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Wonder how winter is for stunning shots of wildlife. I imagine it makes them more intent on soaking up sun and taking in
energy than expending it running away. Of course you have to shoot it both focal lengths, or else why have it? But yeah, 200 will render a sharer picture. |
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http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...psd967077b.jpg
200m http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...pse739ab25.jpg 300m http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...ps942fdf11.jpg This last one was a shot that I didn't think I was going to get at all I had left my SD card in the computer at the house but then I remembered that I had a spare!! Mack |
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Those are fantastic shots. Coming from the desert, it's nice to see all that water and foliage. :-)
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Love em...
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I have to say, Azar, I went over a LOT of options for you for lenses that are sharper, but for wildlife photography,
ON A NIKON D50!...those pics are fine. Pics can always be sharper, either from more expensive lenses or using extreme shot discipline when you fire the shutter, to using a tripod or monopod when you shoot. What is going to hold you back specifically on these long distance shots is crop-able resolution. I think. So while I would think hard about a 16 or 24MP body to give you that cropping leeway, I would try a few tricks to make my shots crisper that don't cost anything while I am thinking about it. But I also mailed you a 5hit-ton of links to the kinds of camera bodies that will give you the extra resolution, but also safely mount some really cheap, old sharp lenses. Because back in olden tymes, like when I was in High school, people STILL wanted sharp photos. This is not a new thing. So those OLD lenses, short of advanced coatings and special glass/special-shape elements, still have a lot of good shots to give up. Most Nikon users can't use them without damaging the lens mount feelers. The cameras I linked you to all WILL mount them without damage. SO think about all that. Possible upgrades, definite trigger discipline on the shutter, and some support if you are not using it now. There are also things to remember when judging your own work. Since you are likely shooting out of a truck, or some transpo, remember that something called "seeing conditions" also hurts you when you are not RIGHT there near the deer in a blind. Heat shimmer, airborne particulates, several things will make your view less effective. That and a shutter speed at LEAST 1/400th at 200mm and 1/500th when at 300mm. The higher you push the shutter speed, the less perceived blur will arise from your body/camera's lens swaying imperceptibly back and forth. |
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Don't say DUH too loud Azar, lol, but I want to show you something about a 24MP camera and a 6MP camera.
I am on record in this thread in saying that I LOVE 6MP Nikons. Gorgeous rendering of digital photos. But visually it is easy to see what you need. Say this shot is a 24MP shot..... http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...psc410ddc5.jpg You have 4 6MP shots in each 24MP shot, so 4 D50 shots in one D3200 shot. Once you pick your crop for a 24MP shot, you can end up with AT LEAST the resolution of the a D50 in the end and have a zoomed in pic. Again, DUH, right, but this is what I mean about a body upgrade. I love D50s, great little cameras. But it is VERY hard to crop a shot from one. Especially in this case. SO if the first pic had been an actual 24mp SHOT FROM A d3200, You can easily imagine what a 25% crop might look like....like a full resolution shot from a D50. But of course, what this IS is a a D50 SIZE shot cut down to 25% of its actual area, so of course it is going to look like hell. But if you figure out a way to get some more MPs in your hands, you'll solve half your issues. http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...psad23da32.jpg |
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To eliminate camera shake, if you can, use a tripod and use the self-timer set at 2 sec. Free vs. cost of wired cable release and you get the same result.
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Well, anytime I am using a tripod I use the timer. Still not sure why I bought the release. I knew about the timer before I ever considered the release. "Stuff Syndrome" I guess. |
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Also, most cameras have a setting that locks the mirror up a couple of seconds or so before the shutter is released to prevent any further blur from vibration
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D*mn it Brad! I go from having a cr*ppy little point and shoot, see your sale thread and now this is the list!
Bodies Nikon D7000 Nikon D300S (gripped) Lenses 18-55 VR 55-200 VR 50 f1.8 135 f2.8 MF 35-70 f2.8 AF 70-210 f4 AF and growing.... :gary Now if only I had time to use it all |
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On that note... a couple pics
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps093ac18f.jpg http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/h...ps65c29cf9.jpg |
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There are some really sharp lenses in there. The 35-70 is supposed to be great, though I have always
stopped short of picking one up. 70-210 is way under-rated for a value item. Now if you want to supplement your stash, which is fairly complete range-wise, you might consider one of the two MF lenses that Nikon killed the competition with, the 105 f/2.5 AI or the 85mm F/2 AI. Your choice is about $120-$150 Quote:
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Cool shots Esteban.
