PHOTOGRAPHIC THREADS: camera queries, any photo tech stuff!

[David Nicholson]

Having obtained my new camera (Fuji FinePix S57000 from Amazon I seem to get regular Emails from Amazon pushing 'other similar items you will need'. The latest is a UV Filter and I take it this is an Ultra Violet filter? Can anyone please tell me what differences having one would make to my (limited!) expertise and photographic results.

[ranunculus]

Hi David,
All my lenses have UV filters, mainly I must admit, for the protection of the much more expensive lens but also for the reasons as listed below from Wikipedia...



UV filters are used for general photography to reduce haziness or fogginess created by ultraviolet light.

A UV filter is transparent to visible light, and so can be left on the lens for nearly all shots. As UV filters are usually inexpensive (about US$20, depending on size), many people use them as protection for their lenses, although this is subject to some controversy.[citation needed] For this purpose they are preferred over other kinds of filters which are more intrusive, such as neutral density filters.

The UV filter absorbs ultraviolet rays without changing the exposure. With most images, most people will not see a difference when a UV filter is used.

[mark smyth]

David, towards the end of the email there is an opt out link. DONT click on it as it's mine

It reads
We hope you enjoyed receiving this message. However, if you'd rather not receive future e-mails of this sort from Amazon.co.uk, please visit the opt-out link below.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/gss/o/1Fs.an6sHiaNmSMOfck21lxGIwFPy0k6hrgkUxHTrHdKAzSBJB

[Ian Y]

Hi David I am with Cliff - I always have a uv or daylight filter on my camera to protect the front element of the lens form scratches and also to keep it clean.
It is easy to rub muck off a filter and if it gets damaged it is cheap to replace - get one.

[Paddy Tobin]

Does anybody use a Nikon D200?

A kind and very trusting shopkeeper, as she did not know me, gave me one for an hour last weekend to test around the shopping centre. I was very taken with the ease of use, the good feel in the hand and the images produced and am very tempted to purchase.

I would welcome comments from anybody who already uses one.

How have you found it?

Does the lack of a sensor cleaner and image stabilisation impinge on quality or create a nuisance?

Could anybody using this or any of the other similar Nikon cameras - D80, D40 or D40X comment on these 'one-suits-all-purposes' lens. The one I was using was an 18 - 250mm zoom. It was very easy indeed to use but I am concerned about the very restricted f-stop range, only 3 - 5.6. This seems to me to cut down quite a lot on the range of the lens. Anyone with experience might comment. I use a similar lens at present on a Fuji S9000 and find it very versatile but it has a wider range of apertures available but doesn't have image stabilisation.

Any other suggestions re lens selection welcome. The D200 comes as a 'body-only' purchase with lens purchase separate.


By the way, I exaggerated somewhat about the shopkeeper's trusting nature - I had to leave my son as security for the safe return of the camera. I was tempted but his mother insisted I go back for him.

Paddy

[Carlo]

Paddy,

The Nikon D200 is an outstanding camera, and the lynch pin in a fine system. Had I not blundered into a good deal on a Nikon D2x, I'd be shooting with the D200 now (I just helped a good friend into buying one). The only camera comparable is the Canon EOS 5D, which is also a winner. I've been shooting with Nikon for decades, so it wasn't a difficult choice (but I did compare, compare, compare--and dragged my heels for a while).

If I'm not mistaken, your lens HAS a full range of f-stops...the 3-5.6 refers to how wide open you can get at wide angle (the 3) and telephoto (the 5.6) ranges.

I use three lenses to cover just about all situations...

Carlo

[david m]

Paddy,
I have recently bought a Nikon D80, my first DSLR which I admit is rather complicated at first
Previously I had an OM2 and an Olympus point and shoot digital camera.
Although the D80 is heavy it felt right in my hands and I'm happy with the lens I bought with it..18mmto 200mm zoom.
A moment ago I  shot this pic to see how close I could get.
It's full frame taken with the zoom at 200mm and at a distance  of  21cm, the closest distance at which the lens would focus.
The flowers are 85mm in width.
Ihave used the camers mainly for landscapes and family shots indoors and am really pleased withb the results.
I don't print larger than A4 but that is often after a big crop.

[Anthony Darby]

I have a Nikon D70 and find it excellent. I hate these cameras that don't take a pic the instant you press the button. Vivienne tried 10 times to take pics of the children jumping into the pool on holiday with the Olympus, before giving up.

[ranunculus]

As I have mentioned before on the Forum Paddy, I too have a Nikon D80 (with three different lenses) and am very satisfied with the portrait, landscape and abstract images that it has produced (all the California/Utah shots were taken with it), but.... (and it is a significant 'but'), I will always take my much older and much less sophisticated Nikon 995 to the Shows as the close-ups of plants in relatively poor light conditions taken so easily with that 3.4 megapixel camera will never (in my very humble opinion) be matched by this new 'all singing, all-dancing' upstart.

See sample Iris meda taken three or four years ago...

[Maggi Young]

Oh, my word, that iris portrait is a STUNNER! Lovely! A perfect illustration of why I adore Iris.

[ranunculus]

Thanks Maggi....hand held with the little Nikon 995....super lens... and only my stomach to steady the camera...(What a belly)!

[david m]

Ranunculus,
Which program do you use to manipulatE your NEF files from your D80?

[ranunculus]

Hi David,
I use Paint Shop Pro for everything 'digital', but I seldom do anything other than cropping, fine tuning the focus or reducing the image size for web display. My brain is addled enough already with the rest of life's flotsam and jetsam without having to learn such technical stuff.  Breathing, fish pie, alpines, music, alcohol and ample fresh air are more than enough to keep me occupied at the moment (and I think I've forgotten a few things that SHOULD be on that list....family, football, photography, etc. etc).

[Paddy Tobin]

Carlo, David, Anthony & Cliff,

Many thanks for the very informative responses to my query re Nikon D200 and I think that is the way I will go, probably with one of those super zoom lens to begin with and I can always add others later on - make a  list for birthday, Christmas etc.

Carlo, with a D2x I wouldn't bother with the D200 either. A monster great camera.

David, I found the camera heavy also, but comfortably heavy if you know what I mean. The canons are very well designed but don't suit my chubby fingers. Good sample photograph; shows what the lens can do. I'm impressed that you were at 200mm and able to focus at 21cm. Very good.

Anthony, you are obviously very happy with your D70 which is very comparable with the D200 and I have seen many of your photographs and can judge by the results.

Cliff, you seem to have left one activity out of your list presuming, of course, that you are not beyond it!!!!

Paddy

[ranunculus]

Quite right Paddy.......Suduko...!!!!