New kit ordered.

djjuk · 17 Oct 2007 at 15:06

Just ordered some new toys, should be with me tomorrow :cool:

Nikon D80 (Body only)
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF Lens
Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G Dx VR Lens

Moving up from a Panny Lumix FZ8 bridge, so should be a nice upgrade.

Any tips on the D80 from anyone would be much appreciated.

Shoei · 17 Oct 2007 at 15:22

Extreme III SD cards are a must have if you want to shoot continuous. THe buffer can write to them nice quick.
MB-D80 is also worth looking at if you have big hands, make the camera more balanced plus the extra battery life and vertical shutter release/command wheels .

Sol · 17 Oct 2007 at 15:58

Although it could go either way I'd be tempted to swap out the 18-200 for the 18-70 kit lens because although you lost the longer focal length you get a sharper lens. You could also then put the money saved to another lens that would fill the other longer range more effectively. The 18-200 is a good walk about lens though even if the sharpness isn't particularly great. I'd rather use my 18-70 & 70-200 combo even if it does involve a lens switch.

Oh and you'll probably want a bag, the Slingshot Lowepro range is what I use and recommend.

djjuk · 17 Oct 2007 at 16:22

Cheers,

Yep a faster SD card is on my list, got a 4GB SDHC which is great for size but not the quickest.

The 18 - 200 lens issue is one I have deliberating about the hardest tbh, I wanted a good all round walk about lens & that seems to fit the bill the best. However, it is not the cheapest & whilst the user reviews for the main are very good, some do talk of it being slightly soft at times.

So it will be a case of trying it for a bit & then if not happy it will be returned for the kit 18-70 + telephoto of some sort.

Reality Bites · 31 Oct 2007 at 14:41

why would the 18-200 lens not be very sharp?

I'm looking to order a D80 kit for my GF at xmas and was going to go for the 18-135 kit instead of the 18-70 kit.

A.N.Other · 31 Oct 2007 at 14:51

Zooms that cover a large focal range are generally just not as sharp as those that cover shorter ranges. Fact of life, I'm afraid, as it's all about their comparative construction.

Shoei · 31 Oct 2007 at 14:59

Reality Bites said:
why would the 18-200 lens not be very sharp?

I'm looking to order a D80 kit for my GF at xmas and was going to go for the 18-135 kit instead of the 18-70 kit.

Not seen many good comments on the 18-135, but the 18-70 has heaps of praise from many people. almost too good a lens to be called a kit lens.

Saying that, havent used the 18-70 for a while, been using the sigma 30mm, which is astounding.

robmiller · 31 Oct 2007 at 14:59

The 18-200 isn't worse than the 18-70 (it's arguably better optically), it's just a lot more expensive—but then again, you get 130mm of reach and VR for the extra £325 or whatever it is.

The convenience of having 18-200mm reach, pretty nice optics, decent build quality and VR in one lens is pretty difficult to overstate, IMO. Sometimes having a jack-of-all-trades is nice.

Messiah Khan · 31 Oct 2007 at 15:10

I suspect the 18-200VR is likely going to be my next lens. As you say robmiller, having a jack-of-all-trades is nice. At the moment I take all my kit with me whenever I go out in order to cover all eventualities. It would be nice to take just one lens sometimes.

Irish_Tom · 31 Oct 2007 at 16:36

I've got the 18-200VR and as an all-in-one walk about lens it's awesome. I've not had any sharpness issues with it either. Don't doubt your decision, it's a damn good lens.

Panzer

robmiller · 31 Oct 2007 at 16:49

Oh, I'll second the recommendation for an MB-D80 (and another battery) too. Awesome battery life plus supremely improved handling, it's great.

djjuk · 31 Oct 2007 at 18:29

Very impressed with the lens so far

Seems really well made and my earlier concerns about image quality are so far unfounded. Tbh, I am the limiting factor with my kit at the moment more than anything else!

