yuri_sopko

I agree with the Husky set.

 

Any ways, what type of modification are you going to do?

 

Yuri

Roman,

 

1) A good lens site to look at is Photodo.com

 

2) I have a Sigma 150/2.8 macro lens and the Tokina 11-16. Neither feel poorly constructed and both perform very well.

 

3) My uncle does wedding/event photography and he uses the Nikon 18-200VR a whole lot. The versatility of the lens allows him to get shots that he would not get because he has the wrong focal length or is using up time changing lenses.

 

Yuri

I agree to the 18-55VR and I also own the 35/2.

 

I did some controlled tests indoors and I actually like the 18-55VR more as the overall IQ was better. Sure, the 35/2 is faster and a bit sharper. But, the design is older and so are the coatings and technologies applied. A lot of people won't accept this, but, it is true. The color and contrast was better on the 18-55VR compare to the 35/2.

 

The new Nikon lenses, be they prime or zoom, are much more advanced in their design. It's very difficult to get any lens flare and if you do it's so minimal and you almost have to be deliberate about it to get it.

 

I recently came back from a trip in the EU: Germany, Spain, and then France. Between walking around town, going to a museum, and then low-light street shots the 18-55VR was the dominant lens. My Tokina 12-24 had its specific applications where I needed to go wide and my Nikor 35/2 had its specific applications where I wanted a controlled DOF. But, other than that, the 18-55VR was the lens.

 

Also, the 18-55 VR is light and compact and I don't need a tripod. I used to be "one of those guys with the tripod" but after VR I don't use it unless I have a specific reason. Plus, when you have a tripod, you have to set it up, then WAIT for the moment when everyone is out of the way, then shoot. With the 18-55VR I can frame and shoot.

 

I did not see a mention of the camera you have. But, if you have a D300, you can set it to Auto-ISO after 1/8 of a second --or whatever-- and then have a delay after you depress the shutter release. With those two features and the VR lens it's hard to miss a shot.

 

Again, 18-55VR hands down for travel.

 

Yuri

What about a VR lens? You said you want a lens for family and vacation and museum shots. You can go on the cheap side of the 18-55mm VR lens ($180-$200) or the more expensive 16-85mm VR lens or maybe the 18-200mm VR if you just want one lens for a trip.

 

With my D300, I have Auto-ISO to start at 1/8s and go up to 1600 ISO. And, if you want, you can set a shutter release so the camera waits about a sec after you depress the trigger.

 

I also have the 35/2. Which is a great lens, but, I just don't see it as an all around vacation lens to me. Plus, say you wanted to snap a pic of a painting in a museum with dim light or some furniture, you'd have to shot wide open, which would really decrease your DOF, making it hard to get al of what you want in focus. A VR lens at its widest aperture of 3.5 will have enough DOF to get what you want on focus and with VR you should be able to get any shot.

 

I really don't like to say how many "stops" VR will "add" to a picture. It's more like extending the capability of the camera/photog. Since not all people can even hold a camera steady let alone not jerking/rotating the camera as they depress the trigger. But, if you have a steady hand then with VR you can get down to some really long exposures and actually have a picture.

 

Yuri

Norman Camera has them in stock. A member posted it in another thread.

 

"Hmmm, who needs f2.8 at 11 mm?"

 

People who want the capability of f/2.8 when they need it. I was in Paris a few days ago and I would have loved to have the extra stop over my beloved Tokina 12-24 f/4. Any experienced photog know that you rarely get the best IQ at your widest aperture. It just one of the basics of camera life that you accept. :) In reality I will not be shooting wide open unless I want a desired effect.

 

But, you get an extra stop out of it. So, 1/15 versus 1/8, or ISO 800 versus ISO 1600, or 1/15 at ISO 800 +1 exp comp which would be 1/8, etc. So, there's more than just owning a "f/2.8".

 

Yuri

Thanks! I bought one and they actually have them listed for a decent price. Some places are tacking on an additional $50 to $100 or so and I have seen eBay prices add an additional $200!

 

I'm pretty stoked!

 

Yuri

Since it has a notoriously dark viewfinder. I also got the grid lines and the opti-brite coating. Yeah, I went all out but my D50 was my baby! I have moved on to a D300 now. :D

 

Any ways, when it came to manual focus --in good light-- the split prism screen really did help out. However, those split prism screens will black out in lower light conditions making composure difficult. And, I like taking pictures of flowers in dawn and dusk. Fortunately, my D50 has a focus indicator when I am in focus so that helps. But, having to resort to the focus indicator was why I wanted a Katz Eye in the first place. So, the overall effect was nil. Whereas with the normal D50 focus screen it would get dim but not black out so I could still compose and then use the focus indicator to help with focus.

