PHOTOGRAPHIC THREADS: camera queries, any photo tech stuff!

[Paddy Tobin]

Dave,
I've spent a while going through the site you listed above. It is excellent. Of course, I think it especially excellent that it says I choose the correct lens - good advice from forum members. Always worth asking a question!

Several articles on the site bring out, far better than I expressed it, just how fine a lens the Nikon 105mm really is. An outstanding lens that gives best results when used well. I suppose it is not one of the general purpose lens which serve all situations to a degree but maybe none to a standard we might regard as excellent.

I have no doubt you will enjoy your choice of lens.

Paddy

[Slug Killer]

I found the section on metering modes especially interesting as I've lost count the amount of times I've had over exposed images and this could well be the reason why when I use plain background. Tomorrow is another day and I can't wait to try out a few different settings. I did try and join a city and guilds photography night class starting in September but left it too late and all places were taken. Will have to wait until January now.

Dave

[Slug Killer]

OK I opted for the EFS 60mm macro in the end. It's got great reviews and price was the deciding factor as I got a nearly new one for £175.00. Very please with the results so far but focusing very close is going to take practice as a few times today I've switched over to manual to solve a hunting problem. I also changed the focusing from 9point to centre point as well to make it easier.

Next question. I've noticed there is now a nice collection of dust on my 20D sensor. Tested it at f22 with a white background and its not to healthy. Has anyone cleaned their own sensor and if yes, how difficult is it to do properly. I'm quite technically minded but would rather pay a camera shop than cock it up. Your thought please......

Dave

[Carlo]

Dave,

I NEVER use auto-focus with my macro. Photographs up close--or even in the garden with busy backgrounds--are just to full of interest items of contrast. The camera doesn't know where to focus. For those who don't know what I mean, switch back and forth a few times on a macro photo. Eight or nine times out of ten, auto-focus will zip in and out burning up battery trying to figure out what to focus on. Using manual makes it that much more certain that you'll get an acceptable image. If you're not blurring the background significantly in your garden shots, the same thing will happen.

Since I seldom place my subject dead-center in the frame, center-weighted automatic focusing is of little use. If you elect to stay with AF, I'd reconsider 9-point or one of the other focusing options.

[Slug Killer]

Hi Carlo

Do you clean your sensor yourself or get it done by a service centre?

Dave

[Anthony Darby]

I like my D300. With the auto focus on single spot mode I can move the focal point about so as it isn't in the centre of the picture. It certainly doesn't focus in and out like my D70. Haven't had the camera long enough to try out the automatic sensor cleaner.

[Anthony Darby]

Just been speaking to the pal who took me to Trinidad last year. He has just bought a D3 and has done a bit of research on lenses. He says the DX lenses do not do the camera justice so he intends to get something that will. I await with interest to see what he does end up with!

[mark smyth]

Michael, Heather Smith and Liam McCaughy both have this camera and as far as I know they really like it.

Where did you get yours? High Street or 'tinternet

[Carlo]

oooooh, careful...

We're in danger of confusing the D300 and the D3. Both are top notch cameras from Nikon, but they are different animals all-together. I'm not totally certain, but I think the reason for the dissatisfaction with DX lenses on the D3 is this: the D3 is Nikon's first high-end (and it's the top of the entire line) FULL-FRAME digital SLR. DX lenses were made especially for the rest of the DSLR line (including the D300, and my D2X) which have a 1.4 conversion factor since the sensors are LESS than full frame. I have heard rumblings that whatever they did to the DX lenses to optimize them for the 1.4 conversion, makes them not as nice for the full frame camera.

I'd be interested in learning more about the specific reasons your friend expressed his opinion. It could make a big difference when I decide to pick up a second camera body...

[ian mcenery]

Carlo I have a D300 and you are right the problem with DX lenses is that they are made for cameras that do not have full frame 35mm equivalent. The upshot is that although the D3 can use DX lenses that fringing would occur at the edges of the frame. I understand that the D3 is able to recognise DX lenses and takes a smaller frame the same as the D300 80 etcand gives the same no. of pixels when it is scaled down which kind of defeats the object . I looked at the D3 but at £3000 for the body well its a bit more than I need and want to spend. Though because Canon has full frames on it 1D and 5D its probably only a matter of time before they are all full frame so I would be careful about buying any more DX lenses 

[Heather Smith]

I like my D300.  . . . . . . . . . Haven't had the camera long enough to try out the automatic sensor cleaner.

The 'Sensor cleaning'  function does not, unfortunately, clean the sensor- it merely flips up the mirror to allow access for YOU to clean the sensor. Have fun!!

[Carlo]

That would surprise me Heather. Many cameras have had mirror-lockup for years. A sensor-cleaning function would HAVE to do more. I don't have it on my camera, but I understand that it does dislodge a large percentage of the dust that accumulates.

I confess that I have not had the occasion to clean my own sensor. There are various cleaning "pens" and systems. Research on the web will turn up a number of sensor cleaning lessons...

[Paddy Tobin]

I have had to clean the sensor on my D200. It was necesary to go through the menus and lock up the mirror in that way and then I used a pressurised air canister to clear the sensor. It worked perfectly.

One word of warning for anyone considering using these pressurised air canisters - the first spray from the nozzle will have some moisture droplets and so it is best to begin to spray away from the body and then bring the spray into the body. Fortunately, I didn't fall into this mistake myself as I had read instructions on an internet site which pointed out this danger.

The D200 does not have a sensor clearer. The D300 does. The sensor cleaner works by vibrating the sensor and dislodging the dust, I believe.

I agree with Carlo's comments on using manual focus with the macro lens. It certainly gives more consistent results.

Ian, the D3! Something to dream about for a while. As a friend who enthusiastically collects snowdrops said last spring when offered a very generous selection and refused some, "If I take them all now, I won't have anything to look forward to next year."

Paddy

[Anthony Darby]

I like my D300.  . . . . . . . . . Haven't had the camera long enough to try out the automatic sensor cleaner.

The 'Sensor cleaning'  function does not, unfortunately, clean the sensor- it merely flips up the mirror to allow access for YOU to clean the sensor. Have fun!!

That's not what the instructions say. My D70 flipped up it mirror for cleaning. The D300 vibrates the sensor cover supposedly shaking the dust off.

[Peter Maguire]

Anthony,

I have gone down the same route as you, upgrading from a D70 to D300 this year. I have always made a point of cleaning the sensor with compressed air when I've returned from a trip to prevent dust spots, and if you are careful to follow Paddy's advice it does not cause any problems.
The sensor shake feature has to be activated from the menu on the D300, and is well worth doing. It's supposed to use up some battery power but so far doesn't seem significant. It's difficult to take compressed air caninsters away on trip due to modern hold baggage restrictions when you are flying, and over the summer I found that some pictures were starting to show dust spots when I had only been away for two or three days. I turned on the automatic cleaner which vibrates the sensor every time you power up the camera and it solved the problem instantly - I'll not be turning it off.
The vibrating sensor shakes the dust particles on to an adhesive strip, so the camera will need to be serviced after some time to clean this up if nothing else, and given the complexity of cameras these days, that's probably not a bad thing to have done anyway.
Peter