greglyon

For modern digital (and film, sometimes) cameras it is all there for you, as clearly pointed out already...

 

Sometimes when I'm feeling nostalgic, I miss the old dog-eared notebooks I carried around to record information about each exposure. BUT mostly I really really really like not worrying about that sort of detail, knowing my camera does it for me. Course, those extra notes...location, thoughts/feelings I had at the time are missed. Always thought I'd try audio annotating or some such, but so far no go.

Here's a good article to have a look at: <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/nature/sunmoon">http://www.photo.net/learn/nature/sunmoon</a>.

Here's another reference. Thom Hogan makes mention of compressed NEF format <a href="http://bythom.com/qadraw.htm">here</a>, wherein he states:

<blockquote><q>this works without penalty <b>unless</b> you make large changes to highlight data. Where I see small, resolvable differences is in something like a wedding dress detail after large amounts of post processing and sharpening are applied. </q></blockquote>

 

So, you'd have to have a photo with lots of bright subject matter, then do lots of alteration/sharpening to see minimal differences.

<i>I wish I could use the sony 16-80mm on the d200. That zoom range wold probably do for 80-90% of my shooting.</i> <p>Wouldn't the Nikon 18-70 then be quite close to your desires? It's a relatively inexpensive lens with a reasonable range and quality well beyond it's modest price (course, it's no 17-35 or 17-55).

I suggest hiring the Nikon TC14E as well as the 300 if you can get it! that'll give you a 420mm f4 with very little loss in quality. Between your own 70-200, the 300f2.8 and 420 f4 you should really be covered...those TCs are really designed for those lenses.

I say, take the Thom Hogan article to heart...or do like many (myself included) and buy cheap...then midrange...then the right stuff. It cost me at least 40% extra doing it that way (of course, there's the fact that I couldn't afford the 'right stuff' when I was buying the cheap stuff...but I also didn't own the nice cameras/lenses then either).

 

I settled on two tripods/heads over time. My 'light' setup matches Thom's 'light' recommendation. Hakuba CF + Acratech. I've actually mounted a manual focus 500f4+1.4x on that combo. It's not quite up to the task but did work with careful long-lens technique. My heavy setup includes a Gitzo 410 (steel version...I really like how tall this tripod is. I'm 6'1" and on flat ground my camera is too high to see through if I do max extension...) and Arca Swiss B1. cameras/lenses all get really-right-stuff or Kirk brand quick release plates. The thing is that once you buy the stuff, you'll never regret it. It's so much nicer to work with than cheap or mid-range stuff. When you tighten the knobs they stay tight, yet they're easy to loosen.

 

Good luck with your decision making!

As another in the market I've read up a bit, here are some relevant links for you:

<p>

<b>Ken Rockwell</b> has a reasonable review of these two lenses + Nikon and Tamoron similar offerings at <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-wide-zooms/comparison.htm">http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-wide-zooms/comparison.htm</a>

<p>

I just noticed that <b>Thom Hogan</b> has promised a Sigma 10-20 review soon too...(eagerly anticipating that one, am I...) <a href="http://www.bythom.com/">http://www.bythom.com</a>

<p>

And finally, <b>Bjørn Rørslett</b> doesn't have flattering things to say about using the Nikon 14mm f2.8 on digital cameras...worth a read for sure! <a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_wide.html">http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_wide.html</a>

<p>

My own reading has me strongly leaning toward the Sigma.

$20k = D3 + the (mostly) new nikon glass used in the shots...300f2.8 afs vr, 500f4 afs vr, 200-400f4 afs vr! Sure would be nice to own/use.

 

I can't wait to hear/see more hands on reviews of both D3 and D300!

Forgive me for stating the obvious (well once you know it's obvious), but (as it was pointed out to me several years ago) with Nikons you push two buttons to initiate a format, the trick is that you have to push them, wait for signal (in top lcd) then release and push both again. You'll know your format is successful when the picture count is returned to max. I thought, for the first few weeks of owning my D100, that the camera did some sort of lossless format and that I still had to delete pictures.

