peter_perry

Do you still have your DX lenses? Cheers.

 

I have a 35mm 1.8 that works great on my Z50 (with the FTZ of course) whenever I need a bit more light gathering power than what the kit lens gives me.

It was 2004. Not sure why I said 16 years ago and typed 2014. We are still in 2020, not 2030, right? :D

 

2020 just FEELS like it has lasted 10 years...

When we sold our house, I had the same thought but my agent greatly discouraged me. I did learn some tricks from the pro however. Each shot he took was a seven exposure HDR, this allowed him to balance the lighting (and he minimized the uglier effects of HDR). Most of the shots were at about 16 mm, and he did use two strobes to fill the darker corners of the rooms. They came out great, and the realtor did use some photos I had taken of our yard in the spring and fall when the gardens are more colorful. The house sold in 24 hours slightly above our asking price, so the photography may not have even been necessary, but I was satisfied.

First post here. Looking for some recommendations.

 

I shoot a sport called dragon boating. Generally takes place a fair distance offshore so that the water is deep enough for the boats. My current gear includes a D90, with a 70-300 VR lens, but I want to get a bit more serious, so I'm looking for a bit more reach to get closer to the action.

 

 

 

I've been reading a lot (maybe too much) with the various options I have, but I wanted to ask for some opinions of others.

 

My budget is about $1,500 to $2k max (but I could also rent if necessary). I've been looking at several options:

 

sigma 150-500

tamron 150-600

nikon 80-400

nikon 200-500

 

I even considered just switching my 70-300 for a nikon 70-200, and try to get into the race rescue boats to get closer to the action...but that's not always possible.

 

I'm looking for sharpness, but more importantly, I need a lens that can focus pretty quickly.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions on which direction to go?

 

I am going to offer what has worked well for me. I looked long and hard at super telephoto options for my D7000. The options were all too expensive, too heavy, or too lacking in image quality. I ended up purchasing a Nikon 1 J5 and the Nikon 1 CX 70-300 lens (full frame equivalent of 190-810 mm)and I've been delighted with the results. It is light and the IQ is good, the cost of roughly $1500 US was within my budget. I mount the whole thing on a monopod and get tack sharp images. It fits in my camera bag in the spot that used to carry my Tamron 70-300. My only worry is over the future of the Nikon 1 system, but it really doesn't matter.

<p>Hi Eric:<br>

I've never done a firmware upgrade for the FT-1, but I only bought it two months ago. It is working for me, as you note, with the limitiation of the single center focus point. AF is still slow and I usually manually focus to get close and then use the center spot for a finer focus. </p>

<p>I owned a Sigma 135-400 in Olympus E mount several years ago. I could never manage to get it to perform to my satisfaction. It produced very soft images, especially at the 400 end of the scale. I sold it and eventually sold the camera and the rest of the kit and switched to Nikon. I am very happy with my Tamron 70-300 on my D7000, but have recently been experimenting with the Tamron attached to a Nikon 1 J5 and FT-1 adaptor. The reach is amazing and if the bird is perched, the results are pretty nice. No luck at following them in flight though. For that I stick to the D7000.</p><div></div>

<p>Rather than the new lens, buy a good used DX body, or even a Nikon 1 J5 with FT-1 adapter and use your existing 28-300 zoom lens. You will get the reach with a better quality lens and not have to carry as much weight around with you!</p>

<p>I have also been looking for similar information. I am leaning toward the Tamron VC 70-200 2.8, however, my understanding is that the Tamron VC will not work with any teleconverter. Can anyone confirm that?</p>

 

<p>Florin, are you certain you have the AE "chipped" version of the lens? If they sent you the manual only version it would behave pretty much like you describe, I think. I have the manual version and it works great on my D7000, albeit in Manual mode only, and I do control aperture on the lens, not from the camera body.</p>

<p>I hear that there are fifty shades of gary! :-)</p>

 

<p>Paul Paul, I am assuming that this is a posed group image and not a "live" image during a concert or worship service, as you probably would not be allowed to use the flash for the latter situations. The architecture of your space is going to determine a lot for you, especially if the choir is in a loft setting. You may need a ladder to get your perspective to look more natural. Many churches have pretty good artificial illumination, so you may only need to supplement the existing light. In the case of a very high ceiling, you may want to put the speedlight on a tall pole and trigger it wirelessly.<br /><br />Depending upon the purpose of the image, you could also think creatively and let the choir be photographed outside of their "Native Habitat." They could pose on the church steps outdoors, or in a hallway of the church. If the choir is in robes and has some bright colored stoles you could do something with that. Maybe the could gather around the piano and you could shoot down at them from that ladder perch. <br>

I am both an amateur photographer and a pastor who sings in the church choir. I would love to see what you end up with! Have fun.</p>

