Thanks. I'm no Manny Librodo though.

Thank you. You need a Kenko 1.4x TC to work with your two touch. The new AF-S type TCs have a tab that prohibits the use of the new TCs on older AF-D type lenses.

The AF-S 35mm f/1.4 has one aspherical lens element. The AF-S 85mm f/1.4 has none while the AF-S 24mm f/1.4 has TWO aspherical lens elements. All of these 3 lenses have Nano Crystal Coating and have 9 blades for excellent bokeh rendering.


Thanks.

Aiks... What time was that? I was in Malacca last weekend.

The R8 LMS ! When did you shoot this?

Is the 27" Samsung a IPS monitor?

If you're looking for quality, yes it would work well. But like others have mentioned, the 24mm wide end may not be wide enough on DX format.

For D300s or any DX body, the AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 is very versatile and excellent lens.

The Tokina is not bad but if you want the best wide angle, it's the AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8.

2nd perhaps is the AF-S 16-35mm f/4 VR but may not meet your ultra wide needs.

Exactly !

Ok, then bokeh is secondary for you then. As you found out, the 35mm suites your shooting style better.

If you put the 18-200 lens at the tele end and get closest to your subject, you still should get some bokeh !

Eh, your 200-400mm f/4 VR should get tremendous bokeh too.

If you're not sure, buy from reputable shops that deal with 2nd hand stuff like YL in Pudu Plaza.

Shit happens not just to used stuff (and more likely from conman) but sometimes to brand new stuff too. My brand new D700 konk out after one week of use.

The camera decided to go "home" to it's maker while I was in Japan. Gave the dreaded "Err" message on the screen. Just a case of bad luck.

Aiks ! Never noticed it. Thanks for the info. Yeah, traffic in KL is plenty stupid. Been a long time since I stepped into their KL shop.

But but but... No Nano Coating.

Anyway, AF-D lenses are cheaper while still having very good optics.

First time hearing about the thread wearing out. Nikon body AF motor too powerful?

Any reason for doing that? You're changing your interest from landscape to something else like portraiture?

If that is the case, you may want to try the new AF-S 50mm f/1.8G instead.

Why wasted?

Your friend bought it new or 2nd hand? Don't know the history of the lens. For all we know, it has been to hell and back.

Nice find. I'm sure they will compare it to the 14-24mm f/2.8 monster. Physically, it looks very similar to the 14-24mm f/2.8.

South or Northern part? 18-200mm should be a nice range. I went there a few years ago with a D70 + Nikon 24-120mm VR + Tamron 70-300mm. The tele end was useful when I wanted to shoot the sperm whale spouting on the surface at Kaikoru.

On your question, I personally don't think you can use your 50mm as a walk-about main lens for the things you intend to do. It's too tele on the D7000.

BTW, enjoy yourself. New Zealand is a wonderful place to photograph. If there is one place I would like to re-visit, it would be New Zealand.

I think it's either 1 or 3 if you're into portraiture. Getting the speedlight would depend if you're into available light photography (no flash) or not.

I would suggest you limit the focal length of your 18-105mm to 50mm (or 85mm) to discipline yourself to shoot at those focal lengths and see which is the one you're most comfortable with. Else, if you get the chance, try out those lenses at shops.

Jumping to FF is gonna be very expensive. You need to sell everything you have now and buy FX lenses. Will your friend's 50mm be enough? The question you need to ask is what you are gonna do /shoot if you get a FF body. Does it warrant that kind of change? If you have money, it's ok to change as it does not matter.

Anyway, if this question was asked a few years ago, I would say invest in good lenses first because bodies come and go while lenses will remain for a long while. But nowadays you find that bodies are so much advanced that you would notice difference in output quality compared to old bodies. I would say getting a good DX body like the D7000 would be ideal for you at the moment and that you can continue to use your current lenses. Moreover, you're still using D70s. If you were using D300 or even D90, I would say buy good lenses instead.

Later on if you're interested in portraiture, you can slowly opt for the 50mm f/1.8G or the 85mm f/1.4D (not G since more expensive). If you're into landscape, DX ultra wide angle lenses are much cheaper too and you have a variety to choose from. If you have FX body, feeding it with FX ultra wide angles would cost a bomb.

