PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photo Forum - Nikon Forum http://photocamel.com/forum/ Anything related to Nikon cameras, as well as lenses for the Nikon system. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:05:50 GMT vBulletin 60 http://photocamel.com/forum/images/camel-light/misc/rss.jpg PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photo Forum - Nikon Forum http://photocamel.com/forum/ unhappy with d1x battery life http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93555-unhappy-d1x-battery-life.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:31:07 GMT recently purchased used d1x.love it but hate battery life.any ideas on best replacement battery and also what flash is best for d1x.would rather stay... recently purchased used d1x.love it but hate battery life.any ideas on best replacement battery and also what flash is best for d1x.would rather stay with nikon but open to other suggestions. THANKS ]]> Nikon Forum imagesbymalcolm http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93555-unhappy-d1x-battery-life.html Your thoughts on a 70-200 http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93514-your-thoughts-70-200-a.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:09:34 GMT Alright, so a little bit of background. Next September I am attending Loyalist College for photojournalism. Its a very expensive course however. ... Alright, so a little bit of background.

Next September I am attending Loyalist College for photojournalism. Its a very expensive course however.

The most expensive aspect besides books and tuition is the cost of the glass required for the course. You need f2.8 glass at least. I already have a 50f1.8, and will be getting a 28-70 f2.8.

The real problem I am having is the telephoto range. In addition to the lenses I have mentioned I will need a 70-200 for second semester.

Should I save as much as I can and get the Nikon, or do you think that I could get by with a Sigma or Tamron counter part. We are talking about thousands of dollars that as a student I really dont have and will have to take out student loans for. It also means I will have less to spend on other pieces of equipment I need for school.

If anyone is curious you can see the requirements for the program here
http://www.loyalistcollege.com/uploa...ist_200708.pdf

So your opinion, should I go third party and save or should I go for the Nikkor. I am really at a loss at what to do. ]]> Nikon Forum TimBlodgett http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93514-your-thoughts-70-200-a.html Help I need some new lenses http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93500-help-i-need-some-new-lenses.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:53:47 GMT Hi folks, I have the Nikon D90 and am going through the process of trying to pick a couple of new lenses, I would like to have a good Macro lense and... Hi folks, I have the Nikon D90 and am going through the process of trying to pick a couple of new lenses, I would like to have a good Macro lense and a good Portrait lense, since I am new to SLR cameras I don't know what I should look for in these lenses, if anyone has any sugestions I'd love to hear them, I know for portraits I would like to have a lense with an aperture setting of 1.4 - 1.8 for low light I'm told and have looked at the Nikon 50mm F1.8D for portraits is this a good choice, I really would like your oppinions, Thanks ]]> Nikon Forum patf@bv http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93500-help-i-need-some-new-lenses.html D70 Max Capacity and SD to CF Adapter Question http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93354-d70-max-capacity-sd-cf-adapter-question.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:54:28 GMT My first question is, does anyone know the max capacity of a Compact Flash Card that the D70 will take? I have tried searching the forums here and... My first question is, does anyone know the max capacity of a Compact Flash Card that the D70 will take? I have tried searching the forums here and google with not much luck. One post I did find just said 1 GB but I use a 2 GB and know that cannot be right.

Also does anyone use a SD card to CF adapter (about $20-$25) in their D70. If so how well does it work. I am also trying to find out if a SD to CF adapter works with the SDHC cards. I think I found some that did but was just curious if anyone has any experience with them.

Thanks for the help.
Todd ]]> Nikon Forum TCaron http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93354-d70-max-capacity-sd-cf-adapter-question.html Making Sense of Nikon Flash Offerings http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93300-making-sense-nikon-flash-offerings.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:20:44 GMT Hey, all,

Hoping I can get a little advice from the masses as I'm having difficulty wading through the tech-specs of Nikon's flashes. I mean, I can read the side-by-side comparison tables, but find myself asking "Okay, but so what? What does that MEAN?"

(FYI, I'm looking at this table: Nikon Speedlight Specifications by Thom Hogan)

So, I shoot a D-90 and am trying to comprehend the differences between the SB-600, 800, and 900.

Specific inquiries revolve around remote operation and whether I need to blow the money on the SB-900 if my D-90 has a built in remote commander, ... or whether the other advantages of the SB-900 outweigh that functional duplication.

Any advice here would be appreciated. Thanks. ]]> Nikon Forum ed1chandler http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93300-making-sense-nikon-flash-offerings.html D200 + 18-70mm @ manchester museum http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93288-d200-18-70mm-manchester-museum.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:58:37 GMT a couple of shots from recent trip to manchester museum with my D200. they are not the best but i quite like them. it was quite tough to shoot as... a couple of shots from recent trip to manchester museum with my D200. they are not the best but i quite like them. it was quite tough to shoot as most exhibits are behind glass...... C&C welcomed.

thanks
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]]> Nikon Forum afterimage http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93288-d200-18-70mm-manchester-museum.html IQ of the 85 1.8 vs 1.4 http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93165-iq-85-1-8-vs-1-4-a.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:28:00 GMT Is there a big difference? With my desire to get into portraits and/or model type photography, I am thinking of adding this to my bag but not sure.... Is there a big difference? With my desire to get into portraits and/or model type photography, I am thinking of adding this to my bag but not sure. Theres a $800 difference between the 2, but other then the wider app is there a noticeable difference?

