Topic: Hello (Read 6698 times)

Murph · « **on:** January 16, 2005, 11:48:28 am »

Thanks. It looks like later in the year there may be more money, so any lens suggestions? I do mainly landscapes, and snapshots of the kids (for Grandparents).

Also should I stick with my PC or go to a Mac?

Murph · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2005, 07:35:55 pm »

Quote

Everyone's gotta have a 50 in their bag, or else you're not a photographer.

T-1000

Lol! I will have to get a 50mm at some point. The D-70 is looking better. I like the suggestions.

boku · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2005, 04:06:32 pm »

Quote

Quote
Everyone's gotta have a 50 in their bag, or else you're not a photographer.

T-1000
I knew that I was missing something. Does having a 50 for a camera that I no longer use ever count???

Close enough. You're in.

RobertJ · « **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2005, 01:32:56 am »

I hope you didn't take my 50mm lens quote seriously. However, I feel that if you're just starting out with a new system, a 50 is a good choice compared to kit lenses. Then again, Nikon kit lenses are a lot better than Canon's from what I hear.

T-1000

RobertJ · « **Reply #4 on:** January 20, 2005, 03:12:44 pm »

Yeah, I've always heard good things about Nikon's 18-70. Again, since I shoot Canon, I never bought one kit lens. I opted for the 50mm f/1.4, which makes me a real photographer, wink wink.

T-1000

Murph · « **Reply #5 on:** January 22, 2005, 09:36:57 pm »

Thanks. Went to the Camera store again today, and the D-100 just "feels" better in my hand. I know the D-70 is a good camera, and with the 18-70mm its a great starter. But, and please understand, I think that I will probably end up with the D-100 and the 18-70mm lens. Also possibly a 70-300 or something similar.

Murph · « **Reply #6 on:** January 29, 2005, 03:44:30 pm »

Looks like I will not get my money until mid March at the best. Right now I have decided pretty much on the Nikon D2H w/ 24-120mm lens to start with. I use mostly telephotos, and normal lenses for my work, so the wide angle can wait for a while. The D2H because I have a 4 and 6 year old, and they love to "touch" daddies equipment. Also its a pro level camera, and it will stand up to MY abuse. I'm a klutz at times. The D2H pricing has come down to $1,999 US for the body, so thats good.

Murph · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2005, 11:45:24 pm »

Hi, I'm new here. I am just getting into Digital photography from years of film photography as a serious amateur. The digital cameras I currently own are strictly "shoot for Grandpa" type (Kodak DX4900 4 mp, and Kodak DX4590 5 mp) I plan on getting a Nikon D-100 in March. The D-100 "feels" right to me, moreso than the D-70, and the D-2x is out of my ability to purchase, especially since I need lenses. Also a 1 gb 80x card from lexar.

I am planning on a starter set of two lenses:
24-120mm
50mm F/1.4

Any suggestions?

My film use was on Minolta X-700's, Yashica D TLR, and a 4x5 view. But unfortunately kids came along, the money, time, and ability to drive up out of San Antonio into the Hill Country ended, and so I have had a six year dry spell. But, the kids are old enough now, for Daddy to start getting out again.

RobertJ · « **Reply #8 on:** January 16, 2005, 09:53:20 am »

I second the Sandisk recommendation.

I had a chance to buy the 20D + Lexar package, but instead, bought the body and a separate Ultra II, (you can get the III now.)

T-1000

Jonathan Wienke · « **Reply #9 on:** January 16, 2005, 12:01:17 pm »

PC will get you more bang for the buck than Mac, and has a wider variety of software than Mac. If you're comfortable with Windows, there's no real compelling to switch. Some people prefer the Mac OS to Windows, but there really isn't any overwhelming advantage one way or the other.

RobertJ · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2005, 06:16:11 pm »

Everyone's gotta have a 50 in their bag, or else you're not a photographer.

T-1000

boku · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2005, 10:00:57 pm »

Quote

Everyone's gotta have a 50 in their bag, or else you're not a photographer.

T-1000

And that is the only - ONLY - reason I have one!

Never use it. :laugh:

RobertJ · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2005, 10:57:07 pm »

Murph, I would definitely go for the D70 instead of the D100. It's common to think the D100 is the better camera, but this is not true. Build quality-wise, the D100 is better, but the D70 is one of those plastic fantastics. Faster frames per second, 1/500th flash sync compared to 1/180th on the D100, faster maximum shutter speed, broader range of ISO useage, and newer technology/sensor technology in general.

I've used my friend's D70, and it's a good camera. In fact, I fell in love with it for the one day that I used it, and I don't even shoot Nikon. It's the best bang for your buck, and also, you're just starting out in digital, so I feel that it's a good starter camera. Who knows, maybe a "D200" is just around the corner. Hope you make a decision soon, then buy it, and have fun.

T-1000

jdemott · « **Reply #13 on:** January 18, 2005, 01:57:19 pm »

I've had a D100 for about 2-1/2 years (since it first came out) and it is a great camera. The only D70 feature I would really like to have is the faster flash synch speed, but for the type of shooting I do, that is seldom an issue. I certainly wouldn't want to give up the better viewfinder, mirror pre-fire (which is a big plus for the landscape shooting I do) and the overall better build quality of the D100 to get the synch speed of the D70. Of course other people's needs may differ.

