i used 2 focus charts to test it ... used at the closest focus range & the largest aperture as well ... not forgetting i mounted it on a tripod at 45 degrees angle ... i seriously dont know what went wrong ... hopefully if they cant repair it they will replace a new one for me ... my 16-85 is a good & sharp lens to use ... but bokeh wise ...

This post has been edited by eddy230379: Feb 1 2011, 03:30 PM

Happy Chinese New Year too. Hope the problem won't haunt u for long

for a rm350 lens, i love d fact it has better distortion control n shorter focusing distance than 18-105

ur Sigma is d new version with shiny smooth body surface?

yup .. the shiny smooth surface ...

Anyone could load some suggestion or opinion of the package offer I got?

Beside, does a memory card speed affect photo shooting or video recording?

if I were you I will buy D7k with body only. and hunt my lens later on.
yeah memory card speed affect video recording speed.

Melaka selling for RM4400, 8GB + Bag. I think you should be able to press further.

If picking only D7000 body, what lens you'll pick as your first? Isn't the 18-105 is a pretty decent one to start with?

Care to elaborate more on the memory card speed VS video recording speed? How does it affects the performance?

I have asked around KL and PJ, this is the cheapest which I got offered so far. Anyone from KL got any shops to recommend?

got result then tell me too
so i can have a target to save money

The price is OK/good enough; No point survey too many times, the time and money wasted is it worth it? As long the shop provide OK/Good price and good service, I think it's good enough.

You can forgo the filter, not necessary.

Depends on what you look for in photography, what kind of photography (landscape, portrait, sports, etc), it'll be easier to decide on the lens; else you can get the kit lens first; If you have a bit more to spend, get the 50mm f/1.8D for less than RM400. It'll be a good lens for portraiture and you might use it more than your zoom lens, unless you need the wider angle.

Memory Card speed effect if you're shooting bigger file size, saving the photo, and more importantly, viewing the photos in camera; You can view in list view, which will load the photos as small thumbnails. With slower cards, it loads slower.
If you're trying to do some processing in camera, the speed plays the role as well.
Finally, for HD video, you need at least Class 6 (I think).

EDIT:
Forgot to mention, if you have budget, get an external flash unit; It makes a big difference to your shooting.

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 1 2011, 05:03 PM

I already reach there, I mean the money target part. Now's the next phase which is the package price survey and purchasing. Hopefully able to get it done by end of March

I had gotten offer around RM4,500 ~ RM4,600 for standard package which includes D7000 kit + Nikon Bag + 8GB SD (Normal Speed) and some + cheapo tripod (which most likely will not dare to use it?). I do read a few getting RM4,400 and not really sure where or how they actually got it

ohhh...can tell me the shop name you get cheapest offer? i got my D70s last time at fotokem shop

Hi Andy214 and thanks for your input.

Isn't the filter acts as a "protector" for the lens which actually sort of "compulsory" required for every lens?

My actual planning for purchasing is somewhere end of this month or next month. Since I'm a newbie in photography, surveying among shops actually allows me to learn more about manufacturers and options of the photography accessories and listen up to recommendation (although some may be biased).

At this moment, I would prefer to take photo of happenings (outing events, party or gathering etc.), food and portraits. Yet into landscape and sport as mentioned, but probably in the future. Some people do suggest me getting the 50mm prime lens than the kit lens.

What would happen to the HD video if I use the standard class 2 or 4 card? Would it be the video failed to be recorded or only takes time for processing after one session of recording?

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Added on February 1, 2011, 5:12 pmWill pop you a PM when I bought mine

This post has been edited by vearn27: Feb 1 2011, 05:12 PM

If I were you I will buy d7000 + 50mm 1.8 or 35mm 2.0 + 18-70 Nikkor or 1750 Tamron or 1850 Siggy.

Err.. I am not really sure about DSLR.
however since I am an IT-student I will elaborate the essential of memory card in IT perspective. However if you find it difficult to understand you can directly skip this part
every computer or any computerized machine is having a small built-in memory to store whatever happening before actually store it to the actual storage (the place you save your photo in this case memory card, in pc case it will be hard disk. this is called non-volatile memory the basic idea is the computer or any computerized machine can retain the information even when not powered if you want to do further research you can go here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-volatile_memory)

However it is impossible for computer to directly store it on non volatile memory as it usually has slower access rate which makes you will feel the device is dumb therefore device nowadays including PC has another memory called volatile memory reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_memory (in PC case it will be RAM in DLSR IDK what it's called but I am sure DSLR has one as you can still store some images even you don't have the memory card, the purpose of this volatile memory is making the process is faster therefore the sequence of execution will be USER ACTION -> COMPUTER CALCULATION -> STORE in RAM -> STORE in HDD if necessary).

if you don't have the clear image of volatile and non volatile this example will give you an idea.
if I open the document and type something on my Microsoft word let say "ABC" and I didn't save it. I shut down my PC and the following day my "ABC" document lost.
it happen because I do have it in RAM so I can still see "ABC" however since RAM is volatile it doesn't store anything once you turn off the PC.
exactly the same thing happen on DSLR. Those images you captured w/o memory card will be gone once you turn it off.

however if I save it on my hard disk I can still see it later on. <- this because do save it on non-volatile memory such as hard disk..

