joshodonnell

I agree that using your camera to transfer images to your computer is a bad idea, especially with the power drain that you're experiencing... If your camera battery dies in the middle of transferring images it's very likely that one or many files might become corrupt.

I think you're referring to Rear Curtain Sync...

 

I'm not for certain on the D80 b/c I've never owned one, however on my D50 and D300, you simply have to press and hold the Flash button (should be on the front of the camera, left side of the lens, looks like a lightning bolt) and turn the main control dial on the back of the camera until "Rear" shows on the upper screen. It should be very similar on the D80.

ooops, I said SD in my previous post when I meant CF... I'm still not used to referring to my cards as CF after my upgrade to the D300 from D50

The number that shows is simply an estimate, and I've found that it's a very, very, very conservative estimate. My 4GB SD cards show up as having 192 RAW available when they're freshly formatted, however I've been getting over 300 shots per card. I think what happens is the camera makes the estimate of the number of shots left by using the MAXIMUM possible size an image could be, when in reality most photos end up being somewhat smaller. Using your example, the reason you see 175 after a 10 photo burst and then 178 once the buffer has been cleared is because the camera is going to 'assume' that those 10 photos are all MAX size and it shows it's estimate accordingly, however after it's done writing to the card it recalculates and adjusts itself. Hope this makes sense. Basically put, I've found that you usually have about 30% more photos available than the camera reports when the card is freshly formatted...That percentage will obviously decrease as the card fills however.

The AF on my D300 is fast BUT I have discovered that it is causing my 300mm f4 AF-S and 50mm f1.8mm to front-focus. The AF Fine Tune was able compensate for it, however I had to use the maximum compensation of +20 in the AF Fine Tune setting. I'm not real thrilled about this, I'm going to have to do some more testing.

It should fit fine, but it will make your maximum aperture f8 and thus you'll lose autofocus. AF MIGHT work if you are in very bright light but it will likely be painfully slow. Will also see a significant loss in IQ

 

I would recommend the Nikon 1.7x TC... It will still autofocus and IQ is still very good. Only trade off is that it's more expensive but worth it IMO

The TC17EII is also a good choice, I use it with my 300mm f4 AF-S. With good support and proper technique it remains very sharp. Here is a recent shot with this combo... this is wide open (f6.7 w/ TC attached), 1/400, ISO 400, full frame

 

http://www.joshodonnell.com/112307_greencay/1full.jpg

 

and here is a 100% crop to show the sharpness...

 

http://www.joshodonnell.com/112307_greencay/1fullcrop.jpg

Have you checked for a firmware update for your D50?

Folks over on a different set of forums are reporting that Ritz sent out an email today stating that the D300 is en route to their warehouse from Nikon... I preordered from Ritz on 8/27 and didn't get the email :-(

I don't have anything meaningful to contribute, other than when the OP said CF-data, I don't think he/she was referring to data on the CF card... Rather, he/she used CF as an abbreviation for custom functions, as mentioned in the sentence prior to the abreviation...

I've read this thread with much interest, as I'm hoping to gain some experience with sports photography as well. I'm actually going to attend a women's soccer game here on campus at USF (GO BULLS!) this Friday evening and that will be my first attempt at sports photography. I have contacted the sports relations person for the university and they are going to give me a sideline photo pass which is nice, considering I'm not associated with any media outlet or anything. Anyways, the only long lens I have to use is my 300mm f4 AF-S; I'm in the process of trying to acquire the 70-200mm f2.8 VR but that it might be a bit before I find a used one priced right. Is a fixed 300mm lens going to be too long for a soccer field? I'm assuming (and hoping) that the answer is no. Regardless, I'm sure it will be a nice learning experience and hopefully I can capture a few decent shots. I'll be shooting with a D50, in 'S' or 'M' mode and ISO 800 or ISO 1600. Will also bring my monopod with me. Any other suggestions for soccer?

Charlie,

 

A friend of mine was at Estero Lagoon a couple weeks ago and he said it was full of birds...

 

Another location you might want to check out is Cape Coral, it's full of burrowing owls that are quite used to being approached by photographers. I'm not sure how active they are this time of year but I know they're still there.

 

That's all I can help you with; I was at Fort DeSoto last weekend but that's a little farther north than it sounds like you'll be...

This might be a silly question.. But since I'm upgrading to a D300 from a D50 I have to get all new cards... What is the difference between a normal CF card and UDMA card? My guess is that the UDMA card writes faster?

Hi there. Quick question. The SB-800 has two ports that allow for connecting

directly to other flash units. I know one is a PC port, but I'm not sure what

the correct name for the other port is... The one that has three pins... I've

experienced some reliability issues with the wireless response of multiple SB-

800s so I'd like to be able to link them directly with a sync cord, I'm just

not sure when one to get... The port I'm referring to is the same port that is

found on the hot-shoe of a SC-17 cord. Anyone have any suggestion? Thanks!

Beau, thanks so much for a very detailed response, I appreciate it very much and your suggestions are very helpful! I am definately going to plan on this being an early morning gig... I am not a huge fan of working outside in the hot weather and since this is for a make-up artist I'd hate for the model to sweat and have her make-up run! I'm hoping most of the shots will be in downtown, and if so it will likely be mainly in the shade b/c of the tall buildings. I will definately use the reflector and off camera flash in an attempt at some creative lighting. I'll make sure to post the results!