If you're just shooting mainly figurines, why do you want to go FF? Shooting small items require a lot of DoF which on a FF body, you'd be handicapped. Best would be to go for DX body. If you're thinking "upgrading" the D70s to FF just because on paper it's a "better" upgrade, you're on the wrong path.

If you're a bokeh lover, you should go for Nikon's 85mm f/1.4 even though the Sigma is not to bad.

Sorry, it should be whale watching in Kaikoura.

Yeah, if you have space, carry the 70-200. You self-driving round south island or just in Christchurch? I heard Christchurch a lot of ruins after the earthquake.

The 18-200mm VR has a minimum focusing distance (MFD) of 0.5m. This is quite ok for food photography actually. From the difficulties you're describing, you are trying to get closer to the food subject? What details are you trying to capture? Have you tried to zoom to 200mm?

Actually, I just mounted my AF 50mm f/1.8D on the D300 and I find the FoV about right for one plate serving of food. The MFD is 0.46m which is the same as the new AF-S 50mm f/1.8G.

24-70mm f/2.8 not sharp? Instead of complaining here, why don't you send it to Nikon?

The older 50mm? It's the cheapest lens and reasonable quality if you stop the aperture down. Wide open, it's a little soft.

Ok, the 18-105mm VR has a MFD or 0.45m. Just be mindful of that. Anything closer and the camera would not AF. I believe on a D90, that should be enough to take food photography, no?

If you want anything closer than that, you need macro lens or something like a Raynox adapter.

http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/dcr/dcr250/indexdcr250eg.htm

For landscape photography and family photos, the lens should be sufficient.

DX bodies are getting better and better and the performance very close to FX bodies. The D7000 is a very good example. Should be fine if you use ISO 3200. Coupled with f/1.8, you should be able to shoot low light. At the correct distance, f/1.8 can give you quite a big DoF.

CA is usually a problem when it's wide open aperture. Nt a problem once you stop it down.

Also with correct programs, you can actually eliminate CA during PP if required.

Can you post some examples? Perhaps we can access better.

Are you trying to focus very close to the subject or trying to focus the subject with a high contrast background? Focus is on AF-C (Continuous) or AF-S (Single)? Do you half-press the shutter button first to let the camera lock focus before fully pressing the shutter button?

Have a read on the article below from Nikon on some tips to achieve successful AF with your camera. Perhaps the article might explain why on some occasions when the camera AF did not work.

https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/ans...etail/a_id/4585

+1

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Added on July 7, 2011, 11:13 amIf you want to take nice family portrait photos, the AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is a nice one to have. Latest price is around RM 650 to 700. You can use it for food photography too and the f/1.8 aperture is especially useful if you shoot in low light restaurant.

That said, I'm not suggesting that this 50mm replace your 18-105mm kit lens. It's to complement your 18-105mm as that kit lens would be useful for general photography.

I think the SB-700 would be required if the person wants to shoot family photos at night. For fill flash, the built-in D90 flash is fine.

This post has been edited by jchue73: Jul 7 2011, 11:13 AM

Yes, boys with their toys ! Congrats on the D7000 + 50mm f/1.4D.

With regards to the workshops by Nikon, they are free correct? I believe they are ok for beginners as they show you how to operate the camera and make you familiar with the controls. Don't expect anything more.

What's your definition of family portrait photos? If you're just expecting to take nice family photos with background scenery, then save your money and stick with just your kit lens. Buying a portraiture lens would be a waste of money at the moment if you don't know how to use and appreciate it.

Agreed. Even then, I think the 35mm f/1.8 is a waste since it would only be useful for low light situation. Unless of course if you feel the need to take family photos in a dimly lit restaurants.

I would suggest to throw away the cheap filter. It will cause problems that will often result in awful bokeh rendering.

Yup, on DX bodies it's too tele for general use.

+1 Great suggestion.

If you want to save the money, read the manual.

Else, join photography TTs that they conduct almost weekly at www.photomalaysia.com

A lot of sifus there who would not mind giving you a helping hand. Just don't get poisoned into buying more toys in the process.

