2Oceans

ab3, The D7200 for the price and image quality is a very good starting point for reentry into photography. It will make your 20 mm into a 30mm equivalent angle of view. It's got lots of resolution and has outstanding dynamic range that is as good if not better than many full frame bodies. It's image quality is smokin. When I shot Provia and Velvia I would expose Velvia at ISO 40 and could push Provia to 200 with grainy results. Now days you will see many full frame images shot at ISO 6400 and DX crop sensor images shot without much penalty at ISO 1600. Dx will be more forgiving of your older lens because of the narrower angle of view. If your shooting landscape you will get the best "dynamic range" shooting low ISOs. Of course with a tripod. You can continue to use your Singh Ray grads though with the increased dynamic range compared to film you can get by with carrying fewer grads and adjusting in post. Maybe needing only a 2 and a 4 or a single 3 stop hard or soft. If you really want to start with a new system you should consider mirrorless. I just started with a Fuji mirrorless advanced point and shoot X100F (dx) last spring and I think it has image quality that is outstanding. I am adjusting to the electronic view finder and kind of like it though still have the option of optical. Fuji cameras have Velvia and Provia film emulation. I print 17x22 and like what I am getting. I own both full frame and dx late model Nikon dslr bodies and would not dissuade you from dx. Also the current version of Lightroom has noise reduction, sharpening and grads built into the soft ware that are seamless. I am a Photoshop user but think it would be better and more efficient to start with Lightroom and its organic lossless file system. I still enjoy scanning my slides with my Nikon cool scan 4000. Good hunting.

Dieter, I was gonna say. Shooting in broad daylight with clear blue skies at mid day when direct lighting is more intense doesn't help the matter. Better to shoot early morning and late afternoon as you have done. This time of year at northern latitudes the beautiful light abounds. As well the lighting is naturally more diffuse at the beginning and end of the day. I usually put my camera down between 10 AM and 2 PM on clear sky days. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think this vulture is gorgeous. Stay frosty.

pcasdity, Agree with all that is said. Did you see the rgb histogram? You would want it to hug the right side. Also I agree with your f and shutter speed for a bird in flight. You could shoot at ISO 800 or higher no problem to preserve your shutter speed. You have lots of exposure room. Galen Rowell talked about treating shadows as objects when shooting landscapes. In this case your exposing the object as a shadow when you want to expose directly for the object that if spot metering would be about 2 stops darker than mid tone. The bright back ground sky is fooling your camera's exposure system. The key is to go back and try again and again. By-the-way I have just started using an EVF in the last year on a Fuji camera and one of the joys is that the EVF shows the image exposure real time as it would appear after exposure. Even without an EVF the D850 is the best for birds in flight and will get you there with a few tweaks. I would try auto ISO with your current f and shutter settings and using matrix adjust exposure compensation until your satisfied with the exposure. Check blinkies to make sure your not blowing out the sky and losing information. If you need to pull some exposure back you can do it in post. Hope your shooting in raw?? Merry Christmas

Mike I understand your point, my apologies I meant power 1/16 to 1/64 power. You are exactly correct. You need to have multiple flash guns of course. You can buy 6-7 Yongnuo guns with wireless radio capability for the cost one Nikon or Canon flash. Together they will compensate for the low power of a single flash while taking advantage of the short duration of the flashes at that power so as not to over heat. If you shoot mix and match flashes you can use either optical slave on those that have it or cheap radio triggers. The key is to turn the power down and use more than one to compensate. Thanks for catching my mistake. Merry Christmas

Tropdude, to achieve properly exposed images shot at a high frame rate you should shoot multiple flash guns firing using cheap radio triggers at 1/16 to 1/64 of a second. Check out The Ultimate Flash Setup for Hummingbirds by John Gerlach for the best explanation. His technique will freeze hummingbird wings and should work as well on human subjects.

Eric, my first venture into telephoto was a 600mm Vivitar Series 1 cat. It was very well made and retained its value 7 years after I purchased it. I regret selling it in 1999.

