[roastpuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0T0XGUY /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's another idea: some recent pocket cameras offer attractive zoom ranges, wide apertures, decent high-iso performance, and solid build quality. If you don't want to drop close to 300 pounds on a full DSLR system, pro-sumer pocket cams are certainly a good compromise.

He already has one, sort-of.

Olympus Camedia C-770 Zoom Digital Camera Review: Intro and Highlights

 

[Towert7]

My physics research












Cool little things.

 

[JuStlcE]

Really cool pictures

 

[balderon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0T0XGUY /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the small aperture is hurting the intimacy of these two shots. You have pro gear that's meant to be used wide open - I'd stick to f/2.8 on that lens as often as possible.

Thanks @M0T0XGUY for your feedback.

The first shot I was using aperture-priority mode. The trainers were running and jumping in the water while playing with the cats. I wanted some depth of field to help compensate if the subject moved out of focus.

I agree the second shot would be better with much less depth of field plus it would certainly help mask the chain link fence I was shooting through.

Nikon D2H 80-200mm/F2.8D
1/320@F8.5

 

[Towert7]

Goodell

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Though I have a D200, I have done some HDR's not using the built-in bracketing. This was during the time that I had a tripod, but not a remote release. I had to use the self-timer, which AFAIK, only takes one shot at a time. The only issue I noticed with the results, was that in the couple of seconds between shots, the clouds moved enough to create some blur in the final HDR image. However, the movement detection in Photomatix can take care of that issue.

 

[Wil]

What in the world is that Towert!

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wil /img/forum/go_quote.gif What in the world is that Towert!

^_^
Tiny plastic discs, with very special things added to them.
One of the things we add to the plastic makes them a scintillator which gives the top ones the blue color. They all can be blue, but when stacked only the top ones turn blue.

 

[Baines93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif x2! Sound advice Towert. I was talking to a professional photographer with £8k in one camera (she had two) and lenses... Wrong person to ask for advice obviously! She said MP's matter, but she is crazy about crazy edits, which are not to my taste... She has a site like DeviantArt, where she sells the odd pic taken for fun before she had no cam's. She was in Spain, but came back here. She used to meet up with customers in cafe's and bars, and take portraits, cut the people out, and put them onto something else... Until she came back to a nasty relationship in the UK, and had her cameras and laptops smashed. My dad has put her up and fixed her laptops, but her cameras are smashed and locked away, and she has no access to them. I will speak to her and see if I can post her link here. Take a look at her pics. Any you like then please buy a print, every little bit of money helps right now. She is camera-less, a photographer with no tools is no use! And effectivley homeless Matt

Wow. Yesterday she went to look into a job. Photo editing for a magazine. Her dream job. The guy gave her his old D40, she doesnt even need it for the job! What a nice gesture! Bit jealous though, especially as she says its a crappy thing! Wish I had it! She will edit the pics for the magazine, make some money to buy some better lenses (got kit and 55-200mm) then start doing a bit of work on the side I think. Shes lost everything and built back up fast. I'm glad shes getting back on her feet though. Also glad she is around, she might be able to persuade/bring my dad around when it comes down to me buying myself a dslr!

Anyway, I used a D40 at school the other day, what started this!, but just used it on auto (tech teachers cam), so hopefully I will be able to borrow it not this weekend but next for a while, and see if i can take better pics on it!

I like the feel of it. Havent had a further play with a D40 yet, will do in a week when I'm back at my dads, but I think if i go for a DSLR anytime soon it will be the D40 with kit lens, and maybe the 55-200, or an old manual focus telephoto and maybe macro... The auto bracketing is no issue, as is the no internal AF motor.

Thanks for all the advice,

Will post some pics from her D40 when I get a play with it. I think the pics will be much nicer with the same understanding of photography?!

Matt

 

[roastpuff]

D40's a good starter cam, but you might get a bit frustrated with the low-light high ISO performance, as that was what happened to me when I borrowed my friend's D40 for the weekend.

