corey

I am not a fan of the 18-200, I know that the lens is a great all around lens but I am not impressed with its build. If I am going to spend that much money on a lens then I want to know that it will be there for me 10 years from know. I will say that I am a little rough on my equipment but that is what I expect from my equipment, to take some abuse. I know that there is a lot of people that buy the hummer and never take it off road. Some people buy the D2x and never let it see a cold snowy day. What is the point in that. My choice would be to get a used 80-200 2.8 or a 180 prime, a 50 1.8/1.4, the wonderful 10.5 and use them for your stock shots. Then pick up a 18-70 or the 18-135 and shoot your non money making shots with them. They are great lenses for memories.

 

Corey

I would also say that it is a pin issue, however I am not sure because you would think that if a pin is bent then it would have the same problem with all cards. Unless you broke of a pin in the card that is working and it makes the conection when in the camera. I have seen many bent and broken pins and it can be a little hard to spot. Just look very close at them and see if any is even slightly out of sorts from the others and you will know. Good luck with that and I hope it will be an easy and cheap fix for you.

 

Corey

Your focusing shouldnt be an issue. Most digi's will focus without a problem through an IR filter however if you do not replace the IR blocking filter with either a clear piece of glass or an IR cut to size you will most likely have a small issue with focusing.

If you want to do this yourself I bleive that the wratten filters are the most simple to cut to size. just be ready to cut it down when you take your camera apart to make sure you get the right size cut.

 

Corey

I cant help but think that you will be missing some shots waisting time trying to focus the lens for you mtb downhill events. Though I agree that the 85 1.4 is a great lens and probably better then the 1.8 what good is it if you miss the shot. I think the 1.4 is better for photographs that can be set up but not for action.

Who wants to get a d80 and then get a manual focus lens that the camera won't meter. I say get either the 18-70 or even better the 18-135 both are very good lenses that give you some options. There is always a better lens. If you have the money then maybe look at the 17-55 and the 70-200. I would probably go with the 18-135 for a starter and then look into the more expensive lenses when you know what you are wanting to do with your camera and what your camera can do for you.

I agree with Juanjo viagran the nikon 60mm micro 2.8 is a very nice lens.

I,m not sure if you are talking about the nikon built in flash or the sb-400/600/800 but in my opinion light is light regardless of the name on the flash. What you pay for is recycle time, power, cammander mode, bounce-swivel and so on. The SB600 and SB800 have the cammander mode option witch will alow you to remove the flash and place it on a stand or behind or above the bride and fire it with out cords. The sb800 can fire up to 4 other SB600 (I think its 4 I could be wrong on the number) at one time so you could use them as a complete studio lighting. The another advantage to the nikon flashes is that the recycle time is amazing. You can fire mulitple shots before the flash needs to refill the inner power source. which is nice if you plan on shooting 3 frames a sec at your wedding. other after market flashes can take 10 to 15 sec to recycle after a full burst.

Now if you are talking about the built in flash then I believe that nikon has one of the more powerful flashes over most other slr pop ups but It will still only get you about 15 or 20 feet if your lucky.

If I were you I would without question by the nikon slr over the sony. I realize there may be extra money involved with lenses but if you are going to use it for weddings then I think the nikon will give you better quality photos. I have done some studies between the iso setting between the sony and nikon slrs and though nikon is not the best in this field it was still better then sony's alpha.

 

One last thing. I am not sure if the d40 has them option for cammandor mode like the d80/d200.

 

Hope this helps.

Corey

I agree mostly with John but I have had the same experience with digital/film differences. However I wouldn't take a 3.5 lens indoors without a flash and expect every one of them to turn out. I only shoot with 2.8 lenses and they are not good enough for me sometimes. Like Jon Da La Cruz said, if you get a 50mm 1.8 film version then you are shooting with about a 75mm lens which makes it a pretty good portrait lens with plenty of light and great depth of field. I have the Sigma lens you mentioned and I love it. The resale value on most after market lenses are pretty poor so if I were going to purchase it again I would go with a used one and save even a little more money. It is a little slower focusing then the nikon version but that has never interfered with my kind of shooting, and my shots are more then exceptable. I wouldnt be affraid to buy another Sigma EX series lens.

I will have to agree with Frank "is the SB-600 good enough for you". They are both great flashes with the 800 being worth the extra money. However for the most part light is light regardless of which one you buy, yes you do get a little more power from the 800 but what you are really paying for is the extra features of the flash not the quality of light. So ask yourself if you need the extra features. If you are going to purchase more then one and use them as slaves then it really dosent matter which you buy first just make sure that one of them is an sb-800. If you do not plan on useing more then one flash then maybe the SB-600 would be good enough for your application.