Richard, sounds like a great choice. Merry Christmas

Tropdude, Vertical grips add weight. There are greater and greater tendencies now days for folks to hand hold because gear is getting lighter. I like light gear but not because I can use it off a tripod but simply because it is light and easier to carry. On the other hand I think that there is a potential for camera gear to get too small. Except for reference images I feel my best opportunity for a really good photograph is going to be with the camera mounted properly on a tripod in a position where I can shoot comfortably for hours in sub freezing weather. A vertical grip is part of that process. Even when I could bench press 12000 pounds I used a tripod with a long lens. The Wimberley and more primitive Bogen action heads have been out prior to the plictocene and the advent of digital and make long lens camera combinations weightless. I know it's harder and harder for all of us to schlep our gear. I have recently compromised image quality a little and started with a lighter 100-400 zoom set that I use on a smaller Gitzo series II tripod that meets me at eye level without a center column. I have kept the vertical grip on but I can always take it off. If I am on a dedicated trip then the 200-400 and 600 f4 come along. On a gimbal or bean bag they along with my gripped bodies are essentially weightless and are the sharpest lenses I own. I almost never shoot them hand held and only going into it knowing it's for reference purposes. If I get lucky it's an unintended bonus. If I were designing lenses I would not be able to help myself and all of them including an 8mm fish eye would have tripod collar. I would not have to buy L brackets. The vertical grip would work well with this concept. Finally the number one reason to have a vertical grip on each and every camera body is because it's just plain sexy . Heed my advice and know that if your gear is cool you will automatically take better images. All tongue and cheak aside using a vertical grip is a personal preference and I know many more respectable amateur and pro photographers who eschew grips. I am fortunate to be an amateur and to not have to justify the gear I use. My professional friends count every dollar. Merry Christmas.

Tropdude, Underwater I always go with a smaller configuration. My housed D2X was a beast. My housed D7200 is much smaller. Ewa bags would probably be better using a smaller camera. On land I prefer the faster frame rate, higher capacity of the EN-EL18 battery and ability to shoot more comfortably in portrait with the vertical griip. I shoot a lot of portrait oriented images maybe because that is how I think. Also I like the extra mass and portrait grip on the end of a long lens. At the end if the day it comes down to personal preference and the D850 gives you those configuration options. It sounds like you have that figured out. Wish I had 3 D850s. Then I would rule the world. Good hunting.

Mary I am somewhat surprised that Sigma would completely abandon the 150mm and 180mm macro lenses if that is the plan. I didn't see it coming. I guess I should not hold my breath for something new. Macro must be out of vogue these days. Its seems the options are decreasing if you want long macro lenses. Mike I am not sure if the Nikon brand extension tubes that are not electrically coupled will work with the Nikon 200mm f2 but I think the Kenko brand that are electronically coupled should. You can stack tubes. Your front element is huge so you would need to use extension tubes with your 200mm f2. I am not sure you can put a diopter on a drop in filter. I have used my PN11 (52mm) tube successfully with my 80-200 AFD f2.8 zoom at 200mm and occasionally on my 300mm with diminishing returns to add magnification. You loose some light with that long an extension but it does get you closer. Of course its always on a tripod. The general formula for extension tubes is (lens native magnification) + (extension tube length/focal length of lens) = new magnification, so short telephoto and normal lenses work best. I have yet to have any success with extension tubes on a 20mm wide angle lens but I understand there are folks who can make them work that way. I would never say never. I use the 77mm Canon and Marumi two element diopters on the front of my 300mm f4 afs and also on my 70-200and 80-200. They are easy to carry and do a good job without steeling any light and zooming is a little easier. Back in the film days I would mount a 62mm 2 element Nikon 6T dual element close up lens on my 80-200 zoomed to 200 using a step down ring. At 200mm the vignetting was acceptable with the 62mm. I am somewhat addicted to long lens macro so lots to think about if and when I change to Z mount. I may be buying a 200mm f4 Nikor micro for the second time.

Mary, thanks for doing the home work on the 150 and 180 macro lenses. I just gave my sister my Nikon 200mm f4 AFD when we got together at Thanksgiving with plans this weekend to update with the more current Sigma 180 f2.8 with a built in AF motor for stacking with my D850. Alas B&H does not have the 150 or 180mm Sigma lenses listed. It’s like they have disappeared. They are both very good lenses so I am hoping that Sigma will have new versions soon. There is a 180mm macro showing as you enter the macro section of the Sigma website and the 150 and 180 are even mentioned in writing but those two lenses do not show up when you dig deeper. The Nikon 200mm with camera body dependent AF is dated but still for sale new since I gave mine to family. I may go back to the old technology since I like long macro lenses. I wish Nikon would update this lens just so that it would be more electronically evolved even though the glass is very good. Anyway B&H is respectfully observing the sabbath today but I may call them tomorrow and ask what Sigma has planned. I don’t think I screwed up. My sister will keep the lens and i know will really enjoy it and I have immediate alternatives like my 105mm micro and my 300 mm with tubes that I am very familiar with. I hope that Sigma will come up with something long and macro in the Art series. Then I can really get snooty. Good hunting

Richard, The Nikon 12-24 mm lens that came out in 2003 has come down in price in the used market. It’s still sold new for over $1000 but you can find one in good condition for under $400 from KEH in the US. Auction is usually less. If you can find a good copy for a good price I would recommend the Nikon 12-24 f4. The comments regarding more current Tamron and Tokina lenses would make me consider those two brands very seriously. I have always admired the build quality of Tokina glass when comparing it to Nikon. The bench tested image quality of all ultra wide angle zoom DX lenses is OK and that is probably all but clinically speaking in the real world you can take fantastic wide angle images with the 12-24 or its ilk that are as sharp you will need. I gave my 12-24 to my sister who is a painter and a dedicated DX shooter. I shoot DX in telephoto and close ups all the time with a D500 and with the slower D7200. Both have outstanding image quality. Especially the D7200. Don’t ever stop shooting. I wish all of us to be happily shooting late model Nikon stuff when we are 101. Mike, what an honor to shoot with someone that age. Good hunting.

