The "New Gear/Willy Waving" thread

Rojin said:
Professional photographers on other forums (TP & FM) who shoot action and whose work I like (field sports, motorsports, aircraft) have never been too happy with the D800 AF performance. However they are enthusiastic about the D810, which is the main reason for my interest in it. "The D810 uses the 51-point AF system from the D800/E, but the new and improved version first seen in the D4s. It now offers a Group area AF mode, producing faster lock-on and better reliability with relatively small subjects against high-contrast backgrounds." With the D750 now though and the AF system in that some are trying that out instead...
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People are swapping 800s for 750s mostly for AF.
Not everyone needs 36mpix
I'm torn between 750 and 810...
 
Rojin said:
Professional photographers on other forums (TP & FM) who shoot action and whose work I like (field sports, motorsports, aircraft) have never been too happy with the D800 AF performance. However they are enthusiastic about the D810, which is the main reason for my interest in it. "The D810 uses the 51-point AF system from the D800/E, but the new and improved version first seen in the D4s. It now offers a Group area AF mode, producing faster lock-on and better reliability with relatively small subjects against high-contrast backgrounds." With the D750 now though and the AF system in that some are trying that out instead...
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The D800 has the same AF system as the D4, no pro complains about the D4 and I have never come across any pros complaining at the D800 TH. there are other issues with the D800, the buffer is too small in FF mode for example, which stops it being great for actin but the AF isn't one. of them unless you have a faulty camera.

Plus there are rumours the Group Area AF will come to the D4 and D800/e since it is just a firmware change. Nikon don't have a good track record of bring good firmware changes to older cameras though so i would take that with a big pinch of salt.
 
bastic said:
People are swapping 800s for 750s mostly for AF.
Not everyone needs 36mpix
I'm torn between 750 and 810...
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First I've every heard of people swapping an 800 for a 750 due to AF. I know some people have added a D750 as a backup camera to their 800/810 and other 800 non-e owners have upgraded to the 810 to get the AA filter removed in addition to the other benefits
 
D.P. said:
The D800 has the same AF system as the D4, no pro complains about the D4 and I have never come across any pros complaining at the D800 TH. there are other issues with the D800, the buffer is too small in FF mode for example, which stops it being great for actin but the AF isn't one. of them unless you have a faulty camera.

Plus there are rumours the Group Area AF will come to the D4 and D800/e since it is just a firmware change. Nikon don't have a good track record of bring good firmware changes to older cameras though so i would take that with a big pinch of salt.
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On paper, it's widely reported by people who use both cameras that the D800 AF isn't at the level of the D4.
 
Rojin said:
Isn't the D810 only -2EV, the D750 is -3EV?
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on paper, in reality from what I have heard there is no practical difference, afterall the hardware is the seem.

Even if there is a that difference it is pretty much meaningless because you can't hand hold a camera and geting anything reasonable when it is that dark anyway so it is enitely academic.

0EV is 1s at f/1.0 at 100 ISO
So if we are using a 24-70mm f/2.8 at say 50mm, then even a 0EV exposure will require boosting the ISO 9 stops (e.g. 1/64s), so ISO 51200 which is just not usable.

Sure if you shoot at f/1.4 then you are down to ISO12800, maybe you have super stable hands so ISO 6400.

Great, but we are talking about 2-3 stops below that.
So we are usinga tripod anyway and AF is less of an issue. Or we have a flash, but the fash has an AF lamp so then this all ebcoems a mute point.




More important to AF is consistency, reliability etc.
 
I love the -3EV on the 5D3.

It comes into its own when you shoot something with a strong back lit light. The camera always underexpose it, in Av, say you are already at f/1.8, ISO 100, push it 3 stop, the shutter speed would drop from 800 to 1/125th.

Still hand holdable, but now is perfectly exposed.
 
D.P. said:
on paper, in reality from what I have heard there is no practical difference, afterall the hardware is the seem.

Even if there is a that difference it is pretty much meaningless because you can't hand hold a camera and geting anything reasonable when it is that dark anyway so it is enitely academic.

0EV is 1s at f/1.0 at 100 ISO
So if we are using a 24-70mm f/2.8 at say 50mm, then even a 0EV exposure will require boosting the ISO 9 stops (e.g. 1/64s), so ISO 51200 which is just not usable.

Sure if you shoot at f/1.4 then you are down to ISO12800, maybe you have super stable hands so ISO 6400.

Great, but we are talking about 2-3 stops below that.
So we are usinga tripod anyway and AF is less of an issue. Or we have a flash, but the fash has an AF lamp so then this all ebcoems a mute point.


More important to AF is consistency, reliability etc.
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Still early days, I haven't seen that there is no difference in the forums that I read. Just people selling there D800/D810's to get a D750 as a backup to their D4s.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I love the -3EV on the 5D3.

It comes into its own when you shoot something with a strong back lit light. The camera always underexpose it, in Av, say you are already at f/1.8, ISO 100, push it 3 stop, the shutter speed would drop from 800 to 1/125th.

Still hand holdable, but now is perfectly exposed.
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I think you are talking about Exposure compensation, which I agree is useful to go +- 3 stops or more.

Rojin and I were talking about the level of darkness (illumination) that the different cameras can go down to.

