orcama60

<p>Matt, I have not try that but I will tomorrow. B, this cable looks weird, because it does have 3 ends, one to be hook up to the flash meter and two more for two different strobes, but one of the ends does not fit either in the SB-800 and / or the D300. Perhaps I got the wrong cable and I will check it out tomorrow. Leigh, my flash meter was in wired mode when I try it. If it is in ambient, it won't fire the flash, of course. </p>

<p>Guys, thank in advance for all of your help. I just received my Sekonic L-358 and it is not firing my SB-800 when using the sync cord. I do believe I am doing everything according to the manual instructions, and this is what I did : <br>

- I chose the mode : electric volt with the C in the flash meter<br>

- I did setup my shutter speed in the flash meter<br>

- connnected the sync cord; one end on the flash meter and the other in the SB-800. <br>

- setup my speed / ISO in my camera according to what I previously setup in my flash meter<br>

- turn on my SB-800 and chose M ( manual ) <br>

- pointed the flash meter to my strobe and tried to trigger the flash by pushing the measure bottom ... the flash does not fire up. What I am doing wrong ? Could you please help ?</p>

<p>Thanks guys in advance. Does anyone of you have used this item before ? How good is it to soften the light in compare with other diffusers ? As far as I know they have several types of it : clear, half cloud and cloud ( the more commons ). Which of these is the best for outdoor and the best for outdoor ? </p>

<p>At the moment I do have the Micro-Apollo diffuser and the Peter Gregg's ABBC All black eye-shield bounce card flash diffuser but I would also like to buy the Gary Fong but not before getting the opinion of those that have used it before. Could you please help me based on your own experience just with this subject item ? Just in case, I do have the Nikon D300 and my intention is to use that item for portraits indoor and outdoor. </p>

<p>Thank you so much, <br>

best regards<br>

Maurice</p>

<p>Of course, the 24-70 mm f/2.8 would be the Nikon lens. I forgot to mention that instead the 85 f/1.8 it could be the 85 f/1.4 AF-S which is a very expensive lens but an excellent prime lens. Having the 35 and 50 f/1.8 and getting the 85 f/1.4 would not be better than the medium zoom ? Exchanging lenses is not a great thing to do, but are not those primes best suited for low light and as sharp as the mentioned medium zoom ? Would this Nikon 24-70 mm f/2.8 have better bokeh than the 85 f/1.4 or even the f/1.8 ?</p>

<p>If it was you, what would you prefer to have : <br>

- 3 primes : 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8 ..... or <br>

- medium zoom : 24-70mm f/2.8 ?</p>

<p>With the price of that medium zoom, you can easily buy the 3 mentioned prime lenses. Only concern about them is that you must take them off anytime you want to switch from one to another, but the medium zoom, is not faster than the primes despite it is a superb lens. Any of those lenses would be use for portraits on the D300 and when apply, with the SB-800 either on and off the camera. What would you pick ?</p>

<p>Best regards,<br>

Maurice.</p>

<p>Thanks Matt. That sounds very simple, but it does looks to me that doing what you said, the flash will be in TTL not manual, right ? When you normally set your flash to manual, you need to setup the flash output depending of the distance from flash to subject and aperture used, so how would this work if I want to shoot with my SB-800 in manual ? Does not the flash meter measure the power output or suggest what power output to set in the flash ? Or, do you setup your flash to the output you do believe it is and the flash meter suggest or tell you what power are you firing off and give you the correct aperture for that output ? Can you please be more specific about it ? </p>

<p>Hi Billy, I do suggest to study this website : </p>

<p>http://neilvn.com/tangents/</p>

<p>This is a professional photographer that uses the Lastolite 24 x 24 softbox to shoot outdoor with excellent results. Once you get in that website, you will love it and you will learn a lot about flash photography. Good luck and happy shooting.</p>

<p>I forgot to tell you that I will use the sync cord between the flash and the Sekonic to trigger the flash light to measure the light output and I know that after finding the right setup, I must disconnect the cord from the flash meter and attach it to my camera. The cord is 3 meters long but would be nice if it was longer than that. </p>