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Anyone ever shot with the Nikon 105DC lens? Looks pretty cool.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105mm-f2-dc.htm |
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I wanted one on several occasions, but the extra expense never justified it for me. I desire great bokeh like most people,
but I am not really willing to pay more FOR IT. I will buy the cheapest, used, manual focus, 1960 Nikkor I can find for a decent price. People who know how to use it properly seem to really like it. I would love to have one for myself, but not to the tune of 700-800 bucks. However in my next post you can get some advice on bargain lenses.... |
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Now, onto the surprising buy of 2014 for me.
I have a 85mm F/2 that I LOVE. When I use it it is usually fast enough for me and the bokeh is beautiful. But like any shooter that has aspirations of taking better and better shots the more they grow in skill and in learned-from mistakes, I let my eye wander. Enter a used ROKINON 85mm f/1.4. I wanted it. It was "cheap". I knew that Rokinon was just one of half a dozen brands that stuck nameplates on these cheap Korean lenses. What could have been a disaster turned out to be awesome. No one knows what you will get out of one of these. if the lens is PERFECT, you still can have issues with true focus depending on tolerances on your camera body in relation to the lens. I was prepared for the worst. But it was the best under-$200 I've spent on a lens so far. Its not that its SHARP, it is BRIGHT. I am OLD, and almost all of my best lenses for 'working' are manual focus only. When its DARK in any venue, I can't SEE to focus. I can't find the POP as lines come into sharpness and back out again. I get by, but only because I am persistent. This lens POPS. Again, your mileage with any lens may vary, because this same lens on your camera might not be the same distance to the mirror or sensor as mine and it can affect a person's impression of "the lens" to the point where its all the lenses fault. For anyone that needs a couple of good portrait lenses, this 85mm f1.4 from Rokinon (Samyang, Vivitar, Bower, etc) is AWESOME. Even I, worst eyes east of the Pecos, was able to easily manually find the sharpest focus at 1.4 and 1.8. I can hardly do that with my 50 f/1.4. http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33753aac.jpg http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2736dbe.jpg |
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Great post Brad. To me, an 85/2.8 is a perfect DSLR portrait lens. Back in the film days, I still shot Nikon but inherited a bag of MF Pentax stuff. The body was crap, but there was a Pentax 100/2.8 lens in the bag that proved to be amazing glass. Don't have an equivalent in my bag these days, which is why the 105DC interested me. Saw it on Kijiji for $600CND, which I though was a decent deal. |
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Interesting that I was looking at a particular display in a museum, and something other than the display itself catches my eye:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7551/...f832250a_b.jpg |
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Nice work there! I got a new monitor, and I notice that ALL of the photos here look much sharper. |
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Ok well it's that time of year when the boy deer's only have 2 things on there mind 1 is fighting and the other is girls!
fighting http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...ps34934b42.jpg and girls http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...psdb45db0c.jpg Sorry about this one it was a quick shot but he was worth putting it up. http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...ps76a3c54b.jpg |
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Beautiful deer!
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Love the wildlife shots, and Ron, for some reason I am drawn to nice light fixtures. I have one I shot in NOLA that was completely unique...gaudy, but unique. I sent you a PM, too, btw.
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Mack, put that focus zone indicator RIGHT on that line between dark deer head and white space behind it
and you will get a better result. Easy to say from HERE, you admit it was a snapshot, but the camera is dumb, it wants to focus on that ridge behind the deer. You have to force it to focus on the CONTRAST of light and dark and be good enough in vision (I'm not) to determine if it DID IT or not. OR you could do like I do (badly) and simply manually focus everything. I have to make myself use AF when I can, I just forget, as most of my good lenses are MF only. But the more you shoot, the more you mess up, succeed, learn, etc. I am digging the slice of life you are sharing with us. |
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I just love that harem shot on that blanket of snow. Deer are fascinating, infuriating creatures.
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OH, by the way, the reason I popped in today was to share this...
http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20674874.html we all know I hate these guys, lol, but now and again they just put up something useful and tempting. This is a GREAT camera for someone who doesn't need to shoot inside, because the flaw that has it discounted is a burnt out built-in flash. You can buy a cheap hot shoe flash if you have to have flash. Forty bucks is a great price for what this body can do in good light. Its a great vacation camera, a great camera for the trunk of your car. You can pick up a cheap zoom for it for about $20-$30. But don't try to put a compact flash memory card over 2GB in it, it won't work. Old tech. |
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Just picked a mint — and I mean mint — D70s with a VR mid zoom for $125 for my daughter. Have read reports of people using CF-SD adapters and 8GB SD cards without issues with the D70s. Wonder if the same is true with the D70. |
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I imagine if it works on one it works on the other, and I know D70s takes larger than 2G CF cards...