Loving all the new kit though! The D80 is awesome, really feels a quality unit. Great camera for the price, something I can really grow into & that along with the versatility of the 18-200 is perfect for me at the moment. The 50mm gives me a nice option indoors in low light as well, they complement each other nicely.

Have also added the SB600, spare battery & some extreme III cards now. Plus a very nice Lowepro slingshot bag.

Expensive game this, but great fun :cool:

Shoei · 31 Oct 2007 at 18:56

djjuk said:
Have also added the SB600, spare battery & some extreme III cards now. Plus a very nice Lowepro slingshot bag.

Expensive game this, but great fun

Tell me about it! My credit card took a hammering this year big time.
SB600 is great, esp when you set the D80 up in commander mode and start firing the SB600 off camera. Can recommend you look at a demb diffuser for the SB600.
If you can afford it try for an MB-D80, makes a big difference to the feel of the camera, plus you get the option to run the D80 ff 6 AA's.
And slingshots are great, ive got a 100 and 300(dont ask).

Last but least, Capture NX is by far the best thing for processing NEF's if you go down the RAW road. Granted CS2/3 will do NEF's but not the level that NX will.

Happy shooting.

robmiller · 31 Oct 2007 at 19:02

Lightroom is the best, though :cool:

djjuk · 31 Oct 2007 at 20:01

Shoei said:
Last but least, Capture NX is by far the best thing for processing NEF's if you go down the RAW road. Granted CS2/3 will do NEF's but not the level that NX will.

Happy shooting.

Thanks

As above post I have been using Lightroom for initial NEF processing so far. Then into PS for any further tweaks.

Any reason to use NX instead? Am I missing anything by not?

Shoei · 31 Oct 2007 at 20:34

djjuk said:
Thanks

As above post I have been using Lightroom for initial NEF processing so far. Then into PS for any further tweaks.

Any reason to use NX instead? Am I missing anything by not?

Lightroom cant duplicate the in-camera settings.
Capture NX reads the settings and apply them as default to the NEF conversion. This information (especially tone curve) is lost in any other conversion software.
Then there is the U-point stuff which great.
I work in NX then export as a tiff for any bits and pieces that need doing in CS2 like printing.
Grab the 30day demo of NX and have a play.

GTRacer · 31 Oct 2007 at 21:26

Does NX work in Vista 64? I got a D80 recently with the 18-135 lens, apparently NX is better than Adobe Camera raw.

At The Gates · 31 Oct 2007 at 21:30

Shoei said:
Not seen many good comments on the 18-135, but the 18-70 has heaps of praise from many people. almost too good a lens to be called a kit lens.

Saying that, havent used the 18-70 for a while, been using the sigma 30mm, which is astounding.

Would you recommend the 30mm f1.4 EX DC HSM then? Is it sharp enough for the £300 or so? How does it perform under low light. I'm really looking for a lens that can take stable pictures indoors of my nephew.

Shoei · 31 Oct 2007 at 21:52

At The Gates said:
Would you recommend the 30mm f1.4 EX DC HSM then? Is it sharp enough for the £300 or so? How does it perform under low light. I'm really looking for a lens that can take stable pictures indoors of my nephew.

This is my little girl indoors with the sigma and a "touch" of flash.

Mr Kahn has the sigma as well and seems to be pretty happy with it.

As for NX and Vista 64, yep it does work. Ive got it installed under Vista 64 business edition. Need to hunt round and find the way to do it since there is a problem with .Net. NX1.3 should be out RSN, since 1.3 will be the only way of reading NEF's from the D3.

robmiller · 31 Oct 2007 at 22:11

At The Gates said:
Would you recommend the 30mm f1.4 EX DC HSM then? Is it sharp enough for the £300 or so? How does it perform under low light. I'm really looking for a lens that can take stable pictures indoors of my nephew.

Not as sharp as the 50, two-thirds of a stop faster, quieter focusing, £200 more expensive. I like mine, but I'd rather have my 50 f/1.8 and if I needed the extra two-thirds of a stop the 50 f/1.4.