rob_mulligan1

<p>I would have to go with KJ Thomas - any entry level camera with a kit lens and a fast prime. On the other hand, the Fuji x10 P&S is an AMAZING (I've used a friend's) little thing that is very well made, feels good in the hands and works quite well. Another plus for the X10 is that it will probably go with the family when the DSLR stays at home in the closet.</p>

<p>Definately off subject. Funny how these threads go after a while. Anyway - For my D7000, a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 works just fine. A 24-70 lacks some on the wide end on a DX camera - but of course it has an extra 20mm on the tele end. Pick your poison!</p>

<p>April,<br>

Go back to page "1" and reread what Peter Hamm wrote - it's the Bible truth. Trying to shoot weddings indoors at f5.6 just ain't gonna cut it. I don't know Peter personally, but I've never read one of his posts that was off base. Everyone else here, including me, is just restating what he wrote in possibly more complex terms or with our own personal preferences.</p>

<p>I was kidding April. Just poking fun at "looking" like a pro.</p>

<p>Peter Hamm is right about fast zooms. For weddings you NEED an f2.8 zoom. F1.4 or 1.8 primes might be nice too, but there's too much lens changing involved. I used to have a Sigma 24-70, but it was very soft wide open. Stopping it down to f4 or 5.6 was nice and sharp, but that isn't where I live. Now I have a Tamron 17-50 and it's pretty good, not Nikon good (I'm not a pro and don't NEED that quality in a zoom), but pretty good. When I shoot portraits, I use only Nikon prime lenses. A 35mm, a 50mm, and an 85mm - all f1.8. When I need "absolutely, positively", I turn to these every time. FWIW, these three lenses together only cost about $650. To be sure, zooms are required equipment for weddings, but primes will NEVER fail you.<br>

A DX alternative to the Nikon 70-200 is the Sigma 50-150 f2.8. I have one. It's a decent lens, is much smaller, weighs and costs much less, and covers the same territory as the 70-200 does for FX. Just a thought.<br>

Oh yeah... You want to look "Pro"? Put on a battery grip, a flash bracket, and keep the lens hood on all the time. Your arms will get tired, but you'll look mighty good!</p><div></div>

<p>For a while I was trying to use f2.8 zooms for portraiture, mostly for ease of use. The problem I encountered was that the lenses I was using weren't sharp enough wide open - where I wanted to be. I'd have to stop down to f4, or f5.6, for sharpness, and then of course shallow DOF went out the window. These days, I'm back to my Nikon f1.8 primes - a 35, 50, and my never fail 85mm 1.8D. Shooting any of these at f2.8 gives me the razor sharp eyes that I want, and the background is creamy smooth and soft. All of these lenses together will cost you well under $800 US and will NEVER let you down. Are they good for "run and gun" at weddings? Probably not, but in a slower or studio situation they're way more than fine.</p>

<p>My first "real" camera was a pre-war IIIc with an Elmar f3.5. My dad who was a Lt. Col. U.S. Army, got it in France at the end of the war. It spent years sitting in a drawer in our dining room while all the pictures were being shot with Instamatics and Polaroids. One day when I was about 11 or 12 I asked him if I could use it. He said yeah, and brought down from the attic the enlarger and developing trays and all the stuff that I'd never known about and never seen before. Next thing, we're in a spare basement room plugging cracks with black rags and setting up a darkroom. I still love the smell of "stop bath". I was a photographer!! Yippee!!<br>

My dad died in '78. I was 20. I still have the camera. I've shot Nikon SLR's since the late 70's, and shoot only digital now, but every time I pick up that camera it reminds me of all the fun my dad and I had way back when.<br>

Thanks Jim.</p>

<p>Ok. Square one.<br>

Aperture, film speed and shutter speed all go hand in hand for correct exposure.<br>

The ONLY ONLY ONLY thing that will affect blur is shutter speed. It's "How long the window is open while the bird flies by."<br>

Aperture will affect exposure and depth of field - a different subject for a different discussion. Film speed will affect exposure combining to determine what shutter speeds and apertures can be used in what light.<br>

Important: shoot manual and just get the meter needle to point in the middle. Don't try to figure any more than that out. It's not worth the trouble right now. Keep it simple.<br>

For some blur fun, try a 1/15 second shutter with whatever aperture/film speed will give correct (remember the needle in the middle thing?) exposure. Try shooting people dancing or running. Pan people running. Shoot a bicycle race, both static and panning. Shoot a friend doing jumping jacks. Shoot a flock of pigeons flying up from an old man feeding them at a park bench. Someone out there shoots dogs faces while they're shaking off water - pretty funny stuff.<br>

Think of what moves - nearly everything alive, and think of what you can do with that.<br>

Good luck.</p>

<p>Just make sure you leave room in your budget for at least one fast (f1.8 or better) prime lens. Camera name F1.8 50mm's are cheap as dirt and are really good. A 50mm on a crop sensor is about like a 75mm on a full size sensor - a mild telephoto. Good luck, and good shooting!</p><div></div>

<p>Aargh!!!! One more try!!!!</p><div></div>

<p>My daughter Keena was my model at a Long Island Strobist meetup. She made quick friends with all the other photogs and models. Somehow during the evening she discovered that modeling was actually "work" and not quite as easy as she'd thought. Funny stuff.</p>

<p>I agree. My #1 complaint. I've sat there looking at a screwed up picture on the screen and wondered what the hell I did... Oh yeah... it was in "bla bla bla" mode. The exposure mode dial should lock down along with the shutter mode dial.<br>

