jim schwaiger

narrow DOF, sorry about that... my keyboard acts funny sometimes when I'm typing fast (okay, I can't type)

USM give you more control. You can avoid sharpening smooth areas with the threshold, you can control the diameter and amount of sharpening. I find USM more useful because web images need a different treatment than prints.

I generally do the Boy Scout thing as well, but I have cut limbs and such on occasion. Not in parks or where they would be noticeable, but I can think of a recent example where I cut a little tree down under a power line to get a shot. It was where they have to periodically clear out anyway, so the tree was simply sacrificed earlier in life.

 

Common sense.

polarizer (or warming polarizer -- moose)

 

ND grads if you do nature photography (need square filters and a holder)

 

ND filters if you use fill flash and want anrror DOF

 

warming filter if you shoot slides

 

diffusion filters if you want soft portraits

 

color filters if you use B&W film (red. yellow, green, etc)

 

Weird filters -- if you want weird effects

In general, I would say that those who are really qualified to critique photos are simply too busy to do it for free here. And those who complain about a critique are probably a little too high strung, so let em go.

Makeup and lighting are the major issues here. You want the softest lighting you can get and possibly a diffusion filter to add a soft effect. If you can do it outside PS, the effect will generally be more natural looking.

First, going from f/1.8 to f/1.4 is not a drop, it is 0.725 stops faster. From f/1.4 to f/1.2 is 0.445 stops. The exact formula is:

 

# stops = log(f1/f2) / log(sqrt(2)) = 6.644 * log(f1/f2)

 

We generally round them to 2/3 and 1/2 stop because of tolerances our inability to distinguish beyond about a third of a stop.

 

Your goals are to shoot wide and keep everything in focus, so you need to look at the DOF calculators and consider what fonal length and aperture can give you what you want. The other thing is that you can't rely on the meter for shooting the northern lights. Check the forums here for proper exposure settings, but my giess is that you can get decent images at f/4, ISO 100 at much less than 15 seconds. Once you find the proper exposure and DOF, your needs may be very different from what you perceive now.

 

If you are set at shooting wide open, the f/1.8 Nikkors are sharper than the f/1.4 in the 50mm AF lenses. To get everything in focus, a 28mm f/2.8 is more likely to be useful.

Go to engineering or business school, make some good money and learn photography as a serious hobby. Once you have the skills, you can try devoting more time to pursue it without all the risk and uncertainty.

 

At the least, you'll enjoy it and you'll have something enjoyable to do in retirement. At best, you will become a good photographer and you'll actually make money doing it, or even become famous.

 

Photography can be learned in many ways. The best way is to get out in the field with guys who know what they are doing. Find others to critique your work and learn to be your own critic. Enjoy!

I was finishing off a roll in the house tonight with the N65 and the 75-300mm. I had an SB-22 off-camera, so I was holding it out with one hand and holding the N65 by the grip. The zoom was all the way out at 300mm and the focus was close, so the lens was putting the maximum force on the mount and it wasn't easy to hold level. Those metal mounts ane dang strong, even on the cheap N65.

The key to eliminating the keystone effect is to keep your camera level. Any decent lens can be used for architecture if you keep it level. If you shoot from the street, that means you have to give up the lower portion of the film, which essentially cuts your resolution in half. Otherwise, the expensive PC lenses are the only way to go with 35mm format. For the price of those lenses you may be able to get a decent low-end large format box which has the tilt and shift ability. Then use a Epson 2450/3200 to digitize the large film. Just a thought, but it depends on the quality you are looking for.

Hi, I have a pretty heavy 75-300mm AF lens on my N65 and it doesn't feel like it could break at all. I do generally hold it by the lens when holding it one-handed. And I obviously use the tripod collar, otherwise the tripod would likely break.

Most SLRs only do auto exposure out to 30 seconds or so and I doubt any camera can

auto expose anthing out to 5 minutes. Even if they did, the recipricosity failures

would kick in and you'd still have an underexposure.

The F70 should have a "Slow Sync" or "Rear Sync" option if it allows you to drag the

shutter (these are the names used on the N65 and other Nikon cameras).

 

The Slow sync flashes at the beginning of the exposure, while Rear sync fires just

before the shutter closes. In lit action style shots, this has a different look and Rear

sync is generally better.

 

Consult your manual for which buttons to push to get the flash options.

Okay, don't ask yourself any questions, just spend the most money possible.

 

Flashes hold there value pretty good, so even if you buy a cheaper one now, you

won't lose a whole lot when you upgrade (when and if you go digital).

 

The SB-80DX is certainly an excellent flash and it's likely you'd never need anything

more even if you go digital. But it is also overkill based on the needs of most people. I

find my little SB-22 does a great job even at long distances with 400 speed film. I use

it sparingly, so an SB-80 would have been just throwing money away in my case.

Might as well get the PC cord that lets you get it off camera. Eventually you may want

a bracket as well, but you can certainly use it right away on the hot-shoe.

