alvin_wong

<p>The (limited) buffer on your D100 is full. If you are using RAW, you need to wait for the camera to finish writing raw files before you can shoot again.</p><p>Please note that this is also explained in your manual. I think you'll agree that this rather limits the speed of the D100.</p>

<p>Automation is wonderful, but sometimes you need to override those settings. The general rule of thumb is to think about spot metering if you have a scene with extreme contrast, such as a darkened city street with a bright sun above. Digital SLRs are not magical; you can't hold highlight and shadow detail if the contrast range is too extreme. I suspect that your D200 might be dialing down exposure to hold highlight detail, which is something you may or may not want. I don't have the D200, but if the metering system is working, it should be <b>more than adequate</b> to handle most situations.</p><p>I suggest you read Dante Stella's excellent <a href="http://dantestella.com/technical/afblues.html">autofocus article</a> for more information on how autofocus works.</p><p>Digital SLRs are complicated machines. Pointing and shooting is definitely not the way to go if you want to learn how to use this camera.</p>

<p>Cross-processing can yield results that are "almost normal" to "totally weird." You should expect to get strange color casts depending on which film you use.</p><p>My only experience with cross-processing is with Ektachrome 160T. The results are "almost normal looking". With this film, it seems the C41 processing neutralizes the blue color cast that would normally be there when this film is used in daylight without a filter. You can see many more examples at the Cross-Processing group on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/crossprocessing/">Flickr.</a></p>

<p>Bundles are sometimes the best deal of all. The 6006 becomes a "freebie", if you can snag the bundle for a good price.</p>

<p>I just wanted to clarify what I just said. In scenes with moderate contrast and limited dynamic range, you can generally squeeze in most, if not all of the dynamic range. Still, proper exposure is generally needed, if you want clean, noise-free pictures.</p>

<p>Ryan, I suggest you read the excellent tutorials on exposure on this website. If you want consistently better pictures, you have to stop guessing and start exposing properly for the picture that you want.</p><P>Still, keep in mind digital SLRs are a lot like slide film in that highlights blow out easily. At the same time, you can't underexpose too much, unless you want noise. You need to decide what is more important to you: shadow detail, or highlights. Sometimes there is enough exposure latitude for both, but usually you have to sacrifice one for the other.</p>

<p>Your lens isn't necessarily ideal for this purpose (it's too slow for one thing), but since the event is tonight...</p><p>I think you will need to concentrate on maximizing shutter speed, given that you will probably be hand-holding the camera for most of the time. This means you'll be using your lens wide open in "A" mode, or you can use "P" mode Flash may or may not be an option, but try to see if you can bounce it off the ceiling rather than pointing it straightforward.</p><p>Oh, and crank up the ISO.</p><p>But as I said, this setup is far from ideal. If you want more advice about how to shoot indoor events for the future, I suggest you google the many archived threads on this board.</p>

<p>I wanted to add to what John is saying. Balancing flash and ambient light is the key to dealing with extremely contrasty scenes like the one you encountered. I recommend that you read the excellent tutorials at <a href="http://www.strobist.com/">Strobist</a> for a more detailed discussion of this matter.</p>

<p>In brief, you can get a higher shutter speed by choosing a higher ISO setting.</P><p>I strongly suggest reading the excellent tutorials on this website that explain the basics of exposure. The three factors that affect exposure are ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. I think you will find the tutorials to be very informative and illuminating.</p>

<p>I agree with Alan. The dynamic range of this scene far exceeds the ability of the sensor to capture the full range of tones. This is a limitation of all film media. So you can either add supplemental light (i.e. flash), or you can accept the contrast between light and shadow and use that in a creative way.</P><p>Keep in mind that it's not just about technique. It's also about what you see in your mind.</p>

<p>There's nothing wrong with using labs to develop film. There's no inherent magic or insight that comes with developing all your own film, and printing all your negatives. Besides, once you digitize your photos, you have the freedom to post-process in any which way you like.</p><p>Ultimately, creativity and photos come from within you, not from the lab.</p>

Jason, please Google "manual focus" and "Nikon N80". Your question (and variants of) have been asked many times.

 

In short, you can meter with any "chipped" lens. This includes autofocus lenses and manual focus lenses with a CPU chip implanted.

<p>Glad to help, Jim. It will take you some time to master the techniques behind proper exposure, but I think you will find it to be immensely helpful in getting better pictures.</p><p>And here's another phrase that is particularly applicable for digital SLRs: <a>"expose to the right".<a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml"></p>

<p>Automatic settings does not negate the laws of physics. Sometimes when it is dark, you'll need to use shutter speeds below 1/125, and there is no ISO setting high enough to change that fact. So if you are in a low light situation, use a flash and/or a tripod.</p><p>If you aren't too familiar with the basics of exposure, I suggest you reference the excellent tutorials on this website.</p>

<p>Wide angle lenses (i.e. 24mm and wider) emphasize the foreground. So you basically have to compose your picture accordingly, with the foreground as part of your composition. This is a surprisingly difficult thing to do if you've only used lenses longer than 28mm. I'm still trying to "see" with my 24mm lens, so I'm also interested in seeing other wide pictures.</p>

