greg_kowalczewski

<p>Flying high</p><div></div>

<p>Run Out ... but, Not Out!</p><div></div>

<p><em>Pros that I know use what works for them and have been doing so for a while</em>.<br>

With each camera body purchase comes less excitement over the next, especially if they are sequential, because the perceived expectation of anticipated improvement is rarely matched in reality.<br>

Like a painter with a favourite brush, what is it that drives the urge to change? Lack of ability or lack of inspiration?</p>

<p>WoW Dieter! The Rhine Moselle Slate Whirlpool looks massively cool. And great shots by everyone to start the thread.<br>

Down and out! Two years ago while in Sydney I experienced one of those days where the sun produced a lethal burn that caused anything alive to melt. It was seriously hot when I came across this bird which was almost down and out. The radiant heat off the camera felt like a blow dryer against my face when I looked through the viewfinder. Every time I look at this shot it takes me back to that day and the heat ... and that famous poem "My Country" by Dorothea MacKellar (born in Sydney in 1883 and died in 1968) "I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains ..."<br>

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<p>Mine.</p><div></div>

<p>My mother's dog (very playful and loves chasing tennis balls).</p><div></div>

<p>The above shot was at 380 mm, but if the play was close enough for me to shoot with my 70-200 VR II the bluring of the background would have been even more.<br>

The comment that Shun made "<em>Your money is better spent on classes, workshops, and training</em>" will always hold true over time. My needs are very specific and my choices of lenses limited for what I shoot. But any system that would allow me to shoot lighter, without loss of image quality and over a wider zoom range will always be of interest to me. But everything in photography involves compromise and when you are buying equipment it is your job to optimise these comprimises in accordance with what you shoot and how you shoot. And every link in the path needs to be quality matched with respect to lens, camera body, editing software and final output (be it on digital screen or printed).<br>

So getting back to your question and if I had your gear (and not mine) ...<br>

The 70-200 VR II is what I would buy (<em>for me</em>).</p>

 

<p>This shot taken yesterday is what I mean by bluring the background.</p><div></div>

<p>I looked at your sample shots (80mm/120mm equiv, 135mm/202 equiv and 50mm/75mm equiv). I have looked at what you have in the way of lenses.<br>

I would buy the 70-200 VR II. It is a <em>best-in-class</em> lens and is a lens that I have no trouble hand holding over a full day (but you need to check this out for yourself).<br>

I shoot sport, and if I can do it handholding a lens, that will always be <em>my preference</em>. It's my style (and preference) when shooting sport. The reason I have told a bit about what I shoot is so that you can appreciate my personal bias. I need lenses that can blur backgrounds.</p>

<p> </p>

Here is a soccer shot taken over the weekend converted to black and white.<div></div>

<p>Looking for somewhere to land ...</p><div></div>

<p>I defer to Wade Thompson's opening question "What lenses do you already own?" (Important question)<br>

The pros and cons of the D700 v D7000 should be made with respect to the lens you intend to use. In short, the quality of the glass should match the quality of the body. A mismatch in either direction is not optimal (but it generally makes more sense to invest more money toward good glass).<br>

When statements are made about how good or bad either body works, the users who make them (such as Renato or Elliot) should qualify these statements in terms of the lenses that were fitted, what they were shooting and under what type of light (or better still, post a shot and state the EXIF data), along with any significant post processing (be it cropping, increasing contrast, noise reduction etc).</p>

<p>Zero ... but ask me the same question in 20 years time and I may answer differently.</p>

<p>For DX and one lens I would take 18-200 VR.</p>

<p>Reaching out ... Australian rules football grand finals are now underway ... and the individual efforts to "win" the ball are exceptional.</p><div></div>

<p>A juvenile Wattlebird ... thanks Matthew Brennan</p><div></div>

<p>A boundary umpire throwing the ball in over the weekend.</p><div></div>

<p>Fish and ...</p><div></div>

<p>Simply an outstanding array of images ... mine is Burwood Road in Hawthorn facing the city of Melbourne, Australia</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Magpie</p><div></div>

<p>Almost a goal.</p><div></div>

<p>Side by side.</p><div></div>

<p>A curious magpie ... I was shooting sport over the weekend when this magpie hopped in front of the lens. These birds are common in Australia and are not afraid to look you in the eye.</p><div></div>

<p>No.</p>

<p>Countryside</p>

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