nicholas_fiduccia

Hi Darren,

 

The D300 is definitely the more fully featured and fully speced camera - no doubt about

it and if you have a desire to shoot lots of sports and action and can afford the cost of

admission to the Nikon system, by all means, buy it. The D300 is a fantastic body.

 

However, I think you should also consider the available lenses for each of these

systems. Being a landscape photographer, I really like the high quality and affordable

primes that the Pentax system has to offer. IMO, no other camera manufacture comes

close. Nikon is very strong at zooms however, many of the best ones are very

expensive and heavy - qualities that I do not regard since I hike many miles with my

system. Nikon is especially weak at affordable primes under 35mm that are optimized

for the digital sensor.

 

So, before you make a decision DO consider the availability and total cost of all the

lenses you may need for each system (not that you need to buy them all at once!).

Good luck! Frankly, you can't go with either camera as they both take great pictures!

B&H photo has it for $700 plus the the $100 rebate brings it to $600. BuyDIG.com has it for even less.

Dan, As many have said, the K10D is superior to the D40X in almost all ways and since you can get a K10D body for under $600 after rebate - about the same price as a D40X, there is no question which one I would buy.

 

If you can, the Nikon D200/D300 is another camera body that is better than than the K10D. Also, it may fit your large hands better. However,it is quite a bit more expensive at $1400/$1800.

Hi Paul,

 

Knowing that you are a landscape photographer living in England, I know that you do not always shoot in dry weather conditions. My vote would be for a weather sealed camera - either a Pentax K10D or a Nikon D300. Since you are a landscape photographer, you are most likely very comfortable with primes. If that is true, Pentax has quite a large number of wide to short telephoto prime lenses that are of awesome quality and quite compact: 14/2.8, 21/3.2, 31/1.8, 35/2, 43/1.8, 50/1.4, 70/2.8, 77/1.8, 100/2.8. Consider the lenses that you are going to need and put together some lense sets with prices for each system that your are considering. Hope this helps!

Hi Justin,

 

Excellent pictures by the way! Your point about people making

great sports pictures before the auto-focus era is a good one.

Many of the good pictures, as yours show, were taken by the

photographer anticipating the action happening at a specific

point and thus may have been manually pre-focused. It is the

skill of the photographer to determine where to frame and to

push the shutter at the correct instance. In this case, the inherent

focusing sophistication of the camera is not as important as a

sports photographers skill and experience. Don't you agree?

 

Nick

Hi Cecil,

 

As yourself, I am considering a move from film (olympus) to

digital and have considered both Pentax and Nikon as platforms

for my digital exploration. Here is the conclusion that I have

reached:

 

As a person who does primarily landscapes photography, I use

primarily prime lenses. As such, the Pentax system has probably

the best system in the world for APS-C sized sensor SLR

cameras in the focal lenghts I am interested (14mm to 100mm

-ish lengths). Pentax has a rather complete set of nicely spaced

primes in this range at a reasonable price. For quality, I would

put the these primes against any other maker and am pretty

confident that as a group they would compare favorably. A

system built from these primes represent a great value over a

similarly configured Nikon system.

 

However, the Pentax cameras are not as sophisticated as Nikon

when it comes to tracking moving subjects (wildlife/sports

photography) as Nikon (and definitely Canon) nor does it have

the extensive range of zoom and prime telephotos to suport this

activity.

 

So think about what you photograph. If you a primarily shoot

static subjects and occasionally moving children, the Pentax

system will perform admirally for a resonable cost.

 

If you have aspirations to be a wildlife or sports photographer,

the Nikon system will be best for you.

 

The best of luck to you! Nick

Hi Ray,

 

It does sounds like you are a landscape photographer and so

you might consider a camera that is "weather-resistant". The

least expensive I know of is a Pentax K10D. Pentax has a great

lineup of light, high quality primes which may appeal to your

large format nature. The next step up in terms of size, weight,

and cost is a Nikon D200.

 

The best of luck in your search!

I think both are too expensive. Have a look at the Pentax K10D

which will be released soon. If you still want a D200, just be

patient and the price should come down. You see, the Pentax is

a comparable camera (IMO) and Nikon will be pressured to

lower the D200's price a bit. Good luck.

Hello Samantha,

 

You have gotten some great answers. I would definitely carry a

lightweight tripod if you're serious, but if you are thinking about

the idea of abandoning the tripod due to weight, how about this

tripod walking stick combo?

 

http://www.trek-tech.com/

How about this?

 

http://www.kGear.com/p/V092.html

 

Lightweight, padded, and very well made.

You may be running into other limits imposed by PS CS itself

(Can PS CS handle more than 2MB?) or by OS-X. Which

operating system are you using?

