Ask me your photography questions!

[virtuamike]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: grepcomputers
Will this Nikon 50mm lens work properly on the Nikon D80 body?

All Nikon lenses will work on all Nikon bodies, including Sigma, Tamron, or Tokina lenses made in Nikon mounts.

i've heard the d40 has some issues with some lenses? is that true between digital and film also?

The D40 will auto focus with AF-S lenses only. There's no screw driven AF motor on the body. That means you're stuck with manual focus on basic primes like the 50/1.8 and 35/2 and older zooms like the 80-200/2.8 and 70-210/4. If you're committed to buying modern AF-S lenses then you won't see the D40 as a limitation.

Personally I feel the AF-S only thing defeats the purpose of the F-mount (it's hypocritical as hell), but it makes damn good sense from a business standpoint in that Nikon is going to be selling a huge amount of consumer grade high profit margin lenses.

 

[mobobuff]

Why do cheap cameras use CMOS censors, mid-range cameras use CCD censors, and EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE (~$8000+) cameras use CMOS censors again? That always confused me.

 

[virtuamike]

Originally posted by: ghostman
What tripod would you recommend for a Rebel XT/XTi with a 70-200mm zoom, taking price, weight and sturdiness into account?

Are you shooting macro or landscape? Are you shooting on flat ground or uneven terrain? How tall are you? How low do you need to go? Do you like flip locks, twist locks, or have no preference?

Or go to your local camera store and try some out 🙂

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: virtuamike

Originally posted by: ghostman
What tripod would you recommend for a Rebel XT/XTi with a 70-200mm zoom, taking price, weight and sturdiness into account?

Are you shooting macro or landscape? Are you shooting on flat ground or uneven terrain? How tall are you? How low do you need to go? Do you like flip locks, twist locks, or have no preference?

Or go to your local camera store and try some out 🙂

You forgot to ask if he wants ball pivots or axis pivots.

I say ball.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: mobobuff
Why do cheap cameras use CMOS censors, mid-range cameras use CCD censors, and EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE (~$8000+) cameras use CMOS censors again? That always confused me.

Extremely expensive cameras use CCD. In medium format cameras and up, CCD sensors give better image quality than CMOS, including sensors used for things such as NASA missions I think. In SLR cameras, image quality is a tossup between CMOS and CCD.

 

[virtuamike]

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: virtuamike

Originally posted by: ghostman
What tripod would you recommend for a Rebel XT/XTi with a 70-200mm zoom, taking price, weight and sturdiness into account?

Are you shooting macro or landscape? Are you shooting on flat ground or uneven terrain? How tall are you? How low do you need to go? Do you like flip locks, twist locks, or have no preference?

Or go to your local camera store and try some out 🙂

You forgot to ask if he wants ball pivots or axis pivots.

I say ball.

Heads get expensive fast 🙂

I highly recommend Arca compatible. It's a great system to buy into (no more twisting plates hurray). I tried a Kirk BH-3 and the old Acratech and went with the latter (ergonomics better for one handed operation). But for super heavy duty (300/2.8 and bigger), go RRS.

 

[ghostman]

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: virtuamike

Originally posted by: ghostman
What tripod would you recommend for a Rebel XT/XTi with a 70-200mm zoom, taking price, weight and sturdiness into account?

Are you shooting macro or landscape? Are you shooting on flat ground or uneven terrain? How tall are you? How low do you need to go? Do you like flip locks, twist locks, or have no preference?

Or go to your local camera store and try some out 🙂

You forgot to ask if he wants ball pivots or axis pivots.

I say ball.

Gah! So many options!

I'm looking to shoot both macro and landscape, so it must be able to squat fairly low. But I also want it to stand at least 60" as max height. I want independent legs to handle uneven terrain, just in case. I think flip locks are easier, but I can deal with twist locks. Oh, and a ball head.

I've been considering the Bogen Manfrotto 725B with Integrated Ball Head

Based on calculations, with a 7lb max load, this should even be able to handle future (however unlikely) upgrades to a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II (3lbs) and a 70-200mm F/2.8 IS USM (3lbs). Anyone have experience with it or can offer other alternatives (Slik, Velbon)? I know I don't want the heavy BM 3021BPro at 5lbs+.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: ghostman

Originally posted by: mobobuff

Originally posted by: virtuamike

Originally posted by: ghostman
What tripod would you recommend for a Rebel XT/XTi with a 70-200mm zoom, taking price, weight and sturdiness into account?

