Competition is growing everyday, more and more people have DSLR and want to make money.

The bad part is many people are spoling the market/reputation of professionals, especially for Weddings. Weddings are important moments, but not everyone take it seriously when accepting the job. This spoils the market and image/reputation of photographers, hence why some people start to pick-up DSLR because they can do it too.

Just saying from what I've seen.

Previously you mentioned you didn't notice any noise/grain even at high ISO; Now can you notice?
If still no, what about zooming in? What ISO is this?

Try using flash and you can lower the ISO and then see the difference..... but I think you already sold your flash...

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 16 2011, 10:12 PM

Not saying good or bad ISO performance, just that previously you mentioned you notice NO noise/grain and cannot tell difference with ISO 100. Now, this picture at this size, the noise/gain is noticeable and you can see it affected some of the details; Not that I'm complaining or anything, I'm just highlighting because of what you mentioned before.

As for the noise, most important is to get a properly exposed picture; If you're limited to the aperture and shutter speed, then you have no choice to increase the ISO (unless you use flash); it's better than if you underexpose, which will be worst.

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 16 2011, 11:51 PM

So does heat

For the price, it's actually good, it's light, easy for travel and carry around, sharp too. The main drawback is it's focusing speed, but it depends what you use it for and you can learn to compensate the focusing speed by pre-focusing to shorten the focus time.

The 55-300 VR would be better with metal mount + 9 rounded aperture blades; This one have people selling sligthly below RM1K.

Anyhow, it depends what you use for and your requirements. This is s DX lens, so if you plan to upgrade to FX, you might want to consider the 70-300 VR. But if you just want a lens that is CHEAP, light, easy to carry around, the 55-200 or 55-300 would probably make do. The best is to test/try it out yourself the lens and decide.

Not really cheap, depending on budget; For some people, getting 70-300 VR, add 1K can go for 80-200 f/2.8D second hand. Difference is HUGE.

For people on budget on DX body, want a cheap telephoto, lightweight, etc. 55-200 VR or 55-300 VR can fit the bill, unless they really need the faster focusing speed. The price of 70-300 VR is almost double 55-300 VR. 55-300 VR have people selling less than 1K (last I saw is RM950).
So it depends on the person requirement, and budget. Some people, they spend more on higher end lens, then for a cheap, lightweight, they just want to spend a little as long as it can deliver the job.

Try it in Nikon BTS, then judge again
Turn the VR off on 70-300 and see if you can capture steady picture, then try the 80-200mm f/2.8D

Without VR, you need to compensate with faster shutter speed; but the weight and balance of the lens, you can break the rule a little, hold it steadily and go slightly slower shutter, you can still capture nice and sharp picture. If you use flash, you can go even slower shutter speed.
Plus, with the wide aperture, you can use faster shutter compared to the 70-300mm VR which has smaller aperture.
Image Quality is again, very much different....


Agreed!
VR is nice to have; Without VR, we need to compensate with faster shutter speed and of course, proper shooting techniques. With flash, we can manage slower shutter speed as the flash can help to freeze the motion.

BUT, the 55-300mm and 70-300m is A LOT harder to shoot without VR. I suppose it's due to the weight and balance.

What's your budget? If you shoot outdoor and don't need very wide and low budget, you can consider 2nd hand 18-55mm VR.

D90 is consumer mid-range. D3100 and D5000 is entry level. You can check those reviews website they have the classifications (although some websites tend to mix up themselves, like some Canon models).

Chek wikipedia also can, you can find at bottom of the page, a table of classifications

For consumer, it's classified as mid-range, but for 'pros', they see if differently.

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 18 2011, 09:53 AM

Stop down your aperture bro.......

Well, d90 is in different class/category than 550d.

...D90, D7000 --> ...50D, 60D

Quite common, especially when they didn't check or know the classification or category of the camera; This happen also to other products, especially automotive (e.g. cars getting bigger in size (+ price), people tend to confused and compare with higher end cars).


Well, actually, if you want to talk about personal opinion, lol, everyone has one, it'll become havoc. Plus, body type doesn't make it higher class, if yes, then... if Canon comes out 2000D (lowest entry model) and gives it a mag alloy body, do you consider it higher class than 60D and D7000?

The best is to stick to the actual classification/category, you say 60D downgraded in terms of BODY construction, but it's still quite heavy; probably they want to maintain the weight? Who knows? Ask Canon

This one you have to see the other name of the camera perhaps?
1100D --> T3
600D --> T3i

Basically the same model, but one with somethings "extra"? Like D300 and D300S?
I don't know, it feels like the days of Nokia handphone... N93 --> N93i

D5100?
http://nikonrumors.com/2011/02/18/nikon-d5...aspx#more-17833

Looking at Nikon naming, replacement D90 become D7000? Maybe they're also trying to put better differentiation to their product lineup?

DXXXX - D3100, D5100, D7000 (low end DX?)
DXXX - D300, D300S (High end DX?)
DXX - Future low end FF?
DX - High end FF?

Bro I notice you keep using word len without "s", it should be lens (with the "s").

Btw, lens and lenses, not len and lens.

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 20 2011, 09:44 AM

Both also good, it depends on individual; Some prefer Nikon, some prefer Canon, some have BOTH. Don't choose what others like, choose what you feel is best for you.....

And do you really need a DSLR? What are you looking for? Are you just buying it's cool to hold a DSLR? If you want easy to take good pictures, and you don't plan to invest in photograhy, Point and Shoot camera might be a better choice and value for money.

Have you tried using one DSLR? For Nikon, you can try out the models in Nikon Centre @ Berjaya Times Square. The lens is kit lens, try it and see if like it. Some people (not mean you), they might not really know what they want and think DSLR is what they need, but after getting one, they find it harder to handle, heavy, bulky, and the kit lens can't offer the quality they want, but they're not willing to invest on better lens which is what they want for the quality.

Anyway, if you're looking for DSLR, then try it out yourself to know which you prefer more. Both Nikon and Canon design is different, the menu system is different, etc. No point buy Brand A because people say it's good, then later you hold/touch/feel/use Brand B and you prefer Brand B.
The camera is just a tool for photographer, choose what's best for yourself, not others.

Under budget and if you shoot outdoor during daytime with ample lighting, you can opt for cheap cheap 55-200mm or the newer 55-300mm for longer reach.

if you want to capture moving birds, then you will face problem with focusing speed. What you can do is try pre-focusing, etc. You may get many fail shots, but keep practicing and time it right, you may get more useful shots. If the subject is standing still then no problem.

---

Added on February 21, 2011, 4:03 pmI tested Hoya HMC, but can't simulate the problem. Not sure how the guy test?

This post has been edited by Andy214: Feb 21 2011, 04:03 PM

Hehe, celciuz call sign, 85mm, he will appear
Like batman, put the bat light to the sky to call for batman

j/k

It depends on what kind of portrait and space, if indoor, 85mm on DX most probably will be too tight and if you want to take half-body, you need to much further (as previous example by celciuz).
But also like edward mention, the perspective also different (e.g. the more tele, you get better separation from the background.)

Try google portrait lens, for FX, you will find 135mm f/2 DC. You can also find Portrait pictures @ 200mm on FX using 70-200mm f/2.8. So, it depends what kind of portrait you prefers more or you want to capture.