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Nikon film bodies: For some reason Nikon decided to give their film SLRs different names in US and Europe, so e.g. F80 and N80 is the same camera, just sold for Europe or US respectively. The exception being the pro series; F, F2, F3, F4, F5 and F6 are called the same all over the world. Some early low-end models have very different EU/US names, e.g. F-801 is the same as N8008, but mostly it's just F swapped for N. Anyway, some suggestions for Nikon cameras to stuff your lenses on if you like silver halides: F4, F5 and F6 are all AF and AE professional cameras. Presumably they are really good. F100 is the best prosumer model made. It does most things, at less cost than F5 or F6. F90 is older than both F100, also does both kinds of AF, but doesn't work well with G lenses. I like my F90x. (F-801/N8008 is similar to F90, but has worse metering, worse AF, and doesn't handle in-lens AF motor.) F80 also does a lot of things, but not as much. (It can't meter with non-CPU lenses, for one thing.) A bit newer than F100. Don't bother with the rest, they are poo poo. F3 is the king of Nikon manual focus SLRs. Does AE. (There is also F3AF which has an early AF system. It's rare.) F2 and the original F are mostly historical artifacts by now, as far as I know. FE and FM series should be good value choices for manual focus. FE does auto-exposure, FM does not.
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Nov 20, 2012 06:06
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Why aren't you using a dedicated card reader?
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Nov 24, 2012 14:58
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I think those video limitations are due to actual hardware limitations, e.g. bandwidth available from the chip or amount of heat produced by getting that amount of data.
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Nov 24, 2012 20:35
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Re. the Samyang 35/1.4, someone posted a test of the new Sigma 35/1.4 from a Korean site some days ago (I think it was on IRC I saw the link), and the same site also had some comparison shots with the Samyang 35/1.4. The Sigma was much better pretty much everywhere, but particularly in the corners.
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Nov 30, 2012 19:53
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Paul MaudDib posted:I'd be interested in seeing this since the the Samyang bested the Nikon and Canon L-series 35/1.4s in Photozone's test (they're my go-to for honest, rigorous testing). Lenstip had similar findings on the Sigma. All four of the lenses are excellent, modern lenses, the gains from going from Nikon/Canon to Samyang/Sigma can only be described as modest (not a whole lot of room to go up, they're all super-sharp across the whole field), and the differences between the Samyang and Sigma have got to be marginal given that. I found the link in my history: http://lcap.tistory.com/entry/Sigma-35mm-f14-vs-Samyang-35mm-f14
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Nov 30, 2012 21:35
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Aramek posted:See, I dunno if my camera can do TTL or not. Playing with the options, it does have several metering choices (I just leave it on Matrix so far) I just noticed that the wireless shutter remote didn't respond with it. I saw some of the third party ones too, but, I seem to remember reading in the comments that they didn't work for the D3100 either. D3100 is fully capably of doing TTL flash metering, as long as it's hooked up with an iTTL connection (iTTL is Nikon's TTL protocol) to an iTTL flash. The built in popup flash is TTL. Putting an SB-700 in the hotshoe lets you use TTL. Hooking an SB-700 up with an iTTL-capably cord gives you TTL. What D3100 can't do (by itself) is control CLS, Nikon's optical wireless TTL system. However most modern flashes that can be set to manual mode also have a basic optical trigger function, where they simply shoot the moment they see another flash go off, and that other flash could e.g. be the popup flash set to manual mode and lowest power. I believe you can also get some wireless radio triggers with full iTTL support, but those are seriously expensive. So I'd say you have two options for off-camera flash: Wired with an iTTL cable, or wireless in manual mode, using either a radio trigger or basic optical triggering. Wireless lets you do fancy things easier (because you aren't constrained by a cable), and in those cases you probably want to use manual controls anyway. TTL can however be good for simple bounce flash indoors, and for that you can just as well keep the flash in the hotshoe. So I would suggest you get a flash capable of iTTL and manual control, and a cheap radio trigger.
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Dec 12, 2012 17:43
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Legdiian posted:I guess I phrased my question incorrectly. I have an 18-55 kit lens on my DX camera. The 24-85 lens on a FX camera is going to give me a wider angle shot correct? And on the other end, when zoomed all the way in I will get roughly the exact same field of view? 24mm on FX is a wider angle of view than 18mm is on DX. 85mm on FX is a narrower angle of view than 55mm is on DX. So the 24-85 on FX covers a bigger range of view angles than 18-55 does on DX.
