Camera Buffs

[ERV]

Good morning John,
Thats a nice camera. A friend of mine has it. He wishes now he would have jumped up to the D5000 tho. It has 12mp and the movie option. He has kids and uses a movie camera. He said he tried one out and loved it. Kicks him self for now going the extra $100 for it.
If I can get the money for this Nikon F6, I think I will try for the D300S as CD told me about. I love to play with my camera now and have a storage hard drive full of pictures. I do miss having a camera that you can do more with. And I have two boys that are going to be getting married some day, I might have some little ones to take pics of, ha. And the wifes side of the family is filling up with little ones running around. And then there is camping. Wish I had a dollar for every pic of the tear I have taken. I could go buy it tomorrow. I am going to try and take some pics of it today and post them. Still have to go out and do clean-up this morn. Didn't get in till 3 this morn. There is spring?
Erv

[caseydog]

Those other lenses are fairly single purpose, and mostly what a professional or pretty serious amateur would own.

Does anybody use fixed focal length lenses outside the studio? Just wondering.

I have a 20mm that I use on a somewhat regular basis, but that's about it. I'm usually using my 28-70. I only own two lenses, now. If I need something else, I rent it and bill my customer for the rental, which is not much at all. If I need something really special, Nikon will loan it to me as a Nikon Professional Services member.

CD

[hiker chick]

I'm very pleased with my Nikon D90 and Nikon 18-200mm lens combo that I got in November 2008. I've never used the video capability.

The 18-200 lens does everything I need so never have to switch out lenses. I shoot manual 99% of the time but have had good fortune with auto for night shots such as in our recent snowstorms.

Here's a review by Ken Rockwell -- a well-known blogger on the subject. I'd also spend some time on Amazon.com looking at customer reviews of the various cameras and lenses.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90.htm


Rockwell provides extensive reviews on an array of Nikon and Canon cameras and lenses -- from point-and-shoots to DX and full-frame cameras. He's a big fan of old-fashioned film.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/00-new-today.htm

[Toytaco2]

Erv,

The 60mm micro is definitely worthless. You can send it to me if you want and I'll get rid of it for you.

Mike

[caseydog]

The electronics in most Nikon digital SLRs are going to be similar, with similar features. And, the sensors on all the DX cameras will probably be the same. You don't get into better sensors until you jump up to the FX cameras, as far as I can tell.

But, the only FX body with HD video is the D3S, which is $5,100.

The biggest difference I can see between the D90 and the very similar D300S is in the body construction. There's a lot more metal (magnesium alloy) in the D300S, and it will be better sealed against moisture and dust.

The D300S has a bigger buffer, so you can shoot more frames per second and a longer burst. The D300S will work with really old Nikkor F lenses, while the D90 will not -- not a big deal unless you have a bunch of old lenses. Your AF-Nikkors will work fine on both cameras.

BTW, the 18-200 lens is a versatile lens, but not as good a lens as the 80-200 f2.8 that you have. As with the camera bodies, Nikon has some lenses aimed at consumers, and others aimed at pros. Your 80-200 is a pro lens. Much sturdier build, and shaper optics. That's a definite keeper, IMO.

CD

[Tear Fan]

Go with the D300! It's the best out there in its format. I traded up from a D50 and am glad I did. Also, and this hasn't been mentioned, shoot in RAW (NEF) format, and you can do some fairly extensive post-processing once you have the pics off-camera. The Nikon utility, Capture NX, works wonderfully with their own pictures.

The 18-200 lens is versatile, and a good walkaround lens, but is soft in the IQ department. I use a 50mm for portraits and for documentation, and have a cheapo $80 Nikkor 28-80 lens I got on ebay that will blow away a lot of the more expensive lenses. The 80-200 is the bomb!!! Wish I had one. Your best bet is to order the body only when you buy, as the 18-55 is about as "entry level" as you get. Kinda like putting retreads on a Porsche.

And buy OEM batteries and decent in-camera storage. Same principle applies . . .

JMHO,
Marvin

[Rich]

I've got the Nikon D60 and love it, I mostly use the 55-200 lens with it.

Rich

[caseydog]

Also, and this hasn't been mentioned, shoot in RAW (NEF) format, and you can do some fairly extensive post-processing once you have the pics off-camera.

Good suggestion for anyone using a digital SLR who wants to get the very best image quality.

Also, cameras will let you choose small, medium and large in the "image quality" menus. ALWAYS go large. Why buy a 12 MegaPixel camera and then shoot 6 MegaPixel images to fit more pictures on a memory card? That makes NO sense.

When you shoot large and save in RAW format, you are gathering the MOST data possible. You may not need it, but you can always size down, but sizing up ruins image quality.

If you save as JPG files, the camera is going to "process" your image and dump a lot of data it doesn't think you need. The camera makes a lot of decisions for you, and they may not be what you want.

Oh, and if you have the option, select Adobe RGB, not SRGB. Most SLRs let you choose. Adobe RGB has more color data.

I shoot at the highest resolution, and highest bit depth, and open my RAW files in Photoshop as 16-bit, Adobe RGB files. They are huge files once opened that way, but I can do so much more having all that data available.

Get a big, fast memory card, and go large!

[asianflava]

Why buy a 12 MegaPixel camera and then shoot 6 MegaPixel images to fit more pictures on a memory card? That makes NO sense.

Back when memory cards were expensive it made sense, but now they are so cheap. I had to buy a mirco SD card last month, I was shocked how cheap they were. It was like $12 for 2 gigs. My 1st digital camera came with an 8mb card, I upgraded to a 32K card for $79

[ERV]

Cd
Where would you try to trade or sell this F6? My son has an e-bay account. I think the guy got it from Dodd camera, do they take trades? I have been so busy with the snow the last few days I have not had time to do much else. I will have some time tomorrow, so I can call around. The thing looks like it is brand new, I can not find one mark or flaw on it or the lenses. Even in side the camera looks like there has never been any film slid across the rail. Where the strap hooks is even clean. I will try to get some pics tomorrow to show you all what a great gift this was. If I can get the money from it I would like to go with the D300s, if not the D90 will have to do. Will be fun getting back into making pics the way I want them. Always love to make my F2 work.
Erv

[caseydog]

Cd
Where would you try to trade or sell this F6? My son has an e-bay account. I think the guy got it from Dodd camera, do they take trades? I have been so busy with the snow the last few days I have not had time to do much else. I will have some time tomorrow, so I can call around. The thing looks like it is brand new, I can not find one mark or flaw on it or the lenses. Even in side the camera looks like there has never been any film slid across the rail. Where the strap hooks is even clean. I will try to get some pics tomorrow to show you all what a great gift this was. If I can get the money from it I would like to go with the D300s, if not the D90 will have to do. Will be fun getting back into making pics the way I want them. Always love to make my F2 work.
Erv

I have sold all of my old Nikon gear on eBay. Since I am a pro, I upgrade when something considerably better comes out, and always sell off the "old" stuff on eBay.

Film cameras have a "cult" following. Pros are not, for the most part, using them anymore. The F6 was a pro camera. But, there are film-obsessed people who just have to have a film camera, and they will buy a good film camera.

As for the extra lenses, they are good for film or digital. They should sell well on eBay. Plus, both the camera and the lenses are reasonably cheap and easy to ship.

If your son has a good eBay feedback rating, then have him sell them for you. If you lived near me, I would sell them for you. I sell stuff for friends and family, but I have to see it and know for sure what I'm selling -- I have 100-percent positive feedback, and want to keep it that way.

If your son has a PayPal account, use that for payment.

Be absolutely honest about your items, but sell "as-is." Don't offer refunds. If you are honest, and a buyer wants a refund, then the buyer is an idiot who can't read. If there is a legitimate problem, you can always agree to a refund, but if you offer it up front, you could end up "renting" your stuff to someone for free.

Here is what you should do. Find similar items on eBay, put them on your son's "watch" list, and see what they sell for. That will tell you what to expect to get for yours.

Then, post yours up. Don't use a "reserve." Instead, set the opening bid at about 20 percent below what the going rate is. Post your items on a Tuesday, and specify a five-day auction. NOTHING is likely to happen, as far as bids, until the last day of the auction. The last hour of the auction is when the fur starts to fly.

If your son has a feedback rating like mine, you can also list a "Buy it Now" price, and if someone wants it bad enough, you'll get a great sale price in a hurry. About ten percent of my sales are "Buy it Now."

Research for a week or two, then post your auction. That's the way it works. EBay is awesome, as long as you understand it.

I think you will do well -- especially on the lenses.

BTW, if you have the original packaging and manuals, that will be a big plus in and auction. Especially the packaging. You can always download the manuals from the Nikon website.

CD

[ERV]

Thanks CD,
I will talk to him today and see. I know he has sold a few things, but don't know his rating. I did not get any of the box's or paper work on the lenses. Do have the book on the camera. Guess we will see how it goes.
The snow up here is killing me right now, looks like a small break for a few days. I will start watching on ebay and see if I can get a handle on how it works. I have gotten a lot of parts for my 1978 Ford truck on it. But never sold anything. My rating for spending money is good, ha.
Erv

[ERV]

Finally got a break from the snow. The sun is finally out today! Anyway here are a few pics of the camera and lenes I got.
[img][img]http://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?image_id=61978[/img][/img] Lots of other stuff in the bag too. Erv

[alffink]

asianflava,

We have gotten so used to the convenience of having a zoom lens, ya just don't see many using a fixed focal length lens, but I know one Photog that does most all of his work with either a 35mm or 50mm fixed focal length lens. He specializes in Sky-scapes (Astro-Photography) without a telescope, presenting what we would see if our eyes were about a thousand percent more sensitive to light in the night sky.

Check-out www.astropics.com

Wally, is a three time Life magazine "Picture of the Year" recipient.

[iOpine]

One other thing to keep in mind when getting a digital body... some of the newer, cheaper bodies will not autofocus with your AF lenses. They only autofocus with the newer AFS lenses that include a built-in focusing motor. I'm not sure where the cutoff is, but I know the D80, D90, D200, D300 work fine. The D40, D60, D3000, etc. do not.

You can look at the body and easily see if it will autofocus an AF lens -- there's a drive screw on the lower left part of the lens mount that drives the lens.