Nikon D2H for sports and bird photography?

<p>Hi Folks,<br /> I am thinking about getting an old Nikon D2H. I intend to use this for general purpose sports and bird photography and I don't intend to blow up images larger than A3 with an ISO setting no higher than 640. I can mate this camera with my TC-16A 1.6x AF TC and Tokina 300mm f2.8 MF lens which gives me a nice 480mm semi-AF lens. <br>

Would you get one? How much would you pay for it?<br>

I read somewhere that is a weakness with the meter. Any idea which serial nos. I should avoid?<br>

<br /> Thanks,<br /> Simon</p>

 

<p>Simon, I don't know what type of bird photography are you planning to use your camera for but for sure very often you need much higher ISO. If you shoot early morning or at dust, shooting in forest, etc.</p>

<p>Simon,<br />if you use ISO settings other than its base 200, you should check out sample images on the net (like on dpreview.com) to see if the noise at your required setting is acceptable to you. I personally loved the natural image my D2H delivered especially at lower ISO settings (400 or below) albeit there was perceivable noise.</p>

<p>Another issue of D2H to consider is near-IR contamination which is fairly tricky to suppress during the shooting (you need a special filter) and very difficult to mitigate during the post process.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advise. Looking at this photo here, it seems noisy even at base ISO 200:<br /> http://www.pbase.com/cyeh01/image/82679241&exif=Y<br>

Still the effect seems to depend on shooting conditions:<br>

http://www.pbase.com/jando/image/87177568<br>

I wonder why you can see the retangular shaped "pixels"?<br>

http://www.pbase.com/juninho03/image/34097308</p>

<p>BTW My first camera was the Olympus E-300, so I know about digital noise!</p>

<p>The D2H would be adequate but not ideal. The autofocus is excellent and fast framerates can capture action sequences or nuances to get the best frame from a 7-8 fps burst. Bright viewfinder, very easy for manual focusing. Top notch handling and rugged quality, well suited to use outdoors where unexpected precipitation may occur.</p>

<p>Drawbacks? Noisy enough beyond ISO 400 that noise reduction will be necessary in post processing. Even at 400 you'll see a little noise in shadows and dark midtones. The main problem at ISO 400-800 is chroma noisy, blotchy discoloration, easily fixed in Noise Ninja or Noiseware without degradation of fine detail. But go easy on the luminance noise reduction.</p>

<p>The other problem is the relatively low resolution. At 4 mp there's no room for cropping, so you'll need plenty of lens to fill the frame.</p>

<p>It's a good dSLR as long as you understand the drawbacks and find the assets to be good enough to overcome the disadvantages.</p>

<p>I think the noise is less of a problem than the low resolution... Bird pictures tend to be cropped a lot in my experience because I never have long enough lenses. You really need to fill the frame with that camera, and I think even 300mm with a TC is going to leave you frustratingly short at times. <br>

I understand that I am a bad bird photographer, but I would think long and hard about a D2X with high speed crop for extra reach, albiet worse noise.</p>

<p>Incidentally, I should have specified that my earlier comments regarding limitations were for bird photography. For sports photography, especially outdoors in daylight, the D2H is top notch and well suited to your specifics since you won't be printing large.</p>

<p>Ive been using my d2h for a couple of years, and find it to be an ideal match for the tc-16a method of bird photography, and have not felt the need to upgrade my gear.<br>

I personally only require A4 prints, and the d2h does the job very nicely.<br>

Agree with Lex's summary of this camera, so it will depend on your final purpose/max output etc, as to wether this camera will suit.<br>

I 'slightly' disagree with a couple of comments, as the restrictive cropping ability of the d2h does not apply completely, when using the tc-16a. This is because of the 'band-focus' nature of this tc, which can be used to advantage with bird photography, and therefore prevent the user tripping the shutter in situations where serious cropping would normally be required {if setting the d2h to 'focus priority'}. <br>

Agree with Rene, that a camera with a higher usable iso would be useful, but i still consider 400iso to be plenty fast {having grown up with 64 asa film being a general purpose speed, and 125asa film being a faster option, and 400asa being an absolute luxury}. <br>

Yes, some of these cameras had a meter fault {mine did}, although it is a free fix by nikon {not sure this service will be available indefinately though}.<br>

I tend to shoot exclusively at 400iso, although i have used 800iso, and found it to be similar to the 400iso of my previous d70 {with regards to noise}, and therefore usable {sometimes with a touch of Noise Ninja}.<br>

I view all my A4 prints at 'reading' distance, and feel A4 to be the ideal max enlargement from the d2h, for that viewing distance. I have occasionally printed at A3, but feel that 'arms length' viewing distance to be preferable { ideal for wall hanging though}. Obviously the files from the d2h can be blown up as large as a house {if viewed from the appropriate distance}, but i am very sceptible of d2h user's who insist that huge enlargements are of high enough quality to view from 'nose-distance'. Much will depend on the subject matter though.<br>

For me personally, the d2h is almost my perfect camera, and when it finally dies, i hope to be able to replace it with another one.<br>

Alan</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Meant to have added..................<br>

I personally would pay about £600-800 for a very good condition body, but 'mainly because' i often rely on it for compatability with my tc-16a, and MF long tele.<br>

If i had a more recent long tele {conventional AF}, then i personally would probably only pay about £400 max for a d2h.<br>

Alan</p>

<p>I had the D1 and sold it to help pay for my d80. HUGE MISTAKE! I love my d80 but I wanted my d1 back so bad I couldn't stand it. And here is why...... 1. Reason: The FAST &^*$# focus!!!!!! I know I know I know about how out dated the camera is but it smokes my d80 for fast action. So with that being said I saved up and bought a D1X to replace the D1. And there's no turning back for me. So if you want it then go get it man and stick with your opinion on the camera you want. People will tell you not to because its so old of a camera but its your choice. And the camera still smokes most all new cameras out there now days. And its cheap enough to buy on ebay!!!</p>