When you see a spec for a camera that says the AF works to -2EV it is not obvious what that means, except that is 2 stops below 0EV. But what is 0 EV?

Well 0EV is the following exposure: 1s at f/1.0 at 100 ISO

F/1.0 is a a very bright lens indeed, f/.4 is a full stop slower, f/2.8 is 3 stops slower. And 1second exposure is not hand holdable, ever. At 50mm on FF if you want a reasonable chance of a good sharp photo at 50mm then you need an exposure 6 stops faster than 1second, which would be 1/64 in theory although the camera might lump that to 1/100.


The point is it is near impossible to take a hand hold photo at 0EV, let alone -2 or -3. -3 EV is something like a dark night without a moon and no street light.

Even composing a photo that dark is difficult.
 
Rojin said:
Still early days, I haven't seen that there is no difference in the forums that I read. Just people selling there D800/D810's to get a D750 as a backup to their D4s.
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Some people just upgrade and change around anyway.

D750 is a lot cheaper than a D810 so it makes sense as a backup body.
The main reason to own a D4s is speed, in which case the D750 probably is more attractive.

Plenty of people have a D800/D810 as a back up or addition to the D4s. They aren't perfect for sports but do offer things the D42/D750 don't, namely pixel density and resolution.

I have heard of people selling up their D4/D4s after using the D800 as a backup because for wildlife work it just woks out much better.
 
Some mandatory crap phone pics of shiny new stuff!

A Lenscoat Raincoat 2 Pro to protect my baby and a new Manfrotto 685B Neotec monopod.

I love my tripod and whilst I can still be fairly mobile with it if I use it as a monopod or bipod with legs folded in etc, it's difficult to adjust height quickly if I have to unlock up to 3 locks on each leg! I went with this since it's definitely the quickest monopod to do this

Reviews of it seem good apart from build quality which often gets a bashing because the foot comes off easily and is £25 to replace apparently. Needless to say, I'll be finding a way of securing that mofo on there hehe.

The Raincoat seems good with the handholes so I can reach the zoom ring and IS switches etc although I might have a hard time remembering which switch is which. The lens is weatherproofed and the 7d2 I'll probably be getting is better proofed than my current 70d but since I like going to the beach to photograph windsurfers and kitesurfers, it's nice to know the salt spray will be staying off all the expensive bits other than the front element.


WP_20141011_10_18_50_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_18_59_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_19_07_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_19_19_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_19_47_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_21_17_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr

WP_20141011_10_26_35_Pro by Phal44, on Flickr
 
D.P. said:
Some people just upgrade and change around anyway.

D750 is a lot cheaper than a D810 so it makes sense as a backup body.
The main reason to own a D4s is speed, in which case the D750 probably is more attractive.

Plenty of people have a D800/D810 as a back up or addition to the D4s. They aren't perfect for sports but do offer things the D42/D750 don't, namely pixel density and resolution.

I have heard of people selling up their D4/D4s after using the D800 as a backup because for wildlife work it just woks out much better.
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I'm not talking about amateur photographers with g.a.s. these are professional photographers who need the right tools for the job.
 
Phal.. That monopod is amazing
Had it with me + Gimbal + 60D + 120-300mm f2.8 for 6 or so hours at zoo no sitting down
The simplicity of it is just lovely

Today I received my last core piece of kit

An induro bhl3 Head
It's substantial! More so than I thought.
Got it as it had the best review out of all the heads in a group review for macro . This includes very expensive heads.
What particularly attracted me was shift over time once locked.

It was also a steal!
Bought off Amazon for 180 via third party in Germany other min price was 270.
At this price I was expecting ab error
Got a message from seller saying a mistake had been made and do I want the BHD3? And it's cheaper
II responded 48hrs later with 'no please cancel'
Today a parcel appears from Amazon UK directly.
I open it expecting the bhd3
To my surprise I have a 270 pounds head for which I paid 180

Who knows what has happened!
 
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al4x said:
Phal.. That monopod is amazing
Had it with me + Gimbal + 60D + 120-300mm f2.8 for 6 or so hours at zoo no sitting down
The simplicity of it is just lovely

Today I received my last core piece of kit

An induro bhl3 Head
It's substantial! More so than I thought.
Got it as it had the best review out of all the heads in a group review for macro . This includes very expensive heads.
What particularly attracted me was shift over time once locked.

It was also a steal!
Bought off Amazon for 180 via third party in Germany other min price was 270.
At this price I was expecting ab error
Got a message from seller saying a mistake had been made and do I want the BHD3? And it's cheaper
II responded 48hrs later with 'no please cancel'
Today a parcel appears from Amazon UK directly.
I open it expecting the bhd3
To my surprise I have a 270 pounds head for which I paid 180

Who knows what has happened!
Click to expand...

In the past I've used my tripod with the legs folded in etc or sometimes even with just one leg extended and it's worked fine etc but it's a little slow to adjust since each leg has 3 sections.

This monopod doesn't go as small as my tripod but it'll be a damn lot quicker! I still won't be using it on the beach though since I don't think it'll like the salt water lol.

Raincoat for the lens looks good too! Nice snug fit and should keep my hands warm too with those hand holes.

Looking forward to the next windy day when it rains etc. Got a new coat as well so I'll be able to park myself on a beach in the wind and rain and keep shooting if I want :)
 
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