**Photography Talk**

[OHP]

This is a fantastic thread!
I'm a former DSLR owner. (D70) I sold it on ebay because I never could get it to take decent pictures. I'm sure it was me and not the camera. I'm now restricted to iphone and our Canon point and shoot. With my two little boys growing faster than imaginable I'm afraid that we are not going to have any decent photos of them. There seem to be some very knowledgeable photographers on here so I thought I would ask what you guys would reccomend for a decent used DSLR? I should mention that my Dad is an avid photographer and he has all Nikon equipment and a bunch of different lenses. It might be best for me to stick with Nikon so I can barrow his lenses.
Awesome pics everyone.
Thanks.

 

[the great him]

This is a fantastic thread!
I'm a former DSLR owner. (D70) I sold it on ebay because I never could get it to take decent pictures. I'm sure it was me and not the camera. I'm now restricted to iphone and our Canon point and shoot. With my two little boys growing faster than imaginable I'm afraid that we are not going to have any decent photos of them. There seem to be some very knowledgeable photographers on here so I thought I would ask what you guys would reccomend for a decent used DSLR? I should mention that my Dad is an avid photographer and he has all Nikon equipment and a bunch of different lenses. It might be best for me to stick with Nikon so I can barrow his lenses.
Awesome pics everyone.
Thanks.

yes stick with nikon for two reason, first you already had one so you already kinda know the layout, and secondly yes you can have a greater access to lenses. i shoot canon only because thats what i was most familiar with back when i got into it, but all my friends shot nikon... i found that they would "network" and never buy a duplicate lens... so they had about 4 times the lens selection available to them that i did... it was a huge disadvantage to me. its funny now because all but two of them have jumped to canon. not saying one is better than the other. its all in preference and what you know and in this case lens selection

 

[gaterose]

There seem to be some very knowledgeable photographers on here so I thought I would ask what you guys would reccomend for a decent used DSLR? I should mention that my Dad is an avid photographer and he has all Nikon equipment and a bunch of different lenses. It might be best for me to stick with Nikon so I can barrow his lenses.
Awesome pics everyone.
Thanks.

I'm not the most knowledgeable but it seems like a lot of the guys here are Canon guys so I'll give it a shot.

If your dad is a Nikon man you can borrow his stuff, I'd look for maybe a D90 if you're trying to keep from spending too much. Unless he has a bunch of DX stuff (which I doubt any serious photographer would), you want something with a motor built in to the body so it will autofocus with non-DX lenses (i.e. ALL other nikon lenses). I'm not 100% but I think the D90 is the cheapest option now, although any mid-pro level Nikon will do it. If you can find a D7000 or D600 it'd be great, but you're not likely to save a lot since those aren't too old.

D40, D40X, D60, D5000, D3000, D5100, D3100 all rely on motors built in to the lens (DX) to focus, so you'll have likely have to manual focus with any of those and his lenses.

But then again why aren't you asking your dad?

 

[Evilmunkey]

Same with me the only reason why I stick w/ canon is I already have lenses and I'm comfortable w/ the interface. I've used nikons and didn't like the interface on their digitals. But in the end it's what you're comfortable with and get the best results out of. Film based I can use both w/ out issues, other than really I prefer the Hasselbad my mom has.

 

[4Running Daily]

I'm not the most knowledgeable but it seems like a lot of the guys here are Canon guys so I'll give it a shot.

If your dad is a Nikon man you can borrow his stuff, I'd look for maybe a D90 if you're trying to keep from spending too much. Unless he has a bunch of DX stuff (which I doubt any serious photographer would), you want something with a motor built in to the body so it will autofocus with non-DX lenses (i.e. ALL other nikon lenses). I'm not 100% but I think the D90 is the cheapest option now, although any mid-pro level Nikon will do it. If you can find a D7000 or D600 it'd be great, but you're not likely to save a lot since those aren't too old.

D40, D40X, D60, D5000, D3000, D5100, D3100 all rely on motors built in to the lens (DX) to focus, so you'll have likely have to manual focus with any of those and his lenses.

But then again why aren't you asking your dad?

I agree with all of the above.

I have a Nikon D90!

 

[OHP]

But then again why aren't you asking your dad?

I actually sent him an email this morning asking his opinion. No response yet.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to get on ebay and see what's available.

 

[adio3x]

If you don't care about video, you can pick up a Nikon d300 for cheap on ebay. That would be the most bang for the buck. I think I sold my gripped d300 for $650. That way if you ever plan on upgrading, full frames the only way to go.

 

[Hepar]

What kind of work do you guys do in PS?

I've only used it for minor things like cutting objects/people from pics (in very easy cases), stitching panoramas, and playing with mod ideas (i.e. adding/deleting/changing single item colors).

I've definitely never used any of the plugins.

Pretty much that. I really only used it for the fine-tuning of a photo for photos being used for web or print. Outside of that, all my work is done in Lightroom.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkusuiphotography/6949363430/" title="DSC_8256 by Hepar1977, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/6949363430_517317f596_b.jpg" width="1024" height="681" alt="DSC_8256"></a>

 

[adio3x]

Same here, I've grown to use less and less photoshop. Only use it to crop/watermark/resize/cloning. But Lightroom makes tweaking the color so much easier.

Raw image straight from the d800. Love this camera.

More auto stuff.

 

[GentryGoon]

I actually sent him an email this morning asking his opinion. No response yet.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to get on ebay and see what's available.

Send me an offer for this! http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-non-t4r-items/132616-fs-mint-condition-nikon-d60-dslr-lens.html

it's easy to take decent pictures with!

