iso200

<p>I have recently gone through the same journey for almost exactly the same reasons and gone from the 14-24, 24-70 & 70-200 VRI to the 18-35, 24-85 [which I am v. ambivalent about...], and the 70-200 f4. <br /><br />Frankly I think the new f4 blows the old f2.8 VRI out of the water in every aspect. It's smaller, lighter, quicker to focus, and has to my mind better performance wide open. VR is significantly better [the lens is smaller and lighter and you may find as a result your hand-holding technique is better], the lens focuses faster, and I'd say it was quieter too. </p>

<p>I have that every once in a while with my D700 [which uses the same battery as the D200] - it happens when the battery dies while a photo has been taken. In my case this is because I charged a brand new Nikon battery with a third party charger - never had this with my other batteries.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I'd like to know how the professional service turnaround compares for the big two now.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I know of at least one pro who has switched to Canon just because of excessive delays in getting current model Nikon cameras/lenses repaired.</p>

<p>The Lee Big Stopper [10 stop] has a very noticeable blue cast in the evening/night - not sure about during the day as I've not had a chance to experiment with mine yet.</p>

<p>As someone who's had trouble mixing plates from the *same* manufacturer... buy ones you can easily return.</p>

<p>The Kirk plates vary slightly in size from plate to plate, so for that reason I'd choose a different make.</p>

<p>My standard response [once I've stopped hyper-ventilating...] is to restart my machine. Solves all sorts of connectivity problems...</p>

<p>I had something similar with a Lexar CF card with my D200: it seemed fine after that but failed 4 months later. </p>

<p>Mark Rebilas is using a D800 and a D4:<br>

http://markjrebilas.com/blog/?p=15594<br>

http://markjrebilas.com/blog/?p=15622</p>

<p>Aperture doesn't provide RAW support per se - it's provided [or not] by the Mac operating system - D4 support was added in Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.10, the D800 in 3.11, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III by 3.12. <br /><br />The usual work around for RAW formats that aren't supported is to use the Adobe DNG Converter with the “Convert to Linear Image” option turned off - does that work for you?</p>

<p>I think there's a tendency to think more about tripod size than to consider the photographer's technique - quite often failures that are blamed on the tripod should actually be attributed to the person using it.</p>

<p>I would also suggest you look at getting a monopod to use with a teleconverter. I occasionally use a TC-20E III with my 70-200 VR I - it *can* provide great results but my D700 has a fair bit of trouble focusing with it [tracking is particularly weak - but this may be my technique]. </p>

<p>My first 18-200 wasn't very sharp, but I didn't know enough about photography to tell. It fell on the floor while on holiday in Spain and smashed the CPL to bits and had trouble focusing etc.. I sent it back to Nikon, who for an extremely reasonable price returned a lens that was tack sharp. If you're not sure that it's ok, then it's probably not.</p>

<p>If your camera is turned off then you can ignore your VR settings.<br>

If you put your camera in a bag without turning it off though, if anything touches the focus button you might find yourself with a dead battery when you come to take the camera back out...</p>

<p>If it's anything like a D700, the wire retainer [#284] can be released with your thumbnail [DO NOT USE ANY TOOLS, the plastic screen [#3] is softer than you'd expect and easily marked/scratched]. Hold your camera upside down when you release the retainer, and then tilt it backwards, and the wire, screen and shim will all pivot free and end up lying against the mirror. You can then use a dust blower to get anything off the screen and/or bottom of the prism. You don't actually have to take anything out of the camera. Gently bring the camera upright and the shim, screen and retainer should all fall back into place, and just use your thumb to re-attach the retainer.</p>

<p>You may also be able to get the tip of a dust blower against the screen and blow air under it - I'd try that before attempting any disassembly. If you're not comfortable with this any competent camera shop should be able to do it for you.</p>

<p>Amazon UK has been selling Nikon batteries at up to 60% off for most of the last six months, so I took the opportunity to stock up...</p>

<p><img src="http://iso200.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Beltane_Edinburgh-600x399.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /><br>

<strong>D700, 70-200mm F2.8 VR1, ISO 800, 1/125 second handheld.</strong><br>

Three torch bearers wait atthe beginning of the Beltane Fire Festival, Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Larger version <a href="http://iso200.com/photo-blog/three-men-waiting/">here</a>.</p>

<p><img src="http://iso200.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2010-09-11-Leuchars_Airshow2011-07-20-Leuchars_Airshow_7024204-600x399.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /><br>

<strong>Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRI</strong><br>

Michel ‘Mitch’ Beulen’s F16 of 349 (F) squadron of the Belgian Air Component’s Solo Display Team is busy making his own clouds during the 2010 Leuchars Air Show.</p>

<p>Why don't you rent a D700 and see if that does what you want? The photos are significantly better than from a D200 [sharper, better colour, less noise etc.].<br>

If you really needed that many MP I don't understand why you didn't upgrade from a D200 several years ago.</p>

<p>Speaking as someone who went D70 > D200 > D700, I'd say the biggest thing that you'll notice is that the D70 is a nice relatively compact amateur camera [and I did *really* like mine] and the D700 is a big heavy professional camera [and an absolutely fabulous one too]. <br>

You may need to replace your lenses, your filters and your tripod/head. You may also need to replace your computer. The hidden costs of the upgrade you're planning are substantial and should not be under-estimated.<br>

If you're really not sure which to get I'd suggest renting each one and taking [at least] a couple of hundred pictures with each - then you'll be able to make a more informed judgement. </p>

<p>I'd get an L bracket - they're *much* more stable than a camera rotated 90 on a tripod head. They also have the added advantage of protecting 50% more of your camera body against random bangs and thumps etc..<br>

I would avoid the Kirk plates, as they're not sized consistently [my D700 plate is not the same size as my replacement 70-200 tripod foot - this means I have to adjust the clamp constantly, which is a real pain at night or if it's cold].</p>

<p>I always use a card reader - a] because it's much quicker, and b] because using USB kills your battery if you've got a lot of images/data to copy across. [and c] because while I'm downloading images my battery's in the charger :)]<br>

[My general strategy is based around the need to get my batteries recharged as quickly as possible - I've run out of battery power while taking pictures more often than I've run out of memory cards...]</p>

<p>The 24mm T/S certainly doesn't have enough clearance for either a D200 or a D700.</p>

Don't buy Kirk plates: their sizes are inconsistent and you can't easily use q/r clamps with them (you may have to

change clamp settings for each plate, which isn't quick).

<p>If it's a card from a reputable manufacturer [e.g. Lexar, Sandisk] send it back to them a] for replacement and b] for data recovery. It may take them a while [took Lexar three or four months to recover data from a dud CF card in 2005] but that's what warranties are for.<br>

I had problems copying data off a CF card this weekend - however all that I had to do was restart my computer and everything worked as expected.</p>