anis

Steven,

Since you started with N80 ( I did too) D70 is perfect as we will not notice the oft criticised slow AF speed or hthe viewfinder.

I bought d70 about a month back and I can tell you that it is

definitely worth it. I always shoot it in continous mode since

there is no waste of film... and the quality of images is stunning..

Shoot with NEF and do post processing in Adobe using the NEF plugin and you will get far more keepers...

 

I cannot answer the about getting extended warranty (I did not)... Unlike film bodies, I just want it to survive for 3 - 4 years by then newer models will be out.. and NAS will do the rest.. :)

 

Cheers

Jim, XP does not display thumbnails for 16 bits scans.. I too had

the same problem.. I dont think there is a hack for that.. (atleast

I havent been able to find it :( ).

Hmm.. That is odd, both my systems lost thumbnail of NEF ability after

upgrading to XP service pack 2. I had to restore with that

hack.. Not sure how you were able to get thumbnail view of NEF after upgrading to XP Service pack2. Oh well... may be somebody else might have this issue :)

If you noticed that after upgrading to Win XP service pack 2, the

ability to show the thumbnail was gone.. then this should be a

welcome info...

 

Opening 100s of NEF files on PS or Nikon View is no fun :)

 

This link http://earthboundlight.com/phototips/20040905.html

has the registry hack under win XP to restore the thumbnail

capability.

 

Cheers

Anis

I believe it is the Orientation sensor in the camera..

Checkout GITZO G2220 Explorer Tripod Legs and Acratech Ultimate Ballhead .. It is a bit pricey.. but is supposed to a very good combo..

Note that I dont own this, but came up frequently in my research for macro tripod...

 

Cheers

Anis

Can you guys also give a teleconverter recommendation (1.4x and 2.0x)

for the older version (push-pull, no tripod collar) nikon 80-200 f/2.8

lens? I would use it with D70 or N80... And if there is a pic

that you can point to, using any of the combo, that will be nice too..?

 

Thanks!

It is most likely ghosting that you see because of the glass elements ( reflex mirror, penta mirror, viewfinder etc) . Even if you look at moon through the viewfinder, you will see one more fainter moon.. but that will not be recorded on the film/ccd.. as the viewing system is not in the light path between the source and the ccd.

Oh, Btw, The AF performance (when not used in macro conditions ofcourse ) of sigma on D70 is not great. Infact I have not used it in AF mode even once. So, if you want good macro performance then Nikkors probably are your best bet.

One more vote for Sigma 105mm f/2.8. Extremely sharp et al. I can

personally vouch for this.

 

Also: Tamron 90mm and Nikkor 105mm . When I did my research on macro lens, the tamron, sigma and nikkor were rated similarly.. so

you cannot go wrong with them.

 

Also, on a D70, the 105mm focal length offers very good working distance because of the crop factor. and ofcourse, if you can afford it, you should checkout the 180mm focal length for macros.

 

The 50 (+5) macro might not give you enough working distance at 1:1

magnification..

 

just my .02$

The problem I guess is that every time I read some good

photography book, I end up wanting to try out something from that

and spend money on it.

Now that I think of it, I also have a Pen/board pointer which

I suddenly felt would greatly increase my photoshop skills...

and need less to say I am yet to justify it... :)

 

But on the good side, photo.net has really helped me in controlling the junk I collect mostly because of the info available.. Inspite

of shun telling not to send money on mirror lens, I did buy it.. and... hmm.. nothing teaches like experience..!

"I think you guys are taking this thread way too seriously! "

 

yep.. Mixing fun with business can't be all that bad!

As long as the thread is not flaming somebody or being offensive, I dont see what can be the problem ( as some have posted.. ) After all this IS a discussion board isnt it?

 

I have enjoyed reading dicussions on NAS before on this very board and an update on that cant be that bad.. can it? :^)

 

Cheers

The funny things is that, with my schedule and interest, the only

lens that gets the most action is my Sigma 105mm macro and reversed 50mm nikkor.. And only when I go on trips I use 20mm lens..

 

havent even touched the 28-105mm nikkor in four months.. nikkor 50 and sigma 105 seem to the only lens I carry with a tripod.. no

filter, flash etc :) and definitely not the (ugh) mirror lens!

Greeting,

 

I recently bought a D70 and of course I was out of money.. so was

looking to get rid of my photo gear to reclaim some money

and did a inventory check on my equipment.. I was astonishing to see

some of the gear I had

collected mostly on Whim!! a.k.a. EAS a super set of NAS

 

Here they are

 

Nikon 500mm Mirror lens.. No real use so far. Way too dim on a Nikon

FE..

