Matthew Brennan

<p>As an indulgent photographic folly I wish to experiment with bokeh using a Pentacon 135mm f/2.8 lens on my D810.</p> <p>Which adapter should I be looking for in the M42 to Nikon F conversion? I have a seemingly 'as new' AF confirm version with contact points available cheaply and locally for me on Fleabay (Australia)<br> or<br> should I be looking for a non contact point version and which size as it appears there are several length adapter keeping the lens different distances from the body?</p> <p>Any experience out there with the Pentacon 'Bokeh Monster' on Nikon bodies?</p>

<p>Purely subjectively, I adored my D700. Easiest body to shoot hand held - so easy to get on with all round and did so much fun traveling / so many great trips / took so many favorite images with it. Objectively it had very little room to crop images with just 12MP to play with and my prints are usually on the large side.</p> <p>Curiousity got me and I upgraded to the D810 and sold my D700. I actually took the trouble to go to the big smoke to try the D750 but the button / layout on the D750 was nothing like the D700, once the D750 was up to my eye I was fumbling for locations and was not willing to learn a new layout (lazy and frightened I'd suggest)</p> <p>The D810 makes a better image than the D700........when I get it right. I have found hand holding the D810 and getting regular uber crisp images to be more difficult than the D700 was (same lenses) but when I hold the camera steady the D810 makes brilliant images.</p> <p>If Nikon make a 24MP FX body with the button layout like the D810 then I may cop a loss and trade over to that model. In the mean time I can only remember how easy and fun the D700 was and work on my hand held skills with the D810.</p>

<p>Yes, I could get a tad fitter than I am now, but as a full time gardener in very large old gardens and farm worker, as well as being a cyclist I think my fitness is my fitness. I have a partial bulging vertebral disc and simply cannot go on lugging so much glass. </p> <p>I have been down the prime lens route before. Cost not withstanding (I had a mix of f/1.4 to f/2.8 primes, mostly AF-D models) the regular lens changing drove me nuts (prob. because I gave myself too many options) as did the lack of a top shelf ultra wide prime (my 14/2.8 was not very crisp away from dead centre)</p> <p>Next time I venture from home with my camera pack I'll leave the 24-70/2.8 at home and bring the 50/1.4 prime and see if I can live with that - the weight and space saving would be massive. But next year when I travel to the US /Canada for 6 weeks, I'm going to find it difficult to leave the 24-70mm behind......</p> <p>I have ordered a new 70-200/4 and will see how I work with it as a hand held option then decide which 70-200 to keep. I can't justify keeping both.</p> <p>Many thanks to all who responded.</p>

