what's new on the "how can we possibly give a sh*t" horizon? I up and bought a D200 last night.

Yes, after a year and a half of scavenging the D70 at work, I have finally
bought a D200. So, I at least give a sh*t, but I'll understand if you do
not share the sentiment...
Just felt like sayin' it.

 

I hope you appreciate yours as much as I've been appreciating mine! The
viewfinder is a big step up from the Fuji S2, and the focus is much
faster and more accurate, and I appreciate better support for my AIS
lenses. (My other big deal was the iTTL flash, which the S2 didn't
have; but you already had that on the D70, so perhaps it's not so exciting.)

 

I'm looking forward to it, that's for sure. (Dang UPS just got the
billing--I'll refresh in five more minutes to see if they've got it on the
truck yet!) I have several AI and AIS lenses, and will look at buying some
more, though I suppose I'll have to get that Tamron wide-angle--or was it
Tokina--that I've heard people speak well of. Seems to me it was a Tokina
12-24 f4.

 

Congrats on the D200, you will love it. As for lenses, get all 2.8s
starting with the 70-200mm VR, 28-70, and 17-35 and all your bases will be
covered. The Tokina is the 12-24 you really want. Don't buy the 18-200mm
VR unless you want it for the very last lens in your collection and to just
say that you have one. Of course, there are a few decent primes you'll
want, but the three zooms I mentioned will keep you very happy for a while.






Rita

 

That's the one *I've* got, anyway; I picked it based on searching for
pictures on pbase and photo.net with lenses in that range, and seeing
which lenses the ones I really liked were taken with. I think it's a
great lens, the only thing wrong with it is written in big letters -- f/4.

I didn't like the results, or the price, or the zoom range, of the
Tamron 11-18mm.

The one I half-wish I'd bought is actually the Sigma 10-20mm (which was
new enough back when I bought mine that I couldn't find much info).
12mm doesn't get me quite to the angle of view I had on film; 10mm
improves on it. Since I didn't buy it, I don't know how I'd actually
have liked it. It gets good reviews that I've seen, but I don't sense
the excitement some people seem to have when writing about the Tokina.
So maybe I'm better off with what I have. At least I avoid the public
stigma of owning a Sigma (well, unless people notice my 105mm f/2.8).

(The faster focus on the D200 won't help you much on the AIS lenses, of
course )

 

Don't worry Matt... There's a few neat plugins for Photoshop to mimic just
about every monochrome process known to man. I've crossed back and forth to
film digital for over a year. Finally found exactly my cup of tea in an
Epson r2400 and synthetic mono prints... No one (sadly) knows the difference
in the final prints.

--

Australian Wedding Photography between Kempsy, NSW and Sunshine Coast.
http://www.photosbydouglas.com
Digital photos enlarged and printed on Canvas
http://canvas.photosbydouglas.com


: Yes, after a year and a half of scavenging the D70 at work, I have finally
: bought a D200. So, I at least give a sh*t, but I'll understand if you do
: not share the sentiment...
: Just felt like sayin' it.
:
:

 

Thanks Rita,
I have the 17-35 2.8, and an 80-200 2.8. I'd love the 70-200 VR, but not
yet (my wife would skin me). I also have a 35-70 2.8. I also have a 24mm
2.8, 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, 55mm macro, PB5 bellows, and the legendary 105 2.5.
I've been shooting with Nikon since 1995.

 

Great collection! How do you like the PB5 bellows? I'm considering getting
a set to play with, but wonder how practical they are out in the field? I
shoot macro primarily handheld, so I assuming they might not bet too
practical.







Rita

 

Won't work handheld, the magnification is just too great, even at its least
setting. I've used it with a bean bag to get pics of mushrooms and lichens,
and fun stuff like that. Works well on a tripod. Hard to find a lens that
works well at extreme magnification, though. Either that, or I just suck at
focusing at extreme magnifications.

 

Seems to me it was a Tokina
: > 12-24 f4.
:
: That's the one *I've* got, anyway; I picked it based on searching for
: pictures on pbase and photo.net with lenses in that range, and seeing
: which lenses the ones I really liked were taken with. I think it's a
: great lens, the only thing wrong with it is written in big letters -- f/4.
:
: I didn't like the results, or the price, or the zoom range, of the
: Tamron 11-18mm.
:
I have a Tamron 11-18 which I use to good effect as a portrait lens - would
you believe? The ability to have the subject very prominent in the
foreground and an interesting background fully described produces some
curiously good results from a lens range never considered suitable for such
things.

http://www.photosbydouglas.com/fun/tamron-11-18.jpg is a portrait of a
flower demonstrating what I just described - sans a person!

From Douglas...
My photographic site: http://www.photosbydouglas.com
Canvas prints and Digital enlargements: http://www.canvasphotos.com.au

 

The idiot is back. I'll bet that looks great on canvas.

Greg

 

Well, let's say that isn't the *first* use that would have leaped to my
mind, no!

That one looks quite nice!

 

:
: The idiot is back. I'll bet that looks great on canvas.
:
: Greg
:
:
Oh? Have you been somewhere?

Douglas

 

Nice shot, I really like the perspective.







Rita

 

No worries. What's the name of the plugins you're familiar with?

 

Congrats Matt, a DSLR to call your own.

Did you have to promise to renovate the entire house for this one?

 

Nope. When my grandfather died he left us some money. I bought a Mamiya 6
and a couple lenses and we took a trip to England. Later I converted the
Mamiya 6 etc. into a Rollei 6008i and a couple lenses. That Rollei sits on
a shelf more than anything else, so I finally decided to convert it into a
decent digital slr. I still have an RB67 and a couple lenses, and those are
getting cheaper by the day, so I'm going to buy some more equipment for that
down the line. The Rollei lenses were prohibitive--even more than their
'blad counterparts--so I wasn't going to be building that system up, ever.

 

I like this one best Matt:
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/bwstyler/index.htm
In fact I like all Photowiz stuff.
Alienskin "Exposure" is another one I like.

Exposure mimics film types whilst BWstyler mimics print processes.
Here is a quick and dirty example look at this original and 'developed'
image from a FZ50 Panasonic, 10 Mp camera. These Leica lenses continue to be
amazing.
http://www.photosbydouglas.com/fun/Digital-monochrome.htm

In fact the whole camera is absolutely stunning in how it puts those
overpriced plastic DSLRs from Canon to shame. (400D to be precise). It's RAW
capture is still being evaluated by me. It uses "Silky Pix", a Japanese RAW
developer which I liked at first but need to work with it more before I
decide.

I hope you find some value in the exercise I have shared.
Douglas,
Addicted top poster!
--

Australian Wedding Photography between Kempsy, NSW and Sunshine Coast.
http://www.photosbydouglas.com
Digital photos enlarged and printed on Canvas
http://canvas.photosbydouglas.com

Original Message-------------------------------------
From:
:
: No worries. What's the name of the plugins you're familiar with?
:
:

 

I was just teasing in reference to your purchasing adventure with the
17-35 Nikkor.

I'm slowly building up a blad system which has taken a detour via a
Nikon 9000 ED. I believe I'll need a glass film holder for that which
is quite expensive (for what it is), not to mention always out of stock.
That has slammed my photo budget for a few months. Next on the list
are a wider angle lens (a 40 or 50mm) and perhaps a 120 Makro.

On topic, I'm waiting with bated breath to see if Sony "do right" with
their next DSLR ... hopefully a D200 or even 5D class machine. Full
frame would be nice.

Cheers,
Alan

 

I would be killer if it came with the nikon F mount.






Rita