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I rock my 200mm to compensate for the [PHOTO]
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Literally all "G" lenses and all "AF-S" lenses have their own motors. If you do need an internal motor for other lenses, such as AF-D then the latest model near D50 level that still has one is the D7000. The D300s, D800 and D4 all have them as well. Also, if you're willing to buy used, D200, D300, D70(s) D90 (which is actually a great bargain and boasts the same sensor as the D300s) etc. are all great and will work fine with your lenses.
Also, why sell the SD card? I mean, do you really need the $5-10 you'd get for a used 2GB SD Card?
Some recent stuff.
Rolleicord
Subway Sleeper by Ryan M Long Photography, on Flickr
Holding Dad's Hand by Ryan M Long Photography, on Flickr
Ryan M Long Photography
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Edit: Here's the source of my confusion. According to that, AF and AF-D lenses won't autofocus on a new D5100 body. But G lenses totally will work fine (just no manual focus). So what does that mean for my two AF/G lenses?
AF-S means that there is a motor. G means, for the most part, simply that there is no aperture ring and all aperture controls are through the body. G lenses weren't made until after Nikon began putting AF-S motors in essentially every new lens. Most but not all DX lenses are AF-S, and many are G. However, if your lens does have an internal motor it will be labelled AF-S. Some older lenses were labelled AF-I, and these also have an internal motor, but you don't have any of these lenses.
If you look at the label of your lens and see AF-S then you are ready to rock and roll. If you see AF-D or just AF then you're probably not.
If you want to be absolutely 100% certain, then try your lens on a D5100 and see what happens.
But, hey, even if you don't have AF you can still mount your old lenses and use them in MF.
Ryan M Long Photography
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It says AF. The end says 1:3.3-5.6G. I was under the impression that a G lens could never manually focus, and G lenses will only manually focus on new cameras apparently?
You guys have been super helpful, I'm just getting more confused. I think the option of "just go buy the camera I want and worry about reselling whatever later" is getting more attractive...I just feel like the market must be shrinking really quickly for people who want a flash-less D50 and a couple of AF/G lenses.
You can still manual focus, or at least you should if that's a manual focus ring I see at the top, on all but the oldest film bodies and fairly new budget film bodies. Really, the issue with G lenses is that there is no aperture ring, so if you want to use them on older bodies you have to be able to control the aperture through the body, which means that while you can use it on an F5 and have full manual control as well as AF, you cannot use it in a FM and control the aperture, because there simply is no interface on the all mechanical Nikon (just to niggle, you could use it, but it would be stuck at f/22 and you'd never be able to change the aperture without some why-would-you-ever-bother lens surgery. So, I guess in a sense, the only manual thing you really can't do with a G lens is set the aperture, because it doesn't have an aperture ring.
You could slap that lens on whatever digital body and still use it in manual focus.
Ryan M Long Photography
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Like you said, I can manually focus, I just can't manually adjust the aperture on the lens, so it'd be useless on an old/non-digital body. So my lenses aren't useless on a new body!
That being said, they're not really great lenses, although having picked up the 70-300mm and 28-80mm for a combined $100 is sufficient for my casual nooby photography. To be 100% honest, that link shows the aperture ring which I've never even seen on my AFS-DX kit lens...apparently I've just been doing auto aperture on my miniature photography the whole time, which totally explains my crappy DOF problems, right? On second thought, I'm pretty sure I've been shooting in aperture-priority mode because it's one of the few ways I've been able to get properly exposed shots without flash, so who knows what the fuck I've been doing.
I've somehow unlearned everything I knew about photography since I started 5 years ago
EDIT:
I've been working to try and figure out my flash, and I notice that if I set the flash to go manually at any power (1/16 or full power) it totally washes out the image. If I set it to TTL, then it ends up totally underexposed. This is definitely something wonky with my camera, right? Also, lolshuttercount is 4134.
That's right, they're currently all available used. The D70s are pretty old (same gen as your D50 I believe), the D80s are 2 years after that, and the D90 came out in 2008 (I think). The D90 is a fantastic body, and just because you're having problems with one D50 doesn't mean a camera that's 2 generations later is going to have the same problems. After all, your D50 was new at one point, too.
The point is that you can spend $600 on a new D5100 body, or you can spend $600 on a used D90 which, while it has fewer megapixels, is essentially a better camera in every way AND supports many more lenses, including the ones you already own. I just bought a used D90 from Amazon last November and it's been fantastic.
Man, you're right. The snapsort for 5100 vs D90 is promising. I would like to start using my DSLR to record videos for a website I write for, which is one of the principle reasons I decided to upgrade my D50 instead of just getting an external flash. I don't think the 720p/24fps of the D90 will be a huge hindrance because all of this stuff will go straight to YouTube/web anyways. I was more titillated by the D5100 because of the flip-out screen, which I've been told can be a lifesaver for macro and video (basically all I'll be doing).
That being said, the new D3200 is listing at the same price as the D5100. I don't think it'll be worth trading in the swivel screen for an extra 8 MP I'll never use, and the wifi thing feels kind of like a gimmick, but maybe that's because I've never needed to do remote stuff when I go on random walkabouts with my camera. Plus, there's talk that the new sensor's IQ should be pretty sweet, but I think I'm just getting myself more confused than I really need to.
One other thing I fully realized but never appreciated until yesterday: my non AF-S lenses are loud. They'll be fine for photography, but when it comes to recording video of me talking/playing table games and such, the zoom sound is going to ruin audio unless I use the kit lens.