<p>My camera pack is getting too heavy for me. I'm not 21 years old anymore.......... I keep a camera pack mainly to travel and shoot natural landscapes. I intend to spend 6 weeks overseas next year and if recent half day hikes are indicitive, I need to shed some serious weight from my camera pack as my enjoyment has been somewhat diminished with mild fatigue a couple of times recently. My camera pack is ergonomically excellent and suits me well for hiking.</p> <p>I basically shoot with a D810+grip, 14-24/2.8, 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 and assorted (and very necessary filters / accessories etc).</p> <p>I can leave the battery grip and matching L plate out to save<strong> 502 grams</strong> but I need to shed a proper kilogram out of my kit to make a worthwhile difference - I have tested this by leaving out the 24-70/2.8 (@915 grams) for my most recent part day photo trip and finding the lighter pack a delight to lug like old times.</p> <p>The 14-24, is a brick, but it is also a non negotiable item - it is my favourite lens and I use it plenty often enough.</p> <p>The obvious 24-70/2.8 lightweight replacement is the 24-85 variable aperture VR lens which I have already used with the D810 for 6 months and not particularly liked my results at the wider end, nor could I get on with it's VR.</p> <p>This leaves the 70-200/2.8<br> I have the first version - classic Nikkor lens, I love it, I have a good copy and it's delightful bokeh often simply makes my day. I can live with the light fall off and lack of extreme edge sharpness on FX etc but the general crispness of this lens from wide open and it's OOF rendering is superb. But it's a space hog in my pack and my copy weighs 1521 grams..........</p> <p>The new 70-200mm f/4 is said to weigh circa 850 grams which is (approx.) <strong>670 grams</strong> lighter and a great deal shorter which would be ideal for my pack as the current /2.8 lens imposes itself into the next pouch a little making it a bit tight to fit in and remove from the pack - esp. when in a hurry to switch lenses.</p> <p>670 grams is a substantial weight saving and coupled with the battery grip's 500 grams it will indeed make a considerably lighter pack weight. However, most of my hand held shots taken with the f/2.8 are with an f/3.2 to f/5.0 aperture. My hand held technique + D810 sensor really dictates that I use the 70-200 only lightly to moderately stopped down from wide open. I do not find the VR on my 70-200 older very good with ultra slow shutter speecs (ie < 1/125th) - often I have a better 'keeper' rate for slow shutter stuff without VR - for me I find VR on this lens better around 1/250th, when, in still air, I can handhold it steady without VR anyway.</p> <p>My main questions are :-<br> a) To those have used both f/2.8 and f/4 versions - how does the bokeh compare on the f/4?<br> b) Is the VR on the f/4 version a significant improvement over the older 70-200f/2.8 version?<br> c) How crisp is the f/4 when it's wide open or stopped down to f/4.5 and f/5 is it in the same league as the f/2.8 for unless I can make the newer VR version work for me I'm likely to be using the f/4 lens as a hand held proposition set wide open or stopped down a notch or two.<br> Any experiences, advice most welcome.</p>

<p>Many thanks to all responders thus far.</p> <p>We have noticed that the US appears to be so heavily geared up for 'summer holidays' and that's when the crowd numbers swell at most touristy places. In our previous trips we have very often been delighted to find ourselves two of a just handful of people or often the only people at so many truly beautiful locations - saying to each other that there are 300 million people in this country but we are the only people right here, right now or words to that effect. In Australia we have a vast empty outdoors and only 8.3% of the US population - but never have we been so often alone in beautiful places as we have in the USA.<br> That said, our two day visit to Yosemite Valley in late June 2011 had daily attendance figures of 22,000 and 25,000 which blew our little minds a bit. We also drove the Tioga Road over the Memorial Day weekend of 2014 and found it the perfect dichotoma of nature and automotive snarl. Only 2 days later (Tuesday after Memorial Day Public Holiday we visited Lassen and were so surprised to find it largely devoid of tourists. My point to all this is that we are aware and accept that weekends are more crowded and the further into summer we go, the more busy everything gets.</p> <p>Maybe we should be looking to start our 6 week trip 2 weeks earlier ie close to the beginning of May and finish mid June?</p> <p>In past trips, visiting places like Yosemite, Sequoia, Lassen, Crater Lake and Olympic NP, we have stayed in places well away from the park boundaries and have been happy to drive an hour or more both ways each day. Just to visit such majestic places is an honour. Having to get a motel room an hour away from the park gate is no biggie for us. However, as I'm very keen to do some low angle sun photography myself this trip, we might have to fork out for more expensive accommodation closer to the location in one or two choice places - this will have to be booked early,early,early........ I get it.</p> <p>Many thanks for the car hire tips - we will take the trouble to check if airport pick-up and drop-offs are more costly and will look into USA/Canada drop off issues. Last time Enterprise Rentals said they were OK with this ....but we never made it to Canada.</p> <p>I had a friend visit the Grand Canyon in mid May 2015 via Las Vegas ( I assume this is the South Rim) and he said it was 5-7 people deep by 10am in most places. From what I read here and elsewhere on p.net he must have visited on a weekend and was simply too late in the day. If we have to fly to Vegas then yes, a look at the south rim makes sence.</p> <p>We are Australian plant lovers who crave rain and moisture. We love snow, even if it meant places like Crater Lake were closed on our first trip. I'd never experienced clean, dry powder snow until I drove over the shoulder of Mt Hood in a snow shower with no need for the windscreen wipers! A 4wd hire vehicle? Why not, I use one every day for work........ extra opportunities might eventuate.........</p> <p> </p>

