ofer_brill

<p>Folks, thanks a lot for your help :) It is good to know there is a community out there that will try to help. Rodeo Joe, unfortunately the Nikon 300mm f\2.8 does not have the slot... :(<br>

I now found a trusted local lab that is working on the camera, hope it will be ok.<br>

Thanks again, Ofer</p>

 

<p>Hello, I have a D800E, a lens got stuck on the camera, the release button does not function so I can not dismantle the lens. I am in Israel, took it to the Nikon dealer which advised me that they will need to send it abroad (they wont say where to) and the cost should be Hundreds of $$. From previous bad experience with them, I'm also looking at many weeks if not months before I'll see the camera and the lens back.<br>

I plan to be in the US this April. Will be about a week in NYC and a week in the Phoenix area. If anyone knows of a good lab (not necessarily a Nikon lab, any one which is good) in NYC or PHX, please advise, I'll call and see if they can help me while I'm there.<br>

Thanks in advance, Ofer</p>

<p dir="LTR">I do a lot of bird photography, using the Nikon 300 f/4 with TC 1.4. I do it with D800E but the principle is the same: My focus is set to the AF-ON button only. I'm now experienced enough to setup the camera on AF-S mode, and press the AF-ON again and again during the bird's flight. I place the cursor in the middle of the screen as I can't predict which direction the bird will fly.</p>

<p dir="LTR">I found this to serve me better than AF-C, as I had so many cases that the auto focus got locked on a branch or a cloud… After few disappointments I am now happy with the above setup, though it do takes time to practice and it's probably not good for everyone. </p>

<p dir="LTR">I also think (never found a real proof) that focusing on a sitting object is better in AF-S, so a side product of the above is that if I see a sitting bird I am already on AF-S… </p>

<p>I use <a href="http://digicamcontrol.com/">http://digicamcontrol.com/</a> on D3x and D800E, it is free and very good. You can live-view, define your focus area, shoot bracketed photos for HDR, shoot stack of shots for good DOF and more. </p>

<p dir="LTR">George here is my 2 Cents: I use Nikon cameras for many years. Had D40x and D300 in the past and now I have D3x and D800E. Till I got the D800E I always read the manual provided and then shot and gained experience. With the D800E I also purchased Thom Hogan's ebook.</p>

<p dir="LTR">I agree with Shun, no much changes from camera to camera. I did enjoy the book by Thom, and got quite a bit of technical education, but as for operating the camera, it did not really add things I did not know or could not get from Nikon's manual. Sorry, I did not read Young's book, so I can't compare. </p>

<p dir="LTR">Rick here are my 2 cents: I mainly shoot birds, and as I like to do it while hiking, I only use Nikon's 300mm f/4 (which is not as heavy as the 500 and 600 mm), so I need as many pixels as I can have to allow me large crop factors. I bought my D3x about 3 years ago as it was then with the largest CMOS Nikon offered. When the D800 was launched, I bought a D800E for the same reason (even pixels than the D3x). The D800E is a great camera with lots of advantages, and gives me excellent results, but it doesn't get close to the D3x…. I totally agree with Ilkka, the size end the ergonomic of the D3 is perfect for me. I traveled to Victoria Falls last year, the amount of water spray there is incredible. I took lots of photos with the D3x, and had no fault during the shoots or afterwards. I won't dare exposing the D800 to such experience so here is one more reason to own the "professional" cameras as I believe they are more weather proof. </p>

<p dir="LTR">I bought the 800E as I do bird photography, wanted the extra sharpness, and had no problem with the price difference. I can't prove though that this was the right decision (meaning that I do get sharper images), I believe it is, and am very happy with the camera. </p>

<p>David, I echo Shun. I now have the 800E for about 6 weeks, shot more than 2500 photos of wildlife, street photography and some portraits. I did not have a single shot with Moire. One scene was of a person with a mosquito mesh behind him, when I enlarged the photo on the camera back screen it had a strong Moire, but when I opened it on the computer (in Photoshop CS6's ACR though, not in LR) I could not find the Moire. </p>