It is good to be cautious and play the waiting game but you need to realise that the new product will always be better and that new product will always be more expensive when it's new in the life cycle.

Are you willing to shell out RM 8k plus (maybe more) for a D700 replacement (expected to come next year?)?

The GPS module is useless unless you really need those geo tags. I would look into the lens hood for lens protection and get rid of the cheap filter in front of your lens.

Nice to have a tripod + steady tripod head but if you're traveling with family on vacation, they would not like you as you will slow things down.

Why? I've shot at f/1.4 for night landscapes.

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Added on July 7, 2011, 2:34 pmD70s different lah... ISO 200 daytime also can see noise in the shadows.

Look at sample shots on other forums comparing the D700 with the D7000. You'd be very surprised how close they are.

This post has been edited by jchue73: Jul 7 2011, 02:34 PM

Like some others have mentioned, use AF-S and make sure the focusing bracket in the screen is on the subject when you half-press.

If you pixel peep at 100% on the computer screen lah. For normal posting or printing, you won't notice it.

Anyway, I found some of my old samples in 2006 at ISO 400 that was mostly SOOC.






The following year, I was using the D2Hs which had much lesser noise even though they were shot at ISO 200. The D70 would not have given me clean shots.







This post has been edited by jchue73: Jul 7 2011, 05:28 PM

PnS cameras do not seem to have focus related problems as they do not appear as problems in the first place. Most of the time, their focus problems are masked as they have so much DoF due to their cropped sensors.

Yes it is. Sorry if this comes out quite blunt but people generally misunderstand that as long as you have a DSLR in your hand, you are expected to produce wonderful photos.

Technical differences between the two lenses;

AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

Both are consumer lenses at best. But then again, you must abolish the thought that equipment gets you the photos you want. To me, it's only 5% while 95% of the time, it's the person behind the camera that matters most.

What time was these shot? Looks like very low light.

Anyway for the first one, I would have tried 1/400 or faster like others have mentioned. I would try to get away from the lens' wide open f/5.6 and stop down one stop to f/8. If you leave the ISO as AUTO ISO, the camera would leave you at ISO 3200 !

Shutter speed 1/400
Aperture f/8
ISO 3200

Second shot, the same thing also;

Shutter speed 1/500
Aperture f/8
ISO 3200

Those are some things I would do to go about the lens' limitations.

Don't need to stop down so much. I think a stop down from the lens' widest aperture (f/5.6 to f/8) should be fine. I would shoot 1/500 or even 1/640.

Not a Liverpool fan but interested to shoot them. Do you know how close the numbered seats are? Are those tickets only for training day or the match as well?

Received an SMS some time back from SC on the training pass but never gave it a thought that time. Oh well...

Thanks for the detailed info. Much appreciated. As far as I know, the stadium is huge and unless you have sideline access, it's no fun shooting from the terraces.

Use TC with your 70-200 / 80-200?

If I was going, I would think about the 300mm f/4 with a 1.4x TC. A 1.7x TC would be stretching it.

I guess the 70-200 + 2x TCEIII would work a treat too.

During the last F1, I used 300mm f/4 with 2x TCEIII. Quality not too bad lah. Sometimes a hit, sometimes a miss but that all because it made the AF slower on the D700.

In retrospec, I also used 300mm f/4 with 1.7x TC and that yielded better results in terms of nailing focus.

I did not try the 2x TCEIII with my 80-200 as it was not enough reach from K1 grandstand.

The 2x TCEIII also does not come cheap. I got mine for RM 1.7k.

Please don't forget to share. Sharing is caring.

What do you want to achieve? Shooting a wedding?

This post has been edited by jchue73: Jul 8 2011, 01:53 PM

Yeah, the 300mm f/4's AF-S motor is not the best out there. I guess this was because it was one of the first lenses to use AF-S motor and that was in 2000 (11 years ago !). The thing I liked about the AF-S treatment is that after focus lock, you can manually override and fine tune the focus by turning the focus ring if required.

Anyway, one thing that I've always been amazed is the quality that I get out of it. Nothing short of fantastic.

