nicksta

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/15819372-lg.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Nikon D300, Tamron 2.8 90mm Macro, f5.6, ISO 200</p>

<p>Hi there, Have you considered the Tamron 70-200 2.8?<br>

Yes it's getting a little long in the tooth and doesnt have VR/OS/IF but its a constant 2.8 through the zoom range, and gives really sharp pictures. AF is a little slower than a modern lens (AF-S) but the price range is similar to the Nikon 70-300 VR (at least here in the uk, new is £520.00 as opposed to about £400 for the Nikon).<br>

I have the Nikon 70-300 and love it. I find on the D300 I can use ISO up to 800 without a loss of quality (with careful PP).<br>

It you want to stick with primes consider a Macro lens Tamron 90mm or Sigma 105. The sigma has a better AF but both give great low light portrait performance, although performance doesn't kick in until arounnd F4.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi,<br>

A couple of points on DoF (Depth of Field) or blurred backgrounds. Setting your aperture to 1.8 (the maximum of your lens) will help get the blurred background you are looking for however a couple of considerations.<br>

1, at F1.8 your lens probably wont be at its best operating parameters (i.e not as sharp)<br>

2, focus becomes critical as a movement of a fraction can change the focus plane.<br>

Try and think a little about your surroundings. As you move closer to your subject the background rendition will change. I have the D300 and the 50m 1.4D. I love the lens but find that I get more pleasing out of focus from my 70-300G VR (esp as I zoom in on a close subject), so although speed of lens and aperture can control this so can working distance and different focal lengths.<br>

Hope you continue to enjoy your camera and look forward to seeing some of your pictures.</p>

<p>Windows vs Mac is as bad as Canon vs Nikon. Neither is better than the other, its just a matter of how much you are willing to spend. There are benefits and disadvantages on both.<br>

Personally is use a mixture, have a iMac, a PC and a Linux laptop as I prefer Qtpsfgui for HDR.<br>

Have a stroll into your local computer store and look at both. The most important thing is the ability to calibrate screen, and printer, and there are plenty of tools for both systems.<br>

I find workflow on the pc a little easier but prefer the colour (yes I'm from England :) ) rendition on the iMac. I have the 27" screen and love it.<br>

Guess what I'm saying is that there is no real right or wrong answer just a matter of how much your budget is and how much you want to invest in re-purchasing a lot of software.</p>

<p>I use all three, I find that importing into Lightroom and grading my photos is a lot easier than trying to use Capture NX2 or View NX2. I use photoshop for more complex edits, layers, special effects but find if there is a shot I really like and want to print I tend to use Capture NX2. Its basic and a requires a high spec PC but just loves the way it handles files.<br>

So basically there is no right and wrong answer here, just install it and try it. But I would say I always shot raw as its easy to process the raw files and get a jpeg but you can't turn a jpg into a full blown raw.</p>

<p>Hi<br>

Nikon recommends a minimum focal length of 100mm to use a TC.</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

My girlfriends son has managed to get the battery stuck inside of his Sony A230 DSLR. No amount of wiggling will remove it and I dont want to try forcing it.<br>

Does anyone have any ideas of what it could be sticking on?<br>

Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Have a read of the following article by Thom Hogan.<br>

<a href="http://bythom.com/support.htm">http://bythom.com/support.htm</a></p>

<p>Hi,<br>

Found the problem. A small particle of dirt was stopping the m/a m switch from sliding all he way accoss. Have cleaned the up and the lens is now working correctly.<br>

Thanks for all the advise guys, really was appreciated.<br>

Nick</p>

<p>Hi thanks for the response. DOF is showing the blades moving ok and if I set different apertures you can see the change in the blades size with each button press.<br>

also as I change aperture the shutterspeed is changing as I'd expect.<br>

guess its back to the store with the lens.<br>

Thanks again</p>

<p>Hi sorry,<br>

I mean higher aperture number ie F8, F11, F14 etc so smaller aperture with a longer exposure.</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I have a nikon 35mm 1.8 DX lens connected to a D300. When I set an aperture above 6.3 the image overexposes to the point it is nearly completely white. I am shooting in aperture mode.<br>

If I set the metering to spot or centre weighted the problem seems not to be as bad as full metering mode.<br>

My D300 does not do this with any of my other lens.<br>

I have checked, exposure, bracketing etc and nothing is switched on. ISO is set to 200 and automatic iso set to off.<br>

If I set the camera to manual mode and set to shutterspeed and aperture manually it works fine.<br>

Has anyone had anything similar? or Any suggestions?<br>

All thoughts welcomed<br>

Nick</p>