Monitors have simple little adjustments that let you stretch it in either direction, so

you can make a square image too tall or two wide.

 

The key is that your input device (scanner or digi-cam) should have the proportios

correct, so as long as you don't stretch the image intentionally, the proportions

should be good. The easy fix is to learn your monitor controls.

 

Likewise, if you adjust colors based on an uncalibrated monitor, it may not look right

on another system.

Even 24mm is a bit wide for many folks taste and wide angles are more difficult to

keep the distortions under control. Most people stop at 24 or 28mm for a reason.

 

I shoot all kinds of stuff with a SB-22 and the 28-105mm and a 75-300mm. The SB-

22 works great with them except for macro stuff where I use a cable to get the flash

off-camera. More money gets you more power, so if you want to use slow lenses with

slow film at long distances, the super flash is the way to go.

 

Get the 50mm f/1.8. And maybe a reversing ring to experiement with macro.

 

The 28-105mm is plenty good as an all-purpose zoom. And the price is right if you

drop it and a cheap body off a cliff. A little N65 is great for hiking and a couple of

light primes or the 28-105mm are nice for long hikes.

Really, the f/1.4 is 0.725 stops faster than the f/1.8, but with print film, it won't make that much difference in low light.

 

I would get the f/1.8 and ISO 800 and if the scenes are dark, allow the camera to "underexpose" relative to the meter readings -- test to see what is reasonable to recover the detail you want.

 

If the lighting is moody, avoid the speedlights or use them as a last resort. A cheaper older flash might work as well, but you'll have to check that. A Guide Number around 100ft is usually plenty for indoor stuff.

Ask yourself why you want a powerful flash.

 

If you want to take pictures in low light, a fast prime may be better and cheaper (ie 50mm f/1.8). Used with fast film, you can get very good low-light shots that look more natural.

 

If you want fill flash, less power will be fine. If you can avoid the need for a flash, even better.

 

If you get a flash and don't want it to look like a flash shot, you have to get the flash off camera with a cord or wireless option. The flat lighting and obvious flash look are worth avoiding most of the time.

Velvia likes greens and blues. It also likes a tripod and small aperture, unless you want the small DOF for effect.

 

Setting the ISO at 40 will overexpose a bit if the meter is dead on, so it all depends on the scene. Metering is a different animal with slide film, so learn how to bracket if you really want a shot.

 

Your lenses are slow, so I'd stop them down to f/8 or f/11 and forget about the small DOF unless you upgrade to a fast 50mm. Shoot it, take notes, and learn from your mistakes.

I second the idea to avoid those lenses. The 50mm f/1.8 is a near perfect lens and a better than perfect price, the new ones are all AF-D (as opposed to the AF-non D that I happen to have).

 

For a wide to short-tele lens, I would recommend the 28-105mm, one of Nikon's best all-purpose zooms, and highly recommended by folks here that have used one. For a tele-lens, the new 70-300 AF-D or the older, heavier 75-300mm lens (built better and optically better when wide open).

 

I would buy the body and the 50mm first, then add the 28-105mm and a polarizer, then the 70/75-300mm. It took me a couple of years to collect a set of lenses like that, so take your time and try to learn the lenses one at a time. Some folks would never put a prime on if they bought it and a zoom at the same time, even though the prime can deliver much better quality images.

It's a good idea to go ahead ang get both. You can always take them off if you are one of those who believe they affect the quality of your images. Many find it acceptable to leave a UV filter on all the time. And the hoods can be useful whether raining or sunshiney.

That's weird. My N65 lets me push the button to open and push again to close the shutter. Or, I can do the same with the remote if I don't want any shake. Does the N80 really require you to hold it down? That kinda seems insane for really long exposures.

Babu, I have the older SB-22 (non-s version) and it works just fine with the N65. There are only a couple of minor differences between the two, so I'm sure the SB-22s will work great.

 

I generally keep it in TTL mode, but you can obviously use manual or auto modes if you have time to setup the shot.

 

Caveats: There is no easy flash compensation with the SB-22, if you want more or less power, you have to use manual mode. Some people find flash compensation to be important to their style of photography. If you ever want that ability, you must upgrade your flash or the body (the N80 has flash compensation).

 

The battery pack is totally independent of the flash - no problems with or without it.

In general, lenses with a short focus throw focus faster. Lenses with their own motors are also generally fast and Nikon makes some that are as fast as or faster than Canon's stuff, but they are not benerally cheap (AF-S lenses). If you want fast focus and a high FPS, compare the pro level bodies.

 

AF lenses stay wide open until you press the shutter, so a faster lens will "hunt" less in low light if that is a factor for you. In daylight, a fast prime will not necessarily focus any faster than a slower zoom lens.

 

Battery power has no affect.

 

You also need to consider whether or not the subject is moving and such. I know Nikon has a continuous, non-interruptable predictive focus tracking which can keep a flying bird in focus as you shoot several frames. If you are shooting moving objects the ability and accuracy of the continuous track may be more important to you.