 

It also affects the exposure. Katz Eye also states this and how to compensate. But, you then have to compensate a lot more than you may think. I found out that I did. Especially since the compensation was not linear and I had to make test shots sometimes to make sure the exposure was right. With an LCD it's not an issue and I can deal with it but I was somewhat annoyed by this at times. I would adjust for something in the morning or evening and then have to readjust again for noon or sometime later. Now, I did have to make adjustments with the default screen in those same situations. But, the amplitude and frequency was not nearly as great as with the Katz Eye.

 

I also am suspicious that it also affected my D50's auto

white-balance. I found colors were not as accurate as they were and I was using my Expo-Disc to set up manual WB a whole lot more than previously. My WB also changed slightly from shot to shot in the same area with the same lighting. Whereas with the original focus screen this disappeared.

 

Ultimately, I wished I had taken that money I spent on the Katz Eye and saved it to buy a D80 (at the time) or for something else. The overall benefit was mitigated by the split-prism blacking out in low-light conditions. I really do not think I got as much usefulness out of it in relation to the range of light-levels that one can shoot in. And, the rest of the time when I used an AF lens then I was not using it at all. See my previous comment on the auto white-balance issue and exposure compensation.

 

Just my 5 cents.

I'm looking into buying a LCD monitor such as the Dell 2408WFP or anything

around that price range. I am not a pro but more of an enthusiast on a budget.

Any ways, I have searched the forums but the threads are old --be nice to filter

this somehow-- or the monitors are discontinued items.

 

This Dell is relatively new, affordable for me, and 1920x1080 which is also a

must. As, by day this computer does my photo/internet stuff and by night its my

HTPC. So, my projector will be cloned off of the primary.

 

The 2408WFP is about $700 so I would like to stay around that price range.

 

Thanks!

Sure, a faster lens is better for low-light. This is assuming you want to shoot wide open and want that shallow DOF that comes along with shooting wide open. Other wise, that 18-55 VR lens will come in handy.

 

I recently bought one for my D50 and I love it. I also have learned to control my breathing so I can shoot hand held at low shutter speeds but that technique takes me a couple of seconds. Where as with the VR I can frame and shoot. This is good for taking pictures of my dogs and my uncle's kids which are always zipping around.

 

Some time ago I bought an AF-D 35/2.0 Nikkor. I took a bunch of pictures and noticed that most of the time the camera was going for the middle aperture ranges. It rarely shot wide open. Those apertures were about the same as what the camera decided to use when I was using the kit 18-55. I do not always let the camera decide for me. But, I don't bother setting aperture unless I want a desired effect. Basically, the kit lens was more functional to me then the prime. And the VR has essentially increased my in focus shots.

 

Personally, I'd wait for the D60 as its the latest version of Nikon technology in an entry level camera. However, you can save yourself a $100 or so and get a D40 body and that 18-55 VR.

 

On another note and mentioned before, unless you have an AF-S lens or similar lens design, you will have to manually focus the lens. The thing about that is that the screw drive AF lenses have a very loose feel to them. I'd assume to reduce friction and increase AF performance. Plus, the focus screen in most current cameras does not have a split prism so achieving accurate focus can be hard. I do not recall if the D40 body has a focus indicator like my D50 where a green dot lights up to let you know in MF mode.

 

Yuri

They are made of plastic and I would be worried about the weight of that lens with those tubes. I was worried with my D50 and Sigma 150/2.8 MACRO HSM. I heard a creak noise and the tubes were visibilly flexing.

 

I'd go with a PN-11 or see if you can find a modified PN-11 on eBay with the electrical contacts installed.

 

Yuri

IIRC, the AF sensors are on the mirror that flips up. They are not part of the sensor that actually captures the image.

 

Also, the D3 has a 51 point AF system. The 1,005 refers to the RGB metering system for determining exposure.

 

Good question about AF sensitivity. Although the two use separate systems I do not recall of anyone ever measuring AF low-light sensitivity in a quantitative fashion. However, I am SURE someone has at one point in time or another. Hopefully they will post.

Like USB 1.1 slow where transferring 1GB will take like 45 minutes slow? Or, 1GB in 15 minutes slow?

 

I have seen some other portable storage options out there. One was at a local office depot and it was a small and portable 20GB drive that could connect to a camera or even a media reader! I almost bought it.

Could have been captured and brought back to the lab for further examination.

 

Any ways, I looked up the species name and found other pictures of the ant. Ant was clearly dead for those pictures and the head shot on the MSNBC looks very similar to the lab shot. Just cropped different.

If you go to Bjorns site that was listed by Peter, you will find some instructions on how to "chip" a lens so you can enable metering with any lens.

 

Also, the reason why people mount and "chip" lenses is for the unusual effects they produce. I have a Rodenstock lens that was designed for laser imaging and it produces very unusual results that some people absolutely love. True, you can create blur in post-processing, but, not the way a lens does.

 

I bought another scrap piece of electronic equipment for its lens and I will be mounting that as well eventually.

What mode are you in, M? You need to be in M:Manual.

