[bigshot]

Digital Pickle

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

A pickle is lighter and less expensive, but it can't take a deccent picture.

Well, actually a pickle is probably heavier than the disposable camera.  But anyways.
 
Then you have to define decent picture.  And some people would claim you need the heavy boded DSLR with heavy lenses to get a lot of "decent pictures".

 

[bigshot]

Some people test lenses by laying in bed and focusing on their feet.

 

[rhythmdevils]

My D3 fell over on it's tripod today and hit lens first. 

  Worst way to fall? 

 
That's never happened to me before, all the huge cameras in strange precarious places and it was indoors of all places.  I had the tripod at it's lowest setting so the legs weren't very wide.  Not sure why it fell, I just heard the crash when I turned around after setting it up.  One of the legs probably wasn't pulled out all the way I guess.  I was pretty exhausted after a sleepless night and was feeling clumsy but you can't control when good opportunities present themselves!
 
Luckily I had just taken off my 24-70 2.8 and put on the 35 f2.  Which I'm pretty sure is toast as the housing around the front lens element is bashed in and crooked.  The glass isn't broken but the UV filter sure is of course.  I can accept the loss of that lens and get another, but I'm worried about the lens mount as it took quite a hit.  It doesn't look damaged but...  probably a good excuse to have it serviced. 

 

[liamstrain]

Set up a quick range test (known distance, and flat textured surface - brick wall is nice, gives you a grid and sharpness tests). That will tell you if the mount's distance or alignment is off.)
 
I once had the lens board fall off the front of an 8x10 camera (inexplicably) while out on a pier. Cushioned the the lens with my foot. Broke the toe, saved the lens.  
 
Nearly had a few view cameras blow over on location as well... those bellows act like sails. Never had it happen with a dSLR though. 

 

[jc9394]

Guys, need help deciding on a new camera.  I know I'm getting the D800 but still unsure to get the "E" or not, I know I really don't need to the "E" on the pictures I'm taking but that slightly sharper image on the "E" bug the hell out me.

 

[xxhaxx]

Quote:

Guys, need help deciding on a new camera.  I know I'm getting the D800 but still unsure to get the "E" or not, I know I really don't need to the "E" on the pictures I'm taking but that slightly sharper image on the "E" bug the hell out me.

:] Oh the d800. What is your current lens lineup? But w/o the AA filter you might get the moire effect which would be another step in post processing. But if you don't mind the extra step and dropping another $300 :] get the E version 

 

[Jon L]

Here's a decent article about D800 or D800e.  It's a little skewed toward D800e, being written by an on-line website photographer type, but the points are well taken. 
 
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/nikon_d800_or_d800e.shtml

 

[rhythmdevils]

What are you going to do with the pictures JC? 

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

:] Oh the d800. What is your current lens lineup? But w/o the AA filter you might get the moire effect which would be another step in post processing. But if you don't mind the extra step and dropping another $300 :] get the E version 

I have both 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 and plus older auto focus "D" prime lens from the film days.  e.g. 50 and 85 f/1.4 and 60 and 105 2.8 macro
 


Quote:

Here's a decent article about D800 or D800e.  It's a little skewed toward D800e, being written by an on-line website photographer type, but the points are well taken. 
 
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/nikon_d800_or_d800e.shtml

 
me too, and I think I will kick my self if I did not get the E version
 
Quote:

What are you going to do with the pictures JC? 

I use CS5 and NX2 currently and probably 25-40% are post processed.
 

 

[rhythmdevils]

I mean what are you going to do with them?  Are they for posting online, or printing, and if so what size prints, what kind of prints?

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

I mean what are you going to do with them?  Are they for posting online, or printing, and if so what size prints, what kind of prints?

Both online and print, and all kinds of prints. size up to 20x30. 

 

[jchandler3]

Interesting article, though it's nothing I haven't heard before. Like the author said, these issues aren't unlike the ones experienced by medium format shooters. 
 
I would say, more than anything, will you be able to appreciate the difference? Not to doubt your photographic skill at all—no offense intended (you might be the world's best for all I know)—but while the difference may warrant an entirely new model for some, most people probably won't be able to take advantage of the extra sharpness. Sharpness involves a lot more than the sensor. 
 
But hey, this is Head-fi and from the looks of your signature, you go for the best of the best. Maybe just go for the 800E 

 

[Mr.Sneis]

As embarrassing as this is I feel I've gotten to this part of my picture taking that I feel like I don't give two craps anymore about gear and reality has hit me really hard that I suck at shooting photos.  It's so discouraging that I almost feel like I've "lost it" completely and don't even bother to try to get creative anymore.  I think  it's a combination of a few things that irk me:
 
1) Having a hard time focusing on the right subject, this is worse with my UWA lens but I'm getting a lot of blurred subjects/pics and focusing on a completely dumb part of the picture.  I keep it at AF-A and usually go with autofocus over manual.  I honestly don't know how to "pick" from the 39 af points, is it even possible?  I recently started wearing contacts (should have for a long time before but refused to go to the doc), I don't think that's helping much.
 
2) Terrible exposures, I'm usually overexposed but I prefer it to underexposed.  I play around with the quick setting but sometimes it's just horribad.  Example: Kid is standing in the shade of a tall building (I am also in the shade) and the weather outside is super bright.  I usually shoot program mode - the kid is either WAY too dark or WAY too bright.
 
3) ISO - I usually have it cranked up to 3200 or something, my noise almost always seems terrible and I don't know how to analyze the "graph".  What should I set this to?  Doesn't help the d7000 menu for this is confusing as all get out.
 
