heartyfisher

<p>As a dx shooter for portraits I would suggest you consider the new 50 1.4G. Bokeh is great and focusing is very accurate. also consider the sigma 50-150 F2.8. As a portrait and events lens its worth looking into..<br>

The 85 and 80-200 are great Focal lengths for FX formats but for a DX shooter consider those 2 lenses I suggested instead.</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

Summer 2011 is more than 6 months away.. There should be a D90 replacement by then. I would hold off from getting a body till the D90 replacement is announced. I have friends who regularly trek around the rain forest with a D90 and the 18-105VR. But they spend days in the jungle so they need light kit.</p>

<p>On the longer end the 70-300 VR does well for nature photographers too, its lighter than the big guns and can provide good IQ. Again I would hold off getting this long lens till the next round of announcements in a months time. May be worth looking into the rumoured 55-300 VR. It depends a lot on how much weight you are willing to carry. The reason I am recommending these consumer lenses is that they are light and if you look after them (you dont sound like some one who would abuse their cameras) they should be fine for treking in the rain forest. </p>

<p>I would get a good flash . The SB900 has a long reach so you wont need accessories to help intensify the light (better beamer?) for tele shots at birds etc. Light in malaysia is very harsh most of the time. Its always good to fill flash if you can. A light tripod is good to have as well.</p>

<p>I would say hold off for a month till the new round of announcements are complete at photokina.</p>

<p>I have seen whistling crabs. It even blows bubbles while it whistles. :-)</p><div></div>

<p>Consider also the Raynox DCR250.. I have one and it works great. Its a 3 element thing and I have been very impressed with its performance. Edge sharpness is great and CA is excellent. It has a spring attachment thing that will fit on to lenses from 49mm to 67 mm. I use it mainly on my 35-70 f2.8. but I have also tried it on the 50mm and even my 18-200(Had to hold it in place :-) can get 1:0.6 with that !! ) I have a 150mm macro which I use for insect macro. but I find the 35-70 and this handy attachment works fine together esp when I am not carrying the big macro.. Not quite 1:1 but not too bad at 70 mm (about 1:1.6)</p>

<p>R. D90 is the camera for you. Those who say they got the D300/d200 as a first camera and have no regrets generally were fairly experienced film photographers. for an "absolute beginner" then the D5000 or D3000 would suit however if you are really keen to progress with this craft ( and it sounds like you are, you are taking courses , great idea!) a D90 will be much more suitable for you. There is a lot to learn and the D90 will be able to ease you into the technical details. It allows for all the manual/ semi auto exposure options. but it also allow you to relax with the auto mode options..</p>

<p>For a Pro who knows every detail of what they want to achieve in term of exposure, shutter speed, ISO, aperture, saturation. The D300s with Raw will provide them with the ability to very quickly make those changes. Some one said that a the d90 will provide capability of a D300 for the 95% situations a beginner will get into.Give 2 beginners a D90 and a D300s and i say the one with the D90 will get better results 95% of the time!</p>

<p>R. Cameras will be out of date in in a few years. Get the D90 its a great camera to learn with. You have those wonderful picture modes on the D90. Spend time learning how to duplicate the results from those modes manually. Once you can do that. You will be ready for the D300 or other pro level cameras. For a beginner the D90 is not restrictive, it provides more value to a beginner than the D300s. Learning this complex craft can get frustrating at times. Once you get frustrated with doing it manually on the D90 just switch to one of those modes and relax and enjoy the making of pictures.</p>

<p>Good luck with your choices.. Ms Bond.</p>

<p>Consider the 35-70 for a dedicated portrait lens.. for events if you can get close that is good as well.. but it flares if you have bright lights in its frame. Yes the 50-150 is great for events because it controls flare much better than most other lenses in that range including the tokina 50-135.</p>

<p>Re the 70=200 .. Its probably a sigma kit lens ?</p>

<p>It does look slightly out of focus .. maybe you have a slight back focus issue? The branch where the other bird is seems sharper? maybe you have just focused on the branch?.. support is also really important at these focal lenghts ...</p>

<p>Hmmm.. I dont know if you will be able to get any usefull data from this..<br>

We are all different.. and the 18-200 has such a wide range that it will suit many different styles. After using it for some time I found that most of my shots were in the 150-170 range (70%) and around the 18-24 range. with some in the 60-70 mm range. Nowadays I dont use that 18-200 as much. except for day trips etc.... When I am in the mood for photography, I take my 150 macro, my 12-24 and my 35-70. You need to find your fav FOV.</p>

<p>@ Rob : I have nikkor 12-24.. for landscape its really great. the best part is its solid and very well built. It does not change size/volume when zooming or focusing and its sealed so for outdoors landscape its just about perfect(No chance of sucking dust into the camera or lens.) at 24mm outdoors you can even uses it to chase kids ! or other beasts!</p>

<p>@ CC Chang : I have the 35-70.. Lovely lens for dedicated portrait work. I have been considering the 28-75 as an "upgrade" to my 35-70.. but there is new kid on the block. I would seriously consider the 24-70 HSM Sigma as well. I have also been considering the 24-85 F2.8-F4 nikkor... Too bad no one makes a 28-105 f2.8.. well not a good one anyway..</p>

<p>If you like wide why not just use the 12-24 as your main lens? and get the nifty 50 F1.8 or 35 F 1.8 for a bit longer and low light. the 12-24 at 24 is nice and "normal" enough for most "normal" uses.</p>

