jonmy7

Ah, the 110! the grain!

Hi JR, u don't say what sort of photography you'll be doing. Following on from Justins remarks, don't get a big zoom "just because". Get it only if you have a need for that focal length, and that you understand it will be hard to take sharp pictures and you will need a tripod.

 

Personally, and having similiar lenses to the ones you have, I would go for a fixed 50, it is true (IMHO) that it will help you to make great photo's.

 

However the cheap big zooms are okay and are a cheap way into telephotography.

give it a go! if it fails, so what? good designs can follow bad designs. just one thing, if you do it be sure to post you experience back here :-)

John, I will join in with not answering your question and say that the new 1.8 is very good. It feels strong enough to me. 1.8 is fast enough and it can produce beautifully sharp pictures. On a side note, I have just enter the world of 50mm fixed (from the zany land of zooms) and I must say that it is a wonderful place here. Just get one and enjoy! Imagine my surprise at having to WALK nearer and further from the subject to get the composition right! Strangely, this fixed lens makes me take side steps too, walking around the subject to get a better shot. Anyway, way off topic, so bye.

Keith, I understand your frustration, but perhaps Claiborne wanted our opinion.. what fitted camo camera covers we had used and what we thought of them, rather the a web search. That said, I do understand where you are coming from.

 

Claiborne, sorry, never used a purpose made one. Used a small dark green net thing from Army Surplus (not water proof). Great camo but didn't help me get any closer to the action so now don't bother.

I'll use a wooly hat when I am stopped to keep the heat in.

You need to know how to run as well. I recently got some candids of some people who were guilty of some mis-behaviour. When they saw me I was set upon and had to fight and run very, very fast.

 

Of course I had an idea that they might not appreciate my photographic interest in them, but what the heck, eh?

Hello Bobbi,

 

You don't give much info about your expections or your experience level, but as previous posters say, they are good cameras. I use the F80 and am very pleased with it. A few functions anmnoyed me but that can be corrected with the custom menu. Don't know if the Canon has that (as I have never used it) but I assume it is standard.

I got the prime, very pleased with it so far :-) Getting films developed soon.

A side point.. I have found that using a polariser helps me get better composition as I spend more time planning the shot, i.e. get my angle to the light right, paying more attention to what the sky is doing. Anmyone else finf this too?

 

I forget who posted the example on this thread with the "before and after" on the trees but I think that is a lovely example, really showing that a polariser is much more than affecting the sky.

Thank you for the responses, it sounds like I will enjoy trying this lens.

I have the 28 - 80 G (f3.3 -5.6) zoom (yes I know... it came with the

camera). The lens seems okay.

 

I have been eyeing up the Nikon AF 50mm f1.8 D as an all round

prime. To be used for indoor shots and a general 'street' lens.

 

Thing is, my zoom obviously has 50mm. Will I really notice the

difference in terms of sharpness?

 

The extra light will of course be useful...

 

What do you think about it?

 

Thanks, Jon

I now have John Shaws on order .. are you guys getting commission from him ;-)

 

Okay like the look of nikkor 105mm, but amn looking at others and will wait till i have Shaws advice.

 

B&H is approx 525 dollars grey (plus shipping), I live in UK and jessops is approx 1000 dollars (809 pounds)... werid huh? UK Alternative to Jessops (with a url so I can browse?)

 

Thanks for everything :-)

Great responses. Will be checking out some of the suggestions. Your responses really help.. I know the information is out there but it really helps to have this help to help me get started.

Itamar, I thought that if you locked the exposure then move the camera the flash will still use the values at the time of locking the exposure thus not take the current lighting into account. Which is what you want as you pressumably locked the exposure because you wanted a particular balance. Although don't listen to me as I have not done enough flash work yet. Must get round to it.

Well Peter I am hoping that the quality is okay as I will most likely have to go 3rd party on my next lens. I think that if you are getting a lens which you know you will not use often then perhaps the supposedly lower build quality will not matter as much.

 

out for my post in 3 months time "My xxxx (non nikkor) lens is broken after 1 month" ;-)

Peter.. try taking shots of small birds in the middle of a pond. 35mm doesn't work in _every_ occasion ;-) Granted, 35mm is a nice size for _most_ occasions

The time has come for me to go macro (i.e. 1:1). Here are my options:

 

1) I do not have any primes at the moment, so if I go extension tube

path I will probably have to get a prime, say about 100mm. This

option will be about $300 - 400 approx

 

2) Nikon macro lens. New over $1000 (i think). Used = hard to find.

 

3) Third party macro lens (1:1). Do sigma or other make do them.

Thus far can only find 1:2 and so will need a close up "filter". How

much new? how much used?

 

4) Close up "filter" on my zoom. I am led to believe quality

suffers. Bear in mind that my Nikon consumer zooms are 'okay' in

quality, so must be careful about losing further quality.

 

So what comments have you about the various options (quality/

pricing) for a Nikon user. I use AF SLR Nikon F80 (N80). Anyone

done this recently and feel they made the wrong, or right choice and

why. Thanks

 

 

oh p.s. the images are for personal use only, but want sharpness

otherwise there is no point in going closeup. How much money to

leave aside for a suitable flash getup?

Not sure I understand why people say a prime (50) is better than a 28-70 (or whatever) zoom from a composition/ learning point of view. You could always stick the zoom at 50 and voila you have a 50 just like a prime (from a compositional point of view, not sharpness, perhaps).

the FM3a is on my wish list. maybe in 12 mths hopefully some used ones will emerge (and give time to save/ justify to my wide ;-)

The feature set was right for me. The approx Canon equivelant as more expensive because of that eye tracking focusing system - that feature did not appeal to me. The camera was nice to hold, the layout of control are good. Also had heard good things about nikon primes, which I will be investing in over time. Thinking further ahead, I was interested in Macro which again I had heard that Nikon excels in. Nikon have not disappointed me :-)

I think the custom function for the AF Assist light is 18. I have more luck with manual focus, depending on what I am taking pictures of at night. I would think faces lit by street lighting and AF assist light should be enough for the camera to auto focus with.. although slower than daytime shots.

Thanks in advance to Doug for moderating and Brian Mottershead for setting this up. Long over due I think, might take some of the equipment Q's out of the other forums :-) Here's looking forward to lots of help with my Nikon kit and hopefully being able to help others.

potential buyer sounds good.. what will he pay for it? ;-)

 

Third hand price is the same as second hand or "used".. Check the market for like product. It is worth what someone will pay for it! Sorry I don't have any figures for you.

I think you have answered your own question. Get the system that works for you. APS is perfect for albums, you will get many great pictures. If you are not going to use SLR feature then why carry the wieght? I have seen many good APS features and users tend to enjoy the "panoramic" and "zoom" functions. Also, format does not really matter for composition, IMHO. Have a great road trip and enjoy the photos for years to come.