nghi_hoang

I have an old Minolta bellows III (the manual version) that I picked up at a

garage sale for quite a bargain. I want to make a macro focusing rail out of

it. My plan is to cut away the bellows unit (see gray out portion in picture

below) with a hack saw and attach an arca-style QR shoes to the top/front

focusing element to mount the camera with QR plate attached. I am still at the

contemplating and brainstorming stage and wondering if anyone has done the same

for this particular bellows or any other one. I am digging for idea or

experiences with this project.

 

I anticipate that I will receive advice to forget it and go buy a macro focusing

stage from B&H or RRS, but I think this sort of project is a lot of fun, even if

I have to invest time and money into it. This is also not Nikon related, but

since I use Nikon gear and there is not other place to post this, I am sneaking

it in here. Hope you all won't mind.<div></div>

"I'm leaning HEAVILY toward the Sigma myself, <i>even though it's slower</i>." said Peter.

<P>

That is exactly why I am leaning toward the Tokina.

The Tokina 12-24 f/4, a substitute for the Nikon 12-24 f/4. I am still holding out because it's a big purchase. In the mean time, I am using my "new" used 50mm f/1.9 AF.

 

If this rumor is true, a FF DSLR from Nikon might not be far fetch? I'm just wondering.

A long time ago, I wanted to get the 50mm f/1.8 AFD to reverse it on my 105mm Micro Nikkor. At the time, I didn't think I would use a normal lens very much since my zoom covers the focal length. I'm starting to wonder if I want more prime lens. I have a reversing ring coming from China and can't wait to see what this 50mm will perform reversed.

Brooks, I thought I had a good deal! Darn! :) By the way, NAS is a dangerous thing, but so far, I have not acquired it. I hope I won't.

Terry, Palo Alto's

After buying a used 50mm f/1.4 AF (non-D) lens for $70, I am left with $930. I don't think I have NAS. :P

A while back I asked for help with spending $1000.00 (<a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KZ4o">link</a>). I

named the 50mm f/1.4 AFD, but decided to compromise to save $200 and bought a

used 50mm f/1.8 AF (non-D) for $70 in excellent condition. It's made in Japan

and very light, something I am not used to, but is quite refreshing. I have

been walking around with the lens attached to my D200. It is incredibly sharp

(although no objective test) and contrasty. The pictures really seem to "pop."

Samples below. I am quite happy with it. I don't know what I am missing with

not having the 50mm f/1.4 AFD, but ignorance is bliss, for now at least.<div></div>

Mitch, can you elaborate on why you were so disappointed with the 85mm f1.4?

Eric, unfortunately, I have exactly $1000 and am not married, yet. At the current time, I am paying to work the intermittent 36-hour shifts. Then again, there are other gains besides money. :)

 

I mentioned before that I am a bit of a gear head. My PC is home-brew with approximately 1 terabytes of storage, including backups. Harddrives are getting cheaper and cheaper. The last time I read a Fry's ad, the price for a gigabyte was $0.25. Simply amazing!

Karim, I can see your point. The reason I need a flash is to take full advantage of the iTTL flash system in the field for close up work. I am barely managing with the SB-28 since it can only do manual and A mode with the D200. I don't mind this so much for non-moving subjects because I can use my ambient meter, but with insects...forget it. Proper and creative use of flash can produce amazing results, at least compared to my skill level with flash. Some evidence <a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/?">here</a>.

 

<p>

It is because of the low light shooting capability of the 85 AFD 1.4 that makes the lens so attractive to me. As far as bokeh, I have seen results from this lens and they are simply excellent.

 

<p>

I had a thought. Tokina 12-24, SB-800, and a used/new Nikon 50 AFD 1.4 (saw a mint used Nikkor 50 1.4 yesterday, but was too late to make offer). This will probably go over the budget limit.

 

<p>

Peter and hiro, can you explain your gravitation toward the 35mm f2? It is a Nikkor, right?

Thanks all for helping me with this. As for using that money to travel, this is a graduation gift from my parents. Besides, I don't have much time for travel, at least not to exotic place like Africa. I am, however, thinking about a road trip to the pacific northwest for a few days.