 

[Hepar]

Anyone have any experience with a local lens repair shop in their area? My 70-200mm got knocked out of whack and I need to get it recalibrated. Don't really feel like sending it in to Nikon. It's out of warranty anyways.

 

[Offroader5]

Many of the things I do in PS can be done in LR, but I've used PS much longer than LR, so I've just gotten used to using it.

Most photos unless I add Photomatix to the workflow, only see level adjustments, pop the color a bit, add some unsharpen mask, and add my stamp. One of my fav plugins is Silver Efx Pro. IMO, PS & LR can't come close to the "feeling" or final result for a b&w.

What kind of work do you guys do in PS?

I've only used it for minor things like cutting objects/people from pics (in very easy cases), stitching panoramas, and playing with mod ideas (i.e. adding/deleting/changing single item colors).

I've definitely never used any of the plugins.

Here are some others:

 

[Jumpkix]

So, what is the general consensus on the best Nikon for the buck? I've heard the Costco bundles are pretty decent starters.

Me? I'm a college student and fell in love with photography after shooting my girlfriend's dad's D4 (I know, it's nice to know a Daddy Warbucks ) and was considering doing Wedding photography as a side gig when I acquire the experience and equipment.

 

[Hepar]

So, what is the general consensus on the best Nikon for the buck? I've heard the Costco bundles are pretty decent starters.

Me? I'm a college student and fell in love with photography after shooting my girlfriend's dad's D4 (I know, it's nice to know a Daddy Warbucks ) and was considering doing Wedding photography as a side gig when I acquire the experience and equipment.

What's your budget?

 

[DannyLlama]

Night Shots:

​

Exposure: 30.0 Sec at f/4.5
Focal Length: 28mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 100
Flash: Did not fire
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS Rebel XSi
Lens: EF28-90mm f/4-5.6

That's an amazing photo!!! Really @ 100 ISO only? Incredible!

 

[4Running Daily]

Here are 4 shots taken with a Nikon D90. All un-edited except the Porsche one which was edited with, you guessed it, iPhoto. Haha

Edit- Sorry that they're re****edly large.

 

[eddiebx]

So, what is the general consensus on the best Nikon for the buck? I've heard the Costco bundles are pretty decent starters.

Me? I'm a college student and fell in love with photography after shooting my girlfriend's dad's D4 (I know, it's nice to know a Daddy Warbucks ) and was considering doing Wedding photography as a side gig when I acquire the experience and equipment.

If you are just getting your feet wet I would not recommend going all out on a body and/or lens. Even the bottom of the barrel Nikon DSLRs are very capable bodies, so I would get something moderately priced (used maybe) and really get to know what you want out of your ideal DLSR body.

Same goes for lenses, start off with a basic lens such as a moderate zoom and/or a prime and get a feel for what focal lengths you like, what kind of aperture your style requires etc.

If your budget allows I'd say a D90 is the perfect learning camera, it has most of the top dollar features without the top dollar price. Don't get me wrong, even a D3000/3100/3200 body is plenty capable, but it might not offer quite as many manual controls as a D90. IMO, if you are truly interested in photography, you'd likely want to explore the manual side of things at some point.

Last thing I would try to budget for is an external speedlight, an SB-600 or Sb-700 would be a great compliment for any DSLR body.

Btw, try not to handle anymore D4s/D800 or the likes, after that every other Nikon DSLR feels like a plastic toy

 

[DannyLlama]

i <3 this thread

I am "borrowing" D600 from Costco .. I like it A LOT, it shoots super fast. However I can't justify 2600 of a purchase right now and will be taking it back soon.

Had anyone used it and has had problems with the dust and grease marks? I hear that happens after a few months of usage and is a design flaw.

I used to shoot with a D5000 before It was stolen .. Will post some of my favorite pics here soon.

Usually shoot at high res JPEG because I dont always have the time to edit Raw files. What's the quickest way to edit files? I use Adobe Elements and find it clunky.

:cheers:

 

[eddiebx]

i <3 this thread

I am "borrowing" D600 from Costco .. I like it A LOT, it shoots super fast. However I can't justify 2600 of a purchase right now and will be taking it back soon.

Had anyone used it and has had problems with the dust and grease marks? I hear that happens after a few months of usage and is a design flaw.

I used to shoot with a D5000 before It was stolen .. Will post some of my favorite pics here soon.

Usually shoot at high res JPEG because I dont always have the time to edit Raw files. What's the quickest way to edit files? I use Adobe Elements and find it clunky.

:cheers:

That d600 is a wonderful camera, once you go full frame you cant go back

Try not to read the camera forums too much you will become crazy shooting pictures of blank skies @ tiny apertures trying to find oil/dust spots! Every DSLR is bound to get a few oil splatters when it is new and will also definitely accumulate sensor dust. Of course there are some that are just over oiled from the factory, but I wouldn't be too paranoid about this right off the bat.

I would only actively monitor for any potential oil spots accumulation if they start to become apparent in every day pictures. And dust is just a part of life with DSLRs, again this is something I would not worry about until they start showing up in normal shots.

One part of owning a DSLR is learning to clean your own sensor if possible. I myself use a lens pen sensor pen for stubborn spots, but all you really need for day to day cleaning is just a giottos rocket or the likes. This is also something you want to perform in moderation, otherwise you will drive yourself nuts trying to clean off ever last dust particle.

As far as editing goes, I like Lightroom 4's interface, it's pretty clean and very usable. If you do end up keeping that D600, I strongly urge you to try shooting in RAW to take advantage of all that dynamic range the sensor has to offer. Maybe even just shoot RAW+JPG if you are lazy

 

[DannyLlama]

Nothing Special - Sedona AZ