After looking at the other comparative post here where they used the 50 1.8 (and others) and how horribly soft it looked at 100% at 1.8, does anyone even really shoot these lenses wide open?

Im thinking in the spring of getting this and maybe the 35-70 2.8(or tamron 17-50. Up in the air on that) for most of my needs. ]]> Nikon Forum Douglas http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93165-iq-85-1-8-vs-1-4-a.html Question about a 28-70 2.8 http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93151-question-about-28-70-2-8-a.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:22:42 GMT A few weeks ago while working as a hired gun for another photographer he experienced a failure with this lens. Here's what happened: He was zooming from 70mm back to 28mm when the thing locked up. It stuck at 28mm. I toyed with the lens for a few moments, wiggling the freeplay in the barrel while putting slight pressure on the zoom ring. With a slight pop the lens zoomed all the way to the far end, but on return it once again locked up at 28mm.

The lens otherwise performed beautifully. I may have the opportunity to pick the lens up for little of nothing. My question is does this sound even vaguely familar to anyone and what opinion might you have about the cost of repair v.s. the value of the lens. Might I be able to make a good deal or is this something that spells sure doom for the lens?

Thanks in advance,
Steve ]]> Nikon Forum Songman45 http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93151-question-about-28-70-2-8-a.html Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX APO Macro EX DG HSM http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93091-sigma-150mm-f-2-8-ex-apo-macro-ex-dg-hsm.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:21:27 GMT This may be an option for me. I really feel the Nikon 70-200 is too big and heavy for my hand held style of shooting (portraits). I'm going to guess that very few on this forum have this lens, but are their any opinions out there? ]]> Nikon Forum Bonner http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93091-sigma-150mm-f-2-8-ex-apo-macro-ex-dg-hsm.html Canon 72mm 500D Close-up + Nikon 18-200 VR http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93090-canon-72mm-500d-close-up-nikon-18-200-vr.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:21:10 GMT With is better Canon 72mm 500D Close-up + Nikon 18-200 VR or real macro lens like Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG ... With is better Canon 72mm 500D Close-up + Nikon 18-200 VR or real macro lens like Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG
orr Nikon? ]]> Nikon Forum wowo http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93090-canon-72mm-500d-close-up-nikon-18-200-vr.html GPS...convince me... http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93054-gps-convince-me.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:46:21 GMT So I have been reading a little on GPS systems for Nikon (or other cameras for that matter). By nature of my job I travel all over the world and... So I have been reading a little on GPS systems for Nikon (or other cameras for that matter). By nature of my job I travel all over the world and sometimes have some time to take some pictures. Even so I fail to see the benefit of the GPS device.

I know where I took the pictures because I have each destination as a separate folder. So I wanted to check with all of you to see if you use a GPS device and if you have found some benefit that I am not seeing.

To put the question above in some context I am trying to figure out what equipment is beneficial and which is not. I think we would all agree on a solid camera and lenses (I am sure the debate of which and how many could go on for years). Everyone seems to agree on a good tripod (though most do not use it) and finally a flash.

What gear have you used that you consider vital? If your sister or brother was getting into photography what would you suggest as a MUST have? ]]> Nikon Forum BovrilArg http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/93054-gps-convince-me.html Nikon 18-135, 105 Macro, 50 and 80-200 Sharpness Tests http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92996-nikon-18-135-105-macro-50-80-200-sharpness-tests.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:47:14 GMT I got a little bit bored last night and thought I would try out doing a sharpness test for all of my tests. My set-up was as follows: D300... I got a little bit bored last night and thought I would try out doing a sharpness test for all of my tests.

My set-up was as follows:

D300 mounted on Manfrotto O55XPROB and 486RC2 Ball head for all shots
Mirror Lock-Up Used
10 Second Timer released by shutter button
White balance was set to auto. I should have had it set to a temperature and that will account for some different tints to come of the pictures. I personally do not think this greatly effects how the image is seen. It's it's not sharp, it's just not sharp. I was not concerned with color rendition, just sharpness.
Files were "Unprocessed" 14-Bit RAW files converted to TIFFs and inported into CS4 and copied to my black page to create a template.

Using Flickr, I was limited to a 10mb upload, therefore, the image below was 1350x2430 but for some reason uploaded to flikr at a lower resolution?




Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6:
Nice lens. I have used this since I got my D80 and it came as an outfit with the body. I was zoomed all the way in to 135mm so my test started at 5.6 on this lens. Like all lenses, it was just a hair soft at 5.6 but not too bad. f/8 was as sharp as this lens got. It started to fall off at about f/10. (I actually shot at all possible f stops for every lens, but only charted the "major" ones. While f/11 is usable, it's not as sharp as my results showed as f/8 was. As for f/36 (yes, I was curious) it's not sharp, but it's not not sharp and could be used if you weren't pixel peeping.


