michael_tam1
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Posts posted by michael_tam1
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<p>I am new to digital SLR with a recent purchase of D90, but hoping to add D700 after learning more about the facets of digital photography. Previously shooting with negatives and slides, so I have no experience with system requirements. Currently I have an ancient desktop and inherited a 60 GB laptop to download the photos. After reading about the Backup issue on the forum, I backuped my pictures on a Seagate and Western Digitial 500GB external HD.<br />My question is seeking recommendations if I am looking to build a system from scratch for mainly photography application, what should I be getting. I understood if I could afford, the best is MAC. Others suggested Adobe over Photoshop. Please advise with a long term view, but rememeber I have limited understanding with no knowledge of post-processing at this stage. With appreciation in advance to everyone.</p>
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<p>With the F90x body, I was using self-timer on all macro work or slow speed telephoto shots because manual MLU was too tedious. With D90, there is the Exposure Delay Mode, which is much more convenient which self-timer does not accomplish. From what I understood, self-timer delayed the time between triggering of the shutter to the MLU-shutter discharge sequence. This still has the vibration from the mirror movement to shutter discharge simultaneously. However, with EDM, there is a one second gap between MLU to shutter discharge. I follow the rule of inverse shutter speed to focal length setting, ie for 300mm, any speed slower than 1/300 sec may cause vibration, degrading the sharpness of the picture. I hope this is the correct practice.</p>
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<p>I shoot all portraits in natural lighting, often outside but at times inside. The lens used in FX format are 105 macro or 80-200 mostly. Depending on what you owned already, there are two combinations that may work, assuming you are using DX format. One: 16-85 and 80-200 will cover all purpose. The first lens is apparently the best DX lens on Nikon line. Second, 50 and 80-200. If you demand greater sharpest still, use 50 and 85 in DX format. However, like the 105, over sharpest is a double edge sword on portrait shoot. That may be why I found 80-200 more forgiving!</p>
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used vs new
in Nikon
<p>In general, it is safer to buy a used lens than a used body, particularly due to the modern day complex electronic in the construction. I bought a used 105 2.8D many years ago from a reputable camera store, still absolutely no regret. Buying it private has no sale tax (at least in Canada) while buying from a store is not the case. However, the store has the expertise to examine the product, passed it through RCMP data base to ensure it is not hot, before putting it on sale. It also usually comes with a limited warranty for, let say 90 days. In general, always remember "Buyers beware".</p>
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<p>I share your same problem when I purchased the D90, a DX format body. To compensate the wide angle needs, I purchased one single DX format lens, the Tokina 12-24 (18-36). From the various review, this is the best third party wide angle lens, which may be adequate for your wedding shoot: <br>
Other equipment and Nikkor lens review which are very informative:<br>
<a href="../learn/wedding/equipment">http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/equipment</a><br>
<a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html">http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html</a><br>
<a href="http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm">http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm</a><br>
Hope this is helpful for you.</p>
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<p>Please see the depreview.com Group Test for various types of P&S cameras. Although they were done for last year, one can check the main site under the same manufacturer for a more update version based on the recommendations:<br>
Happy shopping.<br>
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408slimgroup/"></a></p>
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<p>Flower photography is tedious and paintaking in order to achieve the desired result. I learned my skill at the local conservatory greenhouse environment, generally free from the effect of wind. It took an average of 15 minutes from selection to completion for one shot, with 105mm AF D on tripod. DOF is critical since 105 has 1:1 reproduction ratio while the 70-200 has 1/6.1 in AF mode and 1/5.6 in MF mode. That means with 105mm,one can fill a full frame with a single larger flower which the tele-zoom would not be able to achieve.<br>
One good reference I read years ago was John Shaw's "Close up on Nature", detailing all the requirement for macro photography. Flower photography generally required diffuse lighting, so I never use flash in my experience. For a walk around flower photography, it may be easier to use a 50mm in DX format (75mm equiv) for a larger subject. Always use f8 - f11 for greater DOF the closer one is to the subject. However, over that apeture, one begin to loose resolution even for the best optics. Hope it is helpful.</p>