<p>

And while I'm at it, formatting is doubly nice because it a) is much faster than deleting images, and b) takes care of any file-system errors that tend to crop up over time. I <em>never</em> delete photos to clear my CF cards anymore, always format.

<p>Good luck, and happy shooting,

<br />Greg.

Hi David,

Everybody here has given you lots of good advice. I have had great luck using the Cokin P holder with the Singh-Ray Split ND Grad filters. (I cut the front filter holder off of mine with a hacksaw too). They're lightweight and relatively cheap. I have had much less luck handholding them. Also, it takes a bit of practice to get it right...nice to be able to take a shot and then move it a little bit. It's all to easy to end up with a shot that 'looks' like you used a split nd grad.

 

Also, depending on your typical shooting situation you may prefer different ones (they come in 2 or 3 stop variations, both of which come in 'hard' or 'soft' edge). Here's another thread that talks about the virtues of each... http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008Nzh

 

As I've switched away from film in favor of digital shooting I do more blending of multiple exposures, and less use of the split nd, though there sure is something nice about getting it done in the camera!

 

Have fun!<div></div>

Clive, I agree that pcinspector is a great freeware! I've used it to recover photos from several cameras/cards.

 

But, Julianna's computer is a mac and pcinspector is only for windows computers...Maybe it'll help someone else though.

Apologies in advance if I'm stating the obvious, but I found the process for formatting with the D100 and D70 to be just slightly trickier than it looks. I haven't used D1x but maybe it's the same? You push and hold 2 separate buttons for a couple seconds...then when display starts flashing 'format' you have to push and hold both buttons <i>again</i>. Easy with hindsight, but I didn't ever correctly format for first couple months of ownership. Now it's the typical way I clear out a card after downloading.

I have had good luck stacking an AF 50 f1.4 on 200 AIS Micro. 52mm to 52mm threads make it pretty easy. Not so good luck (but it sure looked strange) stacking af 17-35 f2.8 on the 200 micro. Sure would have been fun to have 'zoomable' magnification! I can't find my notes but I think that mounting a 35 f2.8 caused a lot of vignette...

First off, I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with an unreasonable person. I hope the situation gets better for you, and soon!

 

Next, there are a lot of programs that can undelete files, lots under $50, some free. here are a couple I picked at random...from versiontracker.com, http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22589

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/23443

 

it's one of the highest rated ones (at versiontracker) for Mac.

 

The key thing is to NOT USE your computer/camera/phone until you get the software and try to recover whatever you can! Hopefully a Mac user will respond with a specific program recommendation for you. And, finally, if money is no object you can definitely get the photos back using data recovery services. I've used http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/ before, but they really are expensive. (I spent over $1200 to have a hard drive restored, though it was a Rush/Sunday job...)

 

Good luck and good wishes,

Greg.

Of course, laptops are always going to be a compromise. My Dell inspiron 6400 with 15.x" screen (1600x1050) and 2GB ram is acceptible for running Photoshop CS2 and the various Nikon software. It really feels too small for photo editing, yet it's nearly too big on an airplane...and that's IF the person in front of me doesn't recline the 2" that coach seats move back these days.

 

When I'm at a desk I always connect a second monitor, which makes it much easier to manage.

 

Oh, get the largest hard drive they make too...80GB sounded like a lot a year ago but I'm always having to archive data now...

Norman,

You can definitely get great results from this gear...just read up on big lens technique and practice, practice, practice.

 

I suggest you also consider a 500mm f4 P...this lens is one of the few manual focus Nikkors that comes from Nikon with a 'chip' in it, That's what the P designation is btw. What that means is that it works with Nikon bodies that expect a chip. I use mine with a modified TC14E and it retains all functions. (You can also have the 400 f3.5 'chipped' for about $100 US).

Vijay, shop carefully before you assume that you can reuse your Video card. The Video card slots have transitioned several times over the past few years (From PCI to AGP to PCI Express, all of which are incompatible with each other) Memory will most likely not be transferable.