My #2 complaint is that the memory card door opens by accident a lot.</p>

<p>Daniel,<br>

I've had battery grips (or motor drives back in the day) on all my cameras. If I don't use one, my hand cramps up after a while. I shoot a D7000 currently, and the MB-D11 also has a little joystick on it so that you still have navigation controls at your fingertips (thumbertip?). Buy it, slap it on, and never look back.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Another old shot. I just used it as an example in a forum and thought it would be a nice for Nikon Wednesday. <br>

A month or so after rotator cuff surgery, Keena wanted to go to the beach. It was still a bit cold, but she wasn't taking "no" for an answer. I'm lying on my just operated on left shoulder praying that I don't rip out the stitches. Luckily I didn't and also got the shot!</p><div></div>

<p>Echoing what everyone else has said, clicks are almost meaningless on lenses. I shoot about a thousand pictures a month (and pros do much more than that) and I've never worn out a lens. As for a lens recommendation, If you're going to stay with DX, consider the Nikon 10-24mm. The extra two millimeters on the wide end is actually quite a lot. My personal super wide is a Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6. The price is right, and I have absolutely NO complaints. (Read Thom Hogans review.) You don't need a "fast" lens for landscapes because you'll usually be shooting around f8-f11 anyway.<br>

DON'T FORGET YOUR GRADUATED ND OR YOUR CIRCULAR POLARIZER!!!!! <br>

Just a thought... You may also consider shooting multiple vertical pictures with good "normal" lens and stitching. The cheap Nikon 18-55mm is razor sharp stopped down.</p>

<p>Good luck and enjoy!</p><div></div>

<p>Ok. Here you go: The D60 does not have a commander mode. The D70, D70s, D80, D90, and D7000 do. To trigger in CLS mode you would need either an SU-800 commander (This is what I use every day. It's nice to be able to control your flash power right from the camera, and it can control THREE different banks of flashes. It has certain limitations because it's IR line of sight, but that's another post.), or an SB-800, SB-900 (probably SB-700 - I'm not sure) as the commander. If you can live without CLS and don't mind walking over to your lights to adjust power, then any (read ANY) triggers will work. The cheap Ebay ones have had some spotty history, but that's improving. My daughter uses Cybersyncs, which I can vouch for 100%. Pocket Wizards are somewhat of an industry standard, but there are several other higher end brands that are excellent as well. If you are not reading <a href="http://www.strobist.com">www.strobist.com</a>, you should be. David Hobby is the #1 off camera flash guru on the internet, period. You will learn more there in a month than you will in a 10 years of messing around on internet forums. Good luck in your efforts!!!!</p>

<p>I think Richard is being a little harsh(spit-up? haha!), but in the end, he's right. His issue with you branding yourself better is on the money. As far as the contrast is concerned, I think that both are appropriate for those given pictures. Don't pigeonhole yourself in to one photographic concept. </p>

<p>So many great shots this week. Wow!</p>

<p>Oops... I'm a day late... Anyway...<br>

My wife was sleeping late on Saturday, so it was fun-time for Liam and I. We were just rolling around on the living room floor and I decided that the light looked good for some pics. He agreed. :-)<br>

Nikon D7000 - 85mm f1.8 @ f2.8 - window light.<br>

Thanks for looking!</p><div></div>

<p>A lot of cool shots here today. My favorites so far: Joe, Steve (and I don't like cats) and Markku (Finland Brrrrrrrr....). </p><div></div>

<p>Oops... I didn't see the part about you having a studio and lights. Here's a link to a photo using the over the shoulder bounce anyway:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robmulliganphotography/6413983425/in/photostream">http://www.flickr.com/photos/robmulliganphotography/6413983425/in/photostream</a><br>

And a link to a portrait of my daughter using the Sigma 10-20mm:<br>

<a href="

Hope that helps!</p>

 

<p>Hi Tonyia,<br>

For group portraits shallow DOF really doesn't apply, so your 18-55 is a FINE choice. Lighting is the key here. Unless you can shoot where there's a lot of soft cross lighting, you should use some kind of diffused flash. An old trick I use when I have only one flash and no umbrella is to bounce the flash high over my shoulder at a white ceiling/wall corner. That's a cheap and easy starting point. For more lighting information, especially with speedlights, you really should be reading David Hobby's "Strobist.com" website.<br>

For landscape, I use a Sigma 10-20 F4-5.6. It's a solid performer and very well made. Thom Hogan reviewed it a while back. Again, shallow DOF is not an issue as it's landscape and you're usually shooting at f8 or f11, so spending more for a faster lens is pointless. FWIW - These days a lot of photographers are shooting landscapes in portrait position on a tripod with several overlapping exposures and stitching them into a bazillion megapixel photo. If you choose THAT route, your 18-55 is still a FINE choice. :-) See? This might cost you even less that you thought!!<br>

Hope that input helps, and good luck!</p>

<p>Near where I live, there a black wedding/studio photographer who uses his wife's photo on his business card. I know he loves her dearly, but she's a really really BIG woman - very "churchy", "crown" and all. The first time I saw his card I almost fell down. Now, as much as he loves his wife, I would hope that he would look for the most photogenic person he's ever shot for his first impression to the world - his business card. I would think, that the business card, website, or whatever one uses to showcase their talent would be reserved for ones very best work - whatever that may be.<br>

Just my humble opinion.</p>

<p>I got to use a Fuji X10 the other day. It's quite nice! The best parts are it's fast lens, lightening quick autofocus, almost "zero" shutter lag and very solid build and dials. Don't buy anything without trying this one!</p>

<p>I photo of my Keena from almost exactly two years ago. D90 and an 85/1.8, shot wide open.</p><div></div>