at
-
Posts
235 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Downloads
Gallery
Store
Posts posted by at
-
-
<p>I dont have direct input but I am curious as to what others will state.<br>
I only have one VR lens. All my f2.8 lens (17-35, 28-70, and 80-200) are old carry overs from film days.<br>
My 18-200 does make noise, but that's normal...its the VR mechanism<br>
turning on/off. I have no shifting at all like you. I would definitely send it back. You paid<br>
a good sum to get it fixed. Dont settle for anything less. I've read here where others have had to push<br>
Nikon a bit during repeat repair actions. No flames please.... but this is why I still dont trust<br>
delicate VR systems. Too much to go wrong with even the slightest deviation picture quality is affected.<br>
Good luck with your repair. </p>
-
<p>Does removing the lens change anything? I have not had any issues with my d600 other than a small<br>
dust bunny....just a normal dust bunny...nothing more.</p>
-
<p>..." but i prob shoud have just spent $150 more and gotten a Markins.." <br>
<br>
Thats almost the same route I went. Bought and sold many ballheads until I bought<br>
the Arca Swiss. It had its moments ( the ballhead "lockup" that plagued a few units).<br>
Repaired under warranty and never ever another problem. Its smoothness and <br>
holding ability are superb. I too have read many great things about Markins and Photoclam too. <br>
Just FYI, Some makers have special notches or cutouts at the end of the ballhead stem. A/S has one. It prevents the clamp from rotating. A 3rd party clamp may not sit correctly on the Feisol stem. <br>
</p>
-
<p>My 17-35 f2.8 sqeeks too. Its been doing this for a couple of decades. Bought new, USA model,<br>
not used every day. It will even sit for weeks or months before its next use. Sqeeks first time<br>
then silent. As far as repair....well, if you can manually focus it (and live with it this way) its still<br>
a great lens. Estimates are free I presume. I myself would send it in for an estimate.<br>
If its excessive just ask for the lens back. You could sell it as a "parts" unit on eBay.<br>
I guess its replacement is the new 18-35 f3.5-5.6. Approx $750 USD. I know its heart breaking to <br>
think if such an expensive repair (possibly). I always dread the day thisng like this happen. Good luck to you. </p>
-
<p>Hmmm. Not really sure how you could attach a secondary strap. I would have to examine the <br>
plate. It might be possible. For their website though it doesnt look<br>
like there is much room to work with once you slide the plate onto the ballhead. As far as ballheads failing. I guess thats possible. I'm using two Arca Swiss ballheads. One is the original black monoball<br>
and the other is a B1 ballhead. I trust both more than any other type. I wasted lots of time (and a bit of money) buying and then selling ballheads that I didnt like. </p>
-
<p>Love my 17-35 f2.8! On DX and FX bodies. Just a side note. The 17-35 tends to <br>
"sqeek" if not used for a while. No harm in the sqeek but its been mentioned <br>
here and there. Mine has been doing if for over a decade. It goes away after the first<br>
or 2nd AF attempt. Dont let that discourage you from buying it. It just a high pitched noise that goes away quickly. If you use it regularly it tends to stay away. Doesnt affect anything else in any way.<br>
AF is still fast, spot on and very quick. </p>
-
<p>Which sling strap? Mine own. <br>
Take a look at my DIY strap and sensor cleaner. <br>
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1048630<br>
Its a ARCA-SWISS style head off an old ballhead. The eye bolt can swivel freely <br>
and is held by lock-tite and a nylon locking nut on the other side. The steel ring<br>
is a one piece welded unit. The webbing is 1 7/8 inch seat belt webbing. Steel<br>
buckles allow infinite adjustment. I will never (ever!) trust my gear to some<br>
strap made with inferior metals or plastic buckles. Thats just me. I'm sure<br>
they are strong but I just wont dangle a D600 and 80-200 F2.8 lens off any old<br>
strap. Just my opinion. </p>
-