<p>Thank you so much in advance for your help guys. Will receive this device day after tomorrow. I downloaded the manual and I am already familiar with some of the features of this equipment, but I do have a question and I need your help. First of all, I've never used a flash meter before. I do shoot in manual mode with my D300 and I do have the SB-800. My intention is to use the flash meter to measure the flash output while using my flash off the camera ( with a 45' umbrella -shoot-thru-the-umbrella ) in manual mode. <br>

Question : Do I need to measure the ambient light first ? Let's say the flash meter measure an ambient light and suggest : f/4, 1/125, ISO 100. I do setup this in my camera as well and take a test shot. Then, what do I need to do to measure the flash output in manual mode ? What will be the procedure guys please ? Can anyone of you tell me exactly what to do, I mean, the steps to follow please ? </p>

<p>Best regards, <br>

Maurice.</p>

<p>Most of the time M ( 70% ) and A ( 30% ). I find M to give me full control of what I want to do with my exposure and once I find it, it will remain as I chose it. I use M also for Macro shots, portraits, difficult scenes with a lot of contrast; I use A when I get lazy and the light ( mainly outside ) is evenly bright and I do not have the time to be adjusting my setup ( then I do concentrate on my Aperture and ISO which I do start at 200 mainly but sometimes I go lower to 100 ). Rarely I use P, but mostly to study and compare how my camera meters works in different modes or when I do hand my camera to someone else. However, this mode is very accurate and I am starting to use it in between so I can compare how am I doing in compare with my manual exposure. Rarely I use S, except when I want to freeze or imply motion in my pictures. <br>

Under medium overcast weather, I use A and work with my A and ISO to get the correct exposure ( and compensation ). Heavy overcast, I go for M, which may require ( due to dark environment ) to make some adjustments that I find very easy in compare to any of the automatic modes. <br>

When using flash, definitely I use M starting with f/4, ISO 400 and the speed at / or under 1/250 (1/200 or longer ) TTL for indoors shots ( bouncing the light ). When shooting with flash outside, mostly I shoot in M, TTL ( BL ) to fill light or in HSS ( high speed sync ) TTL-FP ( BL ) under bright and sunny conditions. I will start using my flash in M as soon as I get my Sekonic L-358. </p>

 

<p>Hi guys and thank you so much in advance. Yes, practically I do know how to use my D300, except for the AF-TUNE feature. I have been investigating about this but nobody in the whole world can tell me exactly what to do. I don't appreciate Nikon for this. As a Nikon buyer, I do have the right ( and I hope Mr. whoever in Japan is reading this ) to know how to use that feature. Nikon did not provide any procedure on how to adjust our lenses. If it is there, we should know how to use it and Nikon should provide the right procedures to handle this correctly. But it is a mystery !! The lack of information in Nikon's manuals are not a breaking new. This is an ongoing issue and I do hope they are listening or reading and do something about it, if they really care about customers. </p>

<p>I did ask Thom Hogan about this and he could not tell me the procedures but I do know that he knows how to use it because he talks about it. On the other side, Ken R. say : don't ever touch this ... but he talks about adjusting his lenses, that this was way off, bla, bla, etc .. so there is a knowledge about this but apparently, they are keeping the information for themselves. </p>

<p>So I am posting this question and I do believe that I did ask it before but nobody could provide me with a exact procedure. I am asking again and if anyone of you knows, please share and help. I mean, with exact procedures. It is not the same to adjust a fixed lens than a zoom lens. Fixed lenses are not a problem but zoom lenses .. that's the problem, because if you want to adjust it, what focal length are you going to adjust in a lens for example : 70-200 ? How do you know if the lens needs to be adjusted? How can you test it, to find out if the lens is not performing at 100% at any particular focal length? How can you fix it ? Can be a lens off at just one focal length and be ok for the rest of the focal length?</p>

<p>I do hope that the predicted D400, D800 or D4, comes up with this feature to automatically adjust up to 12 lenses. I don't think this an impossible thing to achieve for Nikon engineers and designers. It should be as simple as hitting the OK and the camera adjusted and tune it automatically. Don't see why not, it can not be done that way and if I am wrong, please correct me. </p>