 

I've built all of my computers over the past dozen years, (except laptops), and really when it's all said and done I only think it is worth it if you really like doing that sort of thing.

 

I recommend newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com if you decide to build it! anandtech.com and tomshardware.com are good sites to help you pick out your components (though you'll sink a fair bit of time into reading up if you go there, consider yourself warned :-)

 

Have fun whatever you decide!

And the gulls...<div></div>

Hey, have the restrictions on uploading photos changed? I thought 500px wide and under 100k would guarantee that it shows inline...

 

Anyway I'll try again with a snowmobile shot. I know, sort of off topic in a nature forum, but in scope of my reply anyway :-)<div></div>

Thanks all for your suggestions! Here's a brief report...

 

Well, I did get some photography in, though not what I'd planned. In the evening I headed north on HWY 61 and stopped at a couple of the pull-outs. Some really nice composition possibilities there! I could see that if I'd been up on the ridge there might have been some nice sunset action...but I was hidden in the shadow of the hills. I did catch some posing gulls...

 

Then I overslept in the morning (blame too many days in a row of not enough sleep...) but I did catch a different sort of action when I got up. There was a snowmobile race taking place on Spirit mountain. Not my normal thing, but lots of fun to photograph.

 

I'll be back up in a few weeks and hopefully I'll be more rested this time!

 

Greg.

Hi,

I live in Minneapolis, and find myself in Duluth for a couple days. I'm drawing

a complete blank as to where to go to shoot in the morning... So, where would

you go around Duluth to get some nice sunrise/sunset photography in? I'm

interested in either landscape or wildlife. I'm not adverse to 'cityscape'

either, though I prefer out in nature. Main criteria is that it be within say

20 miles of Downtown Duluth. (I'm staying on spirit mountain.) Specific spots

greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Greg.

<i>and the beauty of things is, whatever one decides, either it works, or you learn something important and proceed from there.</i><p>True, true, that's a great mindset for this process and for life...

Hmmm...I'd think long and hard before investing in Dye Sub technology. I had marginal luck with my foray into dye-sub. I just did some quick research into the Kodak 1400, and what kodak had to say sounded suspiciously marketing-speak. <i>Q: are the prints archival?<b>A: They last a lifetime.</b></i>. Wilhelm research seems to suggest that a lifetime is 12-20 years IF displayed under glass. Heck, my non-durachrome epson gives better ratings than that, and epson is very clear about which paper gives what rating under what conditions.

 

Quality from the Epson printers is good right off the bat and can be fabulous if you're willing to put in a bit of time. Speaking of local art shows, go to some and see what the photographers are using. I found that about 40% used B&W or ilfochrome, (with big prominent "I NEVER would use digital process...ewww), 40% used epson printers and mentioned something to the effect, 20% used everything else from no-mention to alt processes.

<p>

Ok, enough of that. <b>Now for something useful.</b> If you haven't found them yet, you should really read a series of articles by Alain Briot on his website <a href="http://beautiful-landscape.com/Articles%20&%20Publishing.html">beautiful-landscape.com</a>. Heck, I suggest you put on a pot of coffee and read through the whole artist series. Lots of good info there. Incidentally, (just in case you haven't been there) I found out about Alain Briot via <a href"http://www.luminous-landscape.com">luminous-landscape.com</a> also filled with good info, particularly about epson printers and digital darkroom process.

<p>

Good luck with it! I put a few photographs in one art show each year and I wish I had the time to do more. I find that at the very least it means that I get a few new images on my wall and sometimes it pays for a new photographic purchase.

Jason, your mention of Canon A-1 reminds me... Theft has become an issue up there. The problem is worst for people who leave their cars for days while canoing the BWCA, but it's worth noting that car break-ins are all too common.

 

Having had a Canon A-1 stolen from my car there I should know! It was an error on my part to have decided against bringing it canoing at the last second...We returned from a 6 day trip to see that every car in the parking lot had been plundered. No fun at all, and had to drive back to the twin cities with plastic instead of a side window...

That's a great point Ken!