dave.n.az

<p>Hi Anthony,</p>

<p>You could go back to the last good import and under the develop tab set the settings as default for that camera type. On a Mac you hold the Option key (Alt) and the Reset Button changes to the set default. Then try an import of new images. Maybe the default settings got screwed up some how.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>The image you see when you first import into Lightroom is the embedded jpg preview as rendered by the camera. It is replaced by a rendered jpg preview by Lightroom. The rendering is based on presets or develop settings you set to apply on import. Check the develop settings on import and make sure nothing is being set.<br>

Dave</p>

<p>A used D200 may be a good option for you. Good to ISO 800. Will meter manual lenses.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>I would start with the D300s and Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 for 2850.00 after the instant 300 off. After that a 50mm F1.8. That would leave you with about ~500 to buy what lens you feel will best meat your needs.</p>

<p>Dave </p>

<p>With a $3500 budget I went to B&H and this is what I came up with.<br>

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon $599<br>

Nikon Zoom Super Wide Angle AF 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S $1359.95<br>

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED Lens $1099.95<br>

Nikon Normal AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Autofocus Lens $119.95<br>

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX Lens $192.95</p>

<p>For a total of 3371.80</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Look back at your photos and see what focal lengths you use most and then decide. If you have ever needed wider than what you currently use take a look at the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8.The Tamron 17-50mm is a good lens as is the 80-200mm f2.8 Nikon for something longer.</p>

<p>I would skip the 50mm F1.4. For the price of the 50mm F1.4 you could buy both the 50mm F1.8 and 35mm dx F1.8 for low light. The 50mm F1.8 does a decent job for portraits on a DX body. </p>

<p>Consider adding a second sb-600 to your kit. Having the D300 with the built in commander mode opens up a whole new world of easily moving your flashes off camera. <br>

Dave</p>

<p>If you must pay for the upgrade when version 3 comes out I would download the LR3 Beta 2 and use that till release. The new raw processor and noise reduction in version 3 is greatly improved.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>Hi Melissa,</p>

<p>There is a switch that changes from center to center weighted and matrix metering. Try putting it back in matrix mode which will meter the whole frame. I don't remember were to set that on the D200. The lenses you list are all variable aperture lenses. You can only get to F4 while at the wider part of the zooms (18 on the 18-55 and 55 on the 55-200). As you zoom out the maximum aperture gets smaller (larger F number). <br>

Dave</p>

<p>You can get an estimate from http://nikoncamerarepair.com/ for cleaning. They used to be the Midwest Nikon Service center. They are supposed to do a really good job.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>The Nikon 60mm AFS and the Tamron 90mm macro are both well regarded or if you want to go after bugs consider the Sigma 150mm macro. Before you buy the 35mm set your zoom at 35mm and take a bunch of pics then at 50mm and take a bunch more then decide which focal length you prefer. I prefer the 50mm and would get the 50mm 1.8 before the 35mm. Your results may be different.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>I moved from a D80 to a D200. After the move I could not get a sharp picture with any of my lenses. Sending the D200 camera body to Nikon for service was the only way to get it resolved. I wish I had done it sooner. Send the Body to Nikon for cleaning and adjustment.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p>What are you looking at the pictures with? Based on the circled locations I would have to say you have turned on displaying clipping areas (I think that is the correct term) Too dark will show up as blue. Too bright will show up as red or flashing. In lightroom at the top left and top right corners of the histogram there are triangles that turn on the display. Top left triangle too dark areas. Top right triangle too bright area.<br>

Hope this helps.<br>

Dave</p>

<p>Will Nikon allow you to buy their 2 year extended warranty on a refurb?<br>

Dave</p>

When I bought my Sigma (70-200 EXII HSM Nikon Mount) I spoke to Sigma USA and they stated that Sigma4less is gray market and they are not sure of the source for their lenses. That is why they only have the one year international warranty. All US EX lenses get an additional 4 year warranty with purchase form an authorized US distributor. If you have any questions I would call Sigma USA they are very helpfull.

Dave

My favorite anytime lens right now is the 28-105mm f3.5-4.5D with 1:2 Macro. I bought it used for $150.00

Dave

Hi Tom,

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but looking at Adobe's site the only way to get ACR 4.5 in Lightroom is wait for an update for 1.4 or go to Lightroom 2. It seems 4.5 was released to ensure compatibility between Photoshop and Lightroom 2.

Dave

I have the trial loaded as well as 1.4. It converted my catalog by creating a new v2 catalog in the same location as the ver 1.4 catalog. They seem to be working well together, but truth be told I'm using version 2 more especially with the beta camera profiles. http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles

Dave

Hi Sarah,

It looks like Elements can give you the results you are looking for. Here is a ink to a tutorial I found.

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/ss/partialcolor.htm . I know there are a lot of plug-ins that could

also work. I would download the free trial of Elements 6 and give it a try and see if it meets your needs.

Dave

I have bought from them several times without issue.

Dave

You can go to dpreview and do a side by side comparison of the 2 models.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sidebyside.asp

Dave

For a lot of text printing I would find an inexpensive laser printer it will save you a lot of money in the long run and you do not have to worry about ink drying out. Newegg has a brother laser for $64 after $20 rebate. You could still get a ink jet for prints and be under $200.

Just my 2 cents

Good luck,

Dave

My understanding is the mAh rating is for how much power the battery can hold. From my experience the Minolta ones seem to last almost as long as the Pentax one and for the price you can buy 2 compared to the price of the Impact.

Dave

My experience is the same as Jerry's bought 2 Impacts and a bunch of the Minolta one's from B&H for a trip to Africa. The Impact ones had issues and the Minolta ones are still going strong.

Dave