<blockquote> <p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=8183143">Wade Thompson</a>, Jun 11, 2016; 05:39 p.m.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>I received it from a colleague who was going FX...and I knew it was suspect. Not worth the repair cost probably. Selling it "as is" right now.</p> </blockquote> <p>I don't get your post then. If you knew it was iffy before you purchased it then why post here telling us about how bad it is?<br> On the other hand, I'm really pleased to hear you are getting some proper joy from the Sigma.<br> I had the 17-55 Nikkor on a D200 & D300 and found it truly excellent, especially for close highly detailed subjects.</p>

<p>Apologies for the prolonged post........ please bear with me.</p> <p>My partner and I intend to visit the USA / Canada circa mid May to the end of June 2017. </p> <p>We are botanical enthusiasts and adore the flora of Nth America, we find much to see on quieter back roads and avoid crowds if and where possible. The prime reasons for our trip are to see parts of the Rockies (mostlty Pacific side watershed) in spring / early summer growth conditions and enjoy photographing plants in habitat and light-ish hiking around any glorious landscapes and wildlife that tend to happen in this part of the world.</p> <p>We would be be flying into SFO via New Zealand to visit an old friend, then taking a flight from SFO or from somewhere in the Bay Area over the Sierra to pick up a hire car closer to our starting point ( these details I need advice upon too)</p> <p>With 12 months to organise this trip, I'm planning a 6 week road trip. We have done a pair of 6 week road trips through CA/OR/WA at same time of year back in 2011 and 2014 so we are familar and appreciate somewhat, huge milage, slow back roads, Memorial Day weekend crowds, other major attraction crowds and the lottery of weather conditions and certain places and roads being open/closed - accessible/inaccessible.</p> <p>Ideally I'd like to start on the Nth rim of the Grand Canyon and work our way up through Utah into parts of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and over the border into Alberta and over the Rockies into BC. We try to break up the trip by staying in one place for 2/3 nights then drive a significant distance to stay in another key location for another 2/3 nights etc.<br> We would like to visit the Pando quacking aspen tree stand at Fish Lake in central Utah which appears to be a little visited location (not so touristy) Places like the Grand Canyon (Nth Rim only), Zion NP, parts of Canyonlands, Sawtooth Mts, Tetons, Yellowstone NP and Glacier NP we will take or leave as weather / time permits. Then into Canada to see Banff, Jasper, Kamloops and Vancouver with commensurate crowds and then a visit to the Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island at the end of the trip.</p> <p>Questions :-<br> <br />1) I am dreaming just contemplating this much in 6 weeks? We did 2,800 miles in 6 weeks in 2014 quite comfortably.....<br> 2) If so (dreaming) - as we are fairly flexible being 12 months out what to drop off the trip to shorten it - Canada at the end of the trip is set in concrete.<br> 3) What great botanical photo locations have I missed out on in my descriptions here (has to be plenty I suspect)<br> 4) If we visit the Nth Rim, where best to fly to from San Francisco to rent a car?<br> 5) Where to stay (either motel room or small/cheap AirBNB house for these locations?<br> Any other advice / comments / critisisms are most welcome as I've had to scrimp and save like never before to put this trip together and it may be our last to the USA together so I really want to maximise our time away.</p>

<p>If you are looking to add a lens purely for macro photography to your line up then the <strong>Kiron 105/2.8</strong> Ai manual focus lens is excellent, inexpensive, has an adjustable length lens hood and focuses to 1:1 like the Nikkor 105mm AF-D model which I used to have and is every bit as good as the Kiron and has AF for applications other than macro.</p>