Volatile memory is good however the main defect is it has limited amount of storage. E.g nowadays 4Gb RAM is awesome.
this makes volatile has to work together with non-volatile which can store a lot bigger number of memory. let say 2Tb HDD.


In conclusion :
'RAM' or whatsoever called in DSLR couldn't store your 10 mins movie at once.
therefore I should retain information from your sensor + lens about your recording thing (as it still go on) while it should store some information to memory card gradually before it happen to be 1 video with 10 mins length.

Therefore the speed of HDD (in DSLR case is memory card is a necessity in video recording to help the 'RAM' in DSLR stay connected with 'HDD' in DSLR w/o any delay).

again that's just what I learn trough my college life.
correct me if I am wrong.

This post has been edited by aldosoesilo: Feb 1 2011, 05:16 PM

ND
I'm looking for ND 8

my noob shoot with my noob gears.
D3100 + kitty 18-55 VR lens







This post has been edited by aldosoesilo: Feb 1 2011, 05:22 PM

You can try google more about filter and decide whether you think it's worth to buy one and it's necesary. Yes it can help to protect the lens, so does the hood. The problem is mainly the price of the filter.
It's also mentioned that filters "will" affect the photo, altough it may not be noticeable in most situation, but when people test, they only test for that particular moment, so it's hard to say in real situation, if happen the filter affected without the photograher knowing. You might find some experience/senior pro photographer never use it, and also some shop seller honestly tell you it's not necessary (very rare as it's one of their biggest source of income).
Anyway, the decision is up to you; As they say, if you want to get a filter, get a VERY GOOD one, which will be $$$$$.

Surveying is ok, what I mean is, spending time, money (petrol, tol, parking fee, etc) to go all the way there and to few shops, etc. The time and money wasted is not worth it, in the end, you're actualyl paying more even you managed get RM4400. BUT, if you're passing by, dropping by OR maybe you enjoy the process of surveying to learn and get to know, then it's a different story "lah", hehe

For your photography style, the kit lens might fit those mixed photography style; You can invest on a prime lens for those lowlight situation like indoor parties, gatherings, etc. The 50mm f/1.8D is a good low budget prime lens, but if you have more to spend, you can consider the 35mm primes which is more usable for indoors, food photography, small group, etc. The 50mm will be better for portraiture.
Will advice you to invest on a Flash Gun as well, such as the SB700. The Flash will make wonders to your kit lens especially indoors/lowlight situations.

For HD Video, if you use lower speed card, the video will fail to record (if you're on HD). D7000 have smaller buffer (in camera memory) compared to the Canon 60D. If the card speed is not fast enough, it will fill up the buffer. So, if you have slower card and you're using continuous shoot mode, once the buffer fills up, the burst will slow down as the camera tries to clear the buffer to transfer to the memory card.

That's a GND and not a ND right?

Hi aldosoesilo and really appreciate your lengthy explanation. Honestly, I never thought someone could have explained in such details as most will only post up links to wiki and asked to digest by themselves. Thank you

Probably I should make clear of my question. I'm a IT guy myself and working as a Software / System Engineer. I'm not gonna say I'm best nor good, but I'm kinda well-verse with computer architecture and therefore I do understand what you're explaining and the reading/writing speed thingy.

However, I'm actually more asking for the real situation that what may actually happen to the recording session on the camera in real-time (live) if it happens to be using a low speed card. Does the video recording failed? Jerky? Lagging or it wouldn't work at all?

Again, I apologize for not making clear of my question.

On the lens recommendation, a friend of mine do mentioned the 35mm 2.0 which cost around RM2K which is outburst to my budget at the moment. The maximum allocation I can put for the first package would be RM5,000 for everything including the body, memory card and filter. Which would be the better option for lens to fit the budget?

If you're going to kit lens package and have RM5K budget, get the 50mm f/1.8D prime lens; use it for indoors/lowlight situation, portraiture or when you need the shallow depth of field, blowing the background using wide apertures.

35mm f/2D I think is around RM1K
35mm f/1.8G DX is around RM760