I've used 1GB microdrives almost exclusively and been very happy with them. Shooting RAW, there are 107 frames in 1GB, so I find I definitely need more than one for a day's shooting.

The choice of lenses depends a lot on your shooting style. For my needs, I find that the 18-70mm lens provides a really good all around lens. I also have a 28-105 that I have used on my film cameras and I found I really missed the wider end of the range when it was used on a digital camera with the 1.5x multiplication factor. Overall, the 18-70 is quite good optically and is less expensive than the 24-120.

I have a 50mm lens that I actually use a fair amount, particularly for shooting panoramas to be stitched together digitally. Three to five frames shot in portrait mode with the 50mm seems to give very nice coverage of a lot of landscape scenes and will yield a very high quality print. I use the 50mm f1.8 which is generally thought to be a little sharper than the f1.4 as well as less expensive.

If you save some dollars with the 18-70 instead of the 24-120, and go with the less expensive 50mm f1.8 (or skip the 50mm altogether) you could stretch the budget a little and look for a nice used 80-200 f2.8, which is truly a great lens and would give you a lot of coverage at the long end. Just a thought. If you haven't looked at Thom Hogan's website yet, you might check it out as he has a number of useful reviews of lenses and other Nikon equipment. http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm

When you buy the D100, consider getting the AC adapter, which is overpriced but necessary to clean the sensor.

John DeMott

Lisa Nikodym · « **Reply #14 on:** January 19, 2005, 04:56:21 pm »

Quote

Everyone's gotta have a 50 in their bag, or else you're not a photographer.

Geez, guys, you're giving me an inferiority complex. I've never even owned a prime lens, much less a 50. Then again, my little photos are just vacation snapshots that have gotten a little out of hand, so maybe I'm not a "real" photographer.

Lisa
:laugh:

P.S. I'm a D70 shooter, and love the camera.

jd1566 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 20, 2005, 08:05:34 am »

It appears the original poster wantend some advice on lenses.. and all he got was useless banter on the importance of having a 50mm.. Well, I have one and use it almost more than my 70-200 IS... :-)
Ok, on lens selection, you need to check out the lenses on a DSLR body, in order to understand what the croping of the sensor does to your image. If you want to shoot indoors then you'll need a wide angle which in DSLR speak is something between a 10mm and a 18mm, because they become equivalent of a 16 and 28mm (more or less.. I shoot canon so obviously for Nikon they will be slightly different).
A 50 f1.4 becomes a nice portrait lens cropping to a 75-80mm, and the large aperture does come in handy when you don't want really noisy prints or are in a concert (close to the stage) and want to take some awsome pictures. A 50mm is also relatively small and short, making your camera unobtrusive.

There is an endless parade of wide 3rd party lenses out there 18-55, 18-125, 12-24, etc etc.. My suggestion is to go to a camera store and LOOK and FEEL the lenses, and see what you can see through the viewfinder.

Good luck..

Lisa Nikodym · « **Reply #16 on:** January 20, 2005, 11:56:15 am »

Quote

I hope you didn't take my 50mm lens quote seriously. However, I feel that if you're just starting out with a new system, a 50 is a good choice compared to kit lenses. Then again, Nikon kit lenses are a lot better than Canon's from what I hear.

I'm no lens expert (see my earlier comment :: ), which is why I didn't comment on the original poster's question, but the D70 with the 18-70mm kit lens produces waaaay sharper images than my old Canon film camera with the Canon 28-135mm IS lens. It seems a great little lens for not much $$$. The crop factor no doubt helps. (It also sounds like there's a lot of variation in that Canon lens and that I got a particularly poor one.)

And thanks, Bob, for your flattery. Good to know that someone thinks I'm a "real" photographer. (And no, T-1000, I didn't take it too seriously.) :laugh:

Lisa

Murph · « **Reply #17 on:** January 22, 2005, 09:28:00 pm »

Quote

Murph, I would definitely go for the D70 instead of the D100. It's common to think the D100 is the better camera, but this is not true. Build quality-wise, the D100 is better, but the D70 is one of those plastic fantastics. Faster frames per second, 1/500th flash sync compared to 1/180th on the D100, faster maximum shutter speed, broader range of ISO useage, and newer technology/sensor technology in general.

I've used my friend's D70, and it's a good camera. In fact, I fell in love with it for the one day that I used it, and I don't even shoot Nikon. It's the best bang for your buck, and also, you're just starting out in digital, so I feel that it's a good starter camera. Who knows, maybe a "D200" is just around the corner. Hope you make a decision soon, then buy it, and have fun.

T-1000

Thanks. I am waiting on money right now, and should have at least $2.5k to spend in March. Part of that is going to upgrade my computer, so actual money to spend is going to be around $1.8k.

I am just getting started in digital photography, but look forward to a long relationship with it.

Comment on the 12 mp Fuji S3?

RobertJ · « **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2005, 11:38:32 pm »

I haven't used the D100, so I wouldn't know how the viewfinder compares with the D70, but I do have to say that the D70 viewfinder is kind of like looking down a tunnel. That's one thing I didn't like, especially compared to my 20D's viewfinder. The 20D's viewfinder is great, even when I compare it to my 35mm cameras, I hardly see a difference.

T-1000

BryanHansel · « **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2005, 10:37:27 pm »

Quote

all he got was useless banter

Speaking of; where is didger, lately?

I know that was low, especially if he isn't around to get me back.

Author Topic: Hello (Read 6698 times)