johndc

Both Nikon 18-55's are junk. the one that comes with the D40 is actually the "mark II" version of the lens that shipped with the D50, also an 18-55, though they're basically the same.

For portraits it's a no brainer -- get the 50mm f/1.8. It's sharp, it's fast, and (perhaps best of all) it's cheap.

with macro at 28mm, you're going to be A LOT closer to the subject that you'd be with the 60mm. I have to concur that the 105mm would be a sound investment for you, given your criteria.

However, if the only reason you're avoiding getting closer is because of the flash, you can get a Sunpak ringlight flash for less than $200. This will allow you to move the lens closer without losing light. The only downside is that the flash won't be TTL/i-TTL.

Fes: I apologize if my answer sounded sarcastic. At first I thought it was obvious to anybody that the lens you posted was a Planar, given that it says "Planar" on the front. But then I realized that to someone who is wholly unacquainted with this sort of thing, it might not occur to them to even look there.

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Anyway, the long story short and (I hope) the complete answer to your question is as follows:

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The names "Planar" and "Distagon" do not refer to any one lens in particular. Both of these are the names given to the <i>design</i> of the lens, which can be made for various combinations of focal length and aperture. As I mentioned before (and Ivan reiterated) the Planar is the standard normal focal length lens design, while the Distagon is the standard wide-angle lens design.

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In my opinion, the best lens for you is the 80mm Planar. It is considerably less expensive than the Distagon, and is more suited to general photography.

"There are 80mm Distagons."

Try again.

I've never heard of an 80mm Distagon for the Hasselblad. There was one made for the SL66 that was f/4 and had a leaf shutter, but the only Distagons I know of for the Hasselblad are wide-angles. All Hassy lenses have leaf shutters so there's no advantage there. The Distagon is Zeiss' "standard" retrofocal wide-angle design, and on the whole they perform very well.

The Planars are nice too though, and IMO have a nicer look for portraits than the Distagons.

You'll find that the wide-angle Distagons are going to be more expensive than the 80mm/2.8 Planars, which are a lot more common.

It really comes down to what subject matter you want to shoot.

<A HREF="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=156884&is=REG&addedTroughType=search">These brushes</A> are safe and effective for cleaning lenses. Use compressed air first to get the larger particles off.

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When cleaning the 60/2.8, be sure to extend the lens fully, invert it, and blow air between the "nested cones" that are used for lens extension. Any type of hard particle (sand, glass, stone) that works it's way into these areas can easily destroy the focusing mechanism.

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If you use the lens regularly outdoors (as I do), make a habit of doing this after each session to ensure the lens stays clean.

It's called a fresnel flash.

Basically it's for using flash with very long lenses. It focuses the flash output into a very narrow, long throw beam.

More info here: http://www.project-a-flash.com/

"The orientation sensor is just a small ball bearing in a tube."

I thought it was a mercury switch. I don't know where I got that idea from, though.

"Contax G2 falling three feet off shoulder onto stone floor = replace entire top plate"

i'm surprised the AF rangefinder was still in good working order.

perhaps you should make a strap out of gaffer's tape too -- it's tough stuff! ;)

I've heard that the rattling is caused by the flash tube.

One way to find out is to keep shaking the camera until Nikon sends you an itemized repair bill. ;)

No.

It's all in the manual.

Benny-

Distance information is important for the use of direct flash in iTTL -- it's less important when bouncing. However, for available light photography it's a non-issue.

Did you accidentally bump the diopter adjustment?

See that little wheel with the + and - signs to the upper-right of the eyepiece? Try turning it until things come in to focus.

The Gitzos are nice but quite expensive. A more affordable alternative would be the Bogen/Manfrotto 3021 family of tripod legs, preferably one of the "pro" models, which enables you to mount the column horizontally.

The choice of tripod head is more of a personal decision. Some people like the freedom of a ball-head, while others like the precision of a pan/tilt head. Any of the Manfrotto heads are going to be rugged and sturdy, so again it's really a matter of personal taste.

As Mark mentioned, a focusing rail is also a very nice feature -- it can make your life considerably easier.

As a final note, try to avoid tripods by Slik and Sunpak. They tend to be poorly made, prone to vibration, and will not sufficiently support the weight of a full macro setup.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

"I have a solid pro video camera and will use it to lock down the camera."

I'd like to see that.

And to reiterate what others have said, there is no way you can shoot in either H or L continuous mode while using the exp. delay. It is only available in single-shot and self-timer mode.

I'm guessing your objective is to be able to shoot continuously for 30 seconds without that noisy mirror going up and down. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to do that, though it would be a nice feature.

If you are familiar with adjustment layers in Photoshop, you can think about it this way:

When you open a RAW file, the camera settings (saturation, color balance, sharpness, tint, contrast) are applied to the image as if they were adjustment layers. You see the results of the adjustments on the image, but the changes aren't permanent and you can alter them or remove them as you please, while keeping the dataset of the image intact. It's only when/if you export the RAW file that the changes are permanently written to the new file.

Does anyone know if you can adjust the vertical offset of the rangefinder on

this camera? Mine doesn't line up properly and I'd like to fix it. Thanks.

"Bob, Wow you can test a lens looking through a D80 viewfinder, cool!"

Bob never said he gave the lens a thorough test. He said he noticed distortion. You can clearly see distortion through the viewfinder, provided you know what you're looking at.

"Markus, I am sure there is a difference but it does not show on my screen? I take it the crop was more revealing?"

The contrast is noticeably higher in the second picture. However, since the colors do not match, the difference in contrast could be due to a color cast unrelated to the lens.