[tsk1979]

You can try Tiffen and Marumi for stop gap arrangements.
I don't think you will find Pro1-D ND 8x easily in India.

[pawan_pullarwar]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Nope, the accuracy of Manual focus is a misused term. Manual focus is "manual".
So it depends on
1. Photographers Skill and knowledge of things like DOF etc.,
2. Time available for the picture
3. Viewfinder or Live view clarity

Till a few years back, there was no live view in DSLRs. So you had to simply trust what you saw in the tiny viewfinder. Professional cameras or semi professional mid range DSLRs had option of "focusing" screens for focus assist.

With liveview, you can zoom the image 10X on liveview, and accurately determine focus.

But then its not point and shoot. You need to spend time on the picture.

I agree with you on manual focus, it is nothing to do with accuracy, but at the same time it will be tough task for WindRide to focus on kids movement.

Also if you do not have good clear view finder, (in my case when I compare my 400D viewfinder with my new 1100D there is a big difference), it is tough to do the manual focusing.

[pawan_pullarwar]

@Shajufx: If you give me 1 month time I can send it from Germany. It costs 40 EUR here.

Hoya HMC Graufilter ND8 77mm: Amazon.de: Elektronik

[shajufx]

Pawan, your link is of HMC which is available here. Let me check my luck with guys coming from US in May. B&H has it for around $101.

But anyway, beware of the sellers guys, if you find any Pro1D around, double check for its genuinety, because the authorized distributor do not have stock nor has supplied any.

[moose56]

I am planning to buy a canon 550d. can anybody suggest me a good place in Hyderabad to buy the camera from and will i be able to buy the camera for less than 35k with warranty ?

[rajb3125]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Raj, we are going in different time frames actually
I just sold my 35mm 1.8G a week back and it was replaced by 50mm 1.4 ! Anyway, I got your point and doing the same since few months.

I know you had a 35mm f1.8 on Dx but I am referring to Fx, i.e. 35mm f1.4 or 35mkm f2D :

[WindRide]

As to whether to go for 50 f/1.4 or 50 f/1.8, i found this article pretty useful...

MartyrPhoto

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Guys, I am not able to get Hoya Pro1D ND x 8 anywhere in Bangalore. Inter foto has Hoya HMC (77mm selling for 3800) but no clue about Pro1D nor its availability. They are official dealers of Hoya in India and I am wondering what other sellers might know about it when the source itself has no clue. I was almost picking up the Hoya HMC when some of our members here suggested the thickness causing vignetting and its true as discussed in few other forums too.

What are the other alternatives now ? I am travelling tomorrow and will be in Mumbai until 30th May. J J Mehta website does not show any ND filters. Any tips, clues from Mumbaikars here ? Thanks.

Shaju in mumbai camera market is in Gola lane near to VT I went there many years back so don't know latest situation but there are lots of shops.

I was stuck up with same problem of finding ND8 even in 58mm size here in Bangalore so settled for Delhi made OMAX ND4 and ND8, Fact is that very few people use costly ND filters and even very few shopkeepers understand what is ND.

Right-now I am searching for 77mm filters and reached the conclusion that it is best to buy a cheap Cokin P clone holder from e-bay ( around 4$) and genuine Cokin ND4/ND8/GND filters. I think only for CPL you need a dedicated filter and rest can be managed by this arrangement.

I heard that Cokin filters are available here on order, and as area is larger then lens diameter ( 82mm for P) no problem of vignetting.

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I did not understand what you meant. I only use 1 prime and its on the body almost 90% of the time. But I dont think 50mm is that useful for landscapes specially when its 75mm on my D90. Widest I had was 18-55 2.8, but no more with me. Therefore looking at 20mm or 12-24. Please clarify what you meant by "if it works for you".

I think we had a discussion on this some time back here on this subject. Any focal length can be used for landscape photography(of-course that lens should be a sharp one!!!). The need of a WA lens comes if you want to have large angles of view in to your frame!!!

[rajb3125]

Originally Posted by kkr2k2

The need of a WA lens comes if you want to have large angles of view in to your frame!!!

Not to be rude but that is a misconception. Need for WA lenses arise, when you want to get close and i mean super close

[joshguy]

Originally Posted by unicorn_i20

which camera do you have?
depending on the crop factor of the sensor, you will get 35mm equivalent focal length. 18mm is a good wide angle for regular landscape pictures, but if you want to add that extra depth of field, you can buy 10-20mm with polaroids and then the camera will see more beautiful landscape than your eyes. i wish to get one such lens when i go to laddakh.

and as lucifer suggested, one must have 50mm f/1.8 prime and would cost within 5k.

Hi i have a Canon 500D,thanks for the suggestions

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by joshguy

hi all,i m on a vacation to bali on 1st week of may,want to know what lens will be ideal?

i have an 18-55 as of now,should i buy a 50mm prime or a 75-300 ?

i might take portraits and landscapes so will buy a lens according to your advice

I was a 10-24 lens user(Tamron).
But now I have moved to Nikon, and I do not intend to get a UWA for myself, as for mountain landscape photography 10-24 gets restrictive sometimes.
For something like Bali where there is lot of wide open sea/sand kind of stuff, an ultra wide does wonders.
Such lenses are made for minimalistic landscapes where you really want to get everything in your frame.

But UWAs are expensive, and current grey market prices hover around 31K for Tamron 10-24 and 40K+ for Canon 10-20.

Do not bother too much about sharpness. At f5.6 or narrower all these lenses are very sharp, and you get a huge depth of field. I typically like to shoot at F7.1-F8.0 with such UWA.


That said, since I am planning to do more versatile photography, I decided to get a 16-85 for my D7000 instead of going for a UWA again.

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by rajb3125

Not to be rude but that is a misconception. Need for WA lenses arise, when you want to get close and i mean super close

I could not understand what you meant. Please explain!!

[WindRide]

Please suggest a autofocusing lens for Nikon D40 that covers both 35 and 50 mm focal lengths and is fast (1.4 or 1.8). Basically,is there a lens that combines functionalities of both 35mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4 into a single lens (should be able to take group photos as well as tight portraits in low light).

[tsk1979]

Forget F1.8
however you do have a 24-70 f/2.8 lens with internal focusing motor.
Then there is the 17-55 if you want wide angle too!