 

An old sekonic light meter that I have never used. Apparently my

rationale was that I will buy old AIS lens to

go with N80!!! (then I bought a Nikon FE)

 

Nikon SB-25.. Good one.. but never used it as I don't really seem to

like the flash photographs I took.. (or simply

I really don't seem to use it well!)

 

B+W Nd Grad Filter!! what can I say? Result of reading/seeing too

many photography books on barnes & Noble

 

Assorted Warming Filters - Have not seen much use either!

 

15mm Fisheye - Don't even ask.

 

 

I am pretty sure you guys have collected some equipment that make you

cringe a bit :)

Lets here them (and yes.. I am in a bit of summer holiday mood :^) )

 

Cheers and Have a good one.

info in this thread.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0094de

Thanks for the info brian. I will experiment with stopping down

the attached lens. I dont want to give you an impression that I doubted your information :)

 

Anis

Just echoing what other said. I too was in that state couple of months ago..

I would recommend you to wait til you can buy it new from

good online places..

Buy it from either good online retailers like

BH, adorama for new DSLRs. KEH is the best place for all used stuff

like lens , old bodies etc.. their "bargain" condition stuff is

equal or greater than lot of "mint" condition stuff listed in e*ay.

 

It is imperative that you have a way to get the DSLR send in to be repaired in the event of a problem.. atleast for film, it is possible to find good third party repair shops...

Brian,

The photo I posted above (the one with 2x mag) was shot with

the lens attached to the camera (sigma 105 f/2.8) stopped down to

f/22 and the nikkor 50 f/1.4 wide open.. either due to the

crop factor associated with the digital, I did not get any vignetting.. I would think if the image foot print is smaller than the recording medium you would get vignetting and with the aperture of the closest lens stopped down, that shouldnt happen (?)..

Ofcourse I am complete novice.. but hopefully there was some sense in what I think :)

Cheers

Anis

And here is the same earing at 1:1 (using sigma 105mm at 1:1)<div></div>

I tried this morning the stacked lens setup.

 

Here is an image of an earing at 2:1

 

Nikon D-70 with sigma 105mm f/2.8 at 1:1 and reversed nikon 50mm f/1.4 (pressed closed in reverse position!!)<div></div>

Excellent Information. As always I highly appreciate the info..

 

"Unfortunately Nikon's tubes have no electronic linkages so you will loose all metering with your cameras (Otherwise I'd suggest the excellent PN-11 tube - the built-in tripod mount is worth its weight in gold. You could get a manual camera like the FE2 for macro...) "

I do have a nikon FE that I can use for this setup. Infact, with its split screen, the focussing will be easier than in the D70 or N80.

 

I guess with my curent lens lineup, I can try reversing the 50mm

on to the sigma 105 as suggested above.

 

But so far, I have been quite frusturated at my attempts on insect macro. For example, Arnab's image of compound eyes is awesome... but even with just my sigma I have not been able to get close to an insect (however slowly) to setup the tripod and adjust the focus without scaring the insect away.

 

So, at the moment I am just planning on macros of inanimate objects with some of the macro setup discussed here and may be I will get the hang of it to try it on an insect :)

 

 

Thanks again for the responses.

Anis

Hello,

I am an amateur and am very interested in macro photography.

I have a Sigma 105 macro lens that I am extremely happy with. What

I would like to try is the "beyond 1:1" magnification setup.

I was reading previous posts on this subject and understand that

using "reversed prime lens" is a good way to go beyond 1:1 .

 

I would like specific setup examples (like Reversed 50mm f/1.4 using

some reversing ring (if possible the part number) that can be

give me 2:1 mag.

 

I also read about stacking two lens, but I am not quite clear on that.

Will I be able to use Sigma 105mm and a reversed 50mm to get more

magnification? (if so I would expect there are some adapters

available to do that)..

 

I would be grateful if you could post a sample image taken using a

reversed setup.

 

Oh.. btw, I have a Nikon N-80 and recently bought a D-70 .

My lens are nikon 50mm f/1.4, sigma 105mm f/2.8, nikon 80-200 f/2.8

(oldest model) and nikon 20mm .

 

Thanks in advance

Anis

<div></div>

<div></div>

Hah.. It feels good to be among friends.. I was trying to justify myself about my Nikon FE purchase.. oh yes.. I won a F80 and then I thought .. what about my star trail shots? What if my batteries die in the middle? and there is always a need to have backup bodies..etc etc.. and before I know it.. I pressed the "buy" button in keh. Now I ordered a extra quick release plate to use it with my tripod..a new nikon strap..aargh.. <fainted>