eric_hood

<p>I currently have six lenses and purchased all but one secondhand and all of them from ebay. All the lenses are excellent my AI'd 85mm 1.8 is older than I am. </p>

<p>The benefit to me has been the exceptionally low cost for the second hand gear. I was not going to list my lenses but I want to explain my reasoning and experiences. I have: 20mm 3.5, 35mm 2.8, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.8, 135mm 2 dc (new), 2x TC and an 80-200 f4.</p>

<p>My first camera a few short years ago is a second hand FE and I purchased the 35mm and a 50mm 1.4 to go with it, not really understanding much of anything I purchased faster lenses as I did not like the effects of flash I saw in my friends photos so I wanted to use natural light.</p>

<p>Even though I did not yet have a zoom I loved using my primes and was soon looking for others. I remember fighting off other people in an auction at 4am for my 85mm lens as it finished then. </p>

<p>I was having a great time taking some landscape with the 35 and candid shots of my friends at parties and such with the 50 and 85.</p>

<p>I have not purchased a bad piece of gear from ebay I know enough now to know I have been very lucky, my photographer friends told me they hated me when I said my 85 cost me $100 including freight from the US. :) (they did ask first. I did not volunteer the info.)</p>

<p>I have been willing to take the risk of the goods being damaged, misrepresented or lost for the cheaper price for my lenses and it has certainly paid off. Until the advent of the D700 manual focus primes were very cheap. The market has tightened up considerably since then. </p>

<p>My one attempt to purchase a new lens from a shop ended without purchase. After I had paid the first shop they declared the lens to be out of stock and I would have a 3 month wait whilst Nikon manufactured more.</p>

<p>This is the 135mm F2 DC. They refunded my money when asked and I have done more business with them and had only good experiences. When I initially rang around looking to check prices and availability several shops told me it was in stock. When I rang to purchase they had no stock, one store told me it had eight of them two weeks earlier when I rang.</p>

<p>So I went looking on ebay and found a Hong Kong seller with, at the time, 22 thousand positive feedback. I felt that I REALLY gambled on this purchase and ordered the lens. It arrived in less than a week. </p>

<p>So as others have mentioned check the feedback and see if there is a return policy. I have had a great run and am happy to recommend ebay as a purchasing step, you just have to be careful. The ebay store is chinaarts if anyone is interested.</p>

<p>I am thinking of buying a camera from the Arax people.</p>

<p>http://www.araxphoto.com/cameras/</p>

<p>Specifically this one. It looks like a big ugly SLR but comes with a waist viewfinder too. The price is certainly OK and they sell lenses too.</p>

<p>http://www.araxphoto.com/cameras/arax-60mlu/</p>

<p>I am sure someone here has had some experience, the reviews I went looking for are favourable and all mention excellent customer service.</p>

<p>I purchased an Intenscreen for my FE one with a split ring and grid for architecture, it is excellent, it makes focussing all my MF lenses so much easier. They are not cheap however.</p>

<p>http://www.camerascreens.com/General_Info.shtml</p>

<p>Here is a discussion from the manual focus forum people with images from the Samyang 85 1.4<br>

http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=14608&p=1</p>

<p>I just checked my copy of NX2 and there is no watermark feature built in. I then did a quick search and found this link. You will need to check if it is from a reputable company.</p>

<p>http://www.contenta-nefconverter.com/encyclopedia/nef_files.php?output=&service=watermark</p>

<p>I have today ordered a book for painters covering composition :) , looking forward to its arrival.</p>

<p>I am finding as I learn, shots I liked in the past are not as interesting as shots I passed over when taken.</p>

<p>@ Frank<br>

Before I purchased my digital camera I would get friends telling me the problem with film is that you only get one or two good shots per roll. I would say YOU may only get that many good shots but I am happy with my success rate thanks.<br>

I consider myself a beginner at best as my weakness is in composition I find it difficult at times go get the image I see in front of me captured in my camera, I am sure that is half the enjoyment for me knowing my next walkabout will be better than the previous. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>sorry duplicate, whilst fiddling with photo</p>

<p>I have a few manual primes I used on my FEs and they are top notch on the D700. I have an AI'd 20mm 3.5 UD it is a very capable lens. It cost me $100.00 AU on ebay, and worth every penny even though the focus ring is a little tight.</p>