<p>Martin, I have both Nikon 70-200 VR2 and the 300 f4, and I have 1.4, 1.7 and 2.0 TC's. The 300 with no TC is much better than the 70-200 (on 200mm) with 1.4 TC (all by Nikon). For me ( I mainly shoot birds) the 1.7 and 2.0 TC's are waste of money, I don’t use them at all. Oh, forgot to add: I have only FF cameras. </p>

<p>Hats off folks :). Very fast and useful information here, I'll format at home in one of the cameras and will use the cards interchangeably. Thanks to all who took time to respond. </p>

<p dir="LTR">Hello Nikonians, so far I used one camera (D3x), I now bought a D800E, and plan to use both. So far I formatted each finished card in the camera at home, in order to have all cards handy in the field.</p>

<p dir="LTR">My question is if the on camera formatting is interchangeable: Meaning, can I format them on one camera and use on the other.</p>

<p dir="LTR">I know I can format quickly on the camera when I change (using the 2 red buttons), but changing old habits + the risk of formatting the wrong slot are things I prefer to avoid…</p>

<p dir="LTR">Thanks, Ofer </p>

<p>Sorry, here is the other one</p><div></div>

<p>Hi Keith,<br>

I have the system. I dont use it a lot, but when I do, I like it.<br>

Attached 2 photos of the same flower, shot at the same time. The litted one was done with the 2 R200's mounted on the lens (Nikkor micro 105mm 1:2.8) in 1000 and 2:00 (1400), while the darker one was with one 200 at the 1000 location (very weak lite, I dont remeber how much) while I held the 2nd 200 bellow the flower to lighten the inside.</p><div></div>

<p>Keith I have the kit and wanted to share photos, but I'm not sure how to... (I used to do it in the past, something was probably changed). If someone can advise me how to post, I'll be glad to. Anyway, the kit is good.</p>

<p>Sorry folks, struggling to load photos...</p>

<p>Shun, Regarding distances, I had a typo, it was meant to say 4-6 Meters. At least in the private game rides in South Africa it is very common to get close to the animals. The rangers say it is safe, I hope the animals adhere... Attached 5 photos, all taken 3-5 Meters distance from the animals. Not my best shots, just to make a point. If anyone does not like to see blood, please do not open, as one photo shows 3 Cheetahs eating a poor Impala... Ofer</p>

<p>Scott,<br>

I'm afraid you pay a lot of attention to the long range options, and not so much to the short range. I've been to quite a few safaris, mainly in South Africa. Those have been private trips with my own guide, on an open 4X4 vehicle.<br>

In such cases you may find yourself 4-6 ft. from your target that may be a lion, a giraffe, hyena, or an elephant, or even a group of such. If you only have telephoto lenses you may be very disappointed. I see you mention a wide angle lens but you did not mention which.<br>

For the short ranges I use AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED (I have a full frame Nikon D3x), it is a "don't leave home without" lens.<br>

Also note that you need to know how crowded the vehicle you'll be in is going to be, as the use of physically large and heavy lens like the 300 f/2.8 can become a challenge: holding a 3 Kg lens (the 300mm) for a whole day with no tripod / monopod is challenging to impossible, and in some travel conditions it is not practical to have good support or to be able to maneuver while others are seated around you. For me the 70-200 with 1.4 and 1.7 teleconverters is good. In the past I used the AF VR-Nikkor 80-400mm 1:4.5-5.6D with excellent results (can't add converters) but the 70-200 with converters is better.<br>

Can't cover it all here, the above is in nutshell. Anyway, you are going to enjoy, good luck :)<br>

Ofer</p>

<p>I got the TC-20 E III few weeks ago and compared it to my older TC17-E II (Camera: D3x and a 70-200 VRII). To my surprize, the TC-20's resolution in the equal focal length is slighly better than the TC-17. I love it.</p>

<p>Pat you mention: "such as the 12-24 2.8?". I am only aware of Nikon's 14-24 2.8 lens. I have a Nikon D3x and use the 14-24 a lot, it is a great lens. Can't compare to other equal lenses. Why dont you rent a 14-24 for a day and try it? I'm sure you'll love it, but it is an expensive lens, not sure it will give you the added value.</p>