Based Lens Simulator

First, you choose your base Nikon camera. Current cameras supported within the simulator are FX formats: D3x, D3, and D700 and DX formats: D90, D300s, D5000, D3000s. Once a camera is selected, you can slide a bar across various focal lengths from 10mm to 600mm or pick the exact Nikkor lens to try from a selection of wide-angle, macro, fixed, telephoto, and zoom Nikkor lenses.

This capability allows you to distinguish between the effects of multiple lenses. For example, a wide-angle versus telephoto lens or a macro versus fixed lens and many more combinations. You can also test out different sensor formats and change your angle of view.

The lead picture above of Amsterdam depicts a photo shot using a wide-angle lens at a focal length of 10mm. The shot below is from the same photograph but it depicts a telephoto zoom length of 600mm.

Here, you can get right onto the balcony and make out nitty-gritty details such as the lounging woman, the red book she’s reading, and what she’s wearing.

As a photographer who swears by Nikon cameras, this is hands down one of my favorite photography-related finds of 2009.

*In the MatadorU Travel Photography course, you’ll learn the skills you need to become a travel photographer.