PHOTOGRAPHIC THREADS: camera queries, any photo tech stuff!

[Carlo]

Sad news camera fans....

the continuing Nikon and Canon wars make our current cameras yesterday's news. Both manufacturers have new models coming out this fall....

Paddy...The New York Times is reporting TODAY that my D2x and your D200 are about to be eclipsed by the D3 and the D300. You might just want to wait until fall....

[Peter Maguire]

David,

I thought I'd repsond to your question about manipulating NEF files. I'm using a D70 like Anthony and found that the program Nikon supplied was not terribly useful. You can use Photoshop CS if your pocket is deep enough and you are willing to forgo meals for the next five years and the new car you promised yourself.

An alternative I came across (described in a very useful book called 'The Digital SLR Handbook' by Andy Rouse, a well Known wildlife photographer) is called Capture One, which is a RAW converter. It's available in a basic and profressional version, the basic version is fine and is a lot cheaper. It probably does things that other programs do as well but it works for me. What I particularly like is the ability to batch process RAW files. You can select the files to be converted, set the resolution, destination folder and set it away. Come back later after a cup of tea and the hard work is done for you. The following link is to a site I've bought from in the past, and they have more details available from this webpage (several links):http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?/photo/software/phaseone.html

Peter

[ian mcenery]

Paddy I have a Nikon D70 which I use with a variety of Nikon a Sigma Macro lenses (these are cheaper and at least as good according to tests) I came accross this article from a client and fellow Nikon user yesterday  which I thought you would find useful. It is a comparison of features between the D2, d200 and D80. Here is the link. I doubt if an amateur could tell the difference in results betweenn the 3 the main difference between the D80 and the D200 as far as I can see is mainly that the 200 is in a magnesiun case making it 300 gms heavier and it offers more protection against wet. This makes it more suitable and reliable for someone who makes their living at photagraphy but is a bit of a brick in the hands. The other differences are small in terms of plant and landscape photography


http://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk/pdf/gazette/gaz61.pdf

[Maggi Young]

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

This just goes to show the the Pudsey Pigs are not just stuffing themselves with so much food because they are greedy... they are actually pursuing a reasoned course of belly increase for photographic purposes!

[Paddy Tobin]

Ian,

A great article, so clearly spells out what each of the cameras can do and what they can't do along with how they feel and handle. It was far far better than anything I have read in the various photography magazines, giving much more information in a much clearer and more concise manner. Many thanks. I have read it quickly and feel that the D200 might still be my choice.

Carlo, the announcement of an upgrade to the D200 might not be bad news at all. I do not suffer from the need to have the very latest in specifications and with the introduction of an upgraded model it is likely that the price of the D200 might just fall a bit. So, I shall wait and see; as Maggi puts it in such an American way, until the 'fall'.

David, I meant to ask you what make of lens are you using?

Many thanks, Paddy

[Maggi Young]

as Maggi puts it in such an American way, until the 'fall'.

Not guilty, Paddy, I seldom use that americanism, unless in conversation with a native of that land, to make them feel at home! I believe it was our American chum, Carlo, who talked of that season... the fall was in my mind, I confess, as I read of the proposed new camera models, but I was thinking, as you have mentioned, of the "fall" in price that might then be expected in the current style range... a saving to be made there, I am quite sure.

[Carlo]

So now I'm the "American chum"...I suppose that's one step away from "the ugly American."

The autumnal reference was, in fact, to the season and NOT to a fall in prices. My observation has been that demand for these cameras is so strong that there is little or NO movement in prices. My guess is that the choice will be between the D200 at its current price, and the D300 at its projected price---$300-400 higher.

My advice: there's really no need to wait if you know what you want.

 

[Maggi Young]

Nah, we chat, I like you, ergo you are a chum.........and anyway, I don't know what you look like!!
We will certainly expect a fall in the prices  in the Fall here in the UK when a new model comes out....and I don't just mean we  "canny " Scots!

[Maggi Young]

Note for overseas readers... a chum  is NOT a chump , nor indeed, a chimp   well, only occasionally    
A chum is a friend, a pal,a person whose company one enjoys... there Carlo, feeling better now?

[mark smyth]

At £800+ the Nikon 200D is very expensive

[Anthony Darby]

Still less than I paid for my D70 when it came out.

[mark smyth]

My 8mp Nikon cost £800 but my new 10mp Canon cost just over £200. That's progress!

My first Sky set up cost £400 many moons ago. Had to get an electronics buff to install it. Now you can get sat tv for very little

[Paddy Tobin]

Sorry Maggi, I fell into that fall, didn't I?

You are right Carlo, if I know what I want it is as well to go ahead and get it. Let me just check the bank balance now. I see the D200 as probably a bit better a camera than I really need but I like the idea that it will do a little more than I need at present and is likely to serve my needs for some time to come.

Mark, it is with this in mind that I am willing to spend what I have to agree with you is quite a lot but I enjoy photography. I may be lucky and the price may come down. I am not going to rush straight into it. 

Many thanks to everybody for advice. You have been very helpful.

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

Note for overseas readers... a chum  is NOT a chump , nor indeed, a chimp   well, only occasionally    
A chum is a friend, a pal,a person whose company one enjoys

Chums here too Maggi, though we also have chumps. Not so many chimps though. We also have mates, pals, cousies, bro's and a fair selection of hey yous.

[David Lyttle]

Hi Paddy,

I have come to this conversation rather late. I use a Nikon D70 and have been vacillating about upgrading to a D200 for several months now. A 10 megapixel camera is good and I have found the lighter cheaper Nikons are perhaps a little fragile in my hands. I have lost the eyecup and screen over the LCD from my D70. I have been using the kit 18-70mm that came with the camera but recently bought a 60 mm Nikon Micro (really a Macro lens). You could buy a 105 Micro if you do not like grovelling in the mud. The Micro lens gave a sharper clearer picture - the results were most impressive and very good for photographing plants. You do lose the ability to frame your subject quickly that you have with a variable focus lens.

It is difficult to take a bad picture  with a modern digital camera so my suggestion would be to get as many megapixels as you can afford then get the best optics that you can afford. I feel the budget Nikons are not robust enough for use in the field.

The next thing is to learn enough about your camera that you know how to outwit it when you wish to. They are devilishly clever pieces of machinery and they have minds of their own ( that think in Japanese)
Good luck!