So I'll begin by saying this is your classic case of the blind leading not one

but two other blind folks... I am doing a shoot in a couple weeks for a lady

that's wanting to start a portfolio for her hopeful career as a makeup

artist. She has someone lined up to be the model. The problem is that I have

never done a gig like this, I am simply a hobbyist and spend 99% of my time

with nature photography. This will be the first gig for the model as well, so

we're all pretty much flying blind. I don't want it to waste any of our time

so I thought I'd seek some input here. Since this is for a make-up artists

portfolio, I'm assuming I'll probably be taking a lot of headshots. I should

mention that the setting will be outdoors, we'll be stopping in downtown Tampa

and also in Ybor City (a historic district with lots of old brick buildings).

This is the list of equipment that I'll have available... Nikon D50 (wish I

could get my D300 shipped early for this), 50mm f1.8, 85mm f1.8, and if I can

get my hands on one between now and then either a 70-200mm f2.8 VR or 80-200mm

f2.8. I guess I'll also bring my 300mm f4 but I doubt that there will be any

use for it. I will also have an SB-800 on camera as well as an SB-600 on a

light stand w/ umbrella. I also have a reflector (silver/gold) and colored

gel filters for the flash units. Mercifully the make-up artist will be there

to help direct the model and also hold the reflector. Anyways, I guess I'm

just asking if anyone has any general advice for me to prevent this being a

total flop. Also, does my equipment list sound sufficient? Thanks for any

suggestion!

Hi there. I don't have a D200 so I can't give a direct answer. I have however used the Opteka battery grip for my D50 and have mixed feelings. It seems that when I use the grip with two batteries, the camera drains the batteries much quicker than when I don't use the grip and only use one battery. It's very weird and I haven't figured it out. The main reason I use the grip is simply for increased surface area to make the camera easier to hold. I ended up modifying my grip so that I can attach the grip and use only one battery. Basically I removed the 'post' that slides into the battery compartment on the camera. I can still attach the grip to the camera but don't actually have any batteries in the grip, the battery goes in the normal battery slot on the camera.

Hi folks... I currently own a single SB-800 flash unit and use it with my

D50. I am wanting to purchase a few more flash units to expand my off-camera

lighting possibilities... Right now I'm leaning towards three SB-600 flash

units which I can get for less than the price of two SB-800. This is my

question... Will I be able to wirelessly control the settings on the SB-600

flashes when using my SB-800 as a commander? Also, is it possible to seperate

the SB-600 flashes into groups and adjust each group seperately? I know it's

possible to do so wirelessly with SB-800 flashes that are off camera and I

assume it's possible with the SB-600 flashes as well, but I want to make

sure! Thanks for any input.

Use TTL when you want the light from the flash to be the main light that exposes the image. Use TTL-BL when you are exposing for the ambient light and want to 'balance' the fill-light between your main subject and background. I use a SB-800 but the settings are somewhat similar. One thing I definately recommend is to bounce the flash off ceilings when indoors. I almost ALWAYS do this, it results in softer, more diffuse light and also reduces the shadows.

Well, the good news is that the SB600 isn't $300, you can find it on B&H or KEH for around $190. That's the only input I have though, sorry I can't be more helpful.

A D80 will require you to purchase all new SD cards, whereas the D200 will allow you to use the same CF cards you use with your D70s. I agree that the weather seal on the D200 is a plus, especially in marine conditions. The 5 fps also comes in handy. The money you might spend on cards alone could eat up the few hundre dollarst that you would save with the D80, so I'd go with the D200.

I agree with Anthony... I have used the tape method with great success, I have tested it up to shutter speed 1/2000 and it works fine. You need to use a non-conductive tape... Black electrical tape works the best. Only downer when you do this is that you lose TTL feature and have to adjust the flash exposure manually.

Julie, I like what your doing, however I'm not one to give a critique because I'm inexperienced and have no idea what I'm talking about LOL. Mainly commenting because I grew up in Maryville, MO, just down the road from Red Oak.

Your lens has a maximum aperture of f5.6 at the 300mm end, which is at the limit of the autofocus system on your D40. Therefore, if you add even a 1.4x TC your effective maximum apperture becomes f8 and you will no longer be able to reliably use autofocus. A lot of people use Kenko TCs and I've read mixed reports. The Nikon 1.4x or 1.7x aren't listed as 'compatible' but I suspect they should still mount without a problem. However as stated you will more than likely have to use manual focus and this will be the case with any TC you use, no matter the brand. TCs are designed/intended to be used with lenses with a maximum aperture of f4 or f2.8.

I use the same lens for most of my bird photography... I realize it's not an ideal setup but if you are patient and study the behaviour of your subjects then you can get within range. I use the 1.7x TC on a D50 and it still maintains AF (albeit MUCH slower) and IQ isn't degraded nearly as much as with the 2x. With either the 1.7x or 2x you're almost ALWAYS going to want more reach so you have to learn to deal with that obstacle.