This would be a perfect use for the "Focus Stacking" technique. I like the foreground petals but I also really think the center of the flower is interesting and shouldn't be out of focus.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
I admit. I fucking hate other photographers. Just when I have an idea, its noo, we don't have time for that, or that doesn't meet the parameters. Fine, keep shooting a ceramic skull from the front with a 35mm prime. I'll just have to make due to get the shot.
The stand out shot.
Here's the B-side I quickly processed so you can better see the set up. Most of the images the 'team' took were like this except from the front this since they didn't ever move the tripod. I shit you not, their excuse was "We have the D700, we can crop and compose later." That's the sort of shit that will get you hired right away, alright.
Sorry if I am a little sour. I don't mix well with others.
Just because the other people in your group had different ideas than you doesn't mean that yours were better. The times I've shot the same thing with other photographers I'm sometimes amazed at the different way they shoot and how that can translate to a good image I never would have imagined. The only real way to judge is by looking at the final product and I would be interested in seeing their versions of the photo.
At the very least you probably should have taken the tripod and used it for your shot since yours isn't crisp around the eye sockets. I think the back edge of the headphones /might/ be in focus, but that's not exactly where you would normally want the focal point. I'm not a fan of the crop at the teeth. I think if you wanted to keep it close in you should crop below the nose and not use that water mark.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Thank you for this! I agree that a lot of the macro shots of flowers don't have a balanced focus, just due to their shape and the angle I'm at. This should really help.
Reflection of the trees on the water? I think....the sun was pretty low and there are a bunch of trees that overhang the creek. Do you think the green looks bad or were you just asking?
Ah, thanks! I appreciate criticism so I was just trying to clarify.
I recently bought a second-hand lens from ebay. It's a Canon 70-200 L f4 with IS. I've been testing it today and I'm not sure about how sharp the shots I've been taking are. It may just be that my expectations were too high, or that I've been shooting with insufficient light, I hope that is the case, but I need your opinions.
Just to note, I have been using the IS. It functions well, from what I can tell. I have not been using a tripod. Are these sharp enough for low light hand-held, at least from what you might expect from this lens? Both pictures were taken without flash.
flowers
apples and pears
Am I being stupid? I think it could just be low light causing me problems. Thanks guys
If you really want to test the sharpness you should probably be shooting at a higher fstop. As a general rule for non-IS lenses you should be able to hand hold carefully with a shutter speed of 1/focal length. So if you are at 70mm you should be able to hand hold a reasonably crisp image at 1/70th. With IS that should give you an extra 1-2 stops or so. So you should be able to hand hold around 1/30th to 1/15th with the IS turned on.
Looking at the "apples and pears" shot the EXIF shows you shot it at 1/4 of a second. That is pretty darn crisp for that shutter speed.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
On the way out of Capitol Reef NP I shot a couple sunset photos of South Caineville Mesa:
Just took delivery of my Canon S100 so these are probably some of the last Rebel XTi pictures I'll be taking. Hooray for new stuff!
Edit: Mind if I mess around with that photo in PS?
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Gafoto/IMG_0904.jpg
Photobucket probably shranked it some, but there it is, unedited.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Maybe that was the wrong choice. :?
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Any thoughts on all of these extra bundles with lenses/sd cards/etc? I'm inclined to just buy the plain body/kit lens from Amazon. That way I know it's fulfilled by Amazon and while it may work out to be a little more expensive, I don't have to worry about finding a Nikon-approved dealer and waiting a week for them to ship it to me. Not to mention that Amazon's return policy is the bomb diggity.
So you decided you want a body with no AF motor in it?
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
I did. I don't mind manual focusing, in fact the crappy lenses I picked up take forever to focus, so I got used to manual focusing 100% of the time with them. Someone told me that makes me a better photographer, but who knows. All I know is that they're slow and loud as hell, and I'll be doing a fair bit of video for the website I work with, so the flip-out screen and auto-focusing of the D5100 will be nice.
You guys have been very helpful. Next week is going to drag on!
Edit: I should mention that I picked up those two AF/G lenses (28-80mm and 70-300mm) for $100 total. After getting them, I still primarily use the 18-55mm (miniature photos) and occasionally the 70-300mm (going to the zoo and stuff). I consider the $100 a fee to determine what focal lengths I really need, so that when I need/can afford nicer glass I have an idea of what to get.
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Going to clean it up and have some fun with it.
Nintendo ID: Beltaine
3DS: 2423-2361-7857
Steam: beltane77 PSN: Beltaine-77
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Unofficial PA IRC chat: #paforums at irc.slashnet.org
Well, I have work flow and practicality needs. I hate to say it, but as awesome as DSLRs are, you can't always have one on you. If you do, you become that guy who has all his lenses and everything in a backpack or that other guy who always has it bouncing around his neck or in his hands.
I'd rather have small form factor for when I need to be discreet or portable, a DSLR for most occasions, and then a full frame for more involved shoots.
Let me know how you like it, because I'm thinking of adding it to my DO WANT list.
Nintendo ID: Beltaine
3DS: 2423-2361-7857
Steam: beltane77 PSN: Beltaine-77
I understand that stance but I just feel like ~$500 is a bit much for what amounts to a backup or "just in case" camera. In any case, I leave my old 10d in my car trunk so I almost always have a camera near me. I know not everyone has an older DSLR they can leave in their trunk. So I think ~$300 would be more reasonable, but I understand that it probably took a lot of R&D to stuff all the DSLR technology into something that small, so I can see why they are asking that much for it.
I don't see enough subjects in my day to day life that are worth shooting. That would certainly be different for someone who does more street or journalistic type photography.
Long story short: Cool technology, but it just isn't for me at that price point.
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.