I'm almost 100% sure that your shutter speed is too low resulting in a high degree of motion + handshake blur.

To correct this you have 4 options :

1) Use high ISO => Faster Shutter Speed
2) Change to wide aperture lenses the bigger the better (f1.2, f1.4, f1.8) => Faster Shutter Speed
3) Use Flash
4) Use tripod

Check your shooting mode and your settings. Are you shooting in Auto?? A? S? M? P? Try ISO 1600 on S mode and set shutter speed to 1/50 then check the exposure metering of the shot. Gradually work your way down (or up) from there.

Again... if your place is too dark... don't even bother to shoot without flash... use the built-in one and tone it down. You're carrying the D60 not the D3 so don't expect magic out of the camera. At the end of the day a camera still works best with more light.



This post has been edited by darthbaboon: Dec 11 2008, 08:34 AM

Well... as a new guy with a new toy, you're being a little ambitious trying to shoot night/dark indoor shots immediately right?

Most important thing a new guy should learn is to shoot under bright light first and work your way to darker conditions... see how the camera responds in S, A, P mode and keep an eye on the exposure +<--------.-------->-

Read the manual.

Understand what Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO does and understand them well.

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Added on December 11, 2008, 9:53 amActually I find S mode easier for noobs. More often than not when shooting in A, an itchy thumb will play with the dial and bring up apertures of f5, f7, f11... etc that is totally unnecessary, even more so when shooting under low light conditions cause you'll want the largest aperture and you want it to stay there.

Now shooting in S allows you to dial in the shutter speed according to your needs... for example if I'm shooting a beer glass (it won't move) and my hands are stable (plus VR) I might dial the shutter speed down to 1/8 and it would turn out alright. The camera does the rest (ISO and Aperture). If I'm shooting something moving, I'd dial the shutter speed higher.

Shooting in broad daylight is the same... why would I want to play with Depth of Field when the shutter speed is the key in determining if I get to shoot a motorcycle speeding past or a bird flying or even a pretty gal walking down the street?

This post has been edited by darthbaboon: Dec 11 2008, 09:55 AM

Of course you can!

If you are uncertain on what settings to use in a particular situation, or worried that too dark, just use the built-in flash. It's better to have a "flashed" shot than to have no shot at all. Like you said... "don't miss out on the moment". That's the important thing.

In the meantime, do play around with your camera... how soon you master it is all up to you.

I hear ya man... but from my experience... itchy fingers are seriously hard to stop.

Once the shots don't turn out as expected and they get frustrated, the itchy fingers will press menu la, select this la, spot metering la, flash sync la... whatever it can press it will press without even understanding what's going on.

I've got several friends who screwed up the camera settings cause they pressed every single button there is hoping that it will magically solve the problem.

So what I do is ask them to shoot in S, touch NOTHING else. If it's too dark, turn the dial left until it becomes bright. If it's too bright, turn dial right till it becomes okay.

Even then... the occasional itchy fingers still come out....

That's why it's important to READ THE MANUAL!

This post has been edited by darthbaboon: Dec 11 2008, 11:25 AM

I don't think they will loan you a lens. What's to guarantee that you won't run away with the good lens and not come back? Maybe if you paid a high enough downpayment.

Orrrrrrrr you can loan the lenses from Tim or Xand for a cost + downpayment.

Have you tried PAGE 1 of this thread?

Unless.... you wanna snipe someone digging their nose or pulling vegetable out of their teeth indoors... in which case the telephoto would get you the shot and keep you out of harm's way.

Hmmm?? Why would you want the new lens to have MORE distortion than the 50mm f1.8?

You need to define "ALL your photoshooting as an amateur".

What do you like to shoot? If you mainly shoot landscapes and cityscapes and indoor shots, the kit lens is more than sufficient. If you occasionally like to zoom in on things, shoot animals, birds and stuff, naturally the 18-200 would do all and so much more.

Let me say unto thee... go to the camera shop ask the shopkeeper to bring out ALL THREE models and shoot.

Forget the advice from all others.. go for the camera that feels good, looks good and takes good pictures to YOUR OWN EYES.

You take photos to see yourself no?

That's the best advice that you're gonna get and you know it. If you wanted simple specs difference just google it up.

You don't buy a camera for it's technical features and functions that you don't even know exist or how to use it... or from the brochure's leetness... or just because Darthbaboon or Xandman or anyone else told you to.


Edit - Darthbaboon's personal choice would be the D40. If and when you do purchase that camera, do arrange with the shop owner to send me some commission money to feed my growing family. Geez I sound like Ken Rockwell.

This post has been edited by darthbaboon: Dec 24 2008, 11:18 AM

The 18-200 does its job and for many they swear on that lens simply because they don't want to go around changing lenses and stuff.

Just keep the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" close to your heart and you will do fine.

The other alternative that might push you over the edge is to go to flickr and do a search on photos taken using the 18-200 lens. You might be surprised.

Many times it's the photographer and not the lens that makes/breaks a shot.

Don't need to be so over-cautious. All those three cameras are perfectly capable of taking good shots. If they weren't, I'm sure you'd have heard about it by now, and any major disastrous flaw in those cameras would spell either an immediate fix by those camera company giants, or a replacement model... both of which you would also have heard of.

Like we've been discussing... the Photographer is the key. If there are any shots that turned bad, a high % is due to the photographer's own fault.

Which is why I asked you to test all three cameras yourself and see which one you feel most comfortable taking photos with, and whose shots turn out alright when handled by YOU.

AF = Autofocus
VR = Vibration Resistance

AF has nothing to do with your hand shaking. It just means whether a specific lens will be able to auto-Focus on your D40/D60. Otherwise you will need to Manual Focus. If you buy the D40 / D60, just make sure you fit it with AF-S lens and they will auto-focus just fine. For third party lenses, just make sure they specify that the lenses come with a built-in motor, then those will AF as well.

VR on the other hand is something that you will be looking for. The D60 kit lens comes with VR. Although in general, for a 55mm range, VR is seriously unnecessary. Not sure how badly your hand shakes though. For third party lenses, the VR equivalent is OS (Optical Stabilizer).. etc.

Faster shutter speed is the key. Imagine a shutter speed of 1/1000... that's 0.001 of a second. The chances of your hand shaking during 0.001 second is very very low.

If your hand does shake very badly even in 0.001 sec, I suggest laying off the booze, smokes, and the consistant self-pleasuring actions. Either that or consult your physician and possibly give up photography.

DX is a range of Nikkor lenses specially designed for Cropped sensor cameras => D300, D90, D80, D60, D40...etc. They will have problems when used with Full Frame FX cameras like the D700, D3 or D3X.

Zoom... go google it.

Macro... go google it.

Telephoto... go google it.

Teleconverter is an extension to the lens that allows the lens to have a focal length beyond what it originally is capable off. For example, a 1.5x Teleconverter when fixed on a 70-200mm lens will give it a 105-300mm range, but the expense of higher F (aperture) and possibly some degradation in picture quality.

This post has been edited by darthbaboon: Dec 24 2008, 01:01 PM

No... when you shoot a photo always aim for a higher shutter speed. But that depends if it's a low light situation or not.

THe VR certainly helps in these cases.

Like I said... you never know till you try the cameras so see which works for you.

Here's something I dug up that I shot with my old D40X camera early this year. Hope you guys enjoy your holidays and take lots of great photos... (even with the D40/X/60!!!)

Thanks for your comments Bitterbutter.

A lot of misconception that people get is that if they buy XXX lens or XXX camera, their photos will magically improve and win awards. That's a wrong idea.

As we discussed earlier in this thread, the photographer is key. If the photographer is the same, the photos aren't going to change (not by much anyway). Just that getting a better lens/body (might) enable us to obtain the SAME shots easier.

Of course, let's not talk about the "I believe I can fly" feeling that comes with getting a new body or lens.

You have a valid point if you do not wish to change lenses all that often. Fitting on the 18-200 will more than suffice for your travelling needs.

Good luck and enjoy your photography experience.

Hmmm... if I haven't mistaken I've got the normal Hoya UV filter on during that time. Nowadays I shoot without filters and pray to God I don't drop the lens on the floor.

That wan lagi no need filter... the lens is buried deep within.

IF = ??? Intimate Fantasies? Innocent Friend? Ignore Filename? International Football? Irresistable Fishball? Indian Food?