<p>I have a few manual primes I used on my FEs and they are top notch on the D700. I have an AI'd 20mm 3.5 UD it is a very capable lens. It cost me $100.00 AU on ebay, and worth every penny even though the focus ring is a little tight.</p><div></div>

<p>If you get this problem on the D700 changing custom setting f9 can stop this from happening as I found after sending mine in for repair with the problematic lens, a 135mm prime I reset the camera to factory but did not reset the custom settings. </p>

<p>The path is:</p>

<p>Custom Settings Menu > f Controls > f9 Customise Command Dials.</p>

<p>This option controls the operation of the main and sub command dials.</p>

<p>- Change main/sub: at the default setting of [OFF] the main command dial controls aperture and the sub command dial controls shutter speed. This setting also applies to the command dials for vertical shooting.</p>

<p>I hope this helps, though it does sound like your problem is different from mine as I could not use the lens in manual mode and aperture priority, if I had it set as an auto focus then it would work and I could use it.</p>

<p>Hi, I thought the European Union thing stopped UK customers being held hostage by weird multi-national pricing , at least they did not just put a pound sign in front of the US dollar amount as happens all to frequently with computer gear. </p>

<p>Also as an EU member can you not buy it within the EU and expect to get it serviced in the UK? Perhaps holiday to France is required. One day of rest, recovery and Nikon purchasing or use some of the money saved to spend a week taking pictures.</p>

<p>I am very happy with my 50mm 1.2</p>

<p>The MB-D10 will add 1 frame per second you may need bigger batteries for it but you also get the grip for when you rotate the camera.</p>

<p>I have been considering it for my D700 but I am not sure I want to add the extra size.</p>

 

<p>I bother with manual focus lenses because I have a few that I use with my FE and it is not hard to focus with the D700, incredibly easy, much easier than the FE.<br>

MF lenses can be just as good optically as their modern counterpart and the 50mm 1.2 for example is still sold new and is only MF.<br>

How about macro? you do not need to use AF with macro photography and finally my 135mm f2 hunts for focus in low light it can be much easier to focus manually in these circumstances.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I have a 50mm 1.2 which I use on my D700 and it is one of my favourite lenses. I gave my 50mm 1.4 manual focus lens to a friend that owns a 50mm 1.8 AF lens, he told me the MF lens was a better lens in every respect to his AF lens. <br>

We both suspect his AF lens may be faulty, however the point to my story is think about manual focus lenses too. You should be able to pick up a MF 1.4 lens cheaper than a new 1.8 AF lens.<br>

Is auto focus important to you?</p>

<p>This does not give a huge amount of info but it is interesting.</p>

<p>http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/135mmnikkor/index.htm</p>

<p>http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/nikond700.htm<br>

4,424.76 NZD<br>

3,499.00 AUD<br /></p>

<p>A deflationary recession is the only way to recover from malinvestment caused by easy credit during a boom.<br>

Keynesian economics is over, try Ludwig Von Mises for a correct answer. Inflating the money supply during a recession will only extend its duration and increase the severity.<br>

If you wish to see the bad effects of Lord Keynes policies find a book called America's Great Depression by Murray Rothbard.</p>

 

<p>I have a D700 and a some manual focus lenses. I use an 80-200 f4 ais zoom and it is superb, the screen is so much easier to see through than my FE. Focusing is a treat I have really enjoyed taking pictures with it.<br>

The only time I have had problems with manual focus is with my 50mm f1.2 when used at 1.2. </p>

<p>I have an Ai'd 85mm lens and enjoy using it. If you AI the lenses then decide you do not want them they may sell for more.</p>

@ JDM von Weinberg:

 

I SO want one of those. :) the new Fuji/Voigtländer looks very sexy.

I purchased an intenscreen as it has the architectural grid and the split prism focusing thingy. I would agree that it is

overpriced. I leave a piece of cardboard in the holder with the exposure compensation written on it.

Have a look at the link. I have recently purchased a Beattie intenscreen and it is superb. You will have to adjust exposure though.

 

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonfeseries/fefmshared/html/screens.htm

 

http://www.display-optics.com/products_35mm-format_nikon.htm