 

I am a little bit of a gear head. If money isn't an obstacle, I would probably own a lot of Nikon glass.

Thanks, Paul. I use PTGui to stitch the 9 frames that made up the pano. 90 Megapixels. Can't you believe it? I must say I like pano a lot. One of my friends' mother is obsessed with San Francisco, so it is nice that I have this to send to her. :)

I have a bit of a dilemma, sort of.  I have a $1000.00 to spend on new

gear. Oh yes!  I'm a happy camper.  But let's start with what I have:

D200, F100, Nikon 80-200 AFD 2.8,

Nikon 17-35 AFS 2.8, Tokina 28-70 ATX 2.8, Nikon 105 Micro 2.8, Nikon 105 AIS

2.5, and a SB-28 flash.  Since receiving the D200, my wide angle zoom is no

longer what it is on the F100.  This is a bit frustrating, if you know what I

mean.  Naturally, I want a lens that gives me back the wide angle. 

However, I have wanted to get the 85 AFD 1.4 for quite a while. Also, I want a

flash that work with the D200.  So, with that budget, what do you think I

should get?

<ul>

<li>

Wide angle zoom? 

Choices: Nikon 12-24 (will use up the entire budget) or Tokina 12-24 ($500

left over for maybe an SB-800 and still have some small change left) or

fill-in-the-blank</li>

<li>

Get the 85 AFD 1.4 (I do

like to shoot portrait, but I have the 105 AIS 2.5 already, albeit a little

long with the D200)</li>

</ul>

<p>

As far as subject matters, I

like landscape, macro, and portrait.  I guess you can say I shoot

everything. 

I agree with Robert. The saving is not substantial enough for me to purchase gray market Nikon gear.

After four days of shooting with my new D200, I took <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5786821&size=md">this</a>

before lecture today. This is what I see when I am on campus. I just want to

document it before I leave the city to begin a new chapter of life. The D200 is

such a joy to use. I still can't get over the fact that I go from start to

finish in the course of less than a day. This is fun, so I just want to share.

I use my 105mm f/2.5 AIS with my D200.

That is one dirty lens cap! :)

You can buy a macro lens for less than $500.00. For instance, the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di is $399 at Adorama. I also vote for a macro lens also.

Increase the saturation in PS?

I guess this lens will be my next purchase. :)

I have 3 Hitech graduate ND filters that are still sitting in the original

plastic sleeve that they came in. I still have not found a satisfactory

carrying/protection solution for them. I am thinking about making pouches for

them out of velvet, but not sure if velvet would be a good protective material.

A while back, I read somewhere that these filters are more fragile than Lee

filters, but are more durable than Cokin filters. Anyone made filter pouch for

these pieces of glass? What material did you use?

Follow up, I decided to shoot NEF + JPEG fine, ISO 100, Daylight WB, and the rest of the settings are defaults. I walked to Golden Gate Park yesterday evening and shot some cherry blossoms macros and the Dutch Windmill. I walked into the park early this morning and shot the same things. Initial results are <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5757998">here</a> and at the link above.

 

I must say I really like this camera. It handles very similarly to my F100. I was a little nervous about the extensive menus, but after this morning, I think it's rather intuitive. I love the instant feedback on the LCD screen and the histogram overlay function. It gets even better once I get home and be able to see my photographs on my computer LCDs. Seeing my excitement, my girlfriend commented, "We should have gotten you this camera when it first came out." But we only started dating when it first came out.

 

I am a happy camper. Thanks for all your inputs.

First <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5756347">photo</a> from my new D200.

I use the F100 as well with the SB-28, which I leave on TTL mode. I am not the most proficient at flash photography either, so someone corrects me if I am wrong.

 

I usually set the F100 to Manual mode and meter for ambient light. Let's say that my ambient light calls for 1/250th and f/5.6 just like yours and I want only fill light from the flash. You can either adjust the flash compensation on the flash OR on the camera, but NOT both because they are additive. The flash compensation is a personal taste. For me, I usually use -1.3 to -1.7 on either the flash or the camera. Almost all of the time, I dial in the flash compensation on the flash.