james_martin9

If you are shooting in a constant light environment with a flash, turn the Auto ISO off. Auto ISO is supposed to be used to low light situations where you want the minimum ISO for a given light condition. THis makes sense if the lighting is rapidly changing or not consistent, but in a portrait type setting I say meter properly, and set the minimum ISO you need to gain the proper exposure.

Ok..yet another Canon question. Some have said the Canon flash system falls

short of Nikon. Can anyone elaborate on why they are different? The technology

seems similar.

I am still thinking of trading my Nikon D200 and lenses for a 30D. Many would

say this is a step down, and that is why I am in a quandry, but after reviewing

many online photos, the 30D seems to have substantially better low light

performance. Right now I have a 28-75 Tamron XR DiII 2.8, a Sigma 10-20 and a

70-200 2.8. If I buy Canon, I will get the same 70-200 lens, but what would a

good medium range zoom be? The 28-135, or maybe the more expensive 34-105. I

dont really know the difference between the L lenses with the red ring and the

others.

I have made significant strides with the Nikon flash, but there are times when superior low light performance without a flash is still better. Hope to get more answers here.

I have heard that the Canon is a better low light performer than my D200. Is

the 30D really a step down from the D200, equivalent for low light theatrical

shooting. I am considering moving to Canon and am looking for objective

opinions, perhaps from someone who came from Canon

My biggest reason is for low light high iso performance. I do alot of theatrical shooting and always prefer natural light over flash. Is the low light performance of the 30D an improvement over the D200? I am not sure I can afford a 5D and have ready conflicting opinions over whether the full frame makes a real difference.

Has anyone ever flipped whole heartedly and traded in all their Nikon on new

Canon. I have a D200, 70-200 2.8VR, SB800, Tamron 28-75 2.8, and a Sigma 10-20.

WOuld the 5D be comporable with similiar lenses? ANy thoughts on money lost in

the trade?

http://www.radugrozescu.com/photo-tech/nikon-d200-fuji-s5-review.html

 

Read this.

Probably cheaper to repair not then to replace later. You could trade it in on the Sigma 10-20 though..lol

I have spoken to owners of the 18-200 and they all say it is a great travel and walk around lens. I would like to own a D40X with an 18-200 as a travel/ fun camera in addition to me D200 with my 10-20, 28-75 2.8 and 70-200 2.8VR.

I upgraded from a D70 to a D200 about 8 months ago and have never looked back. I have to say the single biggest reason for the upgrade for me was ergonomics. The D200 with the battery grip fits my large hands very well. Out of camera jpegs are resiliant and vibrant, something I did not get from the D70. HOWEVER, my skills as a shooter have increased exponentially since I first purchased a D70 just by the shear volume of trial and error shooting, and learning from this message boards and others. Given that, I am not sure the D200 is a vast improvement over the D70 for an experienced shooter. Rumors abound about the next gen Nikon DSLR so you might wait another 6 or 8 months to see what comes around. If a D3 comes out, you might even find a good D2 that is in your price range. If you cant wait, the D200 is an awesome camera though.

I use Auto ISO on my D200 and have intermittent luck with it. I will say this though, if you are shooting in a constant light environment where you know the ISO will hover around a certain setting, I would set it to that ISO to prevent possible overexposure of a shot you cannot take again. However, when using a flash in TTL this should not occur so just play with it on your own in P, A, S and M with and without Auto ISO and at different ISO settings.

From experience in low light settings, pay close attention to the underexposure warning and the histogram. Often, photos may look properly exposed on the LCD and later you find them to be underexposed. I would shoot in RAW if you have the memory to do so because you can more easily correct expsure and white balance problems. With the D70, I would not use Auto White Balance, in fact if you can get a white balance reading and use custom white balance (is that available on the D70?) then do so for stil portraits. If you will be shooting in changing light conditions, use the appropriate WB which you can correct in RAW later. Take alot of photos so you will have throw aways. I wouls spend alot of time beforehand with a subject in the lighting you will encounter shooting with different aperture/ shutter combinations then go home and see which looks the best. Be sure to make notes about what you shot when to draw accurate comparison.

I had the same decision before me when I purchased my D200. In the end I chose the D200 because it was more comfortable in my hand. I am not sure this is a good reason to buy a more expensive camera, but I have been nothing but pleased.

