The DSLR Thread

rkbharat · 10th December 2009, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparkguy

@rkbharat; Can you pls point me towards a reliable Grey market source.
Thanks in advance

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Can you point to some reliable shop in Chandi Chowk where i can pick up Sigma 70mm-300mm APO DG Macro? Contact info would be a super help !

Pritam is my source till date, very reliable owner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Proxima

Does the 2 lens kit above come with a DSLR carry bag and/or memory card?

Also, will it be branded KISS?

I think its just body and two lens, and for that price, you getting enough

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaguar

One disadvantage of the D5000 that I can think of is no support of in-body AF.

Please do a search for HSM, AF-S, BIM in Amazon.com in Camera Section and you will realize why it is not a disadvantage.

There are plenty of lenses with AF Motors, in Nikkor, Tamron amd Sigma.

I just picked up Tamron 70-300 with BIM, though no IS, but I am happy with the results

Jaguar · 10th December 2009, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sankar

My take is that you should not let the Video ability influence your DSLR cam purchase.

I am not. I was just replying to JackSparrows question regarding video file size.

I am yet to make up my mind and the final criteria would be probably be vitamin M not video capability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkbharat

Please do a search for HSM, AF-S, BIM in Amazon.com in Camera Section and you will realize why it is not a disadvantage.

There are plenty of lenses with AF Motors, in Nikkor, Tamron amd Sigma.

I just picked up Tamron 70-300 with BIM, though no IS, but I am happy with the results

Yes I know there are lots of new lenses available, but what about older lenses. As I already said before my comment about D5000 that I would be flamed

for that, cause I know this is a never ending debate.

rkbharat · 10th December 2009, 16:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Yes I know there are lots of new lenses available, but what about older lenses. Btw, I already said before my comment about D5000 that I would be flamed

for that cause I know its an never ending debate.

True, if you have set of lenses already, this might not be the choice
No dear, nothing to be flamed, its has Pros and Cons, and then it has a price tagged to it, so you look at your pocket and pick

it_inspector · 10th December 2009, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Yes I know there are lots of new lenses available, but what about older lenses. As I already said before my comment about D5000 that I would be flamed

for that, cause I know this is a never ending debate.

No need for flaming anyone. But D5000 needs to reduced in price, only reason it isn't is because it fills the gap for users who aren't satisfied with D3000 but also cannot afford D90. Otherwise D90 is much much better than D5000.

Older lenses are not important to everyone. Point being if you are looking for older Nikon lenses which are worth the second hand price tag, there is a good chance you can get similar new afs lenses for cheap.

If you come to Full Frame land, its a different matter but again almost all of the new lenses for FF are afs

Torqueguru · 10th December 2009, 19:00

NIKON D3S Review

Ever since Nikon entered the full frame game with the D3, low light photography took a different turn, now with the introduction of the D3S, Nikon claims to have provided "Night Vision" to their flagship model, the new D3S with an unbelievable ISO range of upto 12800, extendable to ISO 102,400. But does the camera truly live upto the hype that surrounds it?

Lets find out.

The body of the D3S is built like a tank, very sturdy, weather sealed and also quite lighter than what I expected. My D700 with a battery pack weighed more than the D3S's bigger body. Well a lot of that can be attributed to the extra battery that the D3s doesn't have to deal with. Yet the battery life of the D3S is a little over an amazing, 4000 photographs.

The buttons are well spaced and I tested the camera in very cold weather here, about 3 degrees, so had to use it while wearing thick gloves. Well, I must praise Nikon for the button alignment and size since I was comfortably able to use it wearing my gloves on, which is quite painstaking with many other cameras I have tried before, a pointer to the fact that this body is targeted towards professionals who might take it to extreme conditions.. The dedicated buttons, and battery opening knobs are all noticeably larger as.