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<p>I recently posted this question on the mid-range zoom although my requirement is to cover under both DX and FX format. Please see the thread on October 31 for "Nikon mid-range zoom for both DX and FX" for all the responses.<br>
With regard to Nikon lens review, the 4 best sites that I found were (the 4th one is not acceptable at this forum, but with initial of KR):<br>
<a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html">http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html</a><br>
<a href="http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm">http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm</a><br>
Hope this may be helpful to you.</p>
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<p>One more review that may be helpful:<br>
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<p>The use of Nikon Li-ion battery is a relatively new experience for me. Prior to that, I was using Ni-MH AA with the vertical grip. I carry a Li-ion spare with me. However, I read an article from a popular website that is not acceptable to this forum, therefore cannot be quoted about the proper use of Li-ion battery.<br>
Essentially Li-ion battery usage. according to his recommendation, is radically different than alkaline, Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, etc because it carries no memory. He advocated that "Li-ion battery likes to be frequently charged". He went as far to suggest that his cell-phone battery still acted like new since 1991. I am experimenting with one of the Nikon battery with frequent charge, perhaps at 25-50% discharge while the other one perhaps at 75% discharge before recharging to see if there is a difference. I like to hear more opinion also in this regard.</p>
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<p>I posted a similar question on October 31 about "mid-zoom for both FX and DX format". Please read the responses. My lens combination came from film format days, so when I enter DX format with the plan to purchase FX in a year or two in addition, I only purchased one lens for the wide angle needs, a Tokina 12-24 AFS version.<br>
For Nikon lens reviews, I found this web site very informative:<br>
<a href="http://www.bythom.com/rationallenses.htm">http://www.bythom.com/rationallenses.htm</a><br>
<a href="http://www.bythom.com/nikonlens.htm">http://www.bythom.com/nikonlens.htm</a><br>
One more piece of info. When I purchased my D90, the camera store told me that D70 produced a special color tone that is sort after that other models do not have. I am not sure what it means, but the people I deal with is reliable from a pro store. In general, if you plan to move towards FX, stay away from DX lens. If you want just one DX lens beyond the wide angle, apparently the 16-85mm (equiv 24-128) is the best Nikon DX lens line-up.</p>
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<p>If you were to carry one good Nikon lens but for DX format only, I would use the 35mm equiv of 24-120mm. This is because 24mm is much nicer on landscape than 27mm while 85-135mm are good for portraits. Buy a 50mm 1.4/1.8 for low light The best Nikon DX lens apparently is 16-85mm with VR:<br>
Anything better will be the Pro level 2.8 lens: 12-24 for wide, 24-70 for mid and 70-200 for tele. My friend has them with D200 and D700 when we hiked. They may break your back and pocket together!</p>
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<p>It may not be much to help. I recently requested the newest Nikon Lens brochure. At the second last page, Nikon attempt to explain the difference between various focal length, perspective, etc with photos. One can access the Nikon Canada website and see that brochure directly. Or better, send an email to Nikon requesting that brochure.<br>
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<p>I have the older version of Nikon 105 2.8D AF for many years with F90x body when starting out to learn the rope of more serious photography. With the equivant of FX, the new version of 105 2.8G is excellent for both portraits and macro, but with DX at the equivalent of 158mm, it is a bit long from the experience of a recent shoot at a local conservatory. If you are ever planning to upgrade to FX, one can never go wrong with the 105 2.8G VR if price is not a problem. On DX, I was able to do most of the shoot with my 50 1.8 prime with the equivalent of 75mm. It can close focus to, I believe, .45m or 1.5 ft, which is not bad. For flower photography, invest in an incident meter or at least a gray card to solve much exposure calculation problem with the wide variety of tonal color is also very useful.</p>
