peter_gaunt

<p>I've been using the Sigma 10-20mm ( the variable aperture version) since 2006 first on a D80 and then on a D7000. It's a wonderful lens and gives me all the wide angle that I really need.</p>

<p>Why not get something like a 100mm M42 screw thread lens, an adaptor for the camera you eventually get and set of extension tubes? You'll have to do everything manually but it sure as hell will teach you what it's all about. You'll also fathom out whether you've got the knack for it without spending large sums of money.</p>

<p>Friend of mine's four year old is quite adept at taking pics with his mum's iPhone and, like with David's grandson it's fascinating to see the world from his point of view. Lots of shots of his mum, dad and two year old brother but also of his toys, his bike and the park.</p>

<p>Why not follow Thom Hogan's test method? Seems to me to make an awful lot of sense to do it the way he suggests.</p>

<p>Reasonably sensible advice, Harry.</p>

<p>If you've been using Photoshop Elements for a few years then the likes of Lightroom and Aperture (if you have a Mac) might have passed you by. Many people think they're much more suited to photography than Photoshop. I'd suggest downloading a free trial of lightroom and giving it a fair go before making a decision on whether to switch to Photoshop. The approach is raically different from Photoshop so give yourself a while to get the hang of it.</p>

<p>Regardless of whether IE9 is colour managed it's still best to export as sRGB since a) there are a heck of a lot of people using earlier browsers and b) most monitors are not capable of displaying anything much better than sRGB anyway.</p>

<p>Whether or not you include the profile itself in the image, and I can't see why not as it's small, probably makes no difference in practice since all browsers, including colour managed ones, will assume sRGB if no profile is present.</p>

<p>Are you uploading your images with sRGB or AdobeRGB colour profiles? I'd stick to sRGB for the simple reason that that's (more or less) what browsers will assume if they don't have colour management.</p>

<p>I've got two sets of tubes which are like that. They only work properly with D-lenses and lenses prior to that (i.e. anything with an aperture ring). You can also use them with screw-thread (M42) lenses if you have a cheap adaptor. They're a cheap way into macro especially with good but cheap M42 lenses. They're what nearly everyone used to use before everything went auto.</p>

<p>They're entirely manual but work very well if you have a little time to meter and focus manually - open the lens to its full aperture and focus, then close the aperture down to your desired aperture and use the camera on its manual setting to meter.</p>

<p>For fairly static subjects they're really all you need to take close-ups with your non-G lenses if you can't justify buying a 'proper' macro lens. I've used mine on a D7000 and a D80 with 50mm f1.8D, 85mm f1.8 (non-D versions) and my excellent East German Zeiss 135mm f3.5 M42 (£35/$55 on eBay!) lenses.</p>

<p>Sounds as if that laptop is the same model as mine. It's just fine for running Aperture (and probably Lightroom). I have no experience of CS6. You might find adding more memory will be advantageous - I'm fine with 4GB but it does creak occasionally.</p>

<p>I <strong>would</strong> advise adding a decent monitor to it though - the model is capable of using two screens - and making sure you colour calibrate both that and the laptop screen. The extra monitor will, of course, add to the cost but may be a good compromise especially if you value the portability of the laptop.</p>

<p>Have you got a grid you can turn on in the viewfinder? My D7000 (and my D80 before it) had such a thing which I leave on all the time. It's also possible to assign it to a function key so that I can turn it on only if I need it. In the D7000 there's also a 'virtual horizon' available on the live-view screen or, via a function key, in the viewfinder. I find the latter invaluable when taking landscapes. As others have said, it's possible you're tilting the camera when you press the shutter - if you can't use a tripod then try to get into the habit of sort of squeezing the shutter release instead of pressing it.</p>

<p>Thank heaven for that, Pat. You had me worried for a while :-) I proved (to myself) that I was right by focussing on a chess board and moving the focus point around the squares - big difference between the white and black squares.</p>

<p>Where do you get that idea, Pat? Spot metering is always on the AF point regardless of what focus mode you're in EXCEPT when a non-CPU lens is in use or auto-area AF is set when the centre focus point is used. See the D7000 manual, page 105.</p>

<p>I've had an 18-70mm since 2006, now on a D7000, and despite having other lenses it's still the one I prefer as a walk round lens if I need a normal zoom. Magic lens. Never could understand why Nikon never made a version with VR.</p>

<p>I'd advise checking out the Tamron too (the more expensive VC version of the two 70-300mm which the company does). I did a lot of looking at reviews of that and the Nikon a few months ago and came to the conclusion that the Tamron might be a better lens as well as being a little cheaper than the Nikon. I bought the Tamron and haven't regretted it - it's a lovely lens.</p>

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<p>On a Mac try Sofortbild. It's free and on the App Store. Pretty good.</p>

<p>Like Peter Hamm, I have the 35mm f1.8G and the 50mm f1.8D. I too use both in similar circumstances. The 50mm is great when you're just poking around in a group of people without being so 'in your face'. An advantage of the D lens over the G is that it's fully usable on cheap manual extension tubes for close in work - with the G you can't set the aperture.</p>

<p>Ancient old Zeiss 135mm on manual extension tubes</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks for all the info. I shall investigate further. So far as the extensions tubes are concerned, I've been using them for quite while with no problems with D and M42 lenses - they're M42 thread and I use them with F-mount adaptors.</p>

<p>Excuse me being thick but how do I tell the difference between a pre-AI lens, an AI lens and an AI-S lens? According to the D7000 manual the latter two will meter on my D7000 while the pre-AI lenses will not.</p>

<p>In addition the manual states that pre-AI lenses will damage the camera so I definitely want to avoid those. Just why is this by the way?</p>

<p>There's a 135mm f3.5 lens on eBay for which I'm thinking of bidding. It would largely be for use on entirely manual extension tubes (in which case it matters not a jot what sort it is) but I don't want to damage the camera if I use it without the tubes.</p>

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<p>Try again ...<br>

Grey squirrel, Hyde Park, London</p><div></div>

<p>I second the idea of using a Gorillapod. I find my Gorillapod SLR, with Manfrotto ball head, is just about good enough to support the weight of my D7000 with lightweight lenses. An SLRzoom would be better. I use mine with a Manfroto head with an cheap adaptor to convert the 1/4 inch screw on the Gorillapod to the 3/8 inch thread on the head. You obviously have to compromise a bit on exactly where you put the camera but on the other hand you can use Gorillapods in positions you couldn't use a conventional tripod.</p>

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