<p>Best regards<br>

Maurice.</p>

<p>Well, I was a member of Nikonians but I quit. Photo net is much better in my humble opinion. Ever since I do have a question, I have had the answers that I need. Some have been rude but for the most part, they have been very nice. This is not facebook to be posting pictures and talk about how we did it or how we should do it. We do have our Wednesdays to post our pictures to discuss and share what we do and enjoy looking others so great pictures posted. But now that we are talking about this, I do have a question for all of you and I expect your help : how I can use the AF-TUNE in my D300 ? Does anyone of you knows exactly what to do about it ? Do you have a step by step procedure that Nikon never had the courtesy to add it to the D300 manual or anywhere in any other book ? </p>

<p>Would I buy the D4 ? No. Why ? Too much money !! Would I want to have it ? No. I am OK with my D300. Why ? Cause I need lenses, no new cameras. Once I do have the lenses, then I will think what new camera to buy. Probably by then, the D4 will be kind of obsolete. Anyway, my pictures looks as good as any taken with the D3. Missing something from that camera ? Not really. Only one thing I do have in my camera that still I do not know how to use, and beside, Nikon should make it automatic : AF TUNE !! It should be automatic or they should provide how ( step by step ) to adjust your lenses. I do hope, for all of you who would buy the new D4 ( predicted by Thom Hogan ) to have all of the features you have been talking about and .... that the AF TUNE is automatic, so as soon as you put your lens in the camera, and by just hitting the OK , your camera adjust that lens in a blink of an eye. Superb !! Enjoy it !! </p>

<p>Thanks for your help. Will do that.</p>

<p>Other shot .... </p><div></div>

<p>I am trying to determine if using ISO 100 on the D300 is better than ISO 200. According to Thom Hogan, using ISO 200 on the D300 is the best option to avoid clipping highlights. Now, I was not testing if either set was clipping or not the highlights, but to test which one has better sharpening.</p>

<p>The two below picture were taken handheld with Nikon 70-300 mm VR ( VR ON ), at 125 mm f/5.6 in Aperture priority mode. I definitely can see the difference between the sharpness on both pictures, and the one shot at ISO 200, is sharper than the one shot at ISO 100. Did not want to use a tripod because without a tripod, would be my normal shooting condition. The pictures were cropped at 100% using Aperture 3. I can also see, that the difference between the shadows and highlights are much better defined at the shot taken with ISO 200. </p>

<p>Have you test it before ? What is your opinion in your own experience using the D300 using either ISO 100 or 200 ? Can you help please ? </p><div></div>

<p>Thank you guys. One more question, I know this meter read incident and reflective light. To measure the incident light, do you need to hold the meter closer to the subject in the same way you do it when measuring reflective lighting ? Any suggestion ? </p>

<p>Hi guys, I am trying to buy this flash meter but before I do, I would like to hear your opinion from those of you that have been using it in the field please. How good is it ? Can display aperture and speed at the same time or just one of them at a time ? </p>

<p>Best regards<br>

Maurice.</p>

<p>Eric, thank you so much for all your post and your opinion based on your own experience, the same to you Nina, Paul, Shun and everybody else you participated in this thread to help me finally decide which lens to use for this upcoming event, in which I can and I should not take the risk to make a mess by using a lens that will not be that easy to use when photographing people as the lenses mentioned above. </p>

<p>For sure, after all your help, I made my decision to go with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR II on one camera and the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 on the other camera. I am just thinking that if I can not buy the 17-55, probably will be a good idea to rent the 24-70 f/2.8 so there will be no gap in between those two lenses, what do you think Eric ? Otherwise, I will stick with the 17-55. I also have the 35 f/1.8 and the 50 f/1.8 just in case I need to shoot without flash under low light conditions. Whit all those lenses, I am very sure I should not have any problem to shoot this wedding. </p>

<p>Perhaps in the future, I buy the Nikon 10-24 f/3.5 ( that Nina and Shun have pointed to be a good lens ) to have a wide-angle for occasional shooting and landscaping, and this something that I am not that interested to shoot at for the moment. Will concentrate to get the 17-55 or the 24-70 f/2.8. About this lens, the 24-70, beside it is a superb lens according to reviews, what do you guys think about using this lens on a DX camera like the D300 that I got to shoot a wedding? Do you recommended on the top of the 17-55 ?</p>

<p>Please advise !! </p>

<p><em>One 17-50 AFS F/2.8 and one 70-200 AFS VR. (You have the 16-85 so I assume you will use that in place of the 17-50 in my kit.) That is it. If you want the other lens in your pocket just in case you get a chance to use it then any of the ones you mentioned will be just fine.</em></p>