Are you shooting macro or landscape? Are you shooting on flat ground or uneven terrain? How tall are you? How low do you need to go? Do you like flip locks, twist locks, or have no preference?

Or go to your local camera store and try some out 🙂

You forgot to ask if he wants ball pivots or axis pivots.

I say ball.

Gah! So many options!

I'm looking to shoot both macro and landscape, so it must be able to squat fairly low. But I also want it to stand at least 60" as max height. I want independent legs to handle uneven terrain, just in case. I think flip locks are easier, but I can deal with twist locks. Oh, and a ball head.

I've been considering the Bogen Manfrotto 725B with Integrated Ball Head

Based on calculations, with a 7lb max load, this should even be able to handle future (however unlikely) upgrades to a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II (3lbs) and a 70-200mm F/2.8 IS USM (3lbs). Anyone have experience with it or can offer other alternatives (Slik, Velbon)? I know I don't want the heavy BM 3021BPro at 5lbs+.

When looking at a ballhead, try and get one that supports the most weight that you can afford. Generally, the ballhead weight ratings are very inaccurate. 7 lb means it's when it's going to outright fail and slip all over the place, so you can imagine that at 5 or 6 lb it's going to start showing signs of not being able to handle the load compared to if it was handling a 3 lb load. I say that when looking at a load rating, the rating should be at least double what you plan to put on the head.

The Bogen / Manfrotto 486RC2 is a good choice for light tasks. It will NOT function well for lenses like the Sigma 50-500mm, despite the fact that it plus the camera body only weighs perhaps 7 pounds, and the ballhead is rated at 13lb.

If you're going to be using something beefy, go for something like an Acratech or Kirk or Arca-Swiss. These will be the ballheads that you use for literally a lifetime. Pricey, yes, but they will be able to hold anything plus have extra features like variable friction controls so that you can easily pan your camera on its head.

As for tripod legs, I like carbon fiber because it's lightweight and I carry my gear around with me on hikes. Flip locks are nice and fast, but they can sometimes wear down and might need fixing. Twist locks will always be secure, but are not as fast to implement and if you shoot in gritty or sandy environments, can get sand and grit trapped inside the threads in the twist locks, which could seriously screw up your threads.

Feisol, Velbon, Gitzo, Slik, and Giottos are all good. All good tripods will be able to stand low to the ground, and hopefully include a center column to increase its overall height.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Turin39789
I hope I'm not asking a repeat, but what is a good value point and shooty digital? I tried getting into some basic nice photography a few years ago, but the camera i bought was defective and I had to return it and then spend the refund on rent. I'm planning a trip to Ireland in a few months and currently do not own a camera. Not looking to spend much. Any favorites for photo-idiots?

Canon S2IS or S3IS. I'd be afraid to take a 3x zoom camera on a big trip for fear of not being able to get close enough to some things.

The trip is to Ireland, so that's probably a good call. How does the S2IS compare to the Panasonic DMC-F27? I just realized that I have a $75 gc to Sears, that was meant to go towards tools that I could put towards the Camera, and they didn't have the Canon 12x zoomers there.

The F27 is OOS on the website right now, but the trip isn't until March so I should be able to get it by then, I'll probably wait a bit for price drops but I'd like to get it early enough to learn the camera and photography a bit.

Thanks!

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: Turin39789
I hope I'm not asking a repeat, but what is a good value point and shooty digital? I tried getting into some basic nice photography a few years ago, but the camera i bought was defective and I had to return it and then spend the refund on rent. I'm planning a trip to Ireland in a few months and currently do not own a camera. Not looking to spend much. Any favorites for photo-idiots?

Canon S2IS or S3IS. I'd be afraid to take a 3x zoom camera on a big trip for fear of not being able to get close enough to some things.

The trip is to Ireland, so that's probably a good call. How does the S2IS compare to the Panasonic DMC-F27? I just realized that I have a $75 gc to Sears, that was meant to go towards tools that I could put towards the Camera, and they didn't have the Canon 12x zoomers there.

The F27 is OOS on the website right now, but the trip isn't until March so I should be able to get it by then, I'll probably wait a bit for price drops but I'd like to get it early enough to learn the camera and photography a bit.

Thanks!

I'd still go with the Canon. The FZ7 kinda self destructs at high ISO.