<p>Kenneth, I would examine the photos you've taken with your current lenses and determine which focal length you seem to prefer and use most often. Then save up for a f2.8 dx zoom that gives you a few millimeters of movement on both sides of that focal length. You might consider the Sigma 50-150 f2.8 OS... about the same price as the Nikkor Micro 105. Or for a bit more reach and dollars the Tamron 70-200 f 2.8 VC (which will work on you d3100 but will also work if you ever upgrade to an FX body)</p>

<p>I was sort of leaning toward the flash triggers. The YN rf603 set is in the same price range of the knock-off cables, anyway. Thanks for the advice!</p>

 

<p>After a couple of years without a strobe, I finally decided that I wanted to play around with one, but without breaking the bank. So I bought a Yongnuo 468-II and it works great on the camera's hot shoe. It also works great as a slave in "S2" mode in conjunction witht he onboard flash which seems to preserve the iTTL features of the camera. But when I tried to use an off-camera hot shoe cable (Vivitar brand for Nikon) it didn't work. I'm fairly sure the problem is with the cable and have returned it to the "major online retailer." But now I'm nervous... will a different of brand cable work, or should I spring for the Nikon SC-28 (which costs almost as much as the flash), or is the problem endemic to the Yongnuo flash?<br /><br />Has anyone successfully paired a Yongnuo 468-II flash to their Nikon using the SC-28 or another brand of cable?</p>

<p>Thanks, Lex. I will check it out.</p>

<p>I have been trying to determine if the FT1 on a Nikon 1 camera body will allow me to use my Tamron and Tokina lenses from my D7000 kit. The literature I see says there is compatibility with Nikkor lenses, but what about second-party lenses? I have both DX (Tokina 12-24, Tamron 17-50) and FX (Tamron 70-300) lenses. I am most concerned about the 70-300 as I consider the possibilities of the 2.7x crop factor due to the Nikon 1 sensor size. Appreciate any advice from folks who have tried the above combinations.</p>

<p>I purchased the ATC brand battery grip for my D7000 last September and have had absolutely no problems with it. It does add some heft to the camera and so I do sometimes remove it if I am running around at an amusement park or something like that... but I keep it on most of the time. I find the connection to be plenty secure and sturdy enough to have a quick-release plate on the base so I can attach the camera/grip combo to either a tripod head or my BlackRapid strap. As others have mentioned, the combo of camera and grip does crowd the camera bag a bit, but it fits snugly in my Tenba messenger bag.</p>

<p>Mark, when I went to Lightroom 4 (from an old version of ACDSee) and switched to shooting in RAW format, it revolutionized my experience of photography. I shoot primary for my own enjoyment and the creation of art, and secondarily for snapshots for the family album. I love using Lightroom (and extensions) to process the RAW files and perfect the images I've captured in camera. Definitely download the trial and play with it, but play with it not just in Library mode to organize files, but in develop mode with some RAW images and see if it is for you.</p>

<p>I upgraded to a D7000 from 4/3 because I didn't feel Olympus was supporting the format adequately. It was a tough decision because I had some pretty good Olympus glass on my E500. That was 2 years ago. About 6 months ago, I upgraded my primary lens from the kit 18-105 to a Tamron 17-50 f 2.8. The faster lens, with the deeper DOF, has helped me leap forward a bit in my pursuit of the hobby. I suspect the same thing might happen if I invest in a fast zoom, so a 70-200 2.8 will probably be my next upgrade.</p>

<p>I liked the size of the E500, and I think it fit my hand a bit better. The D7000 also came with a hard learning curve and I still don't feel like I've mastered it.</p>

<p>The other big upgrade wasn't hardware, but software. I moved up to RAW shooting a few years before swapping systems, and when I bought the Nikon I also moved into the world of Lightroom and to a lesser degree Photoshop. I spend more time now playing with the images than taking them... but I find it fulfilling.</p>

<p>I am using the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 VC and I love it. It is a vast improvement over the 18-105 kit lens that came with my D7000.</p>

<p>You will be visiting our Western US Nat'l Parks and you WILL see wildlife. I think you may be disappointed if you don't have a long lens in your kit. If you have the 300mm you might keep it in your vehicle for all those bear, bison, and deer sightings. Another thing you might want to think about is rain gear for yourself and your kit. I personally would leave the flash at home. </p>

<p>I have been using the GGS II LCD Optical Screen Protector for my D7000. Got from the big online retailer for about $10. I liked the looks of it better than the original equipment piece, plus it comes with a cover for the top screen as well. And I will be getting another one soon as a few weeks ago I put a scratch on the protector... better than scratch the actual screen!</p>

<p>I love my 55mm 2.8, but be aware if you are looking for a used one of these of the common ailment of oil on the diaphragm blades, causing the aperture to get stuck more often than not. I got a used one at a good price several years ago and used it with an adapter on my Olympus E-500 before moving to a D7000 a year ago. However, the lens was so sticky that I spent some money on a CLA for the lens, making it less of a value in my mind. My next lens purchase will probably be the Tamron 90 in the new VC version. Until I can afford it, the 55 does the job quite well!</p>

 

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