That flash sync speed was something I would have mentioned if the flash on that $40 one wasn't out, lol. WHo knows if it works the same with the hot shoe, don't see why not. All those old Nikons have such wonderful rendition, the 6MP sensor really was a well-optimized thing in those cameras. You need light, but oh the pixels it makes. I almost bought this one last night, then again today, but I just have SO MANY DAMNED NIKON BODIES. But the price was so good I thought I could easily sell it and make $20. In the end I just thought I'd share it and move on. |
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Been to few concerts lately and am having trouble getting some decent iPhone pics. Love to bring some real gear in but not feasible. Just can't figure out how to get some decent frames, yet I've seen solid concert pix from other iPhones. Work finally upgraded me to a newish 5s yesterday and the camera is certainly better that my old 4s. Curious which apps, settings, etc. work best. Here's a frame from Monster Truck last night. If you like heavy throwback rock, I'd suggest you check them out. They're from DMK's neck of the woods.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...psc2606d15.jpg |
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Yeah, it would be nice to score a couple of press passes wouldn't it?
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That looks fairly dangerous, Shade, lol. Brilliant bit of shooting, though.
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Jeff I have never liked any camera phone shot I have seen, in terms of crispness and contrast, but I think its so
completely relative that people talk themselves into believing that its good because its BETTER than their old phone (and it usually is). But I hope no one ever upgrades their phone solely for the photos. I think you could do pretty well with a micro 4/3 camera, because in the end its really the size of the sensor that gives you that definition and resolution. Until you get to an inch, it seems to me that its all tricks, gimmicks and promotio-ganda. I have fallen for all of it, though thankfully never at retail, always used. I am guessing there are rules in these venues that either say "NO PRO CAMERAS" or "NO LARGE LENS CAMERAS." My mother bought me Popular Photography for a year, which I begged her not to do (fixed income) but they are giving magazines away nowadays, so I doubt she paid much over $15, but I did not want to read about the newest and best, and I did not care to read about how the pros shoot cats. But there was a camera in there this month that might be the perfect stealth camera. I see on the website that the review materials are a month behind so I will have to check the actual magazine at home and get back on it. You might not even care. But it seemed to check all the impossible boxes on ISO performance and photo quality. The more I read about how it fared the more impossible I thought it sounded. I think its a Panasonic since it had a Leica lens.......ahh...found it. Well, never mind, its $900, lol. Of COURSE its awesome. But it has a VERY SENSIBLE MP count for a larger than normal sensor and has some really nice retro controls and looks like a joe-schmo camera. Very deceptive exterior, VERY nice photos. Only drawback? It doesn't make phone calls. :) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_camera.html |
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Hear what you're saying about larger sensor. Have a few older P&S cameras around here. May bring one with me next time. Would love to bring my P7000, which takes dynamite images, but just a little too chunky for the mosh pit :) |
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Lol, I just picked up a used P7000 for $49, the defect was the leaf shutter lens cap deal intermittently hangs....
Duh, sooner or later they ALL do that, it did not bother me. I had a P6000 I got for $40 that never impressed me in any way, a lot of controls but kind of a humdrum performance in anything but great light. I understand the P7000 is actually quite a decent camera, so I am happy to be getting it. The P6000 is going to go out the door for $40 in the end and I will lose nothing for having had it awhile. |
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Awesome cherry pic, Shawn. Did you take that?
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I took both of them. The car shot is me driving with a 5DMKII mounted on a tripod in the back back seat. I used a wired remote to take the picture.
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Very cool! :tu
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This selfie
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps55f9be39.jpg Was shot with this camera (photo taken with iPhone) http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...psjcvd5lkn.jpg |
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Go ahead and ask me what the settings were on this shot. I shot this hand held with a S90 in M mode.
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...a/IMG_0079.jpg |
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this pic, or that I thought it was bad. In fact as a phone pic I rather like it. I have a partner that I work local shows with; he books the acts and I do my best to cover them. And he always asks me what I thought about this shot or that from his phone, and I always want to say "If I thought they were good, I wouldn't be here." And by that I simply mean that if it was good enough to promote his show with, he certainly wouldn't need ME to shoot DSLR photos. I LOVE staying at home nights. So I tell him that I like the framing, composition, perspective, timing of the capture...things I DO Like about the shot. Its not supposed to compare head to head, but it can still be a great shot. I am already a big enough jerk not to come off as one accidentally, lol. This place is about photography, not DSLRs. And from that perspective, the shots rather wicked. (You know what I DO HATE, though? These freaking LED stage lights.) |
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