Nikon 105 f/2.8 Macro
Holy goodness do I love this lens. Since I was close to the test target, I shot at 3.2 instead of 2.8. To get to 2.8, I would have had to go back very very far, therefore having to crop in too far to give the "Same" 100% crop throughout the images. It's reasonably sharp at 3.2 and really starts to shine at f/4. Optimal sharpness on the 105 was at f/8 but I see that f/11 shows similar results with f/8 showing slightly more contrast (which I like). Like I said, I stopped it down to every f stop and saw this start to fall off at f/16. f/22, while usable I wouldn't go down this far and wouldn't even think about f/36.

Nikon 50 f/1.8
Wow! I really didn't realize how BAD this lens looked from f/1.8 THROUGH f/2.8. I mean until looking at a newspaper at 100% crop from these images, I will try to stay at f/4 as much as possible. Everything started to clear up at f/4 and I believe the optimal sharpness was at f/5.6, which is not the norm of the usual f/8. While f/8 is sharp, my 50mm was best at f/5.6. I would suspect it to be about the same for other 50mm. By f/11, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is noticeably soft all around the image.

Nikon 80-200 f/2.8
Again, now I see why all my dance competition images were so soft at 2.8. While not horrible in some lighting conditions, it almost looks like there was fog over the lens. I actually checked to make sure there wasn't, and there was not. As I stopped down the 80-200, I found it start to gain sharpness at f/4 and could not tell a difference from f/8-f/11. While outdoors and enough available light, I would shoot between these settings - of course different lenses are always different. f/22 on this lens look almost 100% identical to the 105 at f/22. Odd. I have never found myself shooting at f/22 on an 80-200 anyways.


Conclusion:
 Of all my current lenses, I'm MOST impressed by the 50mm. All other ones seems to sharpen up around f/4 or 5.6, this one looks best out of all of them stopped down. I still love having the 1.8 aperture and unless pixel-peeping on this lens, I wouldn't worry about how soft it is at 1.8. I shoot with my 80-200 all the time at 2.8 - especially for dance competitions. I'm looking for the highest shutter at the lowest standable ISO and this lens does the job. As for the 105, I love it as a macro and shoot at f/8 anyways for everything. If it's moving enough to where I have to go to 3.2 or f/4, I'll wait for the wind to die down or use flash to help with movement.



Please, know there was nothing scientific in this "experiment." Just set up on my tripod and the shutter released with the most setting changed to give the most little vibrations possible. To me, I don't know of any other way to get a more steady set up. I tried shooting a Dr. Pepper can but did not find the results satisfactory to actually "seeing" the difference in sharpness.

If you would like to comment on something I could do different, please tell me. If you found this information useful, please tell me also.

Thanks for looking!

~Michael~ ]]> Nikon Forum iflynething http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92996-nikon-18-135-105-macro-50-80-200-sharpness-tests.html Wanting to upgrade http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92966-wanting-upgrade.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:06:21 GMT Hi all,

I've been shooting with my starter camera, a D50, for about 3 years now. I love it, but I think its time I upgraded. I do a lot of rodeos and portraits, and I've done one wedding in the past year.
I know I need more mega pixels as I would like to to blow some of my rodeo art prints bigger than 16x20's.
I had my sights set on a D300... but then I found the D90. Lots of mega pixels, but cheaper. Why?
I have tried to compare the two, but can come to no real conclusions.
Can someone offer me some insight? Cost is definently an issue, as I would also like to get a 2.8 zoom lens as well, and I know those aren't cheap.

Thank you! ]]> Nikon Forum jc77 http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92966-wanting-upgrade.html Help! Looking for my next lens after the 18-135mm http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92924-help-looking-my-next-lens-after-18-135mm.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:29:19 GMT I have had my Nikon D80 with its kit lens the 18-135mm for about 2 years and dove into all kind of photographic style. From landscape to protraits,... I have had my Nikon D80 with its kit lens the 18-135mm for about 2 years and dove into all kind of photographic style. From landscape to protraits, maccro to sport and recently HDR. I love the camera and the lens but I feel it's time to get new perspectives.
The choices for lenses are so overwhelming, my problem is, I don't know which one to get. I do not want to spend more than 500 US$ so I guess that is already a limitation.
This is what I like so far:

AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
A 70-300mm (but not sure which one)

My original kit lens offers a huge range already so I want to get something with which I'll see a good difference. I am going more towards the 50mm one.

So, Advices and help are very welcome. Thank you all. ]]> Nikon Forum seanmacman http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92924-help-looking-my-next-lens-after-18-135mm.html Nikon Sigma or Tameron? http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92919-nikon-sigma-tameron.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:12:34 GMT I want to get a faster lens and have been looking at the Tameron 28-75 xr di ld if or the sigma 28-70 ex dg or the nikon 24-85 1:2.8-4D. Any thoughts? I want to get a faster lens and have been looking at the Tameron 28-75 xr di ld if or the sigma 28-70 ex dg or the nikon 24-85 1:2.8-4D. Any thoughts? ]]> Nikon Forum taswood http://photocamel.com/forum/nikon-forum/92919-nikon-sigma-tameron.html