Post your gear thread! - Page 9

photoLith · #**161** Posted **Jan 25, 2012, 8:19 PM**

^
Thanks man and that's the main reason I've wanted a full frame since i do mostly night photography. Even at ISo 100 on the d200 it still was grainy as hell. With this from what I've seen you can put it up to 800 Is0 and hardly see any grain.

diskojoe · #**162** Posted **Jan 26, 2012, 8:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
Thanks man and that's the main reason I've wanted a full frame since i do mostly night photography. Even at ISo 100 on the d200 it still was grainy as hell. With this from what I've seen you can put it up to 800 Is0 and hardly see any grain.

I have seen pictures with a d3 and a nikon 85mmf1.4 at iso 6400 that have no grain or at least can be processed to have no grain. Either way that is a serious win. I would kill for iso capabilities like that when im shooting at the clubs. With my alpha you start seeing grain at iso 800 and at 1600 it is pretty bad, at 3200 the picture is pretty much unusable.

flar · #**163** Posted **Jan 26, 2012, 10:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by diskojoe

I have seen pictures with a d3 and a nikon 85mmf1.4 at iso 6400 that have no grain or at least can be processed to have no grain. Either way that is a serious win. I would kill for iso capabilities like that when im shooting at the clubs. With my alpha you start seeing grain at iso 800 and at 1600 it is pretty bad, at 3200 the picture is pretty much unusable.

My D90 is probably similar, 800 is the maximum I use and grain starts to show on anything over 400.

One tip is to keep the image nice and bright (maybe even overexpose by a stop) since grain first starts to show up in shadows areas.

photoLith · #**164** Posted **Jan 26, 2012, 11:15 PM**

I just got the D700 in the mail today and I cant wait to shoot with it. I am going to go downtown tomorrow night after work and try it out, maybe go down to Galveston this weekend for some more architectural fun.

Okayyou · #**165** Posted **Jan 26, 2012, 11:45 PM**

^ nice, got that same tri-pod, well almost the same one.

diskojoe · #**166** Posted **Jan 27, 2012, 2:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by flar

My D90 is probably similar, 800 is the maximum I use and grain starts to show on anything over 400.

One tip is to keep the image nice and bright (maybe even overexpose by a stop) since grain first starts to show up in shadows areas.

Yeah i feel ya but this is easier said then done when your already pushing the limits of the motors ISO capabilities. Honestly I dont mind the grain all of the time. It can give a photo a nostalgic feel, especially when you are taking pictures of people. From what Bulliver told me the 700 and the d3 have the same sensor and should have the same ISO capabilities.

i did this whole set using the setting I mentioned above. I like how they came out. But if I had a better motor I probably would have taken more shots that were usable.

Thursday $1 WELLS @ Avant Garden - Houston

i_am_hydrogen · #**167** Posted **Jan 27, 2012, 10:41 PM**

Congrats, photolith. Full-frame is the way to go, if you can swing it.

photoLith · #**168** Posted **Jan 29, 2012, 5:29 AM**

^
Thanks man, with the improved low lighting and iso capabilities, Im already getting shots I could never get with my D200 hand held. Im shooting a wedding next weekend and the D700 will really come in handy over my old camera.

glowrock · #**169** Posted **Jan 29, 2012, 10:18 PM**

Alright, here's a question for the photography pros around here. As you guys know, I've got a Nikon D5100 (sorry, no full frame body for Glowrock!

)... I've come to the conclusion that it's time for an external flash, but I really don't relish spending hundreds for one of the Nikon flashes. Does anyone have any experience with flashes from manufacturers such as Bower, Vivitar, Polaroid, Opteka, etc... etc...? I don't need anything extraordinarily fancy, but I would like it to have enough bells and whistles that I can "grow into" as time goes on. Any recommendations?

Aaron (Glowrock)

bulliver · #**170** Posted **Jan 29, 2012, 10:47 PM**

Just get yourself an SB-600 while you can. Full TTL, trigger off camera using CLS...under $300. Get an off brand and you are stuck with cruddy on camera only, might as well just use the built in...

glowrock · #**171** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 3:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulliver

Just get yourself an SB-600 while you can. Full TTL, trigger off camera using CLS...under $300. Get an off brand and you are stuck with cruddy on camera only, might as well just use the built in...

Why would I be stuck with on-camera only, bulliver? Are you referring to having slave flash capability as well?

The off-brand flashes I've looked at all are full TTL flashes, all specifically Nikon compatible, so I would think that everything would work pretty well with them. I'm sure the Nikon brand flashes probably have a few extra features on them, but I'm not sure it's worth me spending double or more the cost. I'm not looking at those cheap $50-70 ones, the range I'm looking at is more in the $100-130 range.

Aaron (Glowrock)

diskojoe · #**172** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 2:30 PM**

get the sb-600 like bulliver recommended. Those are very good and will be all that you ever need. It is worth the money that you will spend. You can get pro quality results and never need to upgrade.

glowrock · #**173** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 3:27 PM**

I'll look into the SB-600 then... Maybe I can get lucky and pick up a gently used one!

Aaron (Glowrock)

photoLith · #**174** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 5:42 PM**

^
I have a broken sb-600 that doesnt even turn on and out of the kindness of my heart I will give it to you for the low price of 150 bucks.

glowrock · #**175** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 6:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

^
I have a broken sb-600 that doesnt even turn on and out of the kindness of my heart I will give it to you for the low price of 150 bucks.

Gee, what a nice guy!

Aaron (Glowrock)

diskojoe · #**176** Posted **Jan 30, 2012, 8:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by glowrock

Gee, what a nice guy!

Aaron (Glowrock)

Youd better jump on this. Its a once in a lifetime deal!

photoLith · #**177** Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 12:09 AM**

I hope you could detect my sarcasm

bulliver · #**178** Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 2:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by glowrock

Why would I be stuck with on-camera only, bulliver? Are you referring to having slave flash capability as well?

What I mean, is that AFRAIK you cannot trigger an off-brand speedlight off-camera, and you certainly can't dial in the flash settings on your camera using CLS, therefore, your speedlight is little more than a more powerful built in. Once you start getting into flash you will soon realize that it is _very_ difficult to get natural looking photos with a speedlight sitting on the hotshoe firing directly at your subject at the same angle as the camera. Sure you can tilt the head and bounce, or get a tupperware diffuser, but it will never be close to the results you will get with that flash at arms length, at a 45 degree angle to your subject.

Perhaps, as you mention, some off-brands will fire in slave mode, but that will still require you to trigger it using the pop-up, and there's that horrible, deer-caught-in-a-headlight direct frontal flash again...

You can purchase wireless triggers separately, but if you are going to do that, might as well just get the Nikon.

The SB-600 has been superseded by the SB-700, so you should be able to find it around cheap. Definitely under $300.

glowrock · #**179** Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 2:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by photoLith

I hope you could detect my sarcasm

Ya think, photoLith?

Aaron (Glowrock)

Illithid Dude · #**180** Posted **Jan 31, 2012, 3:00 AM**

Well, I've decided that the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 wasn't wide enough for my tastes, and so I've decided to get a new lens. Enter the Zeiss 25mm f2. Technically, the lens isn't out yet, but authorized dealers should be getting them in sometime this week. This lens is particularly exciting because, in addition to that legendary Zeiss quality, this lens has virtually no abberation. All lines taken on this lens are perfectly straight. Obviously, this makes the lens great for architecture. I'll report back when I get it in.