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<p>I appreciate very much from the responses by the photographic community, since this is the first time I posted a question. However, I need to clarify my logic in this plan. The main reasons of hoping to trade-in the two older zooms are because, one: 75-300 AF (push-pull version) has a serious vibration problem even on mirror lock-up or exposure delayed mode at 200mm or over. The 300mm end is also very soft. More importantly, I found myself rarely ever used it since it was purchased. For the 24-120 D, I found the images are soft at the borders, with the 120 end with moderate deterioration. Whereas the 24-85 2.8-4 is supposedly a much sharper lens on reading various reviews. While the issue of zoom overlapping is not essential, I did find that the 80-200 is used only in very serious shoot becaause of the "street sweeper". By eliminating this overlap with 24-85 and 80-200, I would be more "encouraged" to use the semi-pro 80-200 optics.<br />In regard to serving the FX and DX format simultanously, it is both for planning for the D700 in a year or so time while retaining the D90 for its 1.5x factor to benefit the telephoto end. My planning logic will become this way: DX format: 12-24 DX (18-36), 24-85 (36-128), 80-200 (120-300). There are other prime lens for special purpose available. Conversely, in FX foramt, 24-85, 80-200 with a 20 to supplement. <br />The real question is whether the 75-300 and 24-120 should go in favor of a 24-85 2.8-4, knowning that this lens was introduced in 2000-2003, then reintroduced in 2006-current but may due for update with perhaps ED, VR and AFS. Hope this clarified my objective in the lens line-up re-organization plan.</p>
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<p>I have the Tokina 12-24 AFS version with D90. Recently out to shoot fall colors, using mostly 24-120D, sometimes 12-24 and 80-200, I found myself frequently using Exposure Compensation with all these lens to obtain the correct exposure. Having used manual exposure all the time, I did not experience anything unusual with the Tokina when compared with the other two Nikon lens. It is unlikely due to D300 since D90 has a very similar processor.</p>
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<p>I have recently enter the digital SLR format by purchasing a D90 body. Previously I have a full compliment of lens for film bodies. Apart from purchasing the DX format lens for Tokina 12-24mm to accomodate the wide angle needs, I plan to eventually acquire a D700 body for FX format. For this reason, I did not purchase the D300 in order to save for the D700 instead. In this regard, I also do not wish to purchase any other DX lens.<br>
My quest is to improve the mid-range zoom performance. I currently use a 24-120D, 75-300AF, 80-200D. From the various reviews, I hope to reduce the overlap by having the 24-85D and 80-200D for FX while 12-24 for DX needs. What I found on the reviews are as followed:<br>
<a href="http://www.bythom.com/nikonlens.htm">http://www.bythom.com/nikonlens.htm</a><br>
<a href="http://jerphotography.com/blog/?page_id=120">http://jerphotography.com/blog/?page_id=120</a><br>
Without going to the pro level 24-70, is 24-85D the only viable alternative in order to suffice the needs for both FX and DX format. The draw back appears to be a dated lens without ED elements, AFS and VR, although the latter two features are not that important to me. Please offer me advise and opinions.</p>
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A large LCD on a P&S with high resolution will likily be the Panasonic TZ5 soon to be released with a 3" LCD and 460K resolution. It does not compare to the Nikon D300 LCD resolution but it is not a DSLR. Check http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012917panasonictz4tz5.asp
for the specs. Good luck in your search.
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I gave away my Sony W7 even when it has a viewfinder because of its limitation. It is important to remember that the viewfinder of a P&S is often designed for "emergencies", such as low battery or strong sunlight. It often does not give more than 80% field of view. With that in mind, I opted for the Panasonic FZ18 bridge camera which has one the better and larger EVF (electronic viewfinder). It holds like a miniature SLR with full range of capability. You can also elect to have the necessary amount of information on the screen as needed. I felt much more at ease to take pictures again as the LCD view handling style was never in my blood! As with wide angle capability, the Panasonic line has the most choices but no viewfinder for most the its P&S. Read the review on any P&S as oppose to bridge format camera regarding the viewfinder limit before any decision.
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I purchased a Panasonic FZ18 recently after much research. Previously I use a Sony W7 which was rather limited capability. Depending on your photographic needs, mine being not wanting to use an Digitial SLR body which is not full-frame and enough capability to cover an equivalent for landscape to bird photography. As such, it bridges my needs without carrying the heavy gears, knowing the limitations between Bridge Camera and big SLR. The possibilities from the switch away from a P&S was absolutely phenomenal. The reason I settle with Panasonic knowing the limitation of Venus III engine on low light condition over Canon, Fuji, etc. is the 28mm wide angle, ergonomic and interface design, Leica optics as well as the http://www.dpreview.com//user reviews. If you decide on the Panasonic FZ18, also get a 46mm filter, a strong wrist carrying strap and a Lewpro AW case which can be use on shoulder or waist. Good luck.
System recommendation
in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing
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