The NIKON Thread (Talk About Nikon Stuff here)

[dj_mocok]

Man whoever sold that 85mm 1.8 for $125 is either intellectually challenged/drunk/stole the gear/or it's in bad condition.

[lan]

Yeah that was some great deals you got. Craigslist can be great. I got a sweet light meter a few weeks back. That 85mm 1.8 was a no brainer if it all checked out ok which is the great thing about meeting in person.

[kugino]

so i've been thinking about getting some new gear and want to hear some opinions. right now i'm working with a D70 and an 18-200VR and a 50mm lens. i can either buy a D300 and keep the current lenses or i've thought about getting a really good lens (like the 70-200 2.8 VR) and keeping my current body for a couple more years.

i know people say that lenses are what you hold on to so a lens is a better buy, but i'm feeling a bit limited by my d70 these days (or at least that's what i'm telling myself) and the reviews of the d300 are making it harder to stay away. what do you guys think?

[nineohtoo]

So I came home to my Sigma from Prestige Camera Despite the hassle I had to deal with, and the grey market item they shipped me, all is well. I just hope nothing goes bad with it, otherwise I'm gonna wish I spent the extra $100+ elsewhere. I was too tired to go out tonight, but I'll probably run around with it tomorrow evening to test it outdoors.

As for the 85mm, it was in pretty good condition minus some specs of dust inside. It wasn't an AF-D, so it's probably well over ten years old. It had no lens cap, but it had a dinged up metal lens hood to protect the front(I did get a cap for two bucks at a swap meet). The guy who sold it to me was a medium/large format guy, and I guess just had them lying around(was also selling an older AF body). It was pretty cool because he showed me some shots he took for Banana Republic and some other magazines/catalogs with it from the nineties.

[Towert7]

Keep me posted on how the 85mm works out.

[lan]

Originally Posted by kugino

i can either buy a D300 and keep the current lenses or i've thought about getting a really good lens (like the 70-200 2.8 VR) and keeping my current body for a couple more years.

It really depends how you're limited. Would you use 70-200 2.8 VR often? It's a rather big lens to be using all the time.

I'm very for getting a new body if it's a pro level one because I like having pro AF and faster operation. I feel some cameras just cannot keep up with my fast shooting style in extreme conditions.

You should get a D300 if you need any of these:

Better AF (51 points, nice tracking, low light AF)
More resolution (more megapixels)
Better sharpness (af micro adjustments)
Better macro (live view)
If you eventually want to go weather sealed (but you'll need matching pro lens)

[nineohtoo]

It's no 1.4, but I like it.

[Arainach]

Bodies go obsolete within a year or two max. Lenses rarely if ever go obsolete; a 300 f/2.8 AI ED-IF from 1977 is still optically stunning.

[lan]

Something goes obsolete if you can't make use of it anymore or you outgrow it and there's something else newer that you can use more.

As far as my use is concerned, your 300 2.8 is obsolete. No AF and no VR. But if you're not tracking fast moving objects and there's plenty of light it's not obsolete.

Same goes for a 4MP camera. If you didn't need more resolution it's not obsolete.

A pro camera is just in a different class than the consumer ones even if it's an old one. I'm a firm believer in good glass but body's make a large difference to me also. D300 is what I believe the ultimate do anything / go anywhere camera at this moment

[RYCeT]

Originally Posted by nineohtoo

Whoa, I didn't know my dog got a twin

btw: it's taken w/ canon 50 1.8

I'm planning to jump ship to Nikon, I'll take D300, tamron 17-50 and nikon 50 1.4
How's nikon 18-200 compare to tamron 17-50 on the same setting (same appeture and range)?
I know tamron is constant at 2.8 and nikon start from 3.5. Currently, I shot potrait and landscape which is why I chose 17-50 & 50 1.4. But nikon 18-200 sure is tempting to try but Image quality is more important to me.