I bought it mainly for outdoor sports (not so much indoor). The other reason I bought it was for it's pseudo-macro abilities. Being able to focus down to 1.45m is quite astonishing at 300mm. I've used a 500D diopter on the front lens and got quite good macros.













Wah... Everything also want?

There's no one lens that can excel at everything but the 17-55mm f/2.8 does fit the bill to cover most of what you want to do.

It does potrait ok plus sharp and fast focusing too but not at the bokeh that the 85mm f/1.4 can do.

You get what you pay for. In terms of focusing speed, Tamron has always been known to be slow. Sigma is faster amongst 3rd party brands. But in terms of quality, Tamron makes quite good glasses.

If you're in KL/PJ, you can head to Nikon HQ in PJ.

Else, try online?

Subject and composition matters. Besides he does not shoot fast action. More landscape and models that have the time to pose for him.

Sorry but while your other postings are spot one, this one I think that's the most silly reason.

That rubber piece is actually part of the D700/D300/D300s. Not part of the MB-D10 battery grip.

Wah, where do you shoot with your camera? You need everything weather sealed meh?

Now that you mentioned, I only realised that I have not put mine one since everytime swap the battery grip on and off.

At high shutter speeds, yes. Low shutter speeds, no. Like I mentioned previously, most people switch of VR / IS to get sharp shots when shooting sports. You only get the benefit of VR /IS when shutter speed is very low.

Because it does not have VR, we should junk the 85mm f/1.4.

You got your Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 already?

We need to remind ourselves that not everybody on FX body.

On DX bodies, you need at least about 1/125. If you're a beginner, trying something faster like 1/160 or 1/200.

As a tip, you can try and set minimum shutter speed in the camera's Auto ISO button that tells the camera to jump to a higher ISO when the minimum shutter speed is not met.

Sorry but I don't get what is variable ND. Do you mean graduated ND?

Graduated ND is for sunrise / sunset where the sky part is bright and you want to make that part darker to balance out the landscape.

ND filters are like sunglasses where it blocks excess light. Circular Polariser (CPL) is used mainly during daytime but you don't have to use CPL all the time. Makes the skies bluer and reduces reflection / glare by polarising the light.

Where are you located?

Have you tried Foto Selangor or J-One?

Yes, you almost always need to fallback on sufficient shutter speed to freeze the subject movement unless purposely done for artistic purposes.

I agree with what you said above about focal length but if you look into the smaller and more dense DX area, the errors will also be enlarged. A micro shake would be more pronounced when you view a picture taken from a DX body. The effect of viewing 100% on screen with DX body is equivalent to viewing 150% on FX.

The rule of thumb to take the crop factor in is not because the focal length automatically extends by 1.5x but more so because with a DX body, you are at a higher magnification and you would be more prone to errors and hence a guide to take into account the crop factor is a prudent rule of thumb.

Thanks for the tip. I actually did not realise that the cavity in the MB-D10 is to put the rubber piece.

Putting on wet table is asking for it, yes? You need a lot of water on the table and long enough that the water can seep in.

Comparing body and lens, that's not heavy. D700 + 14-24mm f/2.8 is more heavy !

Great. How are you liking it? Any regrets?

Neat trick. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with what celciuz mentioned about DX is just a cropped part of the FX sensor and still coming from the same origin.

For the example you gave, 50mm is still 50mm on FX as well as on DX. Just the perspective on the DX is like 75mm on FX.

The weight will be more like the 14-24mm f/2.8 (with no VR )

The 80-200mm f/2.8 is more like 1.3 kg already.

That's right. But some will argue why Nikon came out with the 16-35mm f/4 VR...

Spot on.

Thanks for the effort to show. But doing some sort of a lab test to show that you can shoot at 1/8 second on DX and FX and yield the same results is very subjective. You need a more random test to shoot both cameras side by side and statistically, you fill find that your D90 shots would have lower yield due to "more" camera shake.

Of course... While the angle of deflection is the same, the amplitude of shake is different for subjects shot at 5m and 50m.

Why would it be difficult to determine focus? Can't you zoom to check?

Thanks for the info. Will view the video later. Anyway, how do you explain Nikon DSLR cameras in space used by NASA?