<p>Thanks Lee. Yes, my plan is to have two lenses, two cameras and two flashes. My D300 with a 70-200 f/2.8 VR II and the other camera ( probably another D300 ) with the 16-85 mm VR or if I can buy it ( or rent it ) the 17-55 mm f/2.8. Initially I thought to have on my second camera, one of the 3 lenses posted in the thread but after all your inputs, you are right and I would not like to take any risk by using a wide angle lens and not be able to use it as it should. I am better off using the 16-85 or the Nikon 17-55. </p>

<p><em>if you go back a bit in the thread and look at the 12mm shot i posted, that's actually the proper distance (maybe about 8-10 feet) to avoid the distorted effect. stopping down a bit does help there. but just about any wide-angle lens will have some distortion at the widest focal length and open apertures, even a 17-xx 2.8 lens.</em></p>

<p>You are right Eric, having a woman looks fatter than she is, especially if that woman is the bride, will not be any good to build my reputation. I thought any of those lenses were not too complicated to use but after did I read all the inputs in here, I will stick to either the 16-85 that I own or I will buy or rent the 17-55 f/2.8. There are two reasons I wanted to have a wide angle lens : to take shots to a big group of people and to focus background and subject at the same time in some pictures in which the background is appealing to the whole view of the picture in relation to the subject. I have seen some pictures shot with wide angle in which both, the foreground and background, are related and looks great. The depth of field of these lenses is something that it may be useful in some pictures at the wedding. Perhaps, what I can do is to rent one of them, probably the Nikon 12-24 just in case I need it to take some pictures at the reception, in which I will have the time to switch lenses. </p>

<p>At the ceremony, I will definitely have my 70-200 f/2.8 and the 17-55 f/2.8 ( or the 16-85 ) with two flashes ( SB-800 and SB-900 ). Thank you guys for all your help.</p>

<p>Yes Breogan, thank you for that. Photozone is given to the Nikon more advantage than the Tokina. Nikon is definitely a better lens but I posted the question to see if somebody have used the Tokina and what results they got with it. <br>

I am starting to think that for my camera, the better lens of all may be either the Nikon 12-24 or the Nikon 10-24 as Shun is pointing. For DX, 10-24 sounds more logical if I want to go wider. </p>

<p>Eric, I am not planning to shoot everything at f/2.8 but some pictures ( with the intention of being creative ) I may take them at f/2.8. Now, the range between 12-24 is great so I do have a question now, how sharp is either the Tokina 12-24 / Nikon 12-24 at the wide end in case I need to shoot at that f/stop ? </p>

 

<p>Changing lenses ? Yes, I will probably change from the ultra-wide to the medium zoom Nikon 16-85 VR with flash for some of the pictures. Have not consider very deep the need of the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 yet. I am still doubtful about it. I think if I need some pictures to be taken within 17-55, I can use my 16-85 with flash and get away with it, so basically I am concentrating in a zoom ( 70-200 ) and the ultra-wide. What do you think ? </p>

<p>Eric, I will use two bodies. I do have a D300 and I probably rent another D300 for the wedding. I will have the 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II in one camera and the other, with the ultra-wide ( Tokina 11-16, 12-24 or Nikon 12-24 ). I will also have in my bag, the Nikon 16-85, 50 f/1.8, 35 f/1.8 and two speedlights : SB-800 and will rent or probably buy, the SB-900. </p>

<p>You are right Shun, I missed that, f/3.5 is faster than f/4. <br>

Eric, I almost do not have experience with ultra-wide, but of course if I buy any of those lenses, I will have enough time to practice with them before the wedding. As I said before, I had the 11-16 for 3 days and it does not feel like having a lot of range but it is optically talking, very sharp and reliable in low light conditions and this is what I am considering. Just wanted to know if the other two, for low light ( no flash ) are up to this lens, the Tokina 11-16. I do like the range of 12-24 / 10-24 but they are f/4, so how good they are in low light ? </p>

<p>According to some reviews, the Tokina 12-24 is not as sharp as the Nikon but better build quality than the Nikon. The only one that can compete with the Nikon in the quality arena, is the Tokina 11-16 and probably better than the Nikon in this regard and much better build quality. </p>