hafeez71, I like the 1st photo.

.... and uncle Google provided me with these answers to your questions:

http://www.eneloop.info/products/chargers.html

Achew: A handy small torchlight might save you all the trouble of going to the light switch THAT often.... I keep one in my camera bag most of the time.

alpha_company: I can understand why you chose D60 and I think it fits your requirements well. The D60 do not have an in-Body AF motor (Nikon removed it), so that's why it is lighter. The disadvantage of this is of course that a lot of the screw driven AF lenses made for Nikon suddenly becomes MF only on the D60... So I guess it is a "you win some, you lose some" scenario. And I feared Sony is going down that lane too....

Hold your horses, my good friend.... I said I feared... meaning I hope they don't... meaning I don't know...

bysquashy:

You want a waist bag that can double-up as a shoulder bag or a shoulder bag that can double-up as a waist bag? read my question properly... there is a difference.

Yes, once the camera detects that a SSM lens was mounted, it will automatically disable to in-body AF motor. Oh, and this works similarly with the HSM of Sigma lenses too.

jeez, chiggy.... !!!

Looks a bit underexposed...

Not really sure. You would probably get a faster answer in the Nikon threads about this one. Have you tried searching the internet for answers? But then again, for macro work, I think most of the guys uses manual focus which actually proves to be faster and more convenient. I know, it sounds counter-intuitive but I found it to be true.

Spam some jump shots!

Some jump shots we took at the end of the MSJ Basic Photography workshop. Thought I want to share it with you guys.

#1 Models doing jump shot.


#2 Gerry doing Jump Shot (with a flying Canon 40D + 24-70 F2.8L)


#3 Harn Sheng doing Jump Shot (follow the curves of the clouds!)


#4 Me doing Jump Shot


Got a few more friends doing jump shots, but I guess it is kinda repetitive and not really suitable for uploading. But for us, each one of our jump shots is a memory of what we did that day.

I think the Sigma 70-300 APO is optically the better choice.

talk about the devil... where is that guy nowadays anyway? not only influenced, but also inspired!

oredi buy, then how to convince you not to buy? Just kidding. It is a good camera. Now go out and shoot something with it.... dun waste it sitting in your bedroom....

welcome to the strobist world!

...erm... technically you do not need the f2.8 size for the quality of the photo, since you will be shooting at the smaller aperture sizes... but there is another important factor that a lot of people had failed to realized. with an f2.8 lens, you will notice that your camera's AF system works that much better....

alpha_company: Yes, you are correct. even if you set both to f7.1 and at the same focal length, the f2.8 lens will always work better (assuming your focus mechanism's gearing is the same, and you are using both lenses on the same body) because the larger aperture will allow more light into the camera, enabling the AF sensors to work more efficiently. (it is like human eyes... the more light there is, the better you see, right?) This is one area that a lot of people did not realise the benefit of the bigger aperture lenses. Bokeh, bokeh, boekh..... all that everyone can think about bokeh....

...but, as albnok had rightly pointed out. the AF mechanism working more efficiently is one thing. the ability of the lens to reach THAT focus plane, which is predominantly influenced by the AF algorithms, AF drive (body AF motor / in lens mircro motor / SSM) as well as the AF mechanism gearing of the lens, is another matter....

sp00ky: no, i'm not talking about the A700's ultra sensitive centre f2.8 double cross sensor, but AF mechanism in general.

I don't think all Sony's accessories are more expensive than Nikon / Canon. I don't have a price list of ALL the accessories there is in this world for these 3 brands, so I cannot say for sure. I DO know that the top of the line Sony HVL-F58AM is definitely MUCH CHEAPER than that offered by Canon (580 EX II) and Nikon (SB900). But really, there has to be a good reason for me to jump ship (if I so wished to jump in the first place). And I can't say pier influence is one of them.

Granted that we all are gearheads in one way or another, but the real final decision to switch should really be a practical one. Don't think because my friends who are using Canons & Nikons can pinjam me their lens for 1 to 2 hours (or even 1 to 2 days, if they are brave ) is a good practical reason to do it. That ain't gonna save you a lot of money, because you switching system in the first place will already incur a lost, no matter how optimistic you are about your sales thread. Let's face it, there is no way I'm going to sell my semi-pro level A700 plus all accessories and lenses to get a Canon 1000D or a Nikon D60....

Sorry, Mufasa. I'm not trying to bite you but just wanted to show the other side of the story that you might had not thought about yet. If you were just starting out and looking for your first DSLR, I would totally agree with you 100% to buy a Nikon system. But to pull your leg out after your had already buried both legs into the Sony sand is going to be painful for your wallet, no matter how you twist it.

mcline_007, get the A300. I think it has the best features for a beginner in dslr, unless you are on a tight budget (which you said you are not) then get the A200. A350 is really for guys who needs more resolution for big enlargements (which most probably you wno't do for now).

achew, nice! see! who said sony cuts throat?!?! I serviced my old flash (HVL-F56AM) twice, and i only paid a total of RM20 bucks nia!

alpha_company: I saw a Tamron SP AF 90mm f2.8 Macro with built in motor for Nikon mount over at PhotoMalaysia. So looks like there are indeed 2 versions of this lens for Nikon mount. Confusing......