 

Corey

Thanks to all of you for your reply, I have been away from my computer for the past week and I am sorry that I have not replied to the questions asked of me. I am shooting with the nikon f100 and am purchasing the d200. I have a 28-70 2.8 lens now but with most of my shoots I will have my film and digital camera with me so the advantage to the 18-200 for me would simply be not useing the f100 as much as I probably should. My thought was that if I went with the 80-200 then it would be mounted to one, and the 28-70 to the other. I am looking for the sharpest and best lens for picture quality, I dont care about the weight. As a matter of fact, I believe that you can usually tell the quality of the product from its wieght. Now before I get a ton of responses from that, my point is that the heavier the lens USUALLY the more metal and stronger the parts inside which will USUALLY give you a lot more shooting time with it. I also understand the appeal of a light weight lens. Now I realize that the photographers eye is very important in the quality of the picture but if had the 18-200 at the 105 range and the 80-200 105 range and shot the same picture under the same light at the same f stop which lens would I be more likely to have a better picture from. I believe that most of you believe it would be the 80-200 f2.8.

 

Thanks again for all your replies.

 

Corey

I am in the market to purchase a new lens and was wondering if there is anyone

who has used both of these lenses and knows them well enough to tell me which

will give me a better photograph. I do like the idea of the VR on the 18-200

but is it worth losing the 2.8 from the 80-200? Most important to me is picture

quality I want the one that will provide me with sharp detail and an all around

high quality photo.

thanks in advance for your response.

 

Corey

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I first would like to say that this site has provided me with tools and

information to make my photos stand out in a croud, but because I am a starving

artist and photography is an expensive hobby I am always trying to find ways to

cut the cost of my photography toys. With that said I would love to see another

forum subject of Do It Yourself topics for those of us who want a less

expensive way to show our creativity and expand our knoledge. This would be a

forum that I would visit often and also give some of my own ideas and

experinces to those who are looking for ways of making there photos stand out

in a croud.

For example, I recently was shown a DIY macro lens made of PVC pipe and an old

50mm f/1.8 lens inverted. I thought about making one of my own and as I thought

of alternate ways of creating this I remembered that I had an old zoom lens

that expanded to about twice its length when zoomed out. The lens had an

untimely end when it was caught in a rain storm. So I decided to take out the

glass and use the barrel as my PVC tube because the mount was already there and

the lens (now extension tube) was expandable. I also put a 50mm 1.8 lens

inverted on the end of this and had very impressive results from this project,

not to mention saved some cash in the process.

So with a DIY forum we could all share little tricks and ideas to ease the

burden of finances and produce many more unique photos to share on this site.

 

thanks for listening,

Corey

Hello,

 

I am interested in buying a new bag for my camera. I am a novice

photographer that doesn't want to miss an oppertunity for a shot if

it presents itself. Therefore I am looking for a bag to take

everywhere with a Nikon f100 and battery pack and maybe a lens or

two, flash, film, extra batteries and so on. I am very interested in

the crumpler series bags, but I can't find any in my area to view

hands on. I also like the Domke series and the Tamrac Velocity 9

sling bag.

I would love to hear from some one that has experience with these

bags, so that I dont waist my money on a bag that isn't suitable for

my needs.

 

thanks in advance for your response.

 

Corey

Gavin, I am an advocate of the agfa isolette II, III, and Super. These cameras are very well made, sturdy, and compact. I love to shoot medium format but hate to lug around my mamiya rb67. So my alternitive was the agfa. This camera will fit in to an inner suit jacket. The difference between the 2,3 and super is the as follows.

 

Agfa II = Great camera without a meter or rangfinder.

Agfa III= better camera without meter but with rangefinder.

Agfa super= best camera with meter and rangefinder.

 

Now all of these also have a saftey feature for the shutter so that you can't double expose your film accidentally. The Agfa Isolette I dosn't have that feature.

 

Also for the lens and shutters, The best lens is the solinar, this lens is great very sharp and clear to the edge. Then there is the apator also a good lens worth buying. Last is the agnar I wouldnt recommend the agnar lens. The best shutter is the compur rapid which is up to 500th sec. then there is the prontor, prontor S, prontor SV, and prontor SVS, I believe all of these will shoot at 300th sec. and last is the apator, I wouldnt recommend the apator.

 

There is plenty for sale for at your local auction site, however if you dont want to overhaul it make sure that the add says that it has been CLA'd.

 

I also have experience with the Koni-Omega as mentioned above, Great camera and even better photos then the agfa isolette. but its drawback for me is its size I want something a little more compact. but if your looking for a great picture and dont care about carring a big and very ugly camera then the koni-omega may be a great choice for you.

 

I hope this helps you decision.

 

Corey

thanks to all for your responses, but I would like to reiterate that I also think poorly of the date on my images, however I love shooting with the f100. So for me it was easy to purchase the mf29 for about $100.00, and be able to shoot with it all the time instead of the rare opportunities I have to concentrate on the art of photography. Unfortunatly I dont have the time I use to shoot, children can really change things.

 

Again thanks for the comments and the compliments,

Corey