Picture quality is immaculate, thanks to the re-engineered full frame sensor(12.1MP). Nikon has been quite clear in their approach of keeping pixels larger in size rather than larger in number, which I believe is a very smart decision. Their show stealing headline of ISO 12800 is amazingly noiseless at higher ISOs and at 12800,the camera truly lives up to all the hype surrounding it. This takes indoor event photography, night snaps at higher shutter speeds and action photography to new heights of convenience. A very usable image at ISO 12800 means, much more usable images at all ISOs lesser than it. Check out the sample test shots shot at ISO 12800. All images are shot hand held.
Sample 1:
Exif Data:
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
ISO Speed: 12800
Aperture: f/2.8

The DSLR Thread-4174287802_b3a6ec43ed_b.jpg

Original Size: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2593/...484b0c56_o.jpg

Sample2:
Exif Data:
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
ISO Speed: 12800
Aperture: f/4
Noise Reduction applied.

The DSLR Thread-4173540147_1348edda29_b.jpg

Original Size: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/...9bcb4f5b_o.jpg

Speed has been one of the highest points of the Nikon D3. The D3S is no exception. It can shoot at 9fps, and when in crop mode can go upto 11fps. Very handy for action work and wildlife. The D3s has seriously expanded the buffer size as compared to the D3, with twice the capacity of the D3. Now, 36 14bit Raw files can be shot consecutively with no delay, and 124 Jpegs in the same way. The super-quick MultiCAM-3500 AF system seems to have minor tweak as well, allegedly. The 51 point auto focusing system is precisely responsive and nails focus so fast that its quite impossible to miss your moving subject.

Nikon's proprietary D-Movie mode which is a major addition in this model, captures smooth 24fps video at 720P and saves files up to 5minutes long/2GB in size, as Motion-Jpegs (MJPEG) format. The inbuilt microphone is excellent though only mono, it might catch focusing noise given out by certain lenses, so an external mike attachable to the hotshoe will be a good idea for stereo sound recording. Also, it's possible to pull still images back out from these movie files too, though only at their native 1280x720 resolution of course. I wish this camera had Full HD 1080 though 720 P is perfectly usable HD footage. Nikon's argument is that that this was all down to file size. At 720p, with the compression the camera is using you will get five-minute bursts out of the allocated 2GB continuous shooting space. If the camera were to shoot Full HD then this would be significantly less.So in essence, the D3S is a stills camera that is to be the very best at ISO, and the movie feature is an extra functionality. But there has been some impressible upgrades as well. the much criticized rolling shutter issue is better controlled. Looks like the built in rolling shutter correction algorithm is doing its job, but yet the issue has not vanished.

What is impressive though is the 24 fps smooth playback and auto-focus feature that works while filming. That is a very useful feature. The D3S uses contrast detecting to ensure that the auto-focusing while shooting actually works. The dedicated Live video button is a blessing. Also, for those shooting under incandescent light there is also a flicker reduction mode, to reduce the irritating ‘flicker'.

The quiet shutter mode is an excellent add-on and a nice touch, especially useful to the wildlife photographer to break peace with a loud clank of the shutter.

At $5200, Nikon's flagship model is a very well engineered, well thought out, smart camera. A 4.8/5. If it had 1080p video(Yes I am greedy), the its a 5/5 from me! No regrets though

Regards,
TG.

kkr2k2 · 10th December 2009, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torqueguru

....
Sample 1:....

Though this thread is not an automotive thread, but do I see a Porsche 911 there? The classical one!!

rkbharat · 10th December 2009, 21:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamswift

The factors influenced my decision are:
1. The in-body AF feature missing in D5000. For a beginner DSLR this is very important for me. You could say, this contributed 80% of my decision.

Do not want to argue, but just for my understanding, how is in-body AF Motor relates to beginner DSLR

Also though I am no expert from any angle, I feel two reasons that cause the tilt are pretty least priority from photographing perspective. I wish you could have done the comparison from Pictures and taking pictures perspective and not goodies

Torqueguru · 11th December 2009, 04:59

@Jacksparrow
I think you made a very good decision there with the 500D. Have fun!
Regards,
TG.

iamswift · 11th December 2009, 08:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkbharat

Do not want to argue, but just for my understanding, how is in-body AF Motor relates to beginner DSLR

What I meant is economic perspective of a beginner.
I thought lenses without AF would be more cheaper than those with AF.

robimahanta · 11th December 2009, 11:19

OT: Sorry for going off topic but I am planning to buy a canon zoom lens. Please help me choose between EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L and EF 70-200 f/2.8 L.
The price is pretty much the same for both ( around 1600 USD). On one hand I get a wider focal length while on the other I have a super fast lens.
Now I want to go for the 100-400 but then if I put in a 1.4x extender I get a decent range in the 70-200 as well with marginal increase in the f-stop.

kkr2k2 · 12th December 2009, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by robimahanta

OT: Sorry for going off topic but

You are not going OT!!!

