My new camera!

[Quadophile]

I finally decided to go for the Nikon D70s instead of the D200 I was contemplating to get. I picked it up this afternoon and would be spending a little time taking it for a spin this weekend. I have been very patient but lately I was getting a bit frustrated not having a proper digital camera since I bought the Coolpix 995. My trusty Film SLR Nikon F801s is still with me and have decided not to part with it.

Now the more difficult part that needs my attention is deciding on a flash unit (either Nikon SB600 or SB800), telephoto zoom (55-200 or 70-300), a fast portrait lens like 50mm 1.4D, fast CF Card (possibly Sandisk Ultra 1GB x2) and some other bits and pieces.

Nikon D70s with the 18-70 Lens

 

[muckshifter]

Big camera for big hands ... enjoy!


Now what printer you gonna use ...

 

[Quadophile]

There is a nice printing lab in my neighbourhood which has the printing setup for professionals where I have full access so will get the prints done there. I get the same rate what the pros are charged so will be a lot cheaper than home printing, at least for large prints. For smaller prints I may decide to get a new printer but it is not on my priority list. First I have to shoot the pictures and must decide on the equipment in my first post and maybe when have a few that needs to be printed out will pick up a printer at that time

I have a feeling that you are dying to recommend one so shoot

 

[muckshifter]

I have a feeling that you are dying to recommend one so shoot

Nope, not me ... the only printer I ever knew that did photos any justice was a Linotronic (2,540dpi) ... bit out of my pocket but the 'bureau' I knew had one.

Is that what they use in your neighbourhood?

 

[floppybootstomp]

Wow I'm jealous

Nice camera Quad. Now, we want to see some pix

 

[Quadophile]

Mucks, I am not sure, never bothered to check the printer as I am normally sitting in the editing room where we tweak the pics. Next time I am there I will check it out

Flops will post some images this weekend, but I am handicapped at the moment as I have a CF card of 128 MB only from my coolpix. Will have to get high capacity one soon. Unfortunately the high speed ones that I am interested in have not yet made it to my market. Will have to arrange from abroad

It will take a while before I really get the hang of all the controls on this camera, I guess i will need to really play around with this one as it is very different from the coolpix I am using. I know my film slr like the back of my hand as it been my companion since last 15 years. I will consider myself lucky if this one is still workable 5 years from now as in 2010 it will appear to be an ancient one just like the coolpix 995 I have now and will again have to upgrade.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Hey Quad, take your time, no probs.

But most of all - enjoy, that's a fabulous camera

 

[Anon_F]

So Quadophile, are we going to get some pics posted once you have your new digital camera?

 

[Quadophile]

So Quadophile, are we going to get some pics posted once you have your new digital camera?

Yes I will do my best and post some images, I just hope the weather is in my favour and I am able to get to a decent place to do some shooting.

 

[ChristopherP]

Send us some pictures of your factory

 

[V_R]

Thats a fantastic looking camera Quad.


I'll look forward to some pics.

 

[silver]

good stuff, d70 is a good camera and easily capable of great pictures

I ended up with the sb800, the advantage over the sb600 is the commander mode - which is only really useful if you have another flash - my thinking was if I got another flash it'd likely be the sb600,. both flashes are good though and both work nicely with the ettl on the d70

look forward to seeing some pics

Sil

 

[Quadophile]

Having bought the camera and the 18-70 lens I was feeling ill equipped so decided to pay a visit to the Nikon dealer again and picked up the following additional gear:

Nikon SB-600 Flash (plus optional SJ-1 set of 8 gel filters)
Nikon 55-200 f/4-5.6G DX ED AF-S Lens

This morning I tried shooting with the 80-200 2.8D lens but I just could not tolerate the hefty size of the beast so decided against it and therefore picked up the 55-200 to cover the range. In any case I would be using 18-70 90% of the time so for those occasional shots I think my purchase is justified.

Today is a bit hectic but tomorrow I will shoot something to post

 

[Becky]

I'm a bit late seeing thsi thread, but WOW! Hope you have lots of fun with your new toy

Looking forward to seeing the pics

 

[Quadophile]

Since I enjoy shooting macro/still life I was wondering if my old 55mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor would be of any use or I have to go for the current 60mm 2.8D Micro lens.

After having read at many places that the old manual focus non-cpu lens will attach to the D 70s but it would not have any metering I was ready to do some experiment to find how difficult it would be to shoot with it. The only automation I had in the viewfinder was the focus confirmation light in the viewfinder. The multiplier effect would actually turn this into more like 83.6mm to be precise.

Little while back I took a few shots using the 55 micro nikkor lens, here are a couple for your review. The first is the illumination from the Motorola Razr V3 keypad and the second is of a watch.

Planning to do a session tomorrow so will post some pics

 

[muckshifter]

Is that a 'flaw' in the oak dish, or one of your gray hairs Quad ...

A man with a passion, is our Quad ... very passionate about photography.

 

[silver]

looks good to me

regards metering,. another thing to check is the histogram, will give some idea if things are exposed correctly

Sil

 

[Quadophile]

looks good to me

regards metering,. another thing to check is the histogram, will give some idea if things are exposed correctly

Sil

Yes that is exactly what I did, basically been reading for last few days and one of the subject I had picked up to review was the histograms and how to interpret them Looks like I just saved a decent amount if I can do with the 55mm micro lens.

Tomorrow I will be testing out another lens, 50mm f/1.4D AF. Great as a portrait lens in available light.

Mucks, I am amazed of all the people it would be you to notice something like that I am not sure if it is really grey or black though

 

[gabriella]

Is that a photo of the V3 Razr Quad?? Nice watch too!!

Gabs xx

 

[Quadophile]

Gabs: Yes the photo is of the V3 Razr

Yesterday I managed to do some shooting and was very unimpressed with my results, I will need to have a go at it again before I could post something worthwhile for anyone to see. However, I will post a pic of my son (latest pic was overdue ) which I took with the 50mm F1.4 lens in available light.

The pic was taken with the D70s with aperture set at f1.4 (wide open) and speed 1/25. The ISO was set at 800. I took this handheld and I think the sharpness of the 50 mm is very much evident unless others disagree. I decided to pick up the 50 mm as well for these kind of pictures as this would give an effective focal length of 76mm (multiplier effect of 1.52) making is a useful portraiture lens in available light on the D70s.

Mucks: Now you cannot complain that I post baby pics of my son Although to me he is still a baby