<p>Hello everyone. I thought I'd post a little DIY project that I finished and tested this evening. I recently purchased a Nikon D600 kit (the $2k bundle during Christmas which included the 24-85 AFS lens). I love the camera very much. But, for the record I still love my D70 too. As many have noticed this camera's sensor seems to attract dust more than others. I wont go into that as its received much press already. Well...I got my first major dust bunny a few days ago. Its huge. It shows up even wide open.I have a rocket blower and a wet cleaning kit but thought I would try a new approach. As you can see from the pictures I used a bellows type foot blower with a pleated paper filter on the input vent. It worked absolutely great! The bellows allows for a much longer air stream and much greater control of where you actually point the nozzled VS. sqeezing a bulb and having the tip swing as you sqeeze. The input filter cleans the incoming air which unlike a bulb blows clean air onto the sensor. Now I did NOT blast the sensor. I used a very gentle but longer stream to clear away all the dust bunnies. I then used a slightly stronger air stream to clean the lens and lens caps. The bellows was $4.00 at the thrift store and the filter is a left over item from an air compressor. Works great and much better control. Again, dont blast away...gentle, continuous air stream. Next stop is negative cleaning and scanning. Good night all.<br /><br />You can see my contraption iin my photo.net gallery here:<br>
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1048630</p>
-
<p><em>Can anyone suggest a vendor that they have purchased from that delivered a good, reliable product?</em><br>
Yes, the original manufacturer. probably not the answer you wanted. I have tried numerous<br>
after market batteries for cameras, laptops, etc. In each and every case the OEM battery was far<br>
superior. Every aftermarket vendor claimed they used Japanese made Sanyo (and other well known names) lithium cells but assemebled then in China. One vendor was very accomodating and sent me replacement batteries a few months after their failed but it was still a waste. I have 8 year old OEM<br>
batteries that still heald a better charge than these new after market versions. Not to mention that I always questioned whether the after markets had the proper protection circuits built into their ultra cheap knock offs. YMMV but my experience has proven too be 100% failures (weeks or months after purchase)...OEM batteries last longer.</p>
-
<p>Thomas, <br>
From my experiences (traveling with my wife and kids) the Nikon 18-200 has proven to be a very<br>
capable lens. Yes, it has limitations (just like every lens made...cost, performance, etc).<br>
Its biggest benefit, as you are aware, is its one lens solution. Which is especially important to me<br>
as my family has little patience for me switching lenses, settting up tripods, etc. Its a perfect<br>
lens to capture a vacation and keep the rest of the family happy. I also have a very sharp copy.</p>
-
<p>As noted, DOF on a P+S is somewhat limited. But...so is a typical DSLR with an entry level kit lens (f3.5 - 5.6). You can control DOF with a fast aperture lens...a long lens, etc. Rarely included at that price point.<br>
My vote would be the G12 and the Canon ex270 flash. I use the flash often on my g2, g3, and g6.</p>
-
<p>If you determine that the flash is indeed dead there is still another option. If you really like the camera and it<br>
fills your needs you can buy a NIKON SB400 flash (a very tiny flash, but more powerful than the pop up flash)<br>
for about $100. I use one and it works very very nice. You can keep your d50 going for about 100 bucks....or.....<br>
use this as an upgrade reason. </p>
-
<p>Consider a tripod with two center columns. My Bogen 3021n came with two columns. One normal<br>
one and a mini one for ground level work. The little was was very cheap...plastic and marginal. So I very carefully cut a four inch piece of the main column and attached a bogen 3/8 inch plate with JB Weld<br>
epoxy. It worked great. I would def get a tripod with a center column though.</p>
-
<p>You have been given some very good advise. But keep in mind the camera/lenses you mention are NOT waterproof in any way. Maybe "splash proof"...maybe. A few drops of water in the wrong place<br>
could ruin your gear. Be careful and listen to what others have posted. </p>
-
<p>Many many Nikon 17-35 afs sqeal. Of all the Nikon AFS lenses I have that one sqeeks.<br>
Actually none of the others sqeek at all. Its just something this lens does. Can be fixed I' sure but mine and many others have sqeeked for years and years with no ill affect. </p>
-
<p>Some additional input: Best nimh battery at the moment seems to be the Sanyo Eneloops.<br>
Best chargers: MAHA, Lacrosse, Annsmann. Dont be fooled by ratings alone. My 2000 mah batteries<br>
outlasted another well known brand that claimed 2700 mah. Google Sanyo Eneloops and you<br>
will see the overwhelming positive ratings. My personal charger is an older duracell power gauge<br>