<p>Any number of cameras/lenses can be used for photojournalism. You don't say whether you prefer wide lenses or telephotos; both types are used, but it seems like you want a lens that does it all.</p><p>Given that you prefer the lightest-weight setup possible, I doubt you'd want to pay for better, but heavier-weight lenses such as the 80-200/2.8 or more rugged bodies such as the Nikon D200. If you went for prime lenses, you'd have an even lighter setup, but no flexibility to zoom, and you'd have to change lenses even more often. The 18-200mm would seem like an ideal choice as a all-in-one zoom, but it has significant compromises. For me, the biggest compromise would be the very slow f/5.6 speed at the long end.</p><p>I guess what I'm saying is that given your set of preferences, I'm not sure how you can do any better than what you have know. You cannot have a camera outfit that is fast, flexible (i.e. the ability to zoom from wide to moderate-telephoto with no lens changes) and lightweight at the same time. You have to choose two of the three.</p>

<p>The various 28-80 and 35-80 lenses were the "super budget" lenses of their day. These are not the best optics out there. Given the collapse in prices of zoom lenses for film cameras, I suggest you buy something better, such as the 35-70/3.3-4.5, 28-70/3.5-4.5, or even the 28-105/3.5-4.5.</p>

<p>Andrea, you need to focus on "something" when using an autofocus lens. Preferably, you should focus on the edge of an object or a solid line. Autofocus relies on contrast detection; if you point the camera at a solid block of color (i.e. sky, or a white wall), the system will "hunt" for focus.</P><P>I suggest you read Dante Stella's excellent <a href="http://www.dantestella.com/technical/afblues.html">article</a> for a more detailed explanation.</p>

<p>I had a weird problem with my FE in which the shutter curtain would hang after I fired the shutter. If I used my finger to manually pull the shutter curtain down, this would reset the camera and I would be able to fire the shutter again. Of course, you should never poke the shutter curtain with your fingernail...</p><p>After trying different batteries and moving the shutter dial back and forth from M90, I suspected something else was wrong with the camera. When I went to the repair shop, I was told that the electronics were bad.</p><P>The FE is a nice compact camera, but repairs aren't very cheap nowadays. It's up to you whether it's worth repairing or not. I decided to put my money into repairing my Nikon F3, a much nicer camera IMO, although less compact and bulkier than the FE.</p>

<p>I wouldn't trade 4.75 years of warranty service for $90, but the choice is up to you.</p><p>There are places with lower prices for used 18-70s, such as KEH, or even Ebay.</p>

<p>The D100 is ok, as in "serviceable." It has all the features you really need to do photography. The D100's files may not be as "bright", "colorful", or "noise-free" as the ones produced by current DSLRs, but if you shoot RAW, you can post-process to improve. Besides, you might find the files to be quite acceptable, or even good in quality. Don't believe what you read on the Internet about the D100's files being of "poor" quality.</P>

<P>Just keep in mind that the D100 is an old camera. Unless it's been serviced, you don't know what mechanical or electronic issues may have developed over the past five years. Also keep in mind that the D100 is very slow when it comes to compressed RAW files. The buffer holds exactly three compressed RAW files before locking up. After you've filled that buffer You have to wait 45 seconds for each compressed RAW file to be written to the CF card. The write speed is better with uncompressed RAW and JPEG, if you prefer those options. In this crucial respect, any newer Nikon DSLR is faster.</p>

<p>Yes, the D100 is a bargain right now, but for good reason. Caveat emptor.</p>

<p>Ah, where to begin to answer your numerous questions? First off, it seems like you need to read up on what a "color space" is. Also keep in mind that in the post-processing phase, you can adjust color to your heart's content. There's no reason why you can't make D1x pictures look 7900 pictures, or vice versa.</p>

<p>As for comparing the D1X and 7900; that's like comparing apples to oranges. The D1X is a digital SLR with an APS-C sensor. All things considered, the D1X should yield better images than the 7900 which uses a much smaller 1/1.8" sensor. In that sense, the D1x is more like 35mm film.</P>

<p>Others can give you a quick summary of the differences between the color spaces, but you have a lot of reading to do on your own.</P>

<p>The point of a f/1.4 aperture is to gather more light, not be super sharp. Generally speaking, you shouldn't expect a lens to perform best at the widest aperture. If you want more depth of field or more contrast, you should stop down the lens. And as Steve said, be extra careful with focus when the lens is wide open.</p><p>In other words, only use f/1.4 if you need the light. On the other hand, once you become acquainted with the "look" of f/1.4, you can utilize this to your advantage.</p>

<p>I just bought a "cheap" F3 on Ebay. Although it appears to be clean, the

slower shutter speeds don't function properly. In particular, the "2 second"

speed setting causes the shutter to open and fire rapidly, while the "4 second"

setting causes the shutter to get stuck open for several minutes. This happens

whether I lock up the mirror or not.</p><P>The mirror sometimes sticks on higher

speed settings, but I attribute that to the deteriorated foam seals on the

mirror that I can replace myself.</p><p>Before I send this off for repair, or

just ignore it (I don't use slow shutter speeds), is there a simple remedy that

I'm missing?</p>

<p>Try searching for "full frame Nikon" on Google. Your question has come up innumerable times in the past few years. I think you will see that it has been all quiet on the Front, at least when it comes to Nikon and full-frame sensors.</p>

<p>If you can afford the best lens, and you can why not go for it? Besides, the 17-55/2.8 is still usable on a full-frame sensor, albeit only as a 26-55mm.</p>