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Post by carlg51 on Aug 25, 2006 8:33:07 GMT -5
;D Hi All I am Carl Gernazio, from Springfield, VA. I was a hobby photographer starting in the 1970's, had Pentax thread mount SLR's, a Darkroom set up and even dabbeled in Color development (a little). I got on the digital kick in early 2000 with a Sony Mavica, a camera that still works and takes 1.2MP photos in just about any lighting situation. I went through several point and shoots and consider my Panasonic Lumix FZ20 as my back-up. I own a D50 and have a D80 on order. I love posting photos to the web. I have taken dog show pictures for friends and our national club since 2000 and on my web site have photos of Samoyed Club of America nationals since 2001. I will be attending the 2006 Samoyed National, next month, and posting those photos on PBase.com. I purchased my D50 in January with both Kit lenses, the price dropped significantly, just after Christmas, so I knew it was the time. I then purchased the Nikkor 50 mm f1.4, and a used Nikkor 70-300 D, which as been a fun and crisp lens. I have been adding to my collection since then purchasing a Sigma 24-135 D IF and a Tamron 10 - 18 Di II. My most recent addition lens-wise is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 G ED IF AF-S VR. That is why I said I am hooked on Nikon. I use Paint Shop Pro X and Nikon Capture 4.4 for my editing and converting and shoot almost exclusively Raw format. My photos can be seen at www.pbase.com/carlg51 and also at www.severnayasamoyeds.com. Best Regards Carl |
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Post by All Nikon - Chris on Aug 25, 2006 14:51:54 GMT -5
Hi Carl, Thank you for joining the forum. I look forward to hearing your review on the D80 when you get it. Looks to be another great digital camera from Nikon's line of cameras.
-Chris
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Post by Iwerk on Aug 25, 2006 16:36:54 GMT -5
I also liked the Sony Mavica cameras for low light photography. I used to have the Panasonic Lumix FZ-15 but found that the image noise in the low light situations was intolerable. I now use the Nikon D70s and found it to be a very good camera. I own the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, the 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and the 35-70mm f/2.8 lens. I like my camera a lot. When I first learned about custom tonal curves that allow me to change the gamma of the sensor, then this just did it for me. This is a fantastic feature that allows me to get the images out of the camera, the way that I like to see them, without any post processing. I still use Photoshop CS2 for some things but most of my photos are great straight out of the camera. I shoot jpeg-large-fine with a custom tonal curve. The D70s has an extremely long battery life and and starts up really quick. I couldn't ask for a better camera.
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Post by carlg51 on Aug 25, 2006 17:26:21 GMT -5
Hi "I own ... the 80-200mm f/2.8 lens ....". I had my hands on one of these Nikkor lenses Wednesday, very heavy, but wonderful. It was being sold on consignment for $750. I did bring it home and took pictures of my dogs, several posted on www.pbase.com/carlg51. But I just did more thinking and web research and I returned it and bought the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8, VR. I love that both these lenses have f/2.8 across the entire zoom range. I need to get it out and use it. My primary reason for returning the older one and putting out about another $700, was the VR. I hope to take a lot of action/candid dog show photos and the VR should give me the extra edge and weighs just a bit less than the 80-200. Both are heavy, but solid. |
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Post by carlg51 on Aug 25, 2006 17:28:29 GMT -5
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Post by Iwerk on Aug 26, 2006 2:04:03 GMT -5
I haven't tried the 70-200 VR mostly because of the price.
The 80-200 f/2.8 is a great lens for the money. I've taken some fantastic images with this lens that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I took a closeup shot of an object in my backyard and the most interesting thing happened. The entire lawn disappeared and the image appeared to have a very uniform light green backdrop. I've seen good bokeh before but this was unbelieveable.
My advice to people starting out, is to invest in at least one really good lens. The least expensive would probably have to be the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. If you want f/2.8 zoom lenses then be prepared to spend some real money.
I still keep my Sony Mavica around for the real long range photos. I am shooting 840mm optical zoom by using a CrystalVue LX8 lens on top of the Carl Zeiss optics. The results are outstanding and no tripod needed. I also purchased a Bower 0.38X wide angle lens with macro for a wide angle of 13.3mm. These optics were very inexpensive compared to my Nikon equipment but the Nikon equipment has capabilities that far exceed the Sony, although the Sony is much better in low light situations without the use of a tripod. I suspect that the reason for this is the sensor size.
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Post by carlg51 on Aug 26, 2006 11:59:17 GMT -5
That is very intesting about the CrystalVue LX8. My Mavica sits in the bag - not used, and is too good, especially for posting photos to the web. 840mm is incredible.
Also, I noticed, that dof was great for portraits at 2.8 with the 80-200. That portrait of my dog, that I linked above, on PBase, is perfect. The background is a muttled green and tan. The dog was 30 ft or more away from me when I took that photo.
I hope to have as much success with the 70-200 VR.
We have traveled down some of the same photographic roads. I read and review DPreview.com and slrgear.com almost religiously.
Best Regards
Carl
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Post by Iwerk on Aug 26, 2006 14:56:16 GMT -5
One of the areas that I would like to explore with my D70s is really long range photography. I like my photos to be as natural as possible which includes the natural lighting.
The lenses that I desire are extremely expensive, so I decided to take on a different approach. I started collecting optics from metal recycling yards. I look for old medical machines, photocopiers, etc. I have made some amazing finds that literally cost me pennies.
I have found in perfect condition a Kowa 42mm f/0.75 lens, a Kowa 33.5mm f/0.95 lens, a Kowa 95mm f/1.4 lens and a Rodenstock TV-Heligon 64mm f/1.25 lens plus many more interesting optics.
My goal is to take some of these really high end optics and use them to make my own lens at a very affordable price.
I was watching the television one day and saw an amazing lens called the Frazier lens which allows an incredible depth of field on an object very close up and an object in the distance at the same time. I researched the patent on this lens and downloaded the details of its construction via the internet. I would like to build a similar lens. US Patent 5,727,236 has been revoked by court order.
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Post by Iwerk on Aug 27, 2006 20:21:06 GMT -5
Carl,
The next time that you take a photo of your dog, with your new 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, try to get as close as possible to the dog at f/2.8 and still remain in focus on the dog.
I am curious to hear your results of the background bokeh.
If it is anything like my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, you will be very impressed with the results.
You should be able to get within 3 or 4 feet and still remain in focus.
In my example, the entire lawn disappeared and I got a very uniform light green background, as if someone had hung a green drop cloth behind my subject. It was very impressive. I didn't know that this was possible.
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aaa11
Full Member
Posts: 122
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Post by aaa11 on Sept 21, 2008 21:48:23 GMT -5
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