4) Artificial lighting.  Maybe I don't have enough lights but my single sb600 feels useless outdoors; I feel a little bored of the flash honestly only using it to get pics of things for classifieds/ebay.
 
5) Car photography.  I originally had this big vision in mind of shooting all sorts of pictures at car shows, well as life turns out the soon to be wife doesn't care much for me to do anything car related anyways so I really don't get out all that much.  That and I got SO bored of shooting the same angles time and time again.
 
Currently my outfit is: d7000, 35mm fixed (correction!) f1.8, wide angle 16-85 f3.5, tokina 11-16 f2.8, Manfrotto ball head tripod, sb-600
 
Halp me, plaes!
 
 

 

[jude]

 

1) Having a hard time focusing on the right subject, this is worse with my UWA lens but I'm getting a lot of blurred subjects/pics and focusing on a completely dumb part of the picture.  I keep it at AF-A and usually go with autofocus over manual.  I honestly don't know how to "pick" from the 39 af points, is it even possible?  I recently started wearing contacts (should have for a long time before but refused to go to the doc), I don't think that's helping much.

I don't have a D7000, but I've been shooting Nikon SLRs for a while now. I'm guessing that the D7000's focus is like the D300 (and above), and that you can choose your focus points. Check out this discussion thread on Flickr.
 
Quote:

2) Terrible exposures, I'm usually overexposed but I prefer it to underexposed.  I play around with the quick setting but sometimes it's just horribad.  Example: Kid is standing in the shade of a tall building (I am also in the shade) and the weather outside is super bright.  I usually shoot program mode - the kid is either WAY too dark or WAY too bright.

 
Maybe someone more experienced than me (like Iron_Dreamer, rhythmdevils, Jon L, jamato8, bigshot, or others) can help you more here, but I've had success taking photos of even rather strongly backlit subjects by using spot metering and AE-L. For such a scenario, I center my subject, press and hold AE-L (it depends on how you define the button's action, if your camera allows you to customize this), focus on the subject (focus+recompose if in AF-S; move focus point to subject if in AF-C--in both cases, still holding down the AE-L button), then snap the photo.
 
Again, we have some far more experienced photographers here who might have better advice for you.
 

3) ISO - I usually have it cranked up to 3200 or something, my noise almost always seems terrible and I don't know how to analyze the "graph".  What should I set this to?  Doesn't help the d7000 menu for this is confusing as all get out.

Again, I don't have a D7000, but on the D300, ISO 3200 is pretty noisy. I just upgraded to FX (full frame), and this camera is completely forcing me to re-think how I can shoot in low light.
 
The key is understanding the shot you want (and its requirements), and balancing that against what your camera is capable of. So, for a casual party shot and/or family shot, I don't care as much if my shot is noisy--I'm more concerned there with the moment, the fun. For that, then, I'll set my auto-ISO upper ISO limit pretty high. I have some camping shots I shot with the D300 that were very noisy, but I love them anyway, as they ended up very cool, people's faces lit only by the embers of the fire. (Again, with the new camera, the limitations have been shifted monumentally--relative to what I'm used to--so I'm looking forward to using it in a similar situation again in fall.)
 
If you're doing a product shot, or any kind of photo where the casual, noisy look isn't going to be acceptable, then, again, you have to do what you can to balance everything out, and take control of as much of it as you can (like having your subjects stay more still, use flash or other artificial lighting, etc.).
 

4) Artificial lighting.  Maybe I don't have enough lights but my single sb600 feels useless outdoors; I feel a little bored of the flash honestly only using it to get pics of things for classifieds/ebay.

Are you using your SB-600 mostly at night, or during the day for fill? I'm guessing the former, as it should be plenty powerful for the latter. If you're using it at night outdoors, what kind of photos are you typically taking then?
 

Currently my outfit is: d7000, 35mm fixed f2.8, wide angle 16-85 f3.5, tokina 11-16 f2.8, Manfrotto ball head tripod, sb-600

The 35mm f/2.8 is pretty fast, but one thing you might consider, if you want to start having a lot of fun immediately again, is getting a super-fast prime lens. For DX, I have the Sigma 30mm f/1.4, and I've had loads of fun with that lens. With the crop factor, it reminded me somewhat of the 35mm film days with the 50mm f/1.4 (minus the big viewfinder). Going to f/1.4 opens up a whole new bunch of possibilities, in terms of low light stuff, and in terms of having fun with subject isolation and bokeh (background and foreground defocusing).
 
My first digital SLR was the Canon Rebel XSi, and I almost immediately picked up a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for it, and loved shooting with it. When I went to a Nikon D300, one of the first things I did was buy the Nikon mount version of that Sigma. It's sharp enough for me at f/1.4 for most of what I use it for, but it gets sharper at f/1.8 and increasingly so above that. Most the time, I sacrifice some sharpness to use it wide open at f/1.4.
 
Here are some of the first shots I took with it when I got it. (They're not going to win me any awards, but I had a lot of fun shooting images like these, and countless more, with the Sigma.)
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-jude/sets/72157605817672715/with/2809723122/  (I think three of the four images were shot at f/1.4.)
 
Now that I'm shooting FX, I needed something like the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (which, again, is 48mm equivalent on a crop sensor), so I picked up the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G.
 
Anyway, take my advice with a grain of salt. There are many much more experienced photo enthusiasts and photographers here at Head-Fi, and I'm hoping some of them can offer you better advice than I have here.