Art for me has to have expression and I have realized that I don't have to like creative expression for it to be art. It just has to evoke intended emotion and not just create beauty. So post cards in the drug store seldom represent art but dogs playing poker might because I relate to the dogs and the image makes me happy as it was intended though some may disagree. Remember when we would put Vaseline on the lens to soften things up. I was just looking at Sally Mann's images and while some of them make my prudent nature uncomfortable they evoke very strong emotions in their own way so I consider them very good art. Actually outstanding ground breaking art. My best beautifully lighted razor sharp image of a great blue heron or sand hill crane flying with an ice ring on his leg does not for me have that much emotional impact, even if I can sell a lot of prints or hang them on the wall, preferably someone else's. Perhaps they will end up on post cards at Walgreens :( So for me the very attempt at creating art gets me outside, the main objective, with a camera to take advantage of some random event that may or may not be successfully or creatively expressed. Its worth a shot and its all I have got. I am not Sally Mann, Art Wolfe, Frans Lanting or Norbert Wu. I like shooting with the best image making equipment that I can muster because I believe, with false hope, that it ups my odds, presently a DSLR and pretty soon a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with much better flanges. Notice how I pulled this all together at the end. As well I think Ansell would have been a Photoshop or Lightroom monster. He was manipulating/editing images long before it was called. I can even imagine he would have a giant green screen to schlep out to Yosemite. Stay frosty.

Kevin, I agree with Mike. Take a look at some of the less expensive view finder loupes. I bought my Hoodman 8 years ago before checking out the alternatives and I would say that there is nothing special about Hoodman's build quality. My German made loupes for film are much nicer quality and the 4X Rodenstock that was my primary film loupe cost less than the Hoodman. Amazon carries affordable view finder loupes that have good ratings. By-the-way Rodeo, I really like the Ansel Adams look of your new photograph. The first day it came on it switch back and forth with the old photo. I thought I was hallucinating.

Kevin, Nikon and Beattie made nice focusing screens, one of the the last being a Nikon E (grid) screen for the D3s. I still own that proud camera. Everything since that time has been done digitally. I have not taken the focus screen out of my DSLRs since that time. Now I typically use live view and zoom in to where I want critical manual focus. Focus peaking on the D850 provides additional assistance by highlighting areas that are in focus. I would imagine that the digital method is more accurate and precise down to the pixel than relying on the human eye. Give it a try. Also I was never into gadgets but I love my Hoodman loop. Its really helps doing anything critical with the back screen of my camera and also helps when reviewing in bright light. Good hunting.

hapien, I'm with you. I still have my Hall and Logan light boxes and my crazy expensive Schneider and Rodenstock loupes that are no longer made. I did most of my slide editing with these and then when I bought my Super Coolscan 4000, I would scan my top one or two images on each roll. Often I didn't scan any. All-in-all I scanned close to 1000 slides over three years prior to acquiring a DSLR. I think the new gear like the Z7 demand great computing speed but still the price for a high end PC is less than film from back in the day. I have to say that getting film back from Fuji processing was like Christmas. That joyful anticipation is something I miss. Still I own a gripped D850 and I am told I will have total consciousness when I die, which is nice.

On the other hand Oakland will always be there for me.

I remember when film was always the least expensive item to take into the field. Still if I was going on a trip, 100 rolls of gray market Velvia/Provia and Fuji processing in Arizona purchased from B&H was $800 and eventually I still needed a desk top when I started scanning about 3 years before DSLRs really took hold. The lower cost of downloading files directly from camera to PC or MAC rather than purchasing film means that young photogs can shoot their D3400 without having to sell blood. At any level a good future proof computer is not cheap, especially if you use an Apple but there is nothing like a fast computer to keep one from having to sit behind a desk. The new Macs have thunderbolt interface if your saving your stuff to a separate drive or a bay. I think this well serves the filing system that is organic to Lightroom. While I am a luddite that is stuck endlessly in Photoshop with terabytes of backed up files I feel that speed may be my one salvation if I am going to use Lightroom in the future as my primary editing system. I am willing to give up the cost of a Z7 to have a nice machine to use in post. I am a PC user for photo editing who owns an i7 Mac for education and internet purposes. The new Macs are stellar. I guess I could do all my photo editing on a chrome book. Then I could save enough to either buy the Z7 or take that dream vacation to Oakland I have been promising myself.