 

Also, you are aware that Manual means that you have no metering capability what so ever. You have to set the aperture and shutter speed yourself. I have a D50 so the buttons are slightly different. But, I can do manual exposure with any lens.

I would like to know if anyone has used one of these flip-mirrors with a

telescope and their camera. And, after focusing, how accurate is it? I would be

using it for both astro and nature pics.

 

Thanks!

That quote came from a friend of mine when I was a bicycle mechanic and he was a courier. He cut in front of a taxi and the taxi cab rolled up besides him, the guy rolled down the window, did not yell or anything, and plainly said: "It's your life."

 

Any ways, when I was in the Smokey Mountains a wee-little bear cub came trampling through the brush. Since I had my camera out I took a few shots, grabbed my wife, and rolled out. However, the remainder of the tourists on the hiking trail PURSUED the bear cub. The bear cub climbed up this embankment and they all followed! I was astonished at how stupid these people could be. They did not even give it any distance. Maybe twenty feet. One guy was about five feet behind it yelling at everyone to follow! About five minutes in the opposite direction on the trail back to the parking lot, I heard some serious rustling in the underbrush: the momma bear in hot pursuit of her cub.

 

It's one thing when an animal comes across you unexpectedly. But, it's another when you follow or pursue them.

It's a great lens and ends up being a 24-105 on a DSLR. That lens plus the 55-200VR should cover just about everything you will need for a good while.

 

Also, Sigma has an 18-200 OS (optical stabilization) that I have seen on Amazon for $550. I do not know about its current availability though but as you are leaving in September you have plenty of time.

 

But, going with my past experiences of traveling I would go with the 18-70 and a small and light tripod for night shots. That will be a very portable and light kit right there.

However, you can use a Nikon T-mount adapter. The T-mount adapter has three set screws that holed the ring within it. So, you remove that inner ring, install longer screws from a hardware store, insert the Y/C lens, and tighten down on the screws. You may mangle that bayonet on the Y/C.

 

Or, you can go with the Nikon body cap, hack out the center, and a Y/C lens end cap and hack out the center, glue the two together.

 

As noted before, you will not reach infinity, but portraits and close-ups will be very feasible.

Haven't seen anyone make anything like that again. Not for field use though. :)

 

However, taking a look at the Canon MPE one see that is an EF mount lens, unless there happens to a fully manual one out there. So, this beings to light the control of aperture: How? I have not seen an EF lens up close so I do not know if the aperture linkage is exposed so that you could "rig" it to be open.

 

And, honestly, other than the uniqueness of the MPE on a D50 --I like photographic uniqueness too!-- why not do a macro bellows lens type setup?

 

Unless you already happen to have the MPE.

This reply is somewhat dated but for those that would like something similar to a Minolta Compact Bellows you can find a cheap, third-party, bellows on eBay or someplace. Then cut the rails by 100mm or so. The Minolta Compact Bellows is about 28mm compact and 90mm extended.

 

Then of course there are extension tubes.

And, it's not because it's a D40, its difficult with most DSLRs as they have a plain viewfinder. The swap to a split prism viewfinder is the best bet. May affetct metering though. Any one who has done this care to comment?

 

Or, you can use a viewfinder magnifier.

Well, unless you have a lower eyelet for a strap you would have to make an L-bracket with the appropriate eyelets. Or, an aluminum flat that extends to the side of the camera with an eyelet.

I know most people seem to have a hard time with Nikon parts service but I just

got off the phone with Nikon parts in CA (310-414-8107). I ordered three D type

metering chips for some extension tube and bellow mods that I am doing. I did

not have the part number so the guy had to look it up and it was really

painless. Took my CC# over the phone and assuming he was correct that they were

in stock I should get them next week.

 

Just a FYI for everyone.

 

-Yuri

...and the software for viewing should match unless you have a very specific reason for doing otherwise. I have seen this issue a lot as people do not consider it.

 

Personally, I have set my D50 to the sRGB color space and have Photoshop and my monitor calibrated for sRGB. That way, there is no confusion as to what is going on and I have gotten better results via printing at home on my Epson 2200 and when I print out to Costco or somewhere else. I used to get all crazy and have multiple color spaces for certain things. And, yeah, there can be a difference. But, I was spending more time in front of the comp versus outside shooting.

 

I have it all the same so it's more turn-key for me. I copy my images over, tweak if necessary, and print or email out. :) Also, sRGB is the "defacto" standard for a lot of web and print stuffs. Sure, there are much better color spaces out there but that's what the "industry" decided on a while back.

 

Also, us humans have what is commonly referred to as "memory colors." We know the color of a banana, of leaves, the ocean, and if its off by a little we immediately reject it. I do agree on the slight bluish cast on your pictures and I would suggest the website for Ken Rockwell and then tweak from there. I would also come to terms with your color spaces.

 

I would also read of on "digital work flow" or "digital darkroom" on Photo.net here as this is more of work flow problem than a D70 problem.