Quote:

I am planning to buy a canon zoom lens. Please help me choose between EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L and EF 70-200 f/2.8 L.
The price is pretty much the same for both ( around 1600 USD). On one hand I get a wider focal length while on the other I have a super fast lens.

What is your purpose?
I would have bought the fast lens. But again I dont have a DSLR!!!

Quote:

Now I want to go for the 100-400 but then if I put in a 1.4x extender I get a decent range in the 70-200 as well with marginal increase in the f-stop.

To confuse you further - how about a 400mm prime

. Price should be around 1300 USD.

robimahanta · 13th December 2009, 01:46

thanks it_inspector, kkr2k

as i am not into sports photography and more into landscapes and wildlife..guess i'll go for the 100-400L..for its better reach

Saw the EF S 15-85 lens that comes as a kit with 7D today. Its a darn good lens even though not a L series. It would definitely be an ideal walk around lens for someone who wishes to travel light.

ph03n!x · 13th December 2009, 06:48

For who don't mind buying refurbished for a good deal:

http://www.adorama.com/ICADRT1IKR.html
http://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIBKR.html

Anyone bought stuff from here before?

Sankar · 13th December 2009, 18:54

Can anyone suggest a good quality 58mm UV filter? I plan to leave this attached to the lens at all times as protection. So a good quality filter which does not affect IQ is what i'd like to have.

How good is Canon UV filter?

it_inspector · 13th December 2009, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sankar

Can anyone suggest a good quality 58mm UV filter? I plan to leave this attached to the lens at all times as protection. So a good quality filter which does not affect IQ is what i'd like to have.

How good is Canon UV filter?

I only use Hoya, BW and Singh-Ray filters. In my opinion Hoya has the most sturdy filters while BW and Singh-Ray are best in terms of quality.

Hoya makes a PRO1 Digital filter. Its no a UV filter but is a protector. I have same on pretty much all of my lenses and it only comes of when i am shooting directly into light source, like sunset/sunrise.

And since modern sensors are not that sensitive to UV light (Except few), a UV filter is not needed.