Nice, very nice.

bdmott, Nice kit. Get the MB D18 grip with a EN-EL18 battery for the D850 and you will have a faster vertical gripped camera. I love my D850 but it does not allow me to automatically stack and file macro images with my Nikon 200mm f4 macro screw drives lens. I can still stack but without the automation. I have been looking at the Sigma 150 and 180mm lenses as an alternative for years now. They are very good but truth is the Nikon 200mm macro is still amazing even today. Also consider a computer upgrade that includes a dedicated graphics processor with 4-6 G of RAM, 16 G or more DDR4, a late generation i7 or i9 processor and storage that uses NVMe M.2 form factor with PCie interface. You will need processing speed and fast storage for the files for either of these bodies. The files they produce are as large as the entire storage capacity of my first PC. You can find all of this in a lap top for under 2K. I think that EVF is like broccoli or asparagus. Its an acquired taste. Like carrots it can also help you see in the dark. Olympus has a thing called Pro Capture that is only achievable with a mirrorless camera and changes the way I think of high speed sport cameras. I hope Nikon gets on that wagon. My dream is that Nikon makes a large mirrorless camera that will sit well on a long lens and is packed with every conceivable feature other than a pop up flash. Stay frosty.

bdmott, I currently shoot with a D850/500/800e D7200 and D3s. All these bodies are two or more years old now but are perfectly fine and have outstanding image quality. I have an advanced Fuji point and shoot that I really enjoy as an intro into mirrorless. I am waiting to see what Nikon does with mirrorless and figure that my next purchase may likely be a second generation Nikon Z system camera. Olympus, Sony and Fuji have more evolved mirrorless systems if your starting from scratch but I am hoping to stay with Nikon. If I buy a Nikon Z it may well be as a landscape body until I am happy with the autofocus speed. Additionally I see no reason to make cameras too small to balance on a super tele long lens. Canon is probably in the same boat. Their DSLRs are known for their dynamite speed. Currently if you have a need for speed I would go with a gripped D850 otherwise the Nikon Z cameras are the future.

Mike, the Aquatech and LensCoat soft hoods are not cheap at 100-160 bucks but they are more affordable than Nikon carbon fiber hoods in the $500 range. The LensCoat front lens covers/hoodies are only 20-40 dollars depending on the size. Aquatech makes an affordable silicone cap that fits inside the opening of the lens. I lost mine during the excitement getting ready to stalk a heard of 100 prong horn antelope at the Very Large Array in New Mexico a few years back. Compared to the robust Canon hoods that are also crazy expensive, I don't care for the more delicate Nikon long lens hoods but I have never felt that Nikon owed me an explanation for their pricing for the 2-3 thousand 500mm and 600mm lenses and hoods they make of some models. I assume they have to be competitive but still make a profit in a nation that is a very expensive place to live and make a business. Still I get to choose. I could always go with a Bower or Vivitar 500mmm f8. You can get the whole kit and caboodle for under 100 bucks. Carbon fiber parts are by their manufacturing nature complex to make and therefore expensive, just ask an amputee about the carbon fiber pylon for his/her prosthesis or consider our stupid expensive Gitzo and RRS carbon fiber pods that we get to strut around with. If had the time I might try making my own lens covers. I don't but that's a good thing because mine would be so ugly they would scare off the birds.

P2 I would measure the front lens diameter to get the exact diameter you need and to determine the inside dimensions of the cap. Also I have the original caps/covers for my 200-400 and 600 f4 vr lenses but I prefer the LenCoat Hoodies when I travel. They have a solid insert and low profile. There is no redundant material and they stay on snug without a draw string. They are less expensive and they match with the lens coat covers I put on my long lenses. I used the same on my 500mm f/4 AF-S I Non-VR when I owned it. It was a great lens for me. Also I still own but have abandoned my Nikon carbon fiber hoods for cloth Aqua Tech hoods that store flat and can be bumped with out consequences. LensCoat make similar less expensive versions. Anyway, good hunting

Chris, Congrats on your new body. When I shot film I spot metered everything. Now days its matrix and blinkies. I use the Fn1 button (you can also set the Pv button for one of your choices) to access spot metering on the fly but you can also set it to bring up matrix or center weighted choices. So depending on what your default is set as you can bring up one of the three known choices on the F1n and one on the Pv so you have your default and then two other choices immediately available using the two front buttons on the right. By-the-way download the manual as a PDF and then you can search more efficiently using the control f hot key. Like most Nikon manuals they are not intuitive. I think that is as good as it gets. Good hunting.

Raymond I know the camera’s beep options including volume are controlled in the setup on my D850. Any possibility that the camera body beep sound controls in setup may have some bearing on the lens beep volume. I imagine the drop in slot is a portal to your camera sounds from the inside. Great lens!