with 4 individual charging channels.....on ebay now for $15.00 shipped...works great.</p>
-
<p>this is the reason i use the epson scan program for my v700 and 4990's. It works so much better<br>
for batch scanning. And, it works quite well...sure you have to tweek things a bit but i had to do<br>
that with the trial version of vuescan too. My vote goes to epson scan software</p>
-
<p>I just went down this road myself. One great source of info and education came from amazon.com<br>
by the way of "NLee the Engineer". He must own and review every brand of nimh battery and charger.<br>
My research has shown this:<br>
1) Maha, Lacrosse, and Ansmann make the best chargers<br>
2) Sanyo Eneloop batteries are probably the best nimh batteries...they are the newer "slow discharge" or "hybrid", etc battery. They can hold a charge for months and still be quite usable. There are new<br>
players coming on to the seen but the Sanyo's have proven themselves over and over<br>
3) Dont buy batteries based on amp/hour ratings alone. Ex: The popular Energizer 2500 ma/hour batteries you see in walmart have a horrible self discharge rate. Once charged they will loose thier charge in about a week. Something to do with the internal resistance of these batteries.<br>
4) lower/modest mA/hour batteries tend to last longer<br>
5) slow/gentle "computer controller" chargers are best. 15 minute chargers can cook your batteries<br>
and greatly shorten thier life span<br>
6) You may want to consider Energizer lithium (non rechargeable) type batteries. They have incredible shelf life, last a long time and in the end can cost less than regular alkaline batteries.<br>
7) Again, go to amazon.com and read everything that "NLee the Engineer" has to say, he difinately<br>
knows is stuff. He has about 123 reviews and many of them on batteries.</p>
<p> </p>
-
<p>Yup...those cheap optical slaves off ebay have always worked for me. Very sensitive, never a misfire<br>
either...hopefully they work as well for you. Cheap...but surprisingly reliable.<br>
<p> </p>
-
<p>Folks have been conditioned that you MUST have the latest and greatest hardware to take photos.<br>
Well, all I can say is that some people have more money than brains.</p>
<p>I still use (gasp!!) a Fuji S1, Fuji S2, Nikon d70 and d300. In my P+S world I still use a Canon<br>
G2, G3 and G6. I'm still amazed at the photos those old Canon G's and Fuji S1 and S2 take....just<br>
amazing for thier age. Who ever frowns on you can go pound salt.</p>
-
<p>Picasa (from the makers of google) is also very nice as an "entry level" photo mgmt tool.<br>
It can search your entire disk drive and import every photo it finds. Entry level..yes but still a very<br>
handy too. And its free. Certainly a good option to learn and grow with (until you need the power<br>
of LR, etc).</p>
-
<p>...Anyone here stored anything and it came out not working? ... I dont have a direct answer to this as I<br>
have never experienced this. But......</p>
<p>I would not store them in an air tight enviroment. Allow air to circulate to prevent any mold growth and allow any "out gasing" to escape. Use a dessicant to absorb moisture, smell, ett.<br>
As mentioned before...take the time to exercise the hardware. Turn the knobs, aperture rings, focus ring etc. Leave them at different settings so they dont sit for long periods in the same spot.<br>
Definately work the flashes to reform the cap after long periods....several full power bursts should do it.<br>
Some folks say to store lenses "mount up"....just in case any grease from the helicoid runs down it wont get onto the aperture blades. Remove batteries....I just had new AA battery leak in my shortwave<br>
radio. Charge the batteries from time to time too. Another option, if dont are sure you wont use this gear for 2 more years sell it. I know, rather extreme, but I suspect in two more years the latest gear will<br>
be very enticing to you.</p>
-
<p>Just my humble opinion...and we're walking a fine line here. I honestly dont miss any of the film<br>
days. I've have shot my share of 35mm, 645 and 6x6 and find our new digital<br>
days to be better. I'm sure others have thier own opinions. Sorry to be so vague but I<br>
not trying to start a film vs digital debate. Each has good and bad. And I am certainly happy with my d300 results. Even more happy that my 300mm is now a 450mm f4. I love long lenses. So as a side note I love the DX format too. </p>
-
<p>DX the overall loser. Hmmm...I certainly dont think so. </p>
Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 18-200 VR
in Nikon
Posted