Cheers

10th December 2009, 19:00	#2480
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	NIKON D3S Review Ever since Nikon entered the full frame game with the D3, low light photography took a different turn, now with the introduction of the D3S, Nikon claims to have provided "Night Vision" to their flagship model, the new D3S with an unbelievable ISO range of upto 12800, extendable to ISO 102,400. But does the camera truly live upto the hype that surrounds it? Lets find out. The body of the D3S is built like a tank, very sturdy, weather sealed and also quite lighter than what I expected. My D700 with a battery pack weighed more than the D3S's bigger body. Well a lot of that can be attributed to the extra battery that the D3s doesn't have to deal with. Yet the battery life of the D3S is a little over an amazing, 4000 photographs. The buttons are well spaced and I tested the camera in very cold weather here, about 3 degrees, so had to use it while wearing thick gloves. Well, I must praise Nikon for the button alignment and size since I was comfortably able to use it wearing my gloves on, which is quite painstaking with many other cameras I have tried before, a pointer to the fact that this body is targeted towards professionals who might take it to extreme conditions.. The dedicated buttons, and battery opening knobs are all noticeably larger as. Picture quality is immaculate, thanks to the re-engineered full frame sensor(12.1MP). Nikon has been quite clear in their approach of keeping pixels larger in size rather than larger in number, which I believe is a very smart decision. Their show stealing headline of ISO 12800 is amazingly noiseless at higher ISOs and at 12800,the camera truly lives up to all the hype surrounding it. This takes indoor event photography, night snaps at higher shutter speeds and action photography to new heights of convenience. A very usable image at ISO 12800 means, much more usable images at all ISOs lesser than it. Check out the sample test shots shot at ISO 12800. All images are shot hand held. Sample 1: Exif Data: Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15) ISO Speed: 12800 Aperture: f/2.8 Original Size: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2593/...484b0c56_o.jpg Sample2: Exif Data: Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25) ISO Speed: 12800 Aperture: f/4 Noise Reduction applied. Original Size: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/...9bcb4f5b_o.jpg Speed has been one of the highest points of the Nikon D3. The D3S is no exception. It can shoot at 9fps, and when in crop mode can go upto 11fps. Very handy for action work and wildlife. The D3s has seriously expanded the buffer size as compared to the D3, with twice the capacity of the D3. Now, 36 14bit Raw files can be shot consecutively with no delay, and 124 Jpegs in the same way. The super-quick MultiCAM-3500 AF system seems to have minor tweak as well, allegedly. The 51 point auto focusing system is precisely responsive and nails focus so fast that its quite impossible to miss your moving subject. Nikon's proprietary D-Movie mode which is a major addition in this model, captures smooth 24fps video at 720P and saves files up to 5minutes long/2GB in size, as Motion-Jpegs (MJPEG) format. The inbuilt microphone is excellent though only mono, it might catch focusing noise given out by certain lenses, so an external mike attachable to the hotshoe will be a good idea for stereo sound recording. Also, it's possible to pull still images back out from these movie files too, though only at their native 1280x720 resolution of course. I wish this camera had Full HD 1080 though 720 P is perfectly usable HD footage. Nikon's argument is that that this was all down to file size. At 720p, with the compression the camera is using you will get five-minute bursts out of the allocated 2GB continuous shooting space. If the camera were to shoot Full HD then this would be significantly less.So in essence, the D3S is a stills camera that is to be the very best at ISO, and the movie feature is an extra functionality. But there has been some impressible upgrades as well. the much criticized rolling shutter issue is better controlled. Looks like the built in rolling shutter correction algorithm is doing its job, but yet the issue has not vanished. What is impressive though is the 24 fps smooth playback and auto-focus feature that works while filming. That is a very useful feature. The D3S uses contrast detecting to ensure that the auto-focusing while shooting actually works. The dedicated Live video button is a blessing. Also, for those shooting under incandescent light there is also a flicker reduction mode, to reduce the irritating ‘flicker'. The quiet shutter mode is an excellent add-on and a nice touch, especially useful to the wildlife photographer to break peace with a loud clank of the shutter. At $5200, Nikon's flagship model is a very well engineered, well thought out, smart camera. A 4.8/5. If it had 1080p video(Yes I am greedy), the its a 5/5 from me! No regrets though Regards, TG.
	() Thanks

11th December 2009, 04:59	#2483
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	@Jacksparrow I think you made a very good decision there with the 500D. Have fun! Regards, TG.
	() Thanks

11th December 2009, 11:19	#2485
robimahanta Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: BLR/GAU Posts: 833 Thanked: 6,494 Times	please help.. OT: Sorry for going off topic but I am planning to buy a canon zoom lens. Please help me choose between EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L and EF 70-200 f/2.8 L. The price is pretty much the same for both ( around 1600 USD). On one hand I get a wider focal length while on the other I have a super fast lens. Now I want to go for the 100-400 but then if I put in a 1.4x extender I get a decent range in the 70-200 as well with marginal increase in the f-stop.
	() Thanks

13th December 2009, 01:46	#2487
robimahanta Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: BLR/GAU Posts: 833 Thanked: 6,494 Times	thanks it_inspector, kkr2k as i am not into sports photography and more into landscapes and wildlife..guess i'll go for the 100-400L..for its better reach Saw the EF S 15-85 lens that comes as a kit with 7D today. Its a darn good lens even though not a L series. It would definitely be an ideal walk around lens for someone who wishes to travel light.
	() Thanks

13th December 2009, 06:48	#2488
ph03n!x Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 2,566 Thanked: 5,965 Times	For who don't mind buying refurbished for a good deal: http://www.adorama.com/ICADRT1IKR.html http://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIBKR.html Anyone bought stuff from here before?
	() Thanks

13th December 2009, 18:54	#2489
Sankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Location Posts: 5,766 Thanked: 9,057 Times	UV Filter Can anyone suggest a good quality 58mm UV filter? I plan to leave this attached to the lens at all times as protection. So a good quality filter which does not affect IQ is what i'd like to have. How good is Canon UV filter? Last edited by Sankar : 13th December 2009 at 18:55.
	() Thanks