HI Jordan,

 

As much as I love the OM-2's, I like the OM-1 better for landscape

photography because of it's mirror lock up and more weather

proof mechanical shutter. I have the 24/f2.8, the 35/f2.8. the

50/f1.8 and the 85/f2. If I had to leave one at home, I'd leave the

50mm.

 

I will probably have my OM-1's until I die, and I'm still young! The

cameras are that reliable. Enjoy!

The focal length ratio between 55mm and 45mm is only 1.22. The ratio between 65 and 45 is 1.44. I would get the 65mm as I like ratios between 1.4-1.7. The other option is getting a 75mm, at a ratio of 1.66 would be OK too.

180 is similar to a 54mm in 35mm terms. 210 is a 63mm. Would you own BOTH a 54mm and a 63mm lens for your 35mm camera? I would not. Now, which lens to get rid of...that is a tougher question only you can answer. I am assembling a 110-180-300 lens kit and I think I will be very happy with the spread. In 35mm terms, this is a 33-54-90mm kit which will work well for the landscapes that I do. You may want to base your kit on another "starting" lens, for example the 210mm. To determine if too lenses are too close, you can think about them in 35mm terms or take the ratio of their focal lenghts. I like a ratio between 1.4 and 1.7. A focal length ratio smaller than 1.3 is probably too close. For example, the ratio between a 210 and a 150 is 1.4 and would be the closest spacing I would consider.

Hi Philip,

 

I think you are wise to research the topic of lens selection so

carefully as this may help you save money over the long run. At

the same time, don't go overboard and make lens selection a

carreer.

 

What has helped me is to try an select a set of lenses that are

well-spaced and cover your range of focal length. The way to

make sure your lenses ar well spaced is to ensure the ratio of

the focal lengths of each successive pair in your set is not too

big or too small. For example, the set I have chosen is the 75 -

110 - 180 - 300 combination. You will find that the focal length

ratio between consecutive lenses in the set is between 1.6x and

1.7x. I think this is near ideal. Someone, earlier on in this thread

mentioned to use a 75 - 150 - 300 combination. I think this can

be usable too but the disadvantage here is with this set, the

photographer may come across a situation in which he needs a

focal length which falls midway between two of the lenses in his

set.

 

In summary, the choice of successive focal lengths is a

compromise between having to carry a large number of closely

spaced optics and a smalller number of more widely spaced

optics that may not be as convienent to use because of potential

"holes" .

 

The two combinations that I considered are 90-150-240 and

110-180-300. Since you really seem to like wide angles, a 90

may not be wide enough, so perhaps a 75 - 110 -180 - 300 will

work well for you. Good luck and welcome to the family.

If you can tolerate a 4MP camera, check the www.dpreview.com

review on the Canon G3!

Sundaram,

 

I carried my 1227 with Linhoff ballhead several times on a plane

without incident.

The calculation is quite simple, the closest you can focus on an

object away from the lens is given (to a first approximation) by

 

sf/(s-f)

 

where s is the bellows extention and f is the focal length of the

lens. For example, if s= 325mm and f= 300mm, you will be able

to focus:

 

(300)(325)/(325-300) = 3900mm = 3.9m away

 

Since this is derived from the basis optical formula for a "simple"

lens, the actual distance to the subject will be slightly different.

You might consider a Kelty Redwing pack, on sale at REI for $70.

It loads front the front so you can have good access to your

equipment. Like Ralph suggests, you need to fashion some sort

of divider system to keep your gear organized and protected.

Outdoor Research makes rectangular padded cells of all sizes

that may work.

Hi Tj, You have gotten some great advice. As good as the 90mm

are, I would probably go for a 75-80mm as the 90 is a bit close to

the 125mm you already have. Also, I would go with the Fuji 240A

as it is a better fit for your camera. The 240mm lens will allow

you to focus as close as 2-3ft according to my calculations.

Enjoy and welcome!

Jeffrey, I am curious. Can you weigh your 45SU and tell me the

true weight of the camera? Thanks!

Simple: Process at night!

Hi Shawn,

 

If you are planning to use lenses less than 90mm, it may be best

not to chose the RW45. The only negative report I had heard is

that the standard bellows is a bit stiff and any lens less than

90mm will not allow good movements. A 90mm is fine. You can

of course use a recessed lens board to regain some movement

with a short lens. I do not know about the wide angle capabilities

of the SV45.

Wouldn't it be great if shen hao made a 4x5 with titanium

hardware and lighter hardwood?

Hi Bill,

 

Cannot help you on the comparison...but, have you considered

the G1227, with 3 section legs? It's more sturdy and less

expensive than the 1228. Also, you have less locks to fiddle with

every time you setup and take down the tripod. The only

disadvantage is that it doesn't compact as well as the 4 section

1228. Good shooting!