<p>If you narrow your choice down to which lens for the D7100 I'd personally take the 300/4 for best image quality.</p> <p>I've thought about ways of trying to lighten my camera gear load for a few once in a lifetime type overseas trips.</p> <p>However, when it comes to the crunch I alaway take my best gear (which of course is the heaviest) because I would regret having rare and exciting photo opportunities and not having the ability to truly make the very best of the situation.</p> <p>I often print a dozen 12 inch to 30 inch prints from my trips and I would resent myself for not making the best fist of things so I tend to take it all along and dicipline myself to use it all and use it wisely. Funny thing is that I never really feel over laden with gear after the first few days of a multi week trip and I never return home thinking I must save up for that lighter travel lens assortment.</p> <p>If you are taking a genuine holiday then lighten the load by all means, but real travel is always hard work and the very best photos are always worth fighting for.</p>

<p>All genuine Nikon batteries and grip here, however, I think my problem was actually pretty obvious if I'd made a physical check of the unit.<br> As it turns out the rubber pin plug from the underside of the camera body was partially folded over in it's storage slot on the grip and may have been enough to cause a gap and a separation of the grip pins from the body slot. Another dozen exposures down the track and all is functioning perfectly.............</p>

<p>Yesterday my D810 re-set itself. I'm a tad bewildered as to how I could have accidentally simulaneously pressed both designated re-set buttons for 2+ seconds as the camera was tripod mounted with Ai lens and basically all I did was a custom WB then used the command dial to adjust exposures as required.<br> <br />The body appears to have reset to full factory defaults with all my exposure/metering inputs reset, file and file types reset, battery sequence (I use the MB-D12 grip) and memory cards saving flow all re-set. I checked the batteries when I went through and re-entered my inputs with grip battery still full and body battery at 22% remaining so maybe a power drop during battery switch over not likely......... I have run off a few dozen exposures after getting it back to my settings with correct functioning thus far.<br> I guess it's possible that I hit the re-set buttons but mounted on the tripod with no need to cradle the body I think this is highly implausible. Has anyone had a dubiuos re-set on the D810 or other D-SLR before?</p>

<p>I always pack my light weight travel tripod and head into my checked in luggage. Never had damage in 20 + international flights.</p> <p>Take a look at Crumpler bags. I have a few Crumplers, the best is the 'Sinking Barge' model - a camera pack with moveable internals for a pair of large lenses + camera body + photo accessories. It will will take a 17 " laptop (or heaps of 150mm grad filters and holders etc) and leave room for a water bottle and light change of clothes. Also has a damn handy removeable tripod sling for the outside of the pack which a travel pod sits in snugly when hiking - also has adjustable contoured shoulder straps and waist belt which are very comfortable with 12kg in the pack.</p>

<p>Multnomah Falls is in the Columbia River Gorge so you will have that covered in your 4 days there. <br> Given you have another 4 days for a round trip back to Portland............</p> <p>You could visit the Alvord Desert in western Oregon - about as far from Portland or any other bright lights as you can get in Oregon but great place for star trails and wide landscapes.</p> <p>Another option is to head to picturesque Astoria on the coast and visit the north Oregon coastline which is suberb. With 4 days you could go all the way down to the Samuel H Boardman scenic reserve which in my opinion is the very finest coastline views Oregon has to offer - then take the Interstate 5 back up to Portland which is an easy half-ish day trip.<br> <br />or</p> <p>Another option is to take the Interstate 5 down to Eugene and take a hard left into the faboulous Willamette Forest area and over the ridge into the even more fabulous Umpqua Forest which is just a stone's throw from Crater Lake........... Both Willamette and Umpqua forests have a plethora of easily accessible water falls and large cascades to photograph and some of the best mixed species Redwood forest remaining in the Pacific North West.</p>

<p>Take an evening walk up Montjuic to the castle at the top - plenty of other locations up there with commanding day time and night time views of the city. There is now a tourist cable car service to assist with gaining elevation.</p> <p>Might pay to do a day time reconnaissance of Montjuic so you are orientated for evening/night walking.</p> <p>Stroll down LasRamblas to Port Vell and the marina area - the golden morning sunshine can pour in off the Med. onto the gorgeous maritime precinct.</p>