<p>I am really surprised no one mentioned this ." will they overcome the misty effect? "</p>

<p>There is a real reason many of the older FX lenses have a "misty" effect on the new Digital cameras. Its because the sensor Reflects Light back through the lenses. The older FX lenses do not handle this as well as the modern DX and New FX lenses. The new lenses, the 24-70 for example, as a meniscus last element to ensure/reduce that the light from the sensor doesn't reflect back onto the sensor. Additionally the new lenses also have the last element multicoded/nano coded to reduce reflections. The "Optimised for Digital" lenses does not mean that its reduced the size of the image output. Optimized for digital means that the last element is coated and all the surfaces at the back end are black to reduce any flare caused by the reflective sensor. So yes the older lenses do flare more on Digital compared to film. But you can negate some of that effect with some PP.</p>

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<p>Also the TTL flashes probably wont need to know the distance anyway ... as the system reads the exposure needed in the pre flashes..</p>

<p>LOL That top 10 list is just a hoot!</p>

<p>But back on topic. I think P&S are optimized for the inexperienced photographer.. ( I dont mean to be derogotory, just cant think of a better word) I think that even with the top of the line D3 you wont be happy with the result because you need a bit more experience with photograpphy to get the good images out of a DSLR. I think you have a nice pentax kit. You will need to change some setting to make it more like a P&S. ie up the contrast and Saturation. and learn to set the shutter high enough to reduce shake from the tele zooms. I am making some guesses here that you are not a very experienced photographer. Nothing wrong with that. We all need to start somewhere and learning is part of the fun! Changing gear is expensive. and usually not necessary.</p>

<p>Having said that, Nikon do make nice gear. ;-) and every time I buy new Nikon Gear I think I become a much better photographer.. !! ( sadly that is not true.. but .. part of me wants to believe that! haha!)</p>

 

<p>I would wait till you could go to the new school and ask the instructor there.. I think each teacher has a slightly different take on what makes a good camera for their class. I believe some allow digital SLR for their equipment.</p>

<p>I was about to suggest the same thing.. You need to do some kind of audit on what your prefered focal lengths are. and what your fav subjects are. then do a bit of analysis to see if you can find a better lens for your favorite subjects. Dont guess look at the data, I was rather surprised with the results!</p>

<p>Another suggestion that was already mentioned is to do some experiments with your lens so you know which focal length and apertures provide you with what attributes Then you will know when to use them in situations where the bad attributes are not highlighted. and vice versa.</p>

<p>The 16-85 bokeh at 85 is great at 50 its terrible!..</p>

<p>The 18-200 zoom creep did not bother me much unless I was hiking and treking but I now have a wide(1cm) silicone rubber band around the lens and its fine. no creep at all.</p>

<p>OP what does "Lots of animals" mean.. I cant figure that one out.. what size are these animals and how far are you away from them? do they live underwater or do they fly? do they bite or can you cuddle them? do they come out at night or eveing or in the noon day sun? Are they behind bars or do they roam free?</p>

<p>Hmmm you want the Canon user to suffer for making the wrong decision in the first place! Surely we can forgive that and accept him into the fold... ;-)</p>

<p>Ok seriously though. If he wants to try out the wonderful CLS (flash system) and nice High ISO and great ergonomics and excellent build quality(he may want to go to for an antarctic trip) that nikon is "renowned" for then it is his decision.</p>

<p>Lets help him get the best system for his budget.</p>

 

<p>Hi Janne,<br /> Good to hear that you are enjoying the S5. The colours of the 35-70 on my S5 is good. a bit different from my 18-200vr.. Its a bit sharper within the similar ranges. CA is better too on the 35-70. It does flare if the sun hits the elements. But otherwise it lovely indeed. PP process is definitely different between Nikon and S5 images..</p><div></div>

<p>Wish some one made a 24-80 or 28-105 f2.8 dx .. I got the Nikkor 35-70 f2.8 about 2 months ago. its a little long at 35 on dx still its very usable and it has become my fav lens..<br>

Tamron used to make a 28-105 f2.8 but the quality was not very good... oh well hope they try again ..</p>

<p>BTW, Janne how is your S5 pro going ?</p>

<p>There are several versions of the Sigma 24-70. The latest(HSM version) reviews VERY well. while the older and cheaper Sigmas are probably not as good as the tamron 28-70.</p>

<p>Hi, Its most ikely that you have it in some kind of manual mode. Check your Mode Dial.</p>

<p>If you can stretch I would go with a D5000 instead of a D80.. There has been a big jump in sensor tech between the D80/D60/D200 to the D90/D5000/D300 generation.. Much more so than the D70 to D80 generation.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>About the LL and 25% failure thing... Maybe its just the fumes that the LL people pack with them on their trips :-) ( its happened before 3 years ago when the D200s on the trip didnt fail and 5Ds failed) I know many people take their Canons out in conditions described in the LL expedition and they have not failed..<br>

However, I am glad I use Nikon. I am hoping to go to Antarctica some time in the future. Got to start saving ....</p>

<p>Had a look at your photos .. Nice .. You look like a Long Normal kind of guy! Too bad there isnt a nice 28-105 F2.8 lens would be perfect for you. Oh well .. life is full of compromises ...</p>