1. Is the Nikon external battery pack better than 5 rechargeable high end

batteries for recycle time given the added bulk?

 

2. What are the best rechargeable batteries considering power, recycle time and

stamina?

 

3. DO most of you keep 2 sets fully charged and then take them with you. If so,

does the set not in use loose a charge over the hours the first set is in use?

 

Hope it was ok to post here, but I like Nikon specific shooters to answer.

I have a Tamron 28-75 2.8 which I think for the considerable savings over Nikon is a great lens. However, I do not shoot portraits with it. FOr the money is has garnered some of the best 3rd party reviews and I have been very happy with it. I want an 18 to 200 vr lens and cant find one..wanna trade..lol?

I used to belive the whole "buy Nikon over third party" arguements were a bunch of hoopla. However, I was able to purchase a 70-200 VR lens to add to a Tamron XRDII lens and a Sigma 10-20, both which produce excellent images. HOWEVER, they cannot hold a candle to the Nikon 70-200VR. Given that, I am a firm believer that Nikon is superior and since the Sigma 18-200 msrp is 820.00, I would buy the Nikon hands down. I love the Tamron XRDII series and produce great images, but Nikon just produces better photos in my opinion.

I purchased one of Fong's diffusers and found that under certain circumstances it is wonderful, but underexposes images by 1/2 to 1 full stop, requiring me to add compensation for proper exposure. I do the same for the included diffuser with my SB-800 but usually only a 1/3 of a stop or so. I know 2 other pros who use them, one the smoke and one with the chrome dome, which seems to make the device more usable under varying circumstances. I would recommend the chrome dome if you order one.

SO I basically understand how EV compensation works in ambient light now. However, adding a flash seems to change the game. If I add EV +1 because my main subject was slightly underexposed, my background nearly dark and the overall photo looking underexposed as well as showing to be so in the hostogram, will the addition of + EV blow out my main subject? It seems like once when I added EV it made the entire scene look darker.

Perhaps this is the wrong forum for this, but I am a Nikon shooter so here it

goes. As I understand it, my D200 sees things as 18% gray, meaning it will see

a white wall, or white card as 18% gray. In order to make the wall look white,

I need to OVEREXPOSE this image or use + EV, or some other means of

compensating correct? Conversly, if I have a dark subject, I need to use -EV,

or some other means of compensating.

 

I am adding this to my previous post about flash photography in dark settings.

If I understand properly, I should meter the scene without a flash, turn on the

flash to TTL and set to something in the neighborhood of EV-1 on the camera?

 

I will also try rear curtain sync, or dragging the shutter but most often my

subjects are moving so that is not a good option.

 

Any more suggestions?

 

BTW..using a 2.8 lens, will I encouter any soft focus issues on moving subjects?

I forget to mention I am shooting moving people.

I am having trouble creating natural looking photos using a D200 and SB800

flash. I have continually played with the EV on the SB800 dialing it either up

or down depending on how much or how little flash I thought I needed. WHat I

found was using 1/60, f8 and EV 0 TTL BL I was severly overexposing people whom

I was shooting inside of 5 feet and creating nearly black backgrounds. As a

result, I began dialing the flash to -1 to -2 EV to lighten the people up close

and dialing it up 1 to 2 when trying to throw more light. I can fix most of

these photos after the fact, but they look very orange sometimes. So..

 

1. In theatre, club or disco like setting what minimum ISO would someone

recommend to balance light versus noise?

 

2. Does -1 EV on the flash throw more light than +2 EV, and am I asking this

question correctly?

 

3. SHould I have to change the EV ont he flash quite often?

 

4. WHat is the best advice for using flash in a dark setting to make the photo

look the most natural and not make the use of flash seem so obvious?

I just purchased a Domke satchel style bag and it works very well. ANother option if to buy lens wraps and use a diaper/ field bag. These really dont look like camera bags.

My preference for this lens is the ability to capture a moment without being in that moment. Subjects react to the photographer often,and I like being able to capture raw emotion without any photographer influece. I also have a Sigma 10-20 so I use both extremes and find applications for both.

try cleaning the lens contacts to the mount. That cleared it up for me, but it does happen intermittently.