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Dec 13, 2012 22:44
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Please don't buy a superzoom lens (such as 18-200 or 18-300), it is as they say: "Jack of all trades but master of none." At that price range you should probably look at something like a 70-300mm with variable aperture (typically f/4-5.6 or similar). They can be had for $150-$600 depending on brand and whether they have VR (vibration reduction). I think Sigma's 70-300/4-5.6 OS looks like the best deal, feature-wise at least. For close-up stuff you should instead go for a macro-type lens, however I'm not sure you'll find any decent in your price range.
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Dec 16, 2012 20:59
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Philemon posted:Tamron 90 I'd suggest that one, but CAREFUL! That one you're linking is for Canon cameras. Make sure you get one that fits Nikon! And make sure you get a model that has the internal focus motor. (Sometimes you'll just see them described as "compatible with <list of cameras>", make sure at least one of D40, D40x, D3000, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100, D5200 is on that list.)
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Dec 17, 2012 01:01
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ShadeofBlue posted:The 90mm would be fairly inconvenient for anything other than macro photography, but if you know for sure that she enjoys that, then it is definitely worth it. To that I'll just add that I can walk around with just a 135mm on a film camera (same field of view as 90mm on a DX crop camera) taking landscape, architecture etc., so it's certainly not that it's useless for anything but a few niche things. Sure, it might be best suited for macro and portrait, but it can be used for anything. It will just force you to take "a different kind of pictures", which I would argue is a good thing. (Limitations increase creativity, or something.)
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Dec 17, 2012 01:59
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I just got myself an FM2 and before having finished my first roll I'm already entirely in love with it. It's plain simple: A basic to-the-point control and the body's weight is perfect. (Compared to the Canon A-1 which weighs far too little.) I should probably get an MF 50mm now, the AF 50/1.8 is terrible for that.
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Dec 28, 2012 12:51
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Yeah that Yongnuo flash only does manual settings, no TTL of any kind, not even "flash ready" signalling. You practically have to fire the camera in manual mode. Your options: A. Do as you do now, make a bunch of test shots until you get a decent exposure B. Learn how to do guide number calculations (this only works for direct, unmodified flash) C. Get a handheld flash meter (only really useful when flash, subject and modifiers are fixed relative to each other)
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Jan 8, 2013 02:40
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BonoMan posted:I was testing a co-worker's old 50mm 1.4 AI (no "s"... blue max aperture marking) on my D600 and it mounted fine, but when I take a pic there's a slight resonance noise and I feel like the camera jiggles ever so slightly. So I looked at the lens while I snapped a pic and it definitely wiggles a hair when I take a pic. What's causing this? It takes some nice images so I'd like to have it as a backup, but not if it's going to damage my camera by being on it. Yeah unless something is really broken about the lens it shouldn't damage anything. It is AI after all. (The only possibility for damage I can think of would be if the aperture lever gets stuck and breaks the mechanism in the camera. Set the lens to f/22 or whatever minimum aperture it is and check how easily the aperture lever moves.) And for the record, the S in AI-S refers to that it can work reliably in S and P exposure modes on the camera. AI-S lenses' aperture lever has a linear relationship to the actual aperture size, while old AI lenses' aperture lever has a less predictable relationship with the actual aperture size. This means that if the camera needs to control the aperture size electronically (such as in S and P mode) it might move the lever the wrong amount and thus mis-expose. On the other hand D600 might be able to stop-down meter just before exposing, i.e. just before firing automatically adjust the aperture until the measured light fits the desired shutter speed, then flip the mirror and trigger the shutter. (The result would be a slight additional shutter lag.)
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Jan 16, 2013 01:42
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ShadeofBlue posted:Also, all the old manual focus nikon lenses I've used sound very different from the modern stuff, so it could be a perfectly normal sound you are hearing. I assume it's the aperture mechanism that's to blame, since nothing else moves on them when you are taking the shot. Maybe try putting the camera into live view mode (if it lets you) and take a few shots, see if the sound/movement persists.
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Jan 16, 2013 02:48
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echobucket posted:You should also be aware of how the focal length of a lens affects the perspective of the shot. It doesn't actually. The focal length affects how far you put the camera from the subject, and the distance from the camera to subject affects perspective.
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Jan 17, 2013 20:50
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AI lenses (without CPU) will meter on cameras that have the AI sensing tab on the lens mount. It just so happens that the lack of AI tab on the lens mount is what makes it safe to mount unconverted pre-AI lenses on D5xxx, D3xxx and D40 series, so it's both a blessing and a curse.
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Jan 24, 2013 21:27
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Krakkles posted:D7000 is basically better than the D80 in every way. Get it. On the other hand there should be coming a D7100 or D7200 some time soon, so if you wait until that the D7000 will probably get cheaper, and of course no worse a camera.
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Jan 25, 2013 14:39
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Eegah posted:Stick that on a crop sensor and you have a field of view of about one degree. So, a pretty good spot meter for getting those large format shots just perfect, with the zone system.
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Jan 31, 2013 00:15
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All of those photos look overexposed by 1-2 stops. You could easily have gone from eg. 1/100 to 1/200 shutter speed, get an easier exposure (less worry about shake) as well as not blowing everything out. Although I'm amazed you blew out the snow shots. (I'm guessing that's what they are.) Light meters tend to underexpose in snowy landscapes.
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Feb 9, 2013 10:41
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geeves posted:I just bought a Canon EOS-3 film camera for myself and would like to buy my brother a Nikon equivalent for his birthday. What am I looking for and at roughly what price? F100 or F80, with F100 having better support for manual focus lenses. Expect a price around that of a new middle tier compact digital.
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Feb 20, 2013 03:12
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Legdiian posted:This may be a dumb question but how does the buffer work? Does it fill the buffer and then try and write them to the SD card or is it trying to write to the SD card the whole time and just using the buffer when the SD card can't keep up? I assume using a faster SD card would help a little? In real world usage if the say the camera has an "8 RAW" buffer, how many pictures could you get before the buffer is full? This is assuming that it writing to both the buffer and SD card at the same time, if it doesn't do that I would guess the answer is 8. The latter, the buffer is where the pictures end up straight after being read off the sensor. The camera begins processing the buffered images immediately to produce a raw/jpeg file and write it to the memory card. When one picture in the buffer is processed it's cleared off, and the camera then starts on the next, all the while you can keep shooting.
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Feb 22, 2013 15:21
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Legdiian posted:Smaller file size and you can shoot at 7fps instead of 6fps. It should also fit more pictures in the buffer then! Since it actually reads less data off the sensor.
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Feb 22, 2013 15:23
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Well, for portait lenses, if cost isn't a major issue see if you can find the Nikkor 105/2 DC or 135/2 DC, they're supposed to be amazing. If cost is an issue, you should be able to find an AI-s 135/2.8 quite easily.
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Apr 1, 2013 19:49
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I seem to have lost the charger for my D40, and while I've been considering getting a newer/less poo poo Nikon DSLR for a while now it's probably not happening right away. What kind of charger should I get? Supposedly 3rd-party ones should be just fine, any in particular I should look for? I also recently spotted a "one size fits all" kind of charger in a local store, has anyone tried such a thing?
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May 1, 2013 13:57
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Protons posted:The need for this lens comes from my wife attending a graduation ceremony for her friends. She was seated in the middle of the auditorium and her stock lens couldn't focus on her friends that far away. The pictures turned out blurry and unfocused. What sort of lens should we get for taking pictures of people or things at slightly over average to medium ranges? Depending on how well-lit auditoriums you expect to be shooting in, a regular kit-level zoom around 50-200mm range should be fine then. You shouldn't need any longer than 200mm for that use, at least. I also would wary of using a prime for that, since you may want to switch between close-ups of individuals and larger sections of the stage. You should be able to find a 50-200, 55-200, 50-250 or such within your price range, perhaps used. With kit zooms like that, you will typically get f/5.6 at the long end of the range, meaning you will need rather good ISO performance in poorly lit auditoriums. I'm not sure if D3000 is that well suited for low light.
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May 5, 2013 14:12
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Protons posted:No. I made drat sure that if I was doing to drop $500 on a camera then she wasn't going to use point and shoot auto mode. I don't think she has a problem with manual focus, and might even prefer it. Manual focus is not very fun with the small viewfinders of low-end models. It's doable when you have time to set up the shot, but it's not fun at all if you're shooting people.
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May 5, 2013 22:18
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1st AD posted:Is there a way for you to upload the images without the exif being stripped? Not sure if this is something imgur-related or if whatever software you used to resize the image stripped it out, but having the exif intact will tell us pretty much everything we need to know about why it looks the way it does. Could put the original JPG or NEF files on Dropbox.
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May 6, 2013 12:03
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junto a la luna posted:So I am off to Iceland in September, for 10 days of walking around what I hope will be some amazing scenery. I bought a D3200 in February, with just the kit lens. I also have an old 50mm lens from an F301, though the AF doesn't work on my D3200. You probably aren't going to get much wider angle with that budget, but the kit isn't bad for that at all. I'd instead suggest you find a long lens, either a cheap tele-zoom (55-200 or 70-300, or similar), or a good manual focus medium-long prime, such as 105, 135 or 180. The main catch you will have with using manual focus lenses (AI and AI-S) is that the D3200 can't meter with them, so you will have to use manual mode and guess at exposure. It's good practice to get a feeling for what kind of exposures you need in different light situations anyway, even if you plan to use auto-exposure modes most of the time.
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May 8, 2013 21:22
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Bubbacub posted:I have a friend with a D3000 and a kit lens. What would be a good next lens purchase for her? If she had a Canon, I'd tell her to get a nifty fifty and go to town, is there a Nikon equivalent to that? She has a tight budget, would any older manual focus lenses be good? An old 20mm or 24mm AI can be okay for walking around (set it to f/8 or f/11, focus at 2 or 3 m, and you won't need to touch the focus ring again), and it will make you better at guessing exposures. But yes get that 35/1.8 AF-S. Or consider a cheap 50-200mm zoom, Sigma or Tamron should be fine for that too. But a wide-ish AI lens in decent shape, as I started out with, can easily be more costly than the other two from new.
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Jun 1, 2013 22:21
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Your eyes tend to have pretty good sensitivity and aperture ranges, and a quite good auto-exposure, so you don't really notice the real change in light levels. Try shooting a scene out a window, so you catch both parts indoors and part outdoors. Use M mode at ISO 400, f/5.6, and adjust the shutter speed until you get decent exposure indoors, then adjust shutter speed to get decent exposure outdoors. Compare the two shutter speeds you obtained. Depending on the weather it will probably be 2 to 8 stops of difference (that's a factor 4 to a factor 256 in shutter speed.)
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Jun 11, 2013 23:06
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VelociBacon posted:Thank you for the excellent responses, I was under the impression that an APC's 400 ISO would be around a CMOS ISO 200 or something. Thanks for clearing that up. I'll play with it outside and see how I do, also looking locally for that 35mm f/1.8 lens, actually have been trying to keep my eye out for that one since I bought the camera. It's called ISO sensitivity because it's sensitivity measured according to a standard put out by the International Standards Organization 
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Jun 12, 2013 11:48
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I spotted a used Nikon 24-50/3.5-4.5 AF in a store today. Is that worth anything?
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Jun 17, 2013 20:26
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If you want beautiful bohkeys try out the old 55mm f/2.8 AI Micro, it's amazing 
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Jun 25, 2013 08:18
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Short focus distance + large diaphragm opening = low depth of field. In this, the diaphragm opening is measured absolutely, rather than the usual f-stop ratio. Example: A 100mm lens at f/2.0 has a 50mm diaphragm opening, while a 50mm lens at f/2.0 has a 25mm diaphragm opening, so the 100mm has lower depth of field. However if you set the 100mm at f/4 instead, but kept the 50mm at f/2, they would both have a 25mm opening, and so should produce the same depth of field at a given focusing distance. The quality of bokeh depends on the optical construction of the lens and the shape of the diaphragm. In fact, the shape is directly transferred, which is why Lensbaby offers oddly shaped aperture inserts and even cut-your-own ones.
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Jun 25, 2013 19:37
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Dren posted:bokeh That's a good explanation, adding a link to it from the general gear thread OP.
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Jun 25, 2013 21:05
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VelociBacon posted:So I picked up that lens, it was a 50mm 1.8D as advertised, came in the box basically looking brand new. The guy was upgrading to a full frame body. That's a really strange reason to be selling off a 50mm lens, because it's a much better lens (general purpose) on a fullframe sensor than on a crop. I love my 50/1.8D on an autofocus film body; great image quality and practical focal length.
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Jun 30, 2013 02:06
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Today I Learned: That apparently my D80 can't mount my AI-converted 24/2.8 Nikkor-NC. It works fine on the F90 and FM2. It seems to be a DIY conversion and apparently they didn't cut away some part that hits stuff on the D80.
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Jul 16, 2013 23:12
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24mm is not terribly wide on a crop sensor, but you may not need something very wide either way. When you do use the kit lens, how often do you hit the wide end? As for the autofocus, can't answer. I'm not sure if Tamron ever had any naming distinction between lenses for Nikon's two AF systems.
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Jul 22, 2013 21:54
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If you do use a local store to test-drive lenses, at least also have the decency to actually buy whatever you decide on at them. The extra cost over an online retailer is for the service of making sure you get the right thing for your needs. vv good point nielsm fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Aug 1, 2013 |
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Aug 1, 2013 21:04
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His Divine Shadow posted:I have no money, two kids coming any month now, and house loans, so I can't really afford any of the lenses I have found so far, they're all hundreds of euros and go up from there. I'm considering a Nikkor 18-55mm II, the ones you get bundled with cameras mostly. Unless anyone has any other options/input? The 18-55 is great for what it is, the only real thing that talks against it is the poor maximum aperture (f/3.5-5.6) which means that coming from the 35/1.8 you will need to either use flash more often or bump ISO higher, when shooting indoors or at night. But the image quality is great, particularly considering the price. An 18-200 is probably not what you want. I'd say you're better off getting the 18-55 now, then adding a 55-200 (or similar) to your collection later.
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Sep 4, 2013 10:06
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