Telephoto... if you want to do manual focus, make sure your subject is one that doesn't move very fast or at all. The D40 lacks LiveView and focusing telephoto accurately by hand is going to be interesting using that tiny viewfinder.

 

[vagarach]

Well, manual focus is definitely for still subjects or times when you know the focus distance

.

When I got my D50 (back when P&S cameras were still quite horrible), I immediately started shooting manual, even manual focus. Just through some experimentation I got an intuitive feel for aperture, shutter speed, how to get a good idea of exposure from the meter, all these things. If you can find a photography for beginners book, you can also learn about framing shots, what's good and what's not, etc.

As for lenses, stick with the kit lens. It can take some astonishingly sharp pictures, and if there was one annoyance I had with it, was it could only go as wide as f3.5.

Just with this one lens you can learn a whole lot, I would hold off on any new lenses until you know what you really want. If the option is there, you should get the kit lens with vibration reduction (Nikon appends VR to the name), it will give you some leeway with shutter speeds, especially in low light. Even in good light, you'll get a shot that you might not have without it!

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow. Yesterday she went to look into a job. Photo editing for a magazine. Her dream job. The guy gave her his old D40, she doesnt even need it for the job! What a nice gesture! Bit jealous though, especially as she says its a crappy thing! Wish I had it! She will edit the pics for the magazine, make some money to buy some better lenses (got kit and 55-200mm) then start doing a bit of work on the side I think. Shes lost everything and built back up fast. I'm glad shes getting back on her feet though. Also glad she is around, she might be able to persuade/bring my dad around when it comes down to me buying myself a dslr! Anyway, I used a D40 at school the other day, what started this!, but just used it on auto (tech teachers cam), so hopefully I will be able to borrow it not this weekend but next for a while, and see if i can take better pics on it! I like the feel of it. Havent had a further play with a D40 yet, will do in a week when I'm back at my dads, but I think if i go for a DSLR anytime soon it will be the D40 with kit lens, and maybe the 55-200, or an old manual focus telephoto and maybe macro... The auto bracketing is no issue, as is the no internal AF motor. Thanks for all the advice, Will post some pics from her D40 when I get a play with it. I think the pics will be much nicer with the same understanding of photography?! Matt

Your friend seems pretty keen on the quality of her equipment for a professional photographer. I think it's quite misleading to label a D40 as crap - even in comparison to Nikon's D3.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the pics will be much nicer with the same understanding of photography?! Matt

In general, yes. A big YES!

Your typical DSLR will take fair pictures on automatic. Better than the pictures out of a P&S on Auto most likely.

Learn to better use the camera, and it just goes up from there. Editing the photos after they have been taken can even take your pictures to a new level.

The D40 is a great budget DSLR. The biggest things going against it is the smaller than normal viewfinder and the fact that it has 3 focus points.

The focus points are no biggie. And if it is a biggie, that's what more expensive cameras are for. ^_^
The smaller viewfinder is more than fine. My D50 also has the same size viewfinder, less than something like a D80/D90. I get by with it quite well.

The lack of an AF motor you won't notice for a good while because you are on a tight budget and extra lenses (non AF-S) will not be in the near future (correct me if I'm wrong). When you do think of getting different lenses, there are quite a few AF-S lenses (fully compatible with the D40/D60) which should satisfy you for a good long while.

In turn, you are getting a relatively small DSLR, lightweight, very good ergonomics, and best of all, for a great price!

Should be interesting to see what photos you take with it in a week or so.

 

[vic1890]

a lively discussion going on here

Another small contribution towards the thread:

 

[BradJudy]

I've been scanning some old negatives. About 10-15 years ago, while up on some family land in Wisconsin, there was a huge bloom of mushrooms. It must have been the perfect alignment of conditions because they popped up all over, dozens of varieties, many I had never seen before. I was shooting my Canon AT-1 with macro lens. All of the pictures have a very small depth of field because I was hand shooting and had to shoot wide open under the tree cover.