michael_bacon

<p>David: That's easy to do with film - if you're willing to scan.</p>

<p>My personal experience: technology that slows me down has led me to think very carefully about photos. When working with film, I am very slow and careful, taking a minimum of 5 minutes (usually 10-15 minutes) per shot, even on a walkabout, and I tend to like about 15-18 of my 24 shots. I'm so meticulous because I know that I won't get to see a preview. I have to get everything right the first time or I'll waste hours of film and print development time later on.</p>

<p>When working digitally, I easily take 50 shots per 30 minutes if I don't slow myself down, and I'll only like about 5 of those. The 5 I like will not compare to the best shot I got going slow with film.</p>

<p>This can be counteracted a few ways. I can ignore the digital previews on my camera (not the best option.) I can pretend that I won't get a preview and set up very carefully before taking the shot. This only works as well as you are capable of restraining or fooling yourself.</p>

<p>This is all personal. It depends completely on the person, as others have already replied.</p>

<p>I bought both of my items on KEH. (I've been looking elsewhere for a few days and looked at eBay's sold items as well. Didn't seem worth the wait and risk.) Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>Bought the D5100 and 40mm from KEH. Thanks for all the help! Hopefully I'll be posting photos and joining into the community in more positive way soon.</p>

<p>Lex: good to see you again! Good advice. I'm thinking about <a href="/filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/%20http:/www.amazon.com/Cosmos-protection-compartment-Panasonic-Tie-Black/dp/B007S7UW88/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ">putting this insert</a> in a messenger bag I already have. Do they squish well if the bag is just a little too small?</p>

<p>Edward: The LowePro bag I linked to above is not padded. I haven't been able to find any LowePro messenger bags in the correct size that <em>are</em> padded.</p>

<p>Think Tank messenger bags are <strong>way</strong> more than $20.</p>

<p>Stephen: Those choices are both too expensive for me. Thanks though!</p>

<p>1. How do I know if someone in photo.net forums is scamming me? I don't see a rating system and someone just emailed me rather than keeping the conversation in a public forum. That seems pointlessly lacking in security, so maybe I'm missing something?</p>

<p>2. Is Cameta Camera okay?</p>

<p>Kent: I posted in photo.net's forum now. Thanks!<br /><br />Jim: Thanks, I took a look at them, and they didn't have what I'm looking for at the moment, but I'll keep them in mind.</p>

<p>Kent: Which forums would you recommend?</p>

<p>Dave: I know. They're pretty overpriced though, so that's not relevant.</p>

<p>Hey! I've only made two threads here, but I can tell this is one of the friendliest, most helpful forums around.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lowepro-Exchange-Messenger-Essentials-Blue/dp/B003725AHQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1392685589&sr=1-11&keywords=lowepro">So I saw a bag that seems perfect for my needs</a> (barely big enough for a camera + lens and very cheap), but it has no padding.</p>

<p>Conrad: You're right, it's clear quite a few of them don't know much about camera equipment, and most items are weirdly overpriced.</p>

<p>Elliot: Yeah, I've been thinking I should probably only buy cheaper if I'm buying noticeably cheaper, due to the warranty KEH offers.</p>

<p>Simon: You didn't say anything about 15%. What do mean? What cheaper options are you suggesting?</p>

<p>Simon: We weren't discussing selling anything. I'm trying to <em>buy</em> equipment.</p>

<p>Are there any used dealers equal to or better than KEH?</p>

<p>JDM: I'm currently following your last suggestion. Waiting patiently with eBay and only bidding lower than the prices on KEH and only on sellers with very good ratings.</p>

<p><a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00cOKT">I posted to ask for shopping advice in the Nikon forum here</a>. If you have further recommendations (including different equipment than what I've settled on), please let me know. I'm still open to other possibilities. Thanks so much for your help!</p>

<p>Hello! I'm planning to buy the following items from KEH or ebay and am curious if anyone has any suggestions for a better place to buy. By "better" I mean of an equivalent or lower price than KEH. If the price is equivalent, then the shop would be better if it had a better return/warranty policy.<br>

At KEH:<br />D5100 cost = $350<br />40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro cost = $225<br />Total = about $588, including shipping, from KEH.<br>

Thanks very much for your time and help!</p>

<p>You guys have been great!<br>

After a few more hours of reading, I'm now strongly considering a purchase of a D5100 with a 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR lens. I'll wait a while in case anyone here would like to try to persuade me toward something else.</p>

<p>My rationale: The D5100 performs much better at higher ISOs and has a half-stop more dynamic range, which should be a noticeable improvement in black and white. The flip-out screen might also be very useful for the macro photography (mostly semi-macro, but quite close and occasionally full-macro) I plan to do. I've been using the very similar D5200 the last couple of days and feel as if the controls for it are handy enough for me. I'm a meticulous, slow photographer, so I don't think I'll really be frustrated by not having all the knobs and buttons of the D90, despite wishing for them.</p>

<p>The lens should work very well for everything I like to shoot with my camera. It's fairly fast, good for portraits and macro, capable of narrow FOV landscapes (which is the only way I like to shoot landscapes/architecture/etc anyway), is very sharp, and auto-focuses accurately and somewhat speedily, which can be important for photographing humans, which I often do somewhat candidly rather than in a completely controlled environment. I'm used to manual focus and will probably manually focus much or most of the time when not photographing humans, but that's still quite an advantage.</p>

<p>I'd also be interested in purchasing advice. I'm currently looking at ordering from KEH for both items:<br />D5100 cost = $350<br />40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro cost = $225<br />Total = about $588, including shipping, from KEH.</p>

<p>The ISO difference is the only thing making me reconsider a D5100 instead of a D90, but it's really making me think about it. That's quite a lot of difference. I'd enjoy being able to freeze subjects in motion and being able to shoot in lower light.<br>

<br /> Wouter: Used, the AF 60mm f/2.8D is $5 less expensive than a used 40mm off the model we've been talking about. I have a slight impression from what I've read that the 40mm might be a better walkaround lens. There are also some complaints about flaring and poor edge focus in the 60mm, but I think those might just be from people with damaged lense builds. Opinions?<br>

<br /> David and James: After using a D5200 paired with Lighroom recently, I can say that I agree with David that being able to control how colors are interpreted in black and white is quite valuable. I really like being able to do that much better than using lens filters.</p>

<p>Lex: Thanks for the opinion about the Nikkor AF-S macros.<br>

I think the viewfinder and knobs seem more important for my use than the extra features and better specs. Resolution doesn't seem to matter much since I can already print at 16x20 with the D90.<br>

The D5100 has a higher max ISO and a higher low-noise ISO, but that seems like the most important improvement, and it doesn't seem like I really need it.</p>

<p>John Harper: That seems like a good recommendation as well, though I might miss the auto-focus for candid portraiture (which I admittedly don't do a lot of, but would like to do more of.) It might end up being my choice. I'm used to manual focus anyway.<br>

Is there a cheap older autofocusing, general purpose (like the one you mentioned) macro lens you'd recommend?</p>

<p>(The 40mm Wouter recommended seems to cover the whole range I need while giving me a little more macro to play with than I'm used to. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikon40mm/">Flickr</a>.) The only disadvantage I'm spotting is the speed, which isn't <em>too</em> slow.</p>

<p>Wouter and Howard: I think I'm convinced I'd prefer the D90 over the D5100 after reading what you said and doing some more of my own research as well. Howard's reasons are particularly convincing, since I spend most of my time in the viewfinder. I'm also very attracted to having so many settings directly on the camera as buttons instead of having to go through as many menus. <br /> What's outdated about the liveview in the D90? Also, what do you mean by "high sensitivities" regarding the sensor? What would be the practical loss? Are you talking about resolution and color depth?<br>

The Tamron 60mm is quite a ways out of my budget, but the <a href="/equipment/nikon/lenses/40mm-f2.8-af-s-dx-micro/review/" rel="nofollow">AF-S 40mm f/2.8DX</a> Macro might be perfect. I don't mind getting close to a subject during portraiture and often like to include something secondary in the frame anyway. I'm not doing traditional client-focused portraiture. I've been reading about it and the 18-70 Lex mentioned, which also sounds great except that it doesn't focus until 15 inches, which is not as close as the 18-55mm Nikkor, which seems to be nearly as good as the 18-70, based on what I've read. Is that right? I'll try focusing at 15 inches with an 18-55mm Nikkor today and see if that's important to me. The closest images I linked to <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3x4b5z1k4msu8rw/onIv2L4TAv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> are as macro as I need to get.</p>

<p>Bebu: You seem to have been missing a lot of the conversation. Thanks for replying though. I only have one worthwhile lens from my Minolta, I already have Lightroom, and the cameras you're suggesting are way out of my budget. As to your second post, I find the D90 to be a better camera (for me and the purposes I described) than the Maxxon 7000.</p>

<p>Lex: I think I'll go more the direction that Wouter